Authors's Notes: I hope it's starting to make more sense, and look, I added more James.
"And do you know what else is hot about him..." Xenia was gushing about Gilderoy to Lily, Remus, James, Peter and Sirius. Sirius was starting to wonder if she was doing this to him on purpose. If he hadn't known Xenia as well as he did, Sirius would have believed Xenia was really in love with Gilderoy. As it was he knew that she was just bored and looking for something to be excited about; it still bothered him though. He wondered when she would get bored of these silly fixations; he wondered how long he could pretend he wasn't tired of it. Sirius was willing to wait for Xenia to get all of this out of her system, and he wouldn't have traded places with Gilderoy for anything, but he hoped it would be soon.
"Lily?"he said, hardly able to control his fury, "Do you want to show me that book you were talking about now?"
"She can't" Peter pointed out, "She and Remus should be going."
"I don't want to leave until Imie gets here" Remus interjected. "There's no reason she shouldn't show Sirius the book."
"There's no reason you need to stay that long. We can look out for Imie just fine without you. Why don't you go?"
"James. Where's the cloak?"
James indicated the table next to him, "Why?" he asked.
"Nothing. Give it to me." Remus took the cloak and disappeared. James smiled and ruffled his messy black hair, "I guess that settled that" he remarked.
Lily felt as though someone had turned on a light bulb. "Jimmy." she called, "Can I talk to you for a minute?...Alone?"
"Sure!" he answered, and got up to leave with her.
Lily was trying to figure out what she had just discovered. Remus liked Imie, that is what she was going to make James confirm. But there was much more. She knew that she had always sensed that Imie liked Remus. The confusing thing was that Lily didn't feel at all disappointed. In fact she felt happy that Remus, the boy she had thought she wanted to like her, liked Imie instead. Had she ever really wanted him then? Or had it been a game like Xenia's Gilderoy fixation? No. She did like Remus. Just not for her own boyfriend. Well, she did find him attractive. Did she realize that they were better as friends? That this is what she really wanted. A big brother? In reality, she had first said he was cute trying to get Imie to admit she liked him. So maybe she was projecting Imie's crush onto herself. Oh well, she'd have all evening to figure out...maybe even longer.
"So what did you want to talk about?" James asked Lily.
"Remus likes Imie doesn't he?" Lily stated
James looked like he had swallowed a bee, "Why do you say that?" he stammered.
"Because he does. Admit it James."
"If you know then why are you asking?"
"Because I want confirmation. Come on Jimmy!"
"To tell you the truth I can't give you a sure answer..."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"That means he's never told me that he does"
"But he does, doesn't he..."
" I believe he does myself, but it's just my opinion"
"Which as his closest friend is pretty valid"
"Why do you want to know anyway?"
"They are my friends. It is important to know these kind of things."
"So does she like him?"
"If you are telling me the truth, they are pretty much the same. I have never gotten her to admit how she feels about him but I can tell"
"So now you have equal information on both."
"Well I did get her to admit she thought he was cute..."
"That's more progress then I've made on Remus in four years. Did you have any particular method?"
Lily blushed and looked down at the ground, "Telling her I thought he was" she admitted.
"Ummm Lily?" James looked hesitant, "Do You like him?"
Lily looked everywhere but at James. She had no idea what to say. She didn't even know if she liked him. James reached out towards her and hesitated a moment. He debated whether to allow himself the luxury. While he was contemplating this she finally looked up at him. Their eyes met. Lily stopped blushing, "I did?" she said.
Meanwhile In the Slytherin Girls Dormitory
"Lodessa. You can't wear that tonight. It's what you wore when you broke up with Alexander. You can't wear it when you start going out with Max." Narcissa insisted.
"What do you think Imogen? Does it matter?" Lodessa inquired, pressing a robe against her body.
Imogen and Narcissa both looked at her in surprise. Since Imogen had been at school, the older girls' habit had been to ignore her. That way they were not actually being mean to her, which might have angered the boys, but they weren't associating with her either, as such an action might somehow connect them to Severus. None of the three could have told you who had started this method of operations, but it worked well enough for them. After all Imogen didn't have any more interest in the others as they had in her. If truth be told it was Narcissa's idea, most of the snobby practices that seemed to belong to both Narcissa and Lodessa were in truth Narcissa's. At this moment there is no reason to question Narcissa's motives for this particular snubbing; it is sufficient to say they existed. Lodessa's breaking this habit annoyed Narcissa; she walked out of the room immediately, without saying a word.
Lodessa flinched a little and then proceeded to talk at Imogen. Imogen essentially ignored her as usual; but then noticed that, Lodessa actually wanted her to respond to what she was saying for once. Then she realized that Lodessa was not talking about Max, as one might expect of a girl about to be asked out. She was instead talking about how Severus always ignored her, "Not that I mind" she added, "It's not as if I ever wanted his attention. But it is rude nonetheless"
"Yeah he's a real pain." Imogen agreed, "If only he'd leave me alone!"
"Oh you poor dear!" Lodessa exclaimed, and before she knew what she was doing continued, "If only I could distract him..." then she seemed to realize what she was saying and stopped herself. "I'd better go find Narcissa. " She said. Then she left in the opposite direction of where Narcissa had headed.
Suddenly Imogen felt hands on her shoulders. "I was hoping she'd leave soon" said a familiar voice. Then Remus stepped out from beneath James' invisibility cloak.
"Remus!" Imogen exclaimed, "How long have you been here?"
Remus proceeded to imitate Lodessa's rant and Imogen's response. Imogen giggled. "I thought you might be having trouble getting out" Remus told Imogen, trying to validate his showing up in her room. Of course he needn't have worried. Imogen wouldn't have objected to his showing up in her bed if he had felt the notion. She nearly told him this but then remembered herself and only told him he was a wonderfully silly boy and that she loved him. It is a wonder that he never realized how much she meant this.
Meanwhile In the Slytherin Common Room
Severus was attempting to read a large book called something ominous like Curses and Hexes or Death Spells. Unfortunately for that endeavor, Gilderoy had decided that he wanted to talk to Severus and would not take no for an answer. Severus was starting to get very cross with Gilderoy. "How to turn your enemy into a frog and then set a cat on him" Severus read out loud, "No not nasty enough....I know there was a good one somewhere around here..."
"So Severus, did you see that-"
"Gilderoy, do you want to be turned into a slime mold or do you want to shut up and leave me alone"
"I don't think I'd like to be a slime mold, they're revolting."
"Well then, perhaps you'd better be going"
"Why?"
"So that I don't have to keep you from talking...permanently."
Severus looked menacing enough to have frightened any normal mortal into compliance, but Gilderoy didn't even seem to notice that he was being threatened. He continued to go on about quiddich, taking no notice that Severus was reaching for his wand. Disaster might have struck but for the lucky chance that brought Lodessa to the common room that very instant. She stopped and stood in the doorway, her dark hair billowing about her shoulders and her tawny eyes gazing at Severus, "Severus? What on earth is going on?" she cried. Then she noticed GIlderoy who was still talking. She caught Severus' eye and reached out and grabbed hold of his wand arm. "Gilderoy..." she said, "Why don't you go find Imogen, she was looking for you...I think"
Gilderoy took a minute to think about this and then nodded and trotted off. Lodessa relaxed her grip on Severus' arm. She looked up at him as if to scold him, or rather to smile at him, a look that said: "Oh you've been a naughty boy...but that's okay because I fixed everything for you". He almost smiled back before he remembered himself. Then both of them went back to the appropriate distance and coldness.
"There you are!" Narcissa cried, entering the common room at that moment and dragging Lodessa off. Lodessa wondered why she had just gotten involved in Severus' spat with Gilderoy and why she felt all giddy and shaky inside. Her thoughts were soon interrupted however, as she was preoccupied with Max, who had just arrived.
Meanwhile in the Gryffindor Common Room
"So Sirius...Do you think I look good with Gilderoy or does he make me look too masculine?"
"Xenia?"
"What?"
"Don't ask me about Gilderoy"
"Fine then! I won't...Peter?" Peter raised his blonde head, "What do you think?"
"I think that Remus shouldn't have gone like that." Peter whined.
"You guys are no fun!" Xenia pouted, her bright blue eyes glaring at Sirius' shaggy black head. There they stayed until James and Lily returned, both blushing slightly. "And what were you two up to?" Xenia teased.
"And do you know what else is hot about him..." Xenia was gushing about Gilderoy to Lily, Remus, James, Peter and Sirius. Sirius was starting to wonder if she was doing this to him on purpose. If he hadn't known Xenia as well as he did, Sirius would have believed Xenia was really in love with Gilderoy. As it was he knew that she was just bored and looking for something to be excited about; it still bothered him though. He wondered when she would get bored of these silly fixations; he wondered how long he could pretend he wasn't tired of it. Sirius was willing to wait for Xenia to get all of this out of her system, and he wouldn't have traded places with Gilderoy for anything, but he hoped it would be soon.
"Lily?"he said, hardly able to control his fury, "Do you want to show me that book you were talking about now?"
"She can't" Peter pointed out, "She and Remus should be going."
"I don't want to leave until Imie gets here" Remus interjected. "There's no reason she shouldn't show Sirius the book."
"There's no reason you need to stay that long. We can look out for Imie just fine without you. Why don't you go?"
"James. Where's the cloak?"
James indicated the table next to him, "Why?" he asked.
"Nothing. Give it to me." Remus took the cloak and disappeared. James smiled and ruffled his messy black hair, "I guess that settled that" he remarked.
Lily felt as though someone had turned on a light bulb. "Jimmy." she called, "Can I talk to you for a minute?...Alone?"
"Sure!" he answered, and got up to leave with her.
Lily was trying to figure out what she had just discovered. Remus liked Imie, that is what she was going to make James confirm. But there was much more. She knew that she had always sensed that Imie liked Remus. The confusing thing was that Lily didn't feel at all disappointed. In fact she felt happy that Remus, the boy she had thought she wanted to like her, liked Imie instead. Had she ever really wanted him then? Or had it been a game like Xenia's Gilderoy fixation? No. She did like Remus. Just not for her own boyfriend. Well, she did find him attractive. Did she realize that they were better as friends? That this is what she really wanted. A big brother? In reality, she had first said he was cute trying to get Imie to admit she liked him. So maybe she was projecting Imie's crush onto herself. Oh well, she'd have all evening to figure out...maybe even longer.
"So what did you want to talk about?" James asked Lily.
"Remus likes Imie doesn't he?" Lily stated
James looked like he had swallowed a bee, "Why do you say that?" he stammered.
"Because he does. Admit it James."
"If you know then why are you asking?"
"Because I want confirmation. Come on Jimmy!"
"To tell you the truth I can't give you a sure answer..."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"That means he's never told me that he does"
"But he does, doesn't he..."
" I believe he does myself, but it's just my opinion"
"Which as his closest friend is pretty valid"
"Why do you want to know anyway?"
"They are my friends. It is important to know these kind of things."
"So does she like him?"
"If you are telling me the truth, they are pretty much the same. I have never gotten her to admit how she feels about him but I can tell"
"So now you have equal information on both."
"Well I did get her to admit she thought he was cute..."
"That's more progress then I've made on Remus in four years. Did you have any particular method?"
Lily blushed and looked down at the ground, "Telling her I thought he was" she admitted.
"Ummm Lily?" James looked hesitant, "Do You like him?"
Lily looked everywhere but at James. She had no idea what to say. She didn't even know if she liked him. James reached out towards her and hesitated a moment. He debated whether to allow himself the luxury. While he was contemplating this she finally looked up at him. Their eyes met. Lily stopped blushing, "I did?" she said.
Meanwhile In the Slytherin Girls Dormitory
"Lodessa. You can't wear that tonight. It's what you wore when you broke up with Alexander. You can't wear it when you start going out with Max." Narcissa insisted.
"What do you think Imogen? Does it matter?" Lodessa inquired, pressing a robe against her body.
Imogen and Narcissa both looked at her in surprise. Since Imogen had been at school, the older girls' habit had been to ignore her. That way they were not actually being mean to her, which might have angered the boys, but they weren't associating with her either, as such an action might somehow connect them to Severus. None of the three could have told you who had started this method of operations, but it worked well enough for them. After all Imogen didn't have any more interest in the others as they had in her. If truth be told it was Narcissa's idea, most of the snobby practices that seemed to belong to both Narcissa and Lodessa were in truth Narcissa's. At this moment there is no reason to question Narcissa's motives for this particular snubbing; it is sufficient to say they existed. Lodessa's breaking this habit annoyed Narcissa; she walked out of the room immediately, without saying a word.
Lodessa flinched a little and then proceeded to talk at Imogen. Imogen essentially ignored her as usual; but then noticed that, Lodessa actually wanted her to respond to what she was saying for once. Then she realized that Lodessa was not talking about Max, as one might expect of a girl about to be asked out. She was instead talking about how Severus always ignored her, "Not that I mind" she added, "It's not as if I ever wanted his attention. But it is rude nonetheless"
"Yeah he's a real pain." Imogen agreed, "If only he'd leave me alone!"
"Oh you poor dear!" Lodessa exclaimed, and before she knew what she was doing continued, "If only I could distract him..." then she seemed to realize what she was saying and stopped herself. "I'd better go find Narcissa. " She said. Then she left in the opposite direction of where Narcissa had headed.
Suddenly Imogen felt hands on her shoulders. "I was hoping she'd leave soon" said a familiar voice. Then Remus stepped out from beneath James' invisibility cloak.
"Remus!" Imogen exclaimed, "How long have you been here?"
Remus proceeded to imitate Lodessa's rant and Imogen's response. Imogen giggled. "I thought you might be having trouble getting out" Remus told Imogen, trying to validate his showing up in her room. Of course he needn't have worried. Imogen wouldn't have objected to his showing up in her bed if he had felt the notion. She nearly told him this but then remembered herself and only told him he was a wonderfully silly boy and that she loved him. It is a wonder that he never realized how much she meant this.
Meanwhile In the Slytherin Common Room
Severus was attempting to read a large book called something ominous like Curses and Hexes or Death Spells. Unfortunately for that endeavor, Gilderoy had decided that he wanted to talk to Severus and would not take no for an answer. Severus was starting to get very cross with Gilderoy. "How to turn your enemy into a frog and then set a cat on him" Severus read out loud, "No not nasty enough....I know there was a good one somewhere around here..."
"So Severus, did you see that-"
"Gilderoy, do you want to be turned into a slime mold or do you want to shut up and leave me alone"
"I don't think I'd like to be a slime mold, they're revolting."
"Well then, perhaps you'd better be going"
"Why?"
"So that I don't have to keep you from talking...permanently."
Severus looked menacing enough to have frightened any normal mortal into compliance, but Gilderoy didn't even seem to notice that he was being threatened. He continued to go on about quiddich, taking no notice that Severus was reaching for his wand. Disaster might have struck but for the lucky chance that brought Lodessa to the common room that very instant. She stopped and stood in the doorway, her dark hair billowing about her shoulders and her tawny eyes gazing at Severus, "Severus? What on earth is going on?" she cried. Then she noticed GIlderoy who was still talking. She caught Severus' eye and reached out and grabbed hold of his wand arm. "Gilderoy..." she said, "Why don't you go find Imogen, she was looking for you...I think"
Gilderoy took a minute to think about this and then nodded and trotted off. Lodessa relaxed her grip on Severus' arm. She looked up at him as if to scold him, or rather to smile at him, a look that said: "Oh you've been a naughty boy...but that's okay because I fixed everything for you". He almost smiled back before he remembered himself. Then both of them went back to the appropriate distance and coldness.
"There you are!" Narcissa cried, entering the common room at that moment and dragging Lodessa off. Lodessa wondered why she had just gotten involved in Severus' spat with Gilderoy and why she felt all giddy and shaky inside. Her thoughts were soon interrupted however, as she was preoccupied with Max, who had just arrived.
Meanwhile in the Gryffindor Common Room
"So Sirius...Do you think I look good with Gilderoy or does he make me look too masculine?"
"Xenia?"
"What?"
"Don't ask me about Gilderoy"
"Fine then! I won't...Peter?" Peter raised his blonde head, "What do you think?"
"I think that Remus shouldn't have gone like that." Peter whined.
"You guys are no fun!" Xenia pouted, her bright blue eyes glaring at Sirius' shaggy black head. There they stayed until James and Lily returned, both blushing slightly. "And what were you two up to?" Xenia teased.