~ Please, stop loving me ~
~*~*~
Soft darkness. Then a piercing light stabbed his
closed eyelids as someone opened the drapes of his four-poster bed.
"Sirius," growled the boy lying on the bed, mumbling
something that was probably very good Sirius didn't hear.
"And a very good morning to you too Prongs," said
Sirius, laughter in his voice. "Come on, I'm hungry. Breakfast started fifteen
minutes ago."
Prongs, as James Potter was called by his friends,
sighed, and slowly rolled himself out of bed. Sirius was his best friend, and
they knew each other since as far back as they could remember, but sometimes,
Sirius was exasperating, acting like a little kid on Christmas morning. And when
he go something into that weird mind of his, there was no way of dislodging it.
So as James plunged his head into the wooden chest at the foot of his bed to
find something presentable to wear, Sirius grabbed the first thing that his
hands fell on: a pair of old blue jeans, a brownish shirt that has seen better
days, and a rumpled Hogwarts robe that looked as if it had been slept in. and
it probably had been, not so long ago. Then he fished a pair of unmatched socks
from under his bed, but at least, those were clean, and stomped his feet
to lodge them comfortably into his big combat boots. The fact that he was
rapidly nearing the 6 feet mark, that his hands and feet were disproportionally
large compared to the rest of his already long body, and that despite the large
amount of food he ingested every day he was thin didn't help his appearance. And
to top it off, his head was covered by a mop of black, unruly hair that should
have seen a pair of scissors a few months ago. That was Sirius, and it took him
less than a minute to get ready. Meanwhile, James was putting on a pair of
sweat pants and a clean new t-shirt, under his black Hogwarts robe. He was a
head smaller than Sirius, and his hair was even blacker, if possible, and as
messy, but cut shorter. And as much as he liked dressing comfortably, he only
did so because he could hide it all under his robe. As they were about to
leave, James glanced out the window and near the edge of the forest saw a small
figure running. He frowned for a moment, and then recognized Lily as the wind
picked up her red hair.
"Carrot is running again," said Sirius, following
James's gaze.
Sirius is a hopeless case, thought James, but he grinned
all the same.
~*~*~
Down in the dining hall, James and Sirius sat down
on the smooth wooden bench of the Griffindor table, one on each side of Remus,
a medium size boy with short brown hair and eyes to match. As soon as Sirius's
posterior touched the bench, he began cramming food into his wide-open mouth. Scrambled
eggs, muffins, sausages, French toasts, grapes, oranges…nothing escaped him
once he laid eyes on it, but his excuse was that "he was a growing boy."
Meanwhile, James and Remus were spreading butter and jelly on their toasts, and
talking about their next little escapade. James wanted to trek through the
Forbidden Forest while Remus preferred to look for new secret passages in the
castle.
"What do you think padfoot?" they finally asked.
"Mmpmnf…" Sirius's mouth was still packed with food.
"What?"
"I said she's beautiful," he managed after gulping
down his last mouthful.
"What?!" asked James and Remus, bemused by his
answer.
"Lily," he said, nodding his head toward the girl.
"Oh," said the other two boys, watching Lily as she
passed through the Great Hall, head held high, back straight, and mouth
tightened in a determined line.
"Except for the mood she's in, she would be a
perfect girlfriend," said Sirius, always thinking about girls. Well, at least
he did when he wasn't thinking about food.
"Has she always been this way?" asked James, trying
to remember his first year.
"No," said Sirius flatly, remembering the time she
had dropped a frog down his robe, and he had screamed like a girl. Very embarrassing.
James laughed as he too remembered that day. He had practically
died from laughter, his belly hurting, as he had rolled on the floor.
Remus, however, remained silent and thoughtful.
Three years ago, he had been one of Lily's best friends. They used to go up
onto the roof at night and stargaze, talking about anything that crossed their
minds. Then, one day, she hadn't come, and had altogether stopped talking to
him, except for some hi's and hello's. He had been very sad, wondering what he
had done wrong. Then, he thought that she had discovered his secret, and he had
spent a few very restless days, until finally, he learned from Lea what had
happened. He felt guilty that he had been relieved, and he tried to talk to
Lily about her loss to make her feel better, but she constantly kept eluding
him, a haunted look in her eyes, and he didn't want to pressure her. Now, he
regretted it, as she had all the signs of depression, but it was too late. She was
too far-gone for him to do her any good, and he sometimes laid awake at night,
wondering what he could do to help, and berating himself for not doing anything
sooner. Today, James's question had opened Remus's old wound, and he wondered
how Lily was feeling. He strongly believed that she wasn't any better. Then,
Sirius playfully clapped him on the back, and it was a wonder he didn't fall
into his plate. But as he noticed the world around him again, he momentarily
forgot Lily.
~*~*~
A/N: 6 reviews in 7 hours! Youpi! That's the best response
that I ever got! It makes me want to write more, so here it is, before I have
to go to school, and don't have time to write more. Lily will be back in the
next chapter, with a flashback of her mother. Will probably be up in a few
days. J For now, enjoy the rest of
your vacations (I'm sorry for all of you who are already in school) and review!
~Ola
