And They Live Happily Ever After…?
Lily crouched herself at the dark corner in her room, hugging her legs. She let out muffled yells and cries of sadness and passionate anguish in dismay, planting her face on the beanbag she was lying upon. The bright sun outside her window never pitied her a single bit at all. Its rays fell upon the glass windows to Lily's rooms cheerfully.
She wished that it would rain now. A storm perhaps, so that she wouldn't be the only one crying. The raindrops will, at least, cry with her until she is drowned in the water of her own tears. A pool was already forming and seeping through the soaked beanbag and onto the parquet floor. Too bad, unlike some… lucky people's situation of sadness – in which the sky had pitied upon the death of their parents or conditions or whatever it is that made them cry and rained for them – Lily had a very cheerful sun outside. And not a speck of fluffy cloud was to be seen at all.
There, those pesky neighbouring kids laughing again! This whole Earth seemed to be against her!
Knock, knock!
'Get lost! I'm doing my homework!' Lily yelled at the door, trying her best to disguise her sobbing voice into one of annoyance and succeeded. She mentally congratulated herself at a job well done.
'Lily. Can I come in, please?' Petunia's tearful voice whispered timidly.
'Use the attached toilet! I'm NOT leaving my spot!' Lily called again, sniffing hard at her blocked nose. A scamper of footsteps was heard and James, who was downstairs and obviously heard Lily's remark, yelled at Petunia to not touch his things. In two seconds, the doorknob turned and Petunia burst in, crying hysterically.
'Oh, Lily, I can't believe mum died! Right after dad, too!' she wailed at once. 'How could she? Why can't we save her, Lily? I read in books that witches and wizards can bring back the dead! Can you, Lily? Please? I don't want her to die! I promise, I swear and I hereby vow that if you ever do, I'll be a good girl! I will, I will!'
Lily just choked and sobbed even more. She embraced her younger sister, whom, just a few hours ago had quarrelled over breakfast. The two sisters hugged each other for support for perhaps the very first time in their life. Their salty tears mingle and dripped from their eye-sockets uncontrollably. Such was their condition when James came up to look on them.
'Petunia? Lily?' he said gently. Petunia let out a bawl and Lily another choke and sniff.
'Er, would you like some tea?' James suggested. 'You hadn't eaten lunch and breakfast, so I fixed you some tea. Cake, pineapple tarts and a steaming cup of rose flavoured tea. Promised delicious.' Petunia pulled away from Lily and nodded numbly before going out. James stared at Lily. She hadn't budged and was sniffing quietly, staring at seeming nothingness past her cupboard.
'Hello? Lily? There's a pineapple tart your mum baked three days ago.' At the word "mum", Lily began a fresh new start of tears and began wailing loudly again. James bit his lips in uncertainty before deciding that she needed a hug. He hugged her.
'Go. Away,' Lily whispered in clutters. 'I want to be alone.'
'Lily, go and eat.'
'It's not your mother who had just died,' Lily said bitterly. Those words stung into James's heart painfully. Still, he recollected himself.
'Lily, my parents died a long time ago,' he said slowly. 'I didn't cry, so you shouldn't too, tomboy.'
'I am NOT a tomboy. Not, not, not. Get that into that thick skull of yours, James Potter, and stop bugging me. I'm not in a mood to come up with an insult!'
'You need to be in a mood to come with an insult? Now that's new… I didn't know that.'
'Well now you do. So shut up and buzz off to the flowers and honey.'
'I happen to hate honey,' James reminded.
'Then just leave.'
'Lily, please, eat something!'
'Oh yes, I'll certainly eat YOU if you don't leave now,' Lily said with a glare.
'No, eat something edible, please, not me.'
'No! My mother just died!'
'And you're actually planning to fast?' James said sarcastically. 'I know how you feel, Evans, because I'd gone through it. You'd probably cried enough to fill a bathtub already!'
'I want to fill my room,' Lily said sourly, sniffling.
'Don't be ridiculous!' he chided. 'If you cry any longer, your tears from tear factory – or whatever those weird scientist call them – will be empty and…' He paused dramatically for a thought. 'Do you know what'll happen?' Lily sniffed.
'No. What?'
'Blood.'
'Oh?'
'Blood!'
'Yes, but what about this blood and tears and eyes and this weird factory of yours?'
'Blood will flow from your eyes, because the tears is all used up,' James said easily. 'Imagine Sirius's face! You can see it transform from orange to yellow to green to blue to red to purple and maybe, if he decide it as his finale, black. Or was it white? I can't place, really.'
Lily let out a little giggle. Sirius had a phobia for blood. 'He'll faint again, then.' James smiled broadly.
'Yep! And you look nicer if you smile. Better than that long face.'
'Are you trying to implement that my smile is just as dark as I look with a frown?' Lily said with a glare.
'Er, no, but I've been trying to tell you that you shouldn't cry anymore,' James said helpfully. 'Petunia needs your help to get through this, you being her one and only – um, hated – relative.' He brushed some of her tears away. 'Look at me! I don't even have anyone to comfort me when my parents died! You didn't help, calling me an idiot.'
'You're right. Petunia needs more bullying and pushing around. And far worse insults that I had given you when your parents died,' Lily said, wiping the traces of tears off her smudged cheeks. 'I can't let her turn into a spoil brat! I mean, look! She can't even make her own breakfast!'
'Exactly!' James cheered. 'See how much insults you missed when you cry? Hah, I bet you forgot time factor, huh?'
'I don't!' Lily snapped.
'Anyway, I place some cockroach cluster in the tarts,' James said casually with a devious grin. 'Wonder if she realizes it yet…?'
Lily raised her eyebrow. 'The tarts that you MEANT to make me go down to devour?'
'Technically and literally and whatever-ly yes,' James trilled happily.
'And you're meaning to purposely laugh at me later, right?'
'Yup! Too bad, you didn't eat it.'
'Too good, because I'll personally rearrange your face, James,' Lily said, puffing her cheeks childishly. James's expression softens incredibly as his brown eyes turn to Lily's watery green ones.
'Lily, I—'
'YEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!!' Petunia was heard shrieking. 'COCKROACH EGGS!?'
'Looks like you got her,' Lily said in amusement. James held tightly to Lily's wrist, indicating that he still has something to talk about. Lily fumed before turning to him. 'What?'
'Lily, I still love you,' he whispered. 'I'm still waiting for you, because- because I know you'll love me, too. Someday.' Lily felt rigid at the word "love." The hated thing that had killed her mother. The cause of so much of anguish she is suffering now.
'Well,' she said in a hard tone, 'someday isn't today, I think. Maybe sometime, oh say, a hundred years, yes?'
James hugged her and tenderly laid his lips upon hers. Lily, having no place to run because she is cornered (cupboard on her right, wall on her back and left. Only way out: James standing in between escape and her closed space) could barely do anything. She was, after all, still weak in spirit despite the few laughs she had had. Besides, James was much taller by a head, bigger and stronger than her. Talk about gender unfairness. Why can't God just make them equal??
After a few seconds of regaining some mental strength, Lily whispered, 'No. Please, James, don't. I… don't really want to hate you at this time, after all that had happened.'
'Lily, I know you love me. Deep down, and you know it too,' James said solemnly. 'You just don't want to admit to it. You don't want to say it out, because… because you're afraid. Aren't you, Lily?' He stared deep into her eyes. Lily turned away.
'No. I'm not afraid of anything. Go away, James. I don't want to hate you. Not now. Not when I know I need support from you to get over this.,' Lily said monotonously.
'Is there anything wrong?' James asked quietly. 'You know you can trust me.'
'I… know I can,' the girl gulped slowly. 'But I can't… I don't love you. I won't. I- I'm sorry, James, but it's better if you find another girl. Thanks, anyway, for comforting me. I'm really, really grateful for your help.'
Lily tried to move away, but, as condition sees it, James is still blocking her only way out. Unless of course, if Lily had decided to do some spirit travelling (in which she DEFINITELY do not know how and might lead herself to death right away) and let James freak out for accidentally murdering her in a psychotic way. Whatever. The detectives and doctors can figure that out themselves.
'Tell me, Lily, is something bothering you? Is it because of your mother's death?' James asked in a caressing voice. Lily shook her head.
'James, really, I don't want to hate you. You are being really annoying.'
James bit his lips as his thoughts raced for a moment in a clockwork way. 'Let's see, is it- is it because of your father?'
Lily gasped for a short moment. Jackpot, James!
'I—well, no! Don't speak of me about him anymore! And- and if you really must have it, I have, well, I have exams. And I'm… still studying. I have to concentrate on my studies. And mum probably wouldn't approve of us, anyway,' Lily stammered rather uncertainly. 'Can I, um, go now?' James took a step back and Lily scurried off hurriedly.
If only she knew how wrong she was when she said her mother wouldn't approve of them…
~ * * ~
Lily, James and Petunia were only too glad to return to school. Christmas was as black as a blackhole and it was more of a funeral than a celebration. The three returned to their school right after Christmas, to not endure any more of the frustrating bleakness.
'Hey!' Spica said, hugging Lily affectionately. 'I'm so sorry about your mother, Lily, but she has to go sometime, and it's either sooner or later.' Lily smiled wanly at her.
'James! I miss you so much!' Sirius exclaimed when he saw James, arms loaded with his trunk and Owly's cage. 'I miss you so much dear boy, that I even pulled your Christmas crackers for you!' James's only reaction to that was to chase Sirius around the Hogsmeade station in mild anger, yelling hexes and hurling curses after the fleeing Black.
'We have two new kids in our year,' Spica said cheerfully in hope to change the subject. 'And both of them are Gryffindors!'
'Really?' James said, sitting on Sirius on the ground. 'Who are they?'
'Get off me, James Potter! Lily, make him get off! GET OFF, James!!!!!!' Sirius yelled, kicking James off.
'Oof!'
'Yes, that's better, thanks. Now, as we were saying…'
'I was saying,' Spica interrupted.
'Whatever. Remus Lupin is a school transfer,' Sirius said. 'Neat kid with a wicked cool attitude of his own. He has mood swings though, so we'd better watch out for him! Peter Pettigrew just started school because he was quarantined for the past two years. Home-schooled, I heard. Oh, Professor Dippet—'
'He resigned! Can you believe it???' Spica exclaimed.
'Um, yes. He's been rather woolly these days,' James noted. 'He really ought to kick back and relax, once and for all.'
'Who's the new headmaster?' Lily enquired.
'Professor Albus Dumbledore,' the twins chorused.
'What?! Then- then who's our Transfiguration teacher?' Lily exclaimed in horror. Professor Dumbledore had been the Gryffindors's Transfiguration teacher for a long time, and the Gryffindors are rather attached to him.
'Professor McGonagall's taking all the Transfiguration classes from now on,' Spica said. 'She's going to take all the points from her own house if she ever catches us messing up! Talk abut dreaded horror.'
They climbed onto the horseless carriage and Sirius pulled Lily's trunk up.
'It's nightmare,' Lily and James exclaimed in unison.
~ * * ~
'So James, have you reasoned to Lily, or had you taunted her so that she wouldn't listen to your reasons?' Sirius asked, rolling over on the bed. 'Oh, or maybe you had contented yourself with another girl?'
'I rather tried to reason with her,' James said, pulling his covers up. 'She said no.'
'Oh? Why? Hormone-infested-teenager-aka-James-P got his non-hormone-infested-side irritating him?'
James socked him with his spare pillow. 'Shut up! She just said—'
'WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP??????' Tippy Gleste yelled in frustration. 'You both are driving me off the walls!!!'
'You hadn't climbed the walls yet,' Peter Pettigrew yawned.
'I'd rather NOT do that, Pettigrew,' Tippy glared.
'Okay, you were saying?' Sirius said in a half whisper.
'Lily said that she don't want to love me!' James murmured.
'Want? I didn't know that you must want to love.'
'Okay, her case is different, happy? I don't know what to do, but just sit and wait patiently like a little good boy.' Sirius snickered. The idea of thinking James (or James thinking himself) as a good boy was disastrously funny.
'Don't know why you would bother,' Sirius said. 'Look at the sky! The night's young and so are we! We're young and we have the whole life laid out in front of us! Listen to me, James: give it up on Lily. Just give it up.'
'I can't!! Just can't!!! Sirius, I love her with all my heart!'
'Umhm. Till you die because of your lack of love, eh?' Sirius said sarcastically. 'Is that how long you'll wait? Till death tear you apart? Or is it until she starts dating a geek?'
'Forever.'
'You can't be serious!!!'
'I am!! As sure as I'm James Potter!'
'Well, you're not, then,' Sirius said bluntly. 'You're not the James Potter that I know. You're mad. Absolutely mad. Worst than I am.'
'Oh, great,' James said boringly.
'SHUT UP!!!' Tippy yelled again. 'I'm trying to sleep here!'
'Anyway, you're still as stubborn as ever,' Sirius sighed, shaking his head in resignation. 'Guess you're still James Potter, in a way. I just think that you've been watching too much of soap operas, movies and comics.'
~ * * ~
Spica turned in bed. She's bored. Absolutely bored. She felt like doing something evil, but what? She turned to Lily's bed. Her childhood friend was tossing and turning in bed uneasily, murmuring something about dead mice pies and bloody wheat grass. Spica's lips tugged to a grin. She has just the perfect idea!
'Lily,' Spica said, shaking her friend. 'Hey, get up. I want to talk to you.'
'Huh?' Lily mumbled sleepily, raising her head to see Spica squatting by her bed bunk, quite ready to tickle her if she hadn't opened her eyes yet. 'What do you want, Spice?'
'I want to talk to you! I said it already! Now get up!' she demanded.
'Oh. Okay. What about,' Lily asked, yawning.
'James. Love. And you,' Spica said, sitting herself on Lily's bed. Lily blinked at her blearily. Spica cleared her throat in a professional way. 'What do you think of James, Li?'
'A moron?' Lily suggested, 'insulter, idiot, dope, enemy? In which aspect?'
'As in, feelings.'
'Hate,' Lily replied without thinking. Spica gaped dramatically.
'How could you, Lily? He loves you so much! From what Sirius had last said, James in heels-over-heads in love with you!' Spica said.
'It's heads-over-heels,' Lily corrected.
'Whatever! What I'm trying to pinpoint here is that James loves you. A lot, a lot, a lot,' Spica said reasonably.
'Yeah right! He called me a tomboy,' Lily snapped.
'For only one, tiny, stupid, pathetic, six-lettered word?!'
'It's not some harmless, two syllables word! It's an insult!!! Insult to the GIRLS! He's been calling me that for so long! Would he – I repeat, WOULD HE – do that – or say that – to me if he loves me?' Lily glowered with rage.
'It's a new way of expressing love,' Spica suggested hopefully. 'I mean, it's unique!'
'Oh yes, in his dreams and yours, then. I hate him.'
'Aah… and why do you hate him? He's been nice to you, right? And really sweet, too. So why can't you love him?' Spica asked, beginning to see a little of something she don't know. Of course, she's really seeing nothing. Just couldn't really place where this conversation is leading to.
'He insulted me,' Lily said shortly.
'That's all!'
'He kissed me without my permission,' Lily snapped. 'And besides, I have much better things to do than worry about some flunky emotion like love.'
'Love is not a flunky, stupid emotion!' Spica said hotly. 'And if kisses need permission, it wouldn't be a pleasant surprise, then! But whatever. Love is still NOT a stupid, flunky, lousy emotion!!!!!'
'It is. And he made fun of me! Said a tomboy like me'll never get a boyfriend… that no one will ever like me…' Lily paused, realizing that she had given out too much of herself. 'I will NEVER forgive him!!!' she growled, gritting her teeth.
'Uhm, ya,' Spica said uncertainly, not sure of what to say. This conversation isn't really getting anywhere now. Just going in mere circles. And soon Spica won't be in the centre of it—she'll be running around it.
Welps. Sorry James, but it's all your fault.
'Dad,' Lily whispered. 'Mum… suffered because of him. Died… of depression. Huh. If love does that, I would rather die happily than die worrying.'
'Your dad's, um, dead, right?' Spica questioned timidly. Sensitive issue, sensitive issue… she reminded herself.
'All I can say is good riddance,' the redhead said monotonously.
Alright. Not sensitive AT ALL. Hope for you, Jimmy James. You'd better be a good boy (Spica smirked at the idea of James being a good boy) and show Lily that he's worth much more than dying for. Or whatever. Maybe give her happiness, blah. That's all Spica could place for anyway.
'And…' Lily continued. Spica leant forward. The other girl yawned. 'I'm tired now, Spica. I know you can't sleep, but I can't sing you to sleep or tell you kiddy stories. Maybe you can raid the kitchens or something…?'
'Oh, no! I feel like sleeping. Goodnight,' Spica greeted cheerfully, pulling out a notepad from her drawer to write some notes for James (or at least, what she could remember). 'And thank you,' she quipped quietly, scribbling furiously on her paper.
~ * * ~
'Alright, you got them all?' Spica said.
'Huh?' James said blankly. Spica sighed.
'Weren't you listening? I was telling you why Lily hate and reject you!'
'No.'
Spica, in exasperation (and out of breath), thrusted the scrawly note into his hands. James stared at it curiously, trying to read the untidy chicken scrawl.
'Take that,' Spica said. 'With the help of a magnifying glass, I reckon you can see the points I wrote. I got it out of Lily last month.'
James raised his eyebrows in amusement. 'Month?'
'Yes!! So what if Sirius and I are a month slow in sending and remembering notes?' Spica fumed irritably. The twins had always been a month slow in giving messages and dealing with important promises. No theory, but it comes to a conclusion that the two forget it (the message or whatever it really is) nearly instantly, and comes floating back in a month's time. This drew amusement for some time until people began realizing how annoying it is to send messages through them.
'Er, that's not really my point,' James said reassuringly. 'I just want to know why you're doing it. There's a catch somewhere, right…?'
'No!!! You're a friend of mine, and Sirius's best friend! Count yourself lucky, Potter.'
James stared at the notes. He couldn't read anything, much to his relief. He placed it back into Spica's hands.
'I prefer dealing my love life my own way, Spica. You can have it back. I want to be myself, not someone that Lily would rather,' James said honestly.
'Aw, how honourable,' Spica cooed. 'So you don't want it?'
'No.'
'Fine then,' she said, shrugging, a smile placed upon her lips. 'I'll just burn this one.' She tossed the paper into the blazing fire in the fireplace, in which the hungry red flames licked at it at once.
'I appreciate your help, all the same,' James said gratefully. 'Good to know someone supports me of this. You know your brother doesn't.'
'Sirius is just a bit stupid and less serious in this sort of thing. He's a dolt, really. But if you change your mind about trying to – er – court Lily, find me. I memorized everything she said to me,' Spica said with a triumphant smile on her face.
~*~
AN: er, yes. I'm sorry if I made anyone cry last chapter!!! Sure, Misty, you DID say that it's sign of good writing, but still…!!!! I made people cry! *sobs* I don't WANT to make anyone cry at all!!!!! Aaargh! Ahem. Um, anyway. I hope the last chapter hadn't damaged anyone's brain. And there's too much in this chapter to hardly try to specific it :P I'm really messy!
Let's see… it's amazing that no one noticed that Remus and Peter hadn't made their show yet! I mean, three whole chapters WITHOUT them…! And no one noticed them at all! What happened? Oh well, at least I noticed it in time _ I might get The Marauding Five out sometime soon, but after I complete this fic, which has just one LAST chapter!!!
Ek, I typed this out fast! I mean, it's only five days from the last time I updated this fic and here I am, fourth instalment finished! oh, and nothing else to say. For the time being anyway. You'll see that I have loads to say in the next chapter.
Um, review for me, please! Thank you very much, in advance! Happy new year!
