"I'm going to miss you this summer," Lily told her friends. " Petunia's going to be horrible, I just know it."
"Look, Lily, you have to come stay with me," Jenny insisted. "We've got this huge house, tons of room, I'm the only one there… Sirius and James live about three miles away, we can hang out with them."
"That sounds wonderful," Lily said.
"I'd invite you, too, Elsie, but you said your family has plans."
"Yes, we're going on a world tour! Mum won it, some sweepstakes or something. It's going to be great."
"Oh, good," Lily said. "Sounds like you'll have fun."
"Remus is going to stay with us for a while, aren't you," James said.
"Well, if my parents let me come… if your dad is sure he wants me to come."
"Dad's great," James assured his friend. "Totally laid back, he lets us do just about anything… he gives me all sorts of tips on causing mischief. Sirius and I need you, Remus. We have to plan out what we're going to do next year!"
"Itching powder in the laundry, biting teacups in the kitchens… then throw Dungbombs at Slytherins, Dungbombs at Filch, Dungbombs at Snape in particular," Sirius muttered to himself as he scribbled stuff down. When he noticed that his friends were staring at him, he shrugged and held up a piece of parchment.
"I wanted to get a jump on planning," he said. "After the Dungbombs, we get all the Slytherins expelled, get History of Magic turned into a mischief-makers course, and blow things up," he explained.
"Just one problem with that plan," James said.
"One?" Jenny asked sarcastically. "Do you boys count differently? That plan won't work at all. You'll get expelled right off."
"That was the problem," James grinned. "Otherwise it'd be great. Don't worry, Jenny, he'll be here next year." He winked at her.
"What's the wink mean?" she asked.
"What wink?" James looked innocent.
"The one you just gave me. You were thinking something there…."
"Oh, I just thought you'd like to know, since you've got a crush on him."
"I do not," she laughed. "Shows how much you boys know."
"I don't know, Sirius," James said in a loud voice. "I think she likes you, I really do."
"Well, Elaida Malfoy confided in me that she has a hopeless passion for you, James old boy," Sirius said, grinning.
"When was this?" Lily asked, laughing. She was the only one who could speak; the others were howling. "Elaida hates us Gryffindors. Her family's prejudiced. Otherwise she'd be a really nice girl, I think, but she's a bit sour."
"Well," Sirius said, trying to stop laughing, "it was while James here was slipping that feverfew into Snape's cauldron. She confided in me then, because I'm James' best friend, and besides, she thinks I'm the smartest student here."
"Now I know that Elaida's got brain problems," Jenny laughed. "Not even Peter thinks you're the smartest one here."
"All right, so of course she doesn't have a crush on James," Sirius admitted. "But it would be funny if she did."
"You boys think that everything's a joke, don't you?" Lily asked. "Will you ever take life seriously?"
"No," James and Sirius said together. Remus laughed with them at the expressions on the girls' faces.
"Oh, James, here come your girlfriend," Elsie choked out over her laughter as Elaida strode toward the Slytherin table. The Slytherin girl glanced at the Gryffindor table with an expression of loathing for the six howling friends.
"Where's Peter?" Remus asked.
"He's still ill," James said. "Nerves, I think. He's been there since the exams. I think he's afraid to find out what his grades are."
"Well, everyone else has marks already," Jenny said. "At least I did all right in Charms and Transfigurations."
"Hey, Jenny, you did get best marks in Herbology," Lily reminded her. "And your other marks were good."
"Well, I know now that I'll never be Head Girl," Jenny remarked. "But who cares?"
"Right," Sirius said. "Let's try not to be made prefects. It'll ruin life."
"I am excited about starting new subjects," Remus said. "And at least none of us are taking Divination. I've heard it's really woolly."
"Who wants to know the future, anyway?" Sirius asked. "That'd take all the fun out of life. Surprises make life worth living."
"Bill Weasley's taking Divination, isn't he?" Elsie asked.
"Well," James said, "Yes, he is. But I think his family really believes all that stuff. Me, well, - Dad says that Potters are content to find out what's going to happen to them when it happens. And that knowing the future is never a good thing."
"Now, Jenny," her mother said, "Why don't you ask those two boys over once in a while? You're always going to their house. You should have them over."
"I will, Mum," Jenny agreed. "How about next week when Lily comes to visit?"
"That sounds fine, dear," Mrs. Anderson agreed. "Now, where are you going?"
"To the Potters' house," Jenny said, throwing her broom over her shoulder. "We're going to-"
"Practice Quidditch, yes, I know," her mother sighed. "I'm not really sure it's a very ladylike sport, dear."
"Well, if I were a lady, I'd worry," Jenny said. "I like it, all right?"
"Yes dear. Still, if I were your age, it wouldn't be Quidditch I'd be playing with those boys. You could practice flummoxing boys' brains. It is something that my family line has been known for."
"Mother!"
"I know, Jenny, you're only thirteen, you don't want to worry about boys. Still, whichever one you decide you like, don't let him know. Let him think it's the other one. I'd say-"
"Mother, I'm going now." Jenny turned on her heel and left. Once she was out of sight of the house, she slumped against a tree and sighed. Mum wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that I half want to follow her advice. But I've always said that I wouldn't be like Mum, wouldn't ever go chasing after boys like she did when she was younger. If - "Ouch!" A thrown pinecone disturbed her reverie. "Who did that?" A laugh from behind a nearby tree told her the answer to her question. "Sirius Black!"
"Guilty as charged," the boy admitted, coming out from behind a tall pine.
"Why are you here?"
"Came to talk to you," he said, grinning mischievously. "I finally found out why James' been acting kind of weird this summer."
"Yeah? Why?" They had both noticed that their friend had had a tendency to daydream and miss questions directed at him recently, and had been wondering why.
"It's because," Sirius said with the air of someone about to drop a bombshell, "He's got a crush on Lily."
"No!" Jenny gasped. "Really?" No, please tell me you're joking. I wish you'd said anything else, not that James has a crush on Lily. I can't take that!
"Really," Sirius confirmed. "He's got it bad, too. So young for such tragedy to befall him, isn't he?" the boy struck a mock-tragic pose. "Alas, poor James. I knew him, Jenny."
"Oh, you are so impossible!" she exclaimed.
"It's true, James has always been precocious about everything," Sirius continued. "But girls? I wasn't ready for that yet. Mark my words, Jenny, soon we'll see all our friends falling victim to the same dread illness, one by one. Who will be next? Remus? Lily? Elsie? Peter?"
"Maybe it'll be you," she said, grinning. "Naomi already thinks you are cute, you know."
"Naomi!" Sirius laughed. "That poor girl. Bad enough to look the way she does, but to be the most boy-crazed Hufflepuff in school…"
"Gotta feel sorry for her, though," Jenny said, trying not to laugh. "She does have awful taste in boys."
"Hey!" Sirius yelled. "You wait and see."
"What?" Jenny asked. She looked around. "Is there something else to look at? Because I'm getting tired of staring at your ugly mug."
"Ugly!" Sirius acted as if he were mortally injured. Jenny laughed.
"Anyway," Sirius said, seeming to remember why he'd come out to her house, "I wanted to ask if you'll help me play jokes on James."
"Maybe," Jenny said cautiously. She knew better than to pledge her support without knowing what was entailed.
"Hey, is this wolfsbane?" Sirius asked curiously. He held up a plant he'd just picked
"Let me see," Jenny said. She examined the plant. "No, it's not. True wolfsbane is rare, you know, and it doesn't grow much around here. Good thing, too, since Remus-" she stopped.
"You know?" Sirius asked in a low voice.
"Yes," she said slowly. "Lily and I- but it doesn't matter. We won't let him know that we know, we decided that a long while back. It seems hard enough on him to have you boys know."
"It's tough for him," Sirius admitted. "But he'd be happy to know that you two know and don't care."
"Oh, we care," Jenny said softly. "If it affects one of our friends, we care. But it doesn't make a difference to us."
"Thanks," Sirius said. He smiled self-consciously. "He – well, I'm his friend too, you know. And he's very sensitive about it, of course."
"I can see why," Jenny laughed nervously. "Look, I don't know if there's a way you can find to tell him this without his hopes getting too high, but –you know how my dad's really big into anti-Dark Arts stuff?"
"Yeah," Sirius said, nodding.
"Well, he mentioned that there are some people he works with who are working on developing a potion to help werewolves."
"A cure?"
"No, there's no cure, but it would help him keep his mind when he transforms. Unfortunately, it's still being designed. Probably won't be available for years, if at all."
"Then I won't tell him," Sirius said resolutely. "It would be too cruel to get his hopes up like that. But such a thing might help him live a normal life!"
"It could," Jenny said. "And I think that there must be a cure out there somewhere. With all the plants that we study that have so many different uses, there must be one that will cure a werewolf. Maybe I'll be the one to find that one."
"We all want to help Remus, don't we?"
"Yes. Poor guy."
When Jenny walked home, her mind was pondering all the things she'd talked about. She sighed as her broom brushed the ground and shouldered it properly. Sirius had said that the boys had chores to do and couldn't play, and she rather thought he wasn't supposed to be sneaking around at all. Again she sighed, her mind going over the conversation she'd just had. So James had a crush on Lily? Fine. She wouldn't be surprised if Lily liked him back. Lily had said a few things last year… Which made it very nice for them, but not so nice for her. Oh, yeah, poor little old me, she thought savagely. Are you an idiot or not, girl? Tell your brain to get a hold of itself. So you think James Potter is cute. And intelligent, and smart, and good at Quidditch, and fun, and all-around perfect. So what? It's just a few hormones. That's all. Don't tell anyone anything. You'll get over it soon enough. After all, you're only thirteen. That's really too young anyway. You are not going to make yourself miserable over this. And you are not going to risk your friendship with Lily. That's more important than any old boy.
"Guess what!" James yelled as he burst into the Gryffindor common room. It was two weeks into September. Lily and Remus looked up.
"What?" Remus asked.
"Sirius made the team!" James shouted. Lily jumped to her feet and clapped her hands once.
"Oh, that's great!" she exclaimed. Remus got to his feet, grinning.
"Where is he?" he wondered.
"Down at the pitch, still. He's got to get a little more practice in."
"Who's Captain?" Lily asked.
"Don Heivan. He and Amy Boggs are the only ones still on the team, and they're seventh years themselves."
"Where's Jenny?" Lily asked, looking around.
"Trying to avoid Bludgers." James grinned. "Heivan's making the Chasers help Sirius practice."
"I can't wait to see that," Lily said, laughing.
"Sirius is pretty good." James said. "Why don't you two come down and watch? It's nice weather."
"Sounds like fun," Lily said. Remus stretched and smiled.
"I think I'll stay here and finish this essay," he said easily. "You two go on." He moved over to a desk.
"Where's Peter?" James asked.
"Library," Remus said lazily. "He wanted to get some work done."
"Oh, all right." James headed out of the portrait hole. Lily followed him.
Sirius was good. He seemed to have a lot of energy, and he threw it all into his game. Swooping, diving, soaring, and whacking the Bludgers, he had a grin on his face the whole time. The Chasers didn't seem so happy. They kept having to dodge the hurtling Bludgers. James said that Sirius wasn't supposed to actually hit the other players, but he sometimes seemed to forget that. When at last the captain said that practice was over, Sirius seemed reluctant, but the three Chasers immediately descended to earth. Lily met Jenny outside the locker room.
"Well?" Lily asked. "What do you think?"
"He could have been a little more careful," Jenny grumbled. "But, oh, well. We're sure to win this year!"
"I hope so," Lily said earnestly. "Hey, Jenny, the announcement went up today. Hogsmeade trip next weekend!"
"Great!" Jenny enthused. "I can't wait. I want to visit Honeydukes, I've heard it's great. I can hardly believe we're third years already."
"Oh, it'll be fun," Lily agreed. "I've already talked to Remus and Peter. The boys will join us –and Elsie – tomorrow to have butterbeer. I want to have some of that –it was great when your mum gave me some over the summer."
"Yes. That's yet another thing that Muggles miss out on." Jenny gave an exaggerated sigh. "Those poor people. I'm glad I'm not one."
"Tell me about it," Lily giggled. "I'm the Muggle-born girl, after all. At least you don't have an obnoxious sister who think you're evil."
"I can't understand that at all," Jenny commented. "She must be insane."
"Just proud to be Muggle, I suppose. Well, at least she isn't envious of me."
"That would be bad." Just then Sirius came out of the boys' side of the locker rooms. He was grinning.
"Pretty good, wasn't I?" he asked the girls.
"Except for the six times you almost broke my arm with that Bludger," Jenny said acerbically. "You could be more careful."
"That's no fun," Sirius said. Seeing the dangerous look in Jenny's eyes, he quickly added, "but I'll try, okay?"
"Fine," she said. "Then I won't have to kill you."
"Great! And as a bonus, I won't tell Peter you want to ask him out for butterbeer on Saturday."
"Oh, good grief!" Lily laughed as Jenny tried to hit Sirius. He ducked out of reach. "Jenny, calm down. Nobody thinks you want to –to-" she broke down laughing. "Poor old Peter. Maybe someday there'll be a girl who wants to go out with him. I guess he's got some time."
"Right," Sirius said. "There has to be some girl without any choosiness, or whatever you girls call it."
"Do you have a sister?" Jenny asked facetiously, for she knew he did not. "If you did, and she had as little sense as you do…" The two girls walked off together, Jenny with a look on her face that said that she thought she'd won that round.
When they were quite alone, Lily turned to her friend.
"I wanted to tell you something so you can tell me if I'm an idiot," she began, half smiling at the mention of Jenny's
favorite insult.
"Sure, but you, an idiot? Not likely. About as likely as for –for Peter to win the Order of Merlin," Jenny laughed.
"Wait until you hear it," Lily said, looking around to make sure they were really alone. She lowered her voice. "I –I think that I'm in love with James."
"Really?" Jenny looked hard at her friend. Oh, what should I say? She likes him, he likes her –I can't, no, I won't do anything to change that. She's my friend and I love her like a sister. So…
"Silly, aren't I? I mean, we're thirteen, and it's ridiculous, and-" Lily said quickly. Jenny stopped her.
"It's not silly, Lily, it's perfectly serious. I don't think you're an idiot, either. After all, James is rather handsome, and smart, and athletic, and nice…"
"I know," Lily grinned sheepishly. "I wonder if he likes me?"
"I think he does," Jenny said. "We just won't let anyone else know right now, okay? If Sirius got word of this…"
"Oh, no," Lily agreed. "I don't want that." She looked at her friend. "Jenny," she said slowly, "do you like Sirius?"
"Of course I do, much as I hate to admit it," Jenny said easily. "He's a decent person, like James and Remus, even if he is a bit of an idiot sometimes."
"No, not like him as a friend," Lily said. "Do you like him the way I like James?"
"No, of course not," Jenny protested. "I'd be insane to do that. He's an idiot, you know that. He can't take anything, er, seriously..." she giggled. " I'd rather be in love with –with Severus Snape!"
Lily laughed, and then she fixed her friend with a hard stare.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Lily still didn't look convinced, but she didn't say anything else. Jenny was lost in thought. Maybe she should pretend to like Sirius, so that Lily wouldn't ever figure out that she liked James, too. Lily is my best friend. I'd do anything to make sure we're always friends. And that includes keeping my mouth shut about James.
Well, be sure to let me know what you think. The next part of 'Double Trouble' will be up very soon, I promise –maybe tomorrow. Standard disclaimer: the characters belong to J K Rowling, except for Jenny, Elsie, and –well, you can tell what's mine. I'm not trying to make money off this stuff, and I am not claiming rights to any of it. Although if anyone wanted to give me rights to it, I wouldn't say no, of course… then I wouldn't have to worry about earning a living.
Um, brief thanks to my sisters for not killing me when I stare off into space and bite my lip plotting out the next bit while I'm supposed to be helping them with math or whatever… and lots of thanks to Blaise for beta-reading. Also, many thanks to all my friends for pointing out errors –I appreciate it, guys!
April 11, 2000
Katie Bell