Author's Note: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! Here's the second chapter, just like you asked for! Also, as it's unlikely that I will be able to finish writing chapter three and have it typed up by now, Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays, everybody!
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine… the characters you recognize belong to JKR, the plot is sort of mine but is also influenced in many ways by the many Lily/James fics I've read (although, if it's too close to your fic, just tell me), and Melissa and Tara sort of belong to me, although really they are based on my friends, and I don't think I own them so much… I'm rambling now, so on with the story!
Chapter 2: Moon Phases and Marvellous Coincidences
James woke up early the next morning. After getting dressed and eating a bowl of somewhat tasteless oatmeal, he told his mother he was leaving and Flooed over to Sirius' apartment.
Once he got there, he discovered that his best friend, who had sworn he would be awake and ready to leave on time, was still asleep. James stared at him for a few seconds, wondering how to wake him up. Suddenly, he got an idea…
"You are a real prat, you know that?" Sirius told James as he came out of his bedroom. He was attempting to dry off his hair: James had chosen the cold water method of waking him up.
"Yes, well, I do what I can," James replied, a smug grin on his face. "It's your fault. You should have been awake on time!"
"Prat," Sirius muttered, grabbing a quick cup of coffee.
"Hurry up," James told him. "You're going to make us late to pick up Moony."
Remus was already waiting and ready to go by the time James and Sirius showed up. "What took you two so long?" he demanded. "You're half an hour late!"
"Thank Mr. I-Couldn't-Wake-Up-On-Time-If-My-Life-Depended-On-It over here," James said, gesturing towards Sirius.
"Why am I not surprised that it was Sirius who was late? He must have forgotten that he might see Tara today…" Remus said teasingly. He winked at James as Sirius' face turned a brilliant crimson colour.
"For the last time, we are not going out! Will you two get that straight already?" Sirius exclaimed.
"Maybe this year will be the year that Sirius finally gets his act together and asks her out," James said to Remus as though Sirius wasn't there. "After all, he's running out of school years…"
"Oh, shut up, you prat. Are we picking up ickle Wormtail?" Sirius asked, effectively changing the subject.
"No, his uncle's sick, he can't meet us today after all," Remus replied.
"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Sirius said, suddenly excited.
"You know he's only excited because of Tara," James whispered to Remus.
"I heard that, Jamesie-poo!"
As Lily was not fortunate enough to be connected to the Floo Network, she arrived in Diagon Alley through the entrance to the Leaky Cauldrom in the London Underground.
After passing through the brick wall behind the pub, Lily had the wind almost knocked out of her due to the fact that somebody had run at her with the force of a hurricane and then proceeded to hug Lily very tightly.
"Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily Lily!" the hurricane squealed, jumping up and down.
"'Lissa?" Lily asked, thoroughly overwhelmed by the very hyper girl still hugging her. "Okay, how much sugar have you had this morning?"
"I had coffee, some chocolate frogs, some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and… root beer!" Melissa Semblune, also called 'Lissa, Moongazer, and Baby Wissa, responded at a very high speed.
"Well then, that explains it… How many times have I told you that even a sip of root beer is too much? Anyway… Is Tara here yet?"
"No, she's meeting us at Flourish and Blotts in… er… two minutes!" With that, Melissa took off in the direction of Flourish and Blotts, and Lily followed until---
WHAM!
Lily looked up, rubbing her head, only to see James Potter. Great, she thought, the prat. However, she kept her thoughts to herself and asked James if he was okay.
"I'm fine," came the self-assured reply. James half-grinned, half-smirked at Lily, then got up and offered her a hand. She graciously declined, and after standing up and brushing the dust off her clothing, noticed the Head boy badge of James' chest.
"You made Head Boy? Congratulations," she told him.
"Yeah, well…" he answered, embarrassed. "Remus should've gotten the position; I don't know why old Dumbledore chose me."
An awkward silence followed, which was broken by Lily clearing her throat. "Well, I was just going with Melissa to meet Tara at Flourish and Blotts," she said, "before I, er, ran into you."
"I'll come," James said. "I was going to meet up with Remus and Sirius there as well."
"Oh, the other guys are here as well?" Lily said, hiding her annoyance at being stuck walking with James Potter.
"Yeah. Getting our stuff for the school year, you know, NEWT-level books, quills, parchment, all that," was the response, just a tiny bit sarcastic.
"Well… okay then."
They finished walking to Flourish and Blotts in silence.
Tarawen Wilson, More commonly known as Tara, glared at Melissa. "How did you manage to lose Lily?" she demanded, one hand placed on her hip. "It's less than fifteen minutes from here to the Leaky Cauldron if you're walking! I don't know how you do it sometimes, Lissa, but you really accomplish the strangest things."
"Oh, calm down Tara, here she comes now- with James Potter? But she hates him!" Melissa exclaimed in shock.
However, as Lily approached, the carefully masked annoyance in Lily's face became apparent. When she saw Tara and Lissa, she rolled her eyes while she gestured with her head towards James. She clearly wanted to be anywhere but where she was.
Lily began to make her way through the bustling crowd to where Tara and Lissa stood waiting. Once she made it there, greeting, hugs, and tales of summer were enthusiastically traded.
Due to the fact that Lily lived just outside of London, Melissa lived with her Muggle parents in Aberdeen, and Tara came from an all-wizard family that lived in a rural area of Ireland, the three girls hadn't seen each other since the end of sixth year. As a result, trading stories took quite a while. They walked into the store while doing so, and while waiting in line to purchase their various books, they realized they were just ahead of James, Sirius, and Remus.
Although Lily and James did not get along well with one another, the two groups generally didn't follow that example. Lily began talking with Remus about NEWT classes, Melissa struck up a conversation about international Quidditch with James, and as for Tara and Sirius… well, they were just plain flirting.
The six teenagers ended up spending the majority of the afternoon with one another. However, at about six o'clock, Sirius announced: "I'm hungry. Hey, Tara, want to get something to eat with me?"
Tara, who was very tall, very thing, and could eat forty Chocolate Frogs and not gain an ounce, immediately replied, "Sure!" She and Sirius left quickly, discussing where in Diagon Alley they could find an all-you-can-eat buffet. Lily, Melissa, Remus, and James just stared after them, feeling sorry for the owners of the restaurant that those two chose.
"Well… They have a point, I'm starving!" Remus said. "Shall we get some food?"
The restaurant that Lily, Melissa, James, and Remus chose was a small one next to "Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions". It was cozy and decorated with pictures of the moon, planets, and stars.
"Oh, wow!" Lily had exclaimed upon entering. "It's amazing! I used to love astronomy when I was younger; all those stars… There's just so much outside the confines of our tiny little solar system."
"Well, I always preferred learning about the moon," Melissa said to the boys, at the same time that Remus stated: "The moon was always what interested me the most."
They both stopped and stared at each other. Remus smiled, causing Melissa to blush a little bit, but the moment was interrupted by James. "That's a marvellous coincidence and all," he told them, "but Remus isn't the only one who could eat a hippogriff here. Could you finish this conversation after we get a table and order?"
As everybody wanted to get something to eat, James' suggestion was not met with any protests. However, Melissa and Remus did continue their conversation about the moon.
"Did you see the full moon last weekend? It was so gorgeous! All silvery and big…" Melissa asked him.
After sharing an amused glance with James, Remus answered Melissa. "I, er, I actually much prefer the, ah, crescent moon."
"The crescent moon…" she began, and was quickly lost once more in the conversation. Meanwhile, Lily was actually having a civil conversation with James. Maybe if he's like this all year, I won't kill him out of annoyance, she thought.
"You know, we should really set those two up," James suggested to Lily. "What do you think?"
"I think that they won't need our help at the rate they're going," she replied, grinning.
"Well… if Sirius and Tara become an item, and so do Melissa and Remus, I reckon we should go out as well," he said, a hint of a smirk playing on his face.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, please don't start up on that again! I will make you a deal," she told him, now very serious. "If at any point during this year I decide we should date, I will tell you. Until then, flirt with me all you want, but please don't ask me out anymore! It drives me insane! Anyway… Deal?"
"Now let me get this straight," he said. "I don't ask you out at all."
"Right," she confirmed.
"But I can still flirt with you."
"As though I could stop you from doing that!"
"And the instant you decide you want to try dating, you tell me."
"That would be what I said."
"Well then, Miss Evans, I believe that you have yourself a deal!"
It seemed like a good deal at the time: Lily was happy that James wouldn't ask her out all the time, and James was thrilled that Lily wouldn't be angry at him all the time and that he could still be as huge a flirt as always. Remus and Melissa never noticed any of the exchange, as they were in deep conversation, talking about everything and anything.
The group finished eating at about seven o'clock and they set off to find Sirius and Tara. After twenty minutes of searching, the couple was found at Quality Quidditch Supplies, holding hands and looking more at each other than at the Quidditch gear.
"All right, lovebirds," Remus announced, "it's getting a little late, and Melissa tells me that the three girls are expected at her house in the not-so-distant future, so maybe the two of you should say your goodbyes for now."
Thus, a very drawn-out session of goodbyes commenced, not just between Tara and Sirius, but amongst all six teenagers. Statements such as "I'll owl you!" and "You know how to use a telephone, right?" could be heard, until Lily put an end to it when she said:
"You do realize term starts in a week, right?"