Disclaimer: I don't own any thing that J.K. Rowling wrote. Imagine that.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to post again. This chapter's kind of short, shorter than the last one anyway, but I wanted to have something to post. This will probably be it for a while, but keep checking, I will update again!
For all you non British people, according to my British—American dictionary, to chat up is the British expression for to come on to. I'm American (and darn proud of it!) but I wanted my stories to sound authentic so I hope that was the right expression.
Don't forget to REVIEW!!! Reviews are very important to me!
Chapter 5: The Letter That Changed My Life
I can't believe that Potter would do such a thing! The pranks we play on one another are one thing, but to say I chatted him up is something else entirely. What nerve. I hate him, and he knows that perfectly well. I would never develop a crush on him. Ever.
I tried to speak to Professor Flitwick today. I told him that I can't tutor Potter anymore. He didn't even hear me! He just looked at me and said, "Miss Evans, it is a wonderful thing that you are doing for Mr. Potter! I'm sure that this will improve your chances of becoming Head Girl."
What could I say to that? I want to be Head Girl very much. It's even worth tutoring Potter.
"Lily, come on!"
That was Megan calling me. She and I were supposed to finish our Divination homework while Claudia went to Quidditch practice. I told Claud to knock Potter off of his broom for me. I doubt she will, though. Between you and me, I think Claudia fancies Potter a bit. Isn't that disgusting?
"I'm coming, Meg!" I called back.
I walked down the stairs and over to the table Megan had reserved. She was pouring over some star charts and she was chewing on the eraser of her pencil. As I approached, Meg looked up and made a face.
"I hate this stuff!" she shouted. A few second years turned in her direction and she stuck her tongue out at them. I tried to cover a laugh. "Professor Trelawney is a proper old bat! This is absolute rubbish!"
"I would think that you'd like Divination, Megs. After all, it's abstract, it's creative. Like your art."
Megan snorted. "This is nothing like my art. Although I did make a nice pencil drawing among the stars."
I peeked at her star chart. She had drawn in some of the constellations. "I think according to this, you're going to fail Divination."
Megan laughed. "I'd say that's an accurate prediction. Come on, we have to finish our star charts. I think that I'm going to develop a cold. What about you?"
"I thought that we were going to try to do this assignment accurately this time. We always make up our Divination homework!"
"That's what makes it fun! What if you break a leg? Ooh, or you can lose a bet!"
I started laughing again. "Fine, let's just get this over with."
We worked on the assignment for another hour. Then as I threw my quill down, Megan asked me a surprising question.
"Are you tutoring James this afternoon?"
"Are you barmy? After what he said about me? Well, I certainly don't want to, but Professor Flitwick says I have to."
"He can't make you do anything you don't want to, you're a volunteer."
"Yeah, I suppose. I'm bored. Let's do something!" I complained.
"Want to visit Hagrid?"
"Sure, why not?"
So we walked down to Hagrid's hut. As we passed the Quidditch pitch we waved to Claudia, who was still practicing. Potter seemed very distracted. Then we made it to Hagrid's, who was very glad to see us. We've been friends with Hagrid for ages. He's another fan of Megan's work, in fact he has a piece of hers. She made him a sculpture of a dragon for his last birthday. It's so brilliant, the eyes flash orange, smoke wafts out of it's nostrils, and the wings flap up and down. Hagrid loves it because he's always wanted a dragon. Too bad that owning a dragon was outlawed.
Hagrid made us tea and treacle fudge. The tea was fine, but the fudge was simply dangerous. Hagrid has absolutely no idea how to cook, but he likes to think he does, so Megan and I try not to hurt his feelings.
"So how's school goin', yeh two?" Hagrid asked.
"Terrific as usual, Hagrid," I replied with a grin.
"She's lying, Hagrid," Megan said giving me a look. "Some of the classes are just impossible! Divination is a nightmare, and Potions, don't get me started on Potions."
"Ah, I'm sure that yer just, er, exaggeratin'. Professor Trelawney's an unusual teacher, but she's no nightmare. And all Gryffindor's have trouble in Potions. It's just how it is."
"I guess you're right," Megan said with a sigh.
"So where's Claudia?" Hagrid asked.
"Quidditch practice, where else? Patrice is making them practice more than ever," I said. Then I surreptitiously glanced at my watch and did a double take.
"Oh, bloody hell," I muttered and then realized that Megan and Hagrid were watching me. "Oops, sorry. I think I'm supposed to tutor Potter now."
Hagrid shook his head. "Yeh know, Lily, if ye'd just give James a chance, yeh might end up likin' him."
"I don't think so, Hagrid, but thanks anyway. Meg, I'll see you later."
Then I ran back up to the castle. I wanted to be Head Girl and if that meant that I had to make James Potter learn how to perform a proper Summoning Charm then so be it. But he was going to have to apologize to me first.
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Evans, I'm sorry. No, that won't work. I just can't apologize to her! She'd take it the wrong way, or the fellows would see me and I'd never live it down. I guess since she hates me anyway, it won't matter if I don't apologize.
"Potter! Your concentration is shot to hell! What's the matter with you?" Patrice called to me from her broomstick.
I forgot, we were still at practice. Evans' friend Claudia was giving me funny looks, but that was nothing compared to the looks the other players were giving me.
"Sorry, Patrice, my mind wasn't on the game."
Patrice shook her head. "Look, we've been working hard, and we're all tired, so I'll cut practice off here. Go back to the castle and get some rest, okay, Potter?"
I nodded. That's probably all I needed was some rest and an Exploding Bon Bon. I was about to lock my Nimbus in the shed when Sirius came running toward me.
"James! Professor Dumbledore needs to talk to you!"
"Did he say what it was about?" I asked curiously.
"No, just that he wanted to talk to you. You'd better hurry, it sounded important. Oh, and he said the password was Jelly Slugs."
"Thanks, Padfoot," I called as I ran back to the castle. I finally reached the gargoyle that stood in front of Dumbledore's office. "Jelly Slugs!"
I ran up the spiral staircase and pushed open the doors. Dumbledore was sitting behind his claw footed desk and before him, to my surprise, sat my younger sister Katherine.
"What's going on?" I asked slowly. "What's wrong?"
"James, please sit down. I'm afraid that I have some terrible news." Dumbledore paused, his blue eyes clearly troubled. "Perhaps this letter can explain it better than I can. There is one for each of you."
Once I recovered I managed to copy down the letter into this journal. It's message was more terrible then I could have ever imagined and it was in that moment that my life was turned upside down.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are sorry to report this to you in a letter. He Who Shall Not Be Named has committed another murder. Your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Potter, are dead. We are terribly sorry for your loss. Beginning this summer, you and your sister will be in the custody of another wizarding family. We wish you the best of luck and hope that you recover in due time.
Sincerely,
Lorena Davies
Assistant to the Minister of Magic
I was stunned. I was in complete shock. I was devastated. I looked up at Professor Dumbledore, searching for confirmation on this horrible news. He nodded briefly and Katherine burst into tears. I couldn't cry, I couldn't even say anything. I just put my arm around her and let her cry into my shoulder.
"I am so very sorry. I don't know what to say to make you feel better. Unfortunately, your parents were neither the first, nor will they be the last, to die at Voldemort's hands."
I found my voice and the first thing I said sounded so daft. "I hadn't realized it had gotten so bad. I don't understand, I thought he only killed muggles and muggleborns! My parents are, were, purebloods!"
Dumbledore looked me straight in the eyes. "You can be very proud of your parents, James and Katherine, they died fighting Lord Voldemort and saved many people's lives."
"That won't bring them back, will it?" I said shortly. My arm still around Kat's shoulders, we walked out of Dumbledore's office and back to the Gryffindor common room. Kat was sobbing, but I was still too stunned to cry. My parents were dead. I didn't understand, how could this happen?
I guided Kat over to one of the squashy armchairs and just let her cry. Sirius, Remus, and Peter came in a little while later.
"Prongs! What's wrong? Did those dirty Slytherins tease Kat again?" Sirius asked concernedly.
My sister is kind of the Marauders mascot. It's more like she has four older brothers instead of just one.
"No," I said shortly. "We just received a letter. Our parents have been murdered."
My three friends didn't know what to say, and I honestly can't blame them. I wasn't sure I wanted them to say anything. Remus spoke first, he's always been the most sensitive.
"Voldemort? Oh, James, we're so sorry."
"I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I'm going up to our dorm. If Patrice comes looking for me tell her to go away."
"Are you sure you don't want any company, James?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Kat, do you want to find your friends or—" I didn't finish the sentence, because a group of Kat's friends descended around her and took her away, still sobbing. I started to walk up the stairs when Evans burst into the common room. She looked around wildly and stopped when she saw me.
"There you are, Potter! Let's go, you're going to learn Charms, or so help me!"
I lost it. Looking back, I realize I shouldn't have said the things I said to anybody, even Evans. But I had just found out that I would never see my parents again, and I was on edge.
"Look Evans, Charms is the last thing I ever want to do and you are the last person I ever want to see! Stay the hell away from me! Just sod off!"
Then I ran up to my room, threw myself on the bed, and started to cry.
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I ran into the common room looking for Potter. He hadn't been anywhere else I looked, so I assumed he had to be here.
He was. I didn't say anything that was different then what I usually say, but he was completely offended and told me to sod off! I can't believe he was being such a prick. After all, I was still trying to help him, even after what he said about me, and he has the nerve to tell me to sod off? Then Remus enlightened me and I felt terrible.
Remus looked at me, almost with pity. "Lily, you don't know what James is going through right now! He just found out that his parents have been murdered."
I clapped a hand to my mouth. "Oh, no! What have I done?"
"It's not so bad, Evans," Sirius said, looking at me with alarm. "It's not like you're best friends. He's used to you being insensitive."
"You don't understand, Black!"
I ran up the stairs to the dormitories. I was going to go to my room, but then I changed my mind and pushed open the door to Potter's dormitory.
"Potter?" I said quietly.
"Evans, what part of 'sod off' don't you understand? I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk to anyone, but especially you."
I moved closer anyway. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
He shrugged. His back was still to me when he responded. "Does it matter? You don't have to be nice to me just because my parents died. We don't like each other, remember? If it matters to you so much, I forgive you."
"I'm still sorry. Your friends don't understand, do they?"
"What are you on about, Evans?"
"None of them have lost their parents, have they?" I asked gently.
"No. All I have left is Kat. I feel bad for her too. She needs her parents, she's so young."
"Your little sister, right?"
Potter nodded. "Yeah. You know, you're right, Evans. The Marauders can't understand. They haven't been through this. Wait, what is this? Why are you being nice to me? I don't need your pity."
I ignored him. I was about to tell my enemy something I had only told my best friends. But I figured he should know.
"Do you remember that week last year when I told you that if you even spoke to me, I would kill you?"
"Yes. Wait, are you saying that your parents—"
"Were murdered, yes, by Voldemort. My sister survived too. Except that I hate my sister, almost as much as I hate you, Potter."
That got a smile out of him. My heart fluttered again, but I pushed it away.
"Isn't ironic," Potter said quietly, "that my enemy is the only one who understands?"
"I know that we don't like each other, Potter, but I do understand."
Potter seemed to be thinking about something. Finally he turned and looked at me.
"I still don't like you, you know. But," he hesitated as though what he had to say was very painful, "thank you for understanding. And, Evans? I'm sorry about what I told Sirius. I was only joking."
"It doesn't matter now. Forget it." I started to walk out of the room.
"So, are you going to continue to tutor me?"
I turned back in surprise. "You still want me to tutor you? Don't you need time to, er, mourn."
"I will, but I also don't want to fail Charms."
"Okay. I'll tutor you. Goodbye, Potter."
I walked into my room. What had just happened? I was comforting my worst enemy! We had an actual nice moment! And for some reason, I can't quite explain it, when Potter told me he still didn't like me I felt, well, disappointed. It only lasted for a fleeting second, but it was still strange. I didn't like feelings like that, they confused me.
Oh, hell, it's still Potter, great smile or not. He's the same stuck up prat, with or without parents. The one I really felt sorry for now was his little sister.
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Evans actually made me feel a tiny bit better. Who could have imagined that? My worst enemy could help me when my best friends could not. But it didn't make us friends or anything. I still didn't like her. Right?
Professor Dumbledore excused me from all of my classes for two days, but for some reason I went to Divination anyway. I can't imagine why since I hate Professor Trelawney and she was sure to make up some ridiculous claim like she foresaw my parents' deaths. However, I felt like I needed a distraction. So I got off of my bed and went down into the common room. That's when I was ambushed.
Well, not exactly, it was only Sirius, but it felt like an ambush because he put a lot of enthusiasm into it. I was in no mood for games.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class, Padfoot?" I asked irritably. "I was just on my way to Divination.
"We're not going to Divination," Sirius said cheerfully. "Come on. Moony and Wormtail aren't coming so it's just the two of us. You know that Moony would never miss a class even if you were dying," Wrong word, "and Wormtail can't afford to miss a class."
Despite my depression I was mildly curious. I agreed to go with him, and he led me to the kitchens. Pretty much the last place I wanted to be, though I was hungry.
"The kitchens, Padfoot? I'm not some daft girl you're trying to impress. Why are we here?"
"Simple. You need to eat and I wanted to go somewhere where we could talk undisturbed. The House Elves won't pay any attention to us. Come on."
He reached out and grabbed the pear/handle and pulled the door open. We stepped inside and were set upon by the friendly House Elves. Sirius ordered us some pastries and pumpkin juice, before he got to the point.
"So, how are you?"
I looked at him scornfully. "That is quite possibly the stupidest question you have ever asked me."
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, but it had to be asked."
I shook my head. "You are very strange, Sirius."
"Talk to me, James, tell me what's wrong."
"I can't!" I said with frustration. "You just wouldn't understand."
Sirius looked like he didn't believe that. "I'm your best friend, Prongs. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
I thought about it. Then I smiled. "Lily Evans."
Sirius started laughing hysterically, frightening the House Elves so that they dropped a cake on the floor.
"Evans?" he gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. "That's very funny, Prongs! Now seriously, you better not have talked to Remus about this and not me, because that's not fair."
I smiled weakly. "No, I haven't talked to Remus. I haven't talked to anybody," I lied.
"Good. But speaking of Evans, do you fancy her?"
I spit out my pumpkin juice. "What?! Are you batty? I hate Lily Evans! Fancy her? Never!"
Sirius smiled knowingly. "Uh huh, sure."
I glared at him, but he just kept smiling. "So who's your crush of the day, Padfoot?"
For some reason, instead of replying promptly with the name of some Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw like he usually did, Sirius turned red and refused to look at me.
"Uh, no one today," he said quickly, but I wasn't convinced.
"Come on, Sirius, I tell you about all of the girls I like! This is big, I can tell. Who is it?"
But Sirius shut his mouth tight and shook his head. "I can't tell you. I–I–I just can't!"
I was baffled by my friend's strange behavior, but the discussion served to take my mind off of my parents. "It's not a Slytherin, is it?"
Sirius looked horrified. "Now you're the one who's lost it! That is a thoroughly revolting thought."
I was about to say something when the door to the kitchens creaked open again. We didn't have time to throw the cloak over ourselves and we were sitting on the floor surrounded by pastries and drinks. It wouldn't look good if the person who entered was a teacher.
Just our luck, it wasn't just a teacher, it was McGonagall. She came in and stopped short when she saw us sitting there. I saw all of the signs of her anger, and was preparing myself for the shouting that was sure to come.
"Potter, Black," she said when she managed to speak; she seemed like she was choking on her fury, "what in the name of Hogwarts do you think you're doing here? You're supposed to be in class!"
I winced. I had forgotten about Divination. I looked at Sirius and saw that he had frozen completely. Sirius isn't afraid of much, but most smart people are afraid of McGonagall when she's angry.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but Professor Dumbledore excused me from classes today and I missed lunch. I was hungry."
I saw her expression soften slightly; Professor McGonagall had known my mother at school, they had been friends.
"I can accept that, Mr. Potter, but that doesn't explain why Mr. Black is here."
Before Sirius could make some ridiculous excuse, I spoke. "It's just that I really needed a friend today, Professor. Sirius was just comforting me."
I thought I saw a tear come to Professor McGonagall's eye. She nodded. "Alright, I won't punish you this time. But go back to your common room and stay there today. I don't ever want to catch you in the kitchens again."
I nodded. I also noticed she only said she didn't want to catch us in the kitchens, not that we couldn't come back.
Sirius and I walked back to the common room and tried to play a game of chess. Remus is the best chess player in Gryffindor, but Sirius and I aren't too bad. My mind wasn't on the game. I was depressed and unhappy, but strangely enough my thoughts weren't on my parents or even my sister.
They were on Lily Evans.
A/N: Thank yous to those who have reviewed so far:
~*Crystal Lily*~: I'm sorry this wasn't soon, but I hope you enjoyed!
AngelsChains124: thanks so very much, I'm glad you like it
Katherine Bell: yes eventually they'll get together, but it can't happen too soon or I lose my story.
Obscurity Personified: thanks, I liked the egg trick too. I'm glad it's funny, but I can't promise it always will be
Priya-chan: I don't think James is a prat, he's just James. He's the way a lot of guys act at my school. Wait, maybe he is a prat!
Reine Dansante: wow, thanks for reviewing after every chapter, I'm glad that you're so into my story. I do try.
Okay, let's work on many more reviews for this chapter!
A/N: Sorry it took so long to post again. This chapter's kind of short, shorter than the last one anyway, but I wanted to have something to post. This will probably be it for a while, but keep checking, I will update again!
For all you non British people, according to my British—American dictionary, to chat up is the British expression for to come on to. I'm American (and darn proud of it!) but I wanted my stories to sound authentic so I hope that was the right expression.
Don't forget to REVIEW!!! Reviews are very important to me!
Chapter 5: The Letter That Changed My Life
I can't believe that Potter would do such a thing! The pranks we play on one another are one thing, but to say I chatted him up is something else entirely. What nerve. I hate him, and he knows that perfectly well. I would never develop a crush on him. Ever.
I tried to speak to Professor Flitwick today. I told him that I can't tutor Potter anymore. He didn't even hear me! He just looked at me and said, "Miss Evans, it is a wonderful thing that you are doing for Mr. Potter! I'm sure that this will improve your chances of becoming Head Girl."
What could I say to that? I want to be Head Girl very much. It's even worth tutoring Potter.
"Lily, come on!"
That was Megan calling me. She and I were supposed to finish our Divination homework while Claudia went to Quidditch practice. I told Claud to knock Potter off of his broom for me. I doubt she will, though. Between you and me, I think Claudia fancies Potter a bit. Isn't that disgusting?
"I'm coming, Meg!" I called back.
I walked down the stairs and over to the table Megan had reserved. She was pouring over some star charts and she was chewing on the eraser of her pencil. As I approached, Meg looked up and made a face.
"I hate this stuff!" she shouted. A few second years turned in her direction and she stuck her tongue out at them. I tried to cover a laugh. "Professor Trelawney is a proper old bat! This is absolute rubbish!"
"I would think that you'd like Divination, Megs. After all, it's abstract, it's creative. Like your art."
Megan snorted. "This is nothing like my art. Although I did make a nice pencil drawing among the stars."
I peeked at her star chart. She had drawn in some of the constellations. "I think according to this, you're going to fail Divination."
Megan laughed. "I'd say that's an accurate prediction. Come on, we have to finish our star charts. I think that I'm going to develop a cold. What about you?"
"I thought that we were going to try to do this assignment accurately this time. We always make up our Divination homework!"
"That's what makes it fun! What if you break a leg? Ooh, or you can lose a bet!"
I started laughing again. "Fine, let's just get this over with."
We worked on the assignment for another hour. Then as I threw my quill down, Megan asked me a surprising question.
"Are you tutoring James this afternoon?"
"Are you barmy? After what he said about me? Well, I certainly don't want to, but Professor Flitwick says I have to."
"He can't make you do anything you don't want to, you're a volunteer."
"Yeah, I suppose. I'm bored. Let's do something!" I complained.
"Want to visit Hagrid?"
"Sure, why not?"
So we walked down to Hagrid's hut. As we passed the Quidditch pitch we waved to Claudia, who was still practicing. Potter seemed very distracted. Then we made it to Hagrid's, who was very glad to see us. We've been friends with Hagrid for ages. He's another fan of Megan's work, in fact he has a piece of hers. She made him a sculpture of a dragon for his last birthday. It's so brilliant, the eyes flash orange, smoke wafts out of it's nostrils, and the wings flap up and down. Hagrid loves it because he's always wanted a dragon. Too bad that owning a dragon was outlawed.
Hagrid made us tea and treacle fudge. The tea was fine, but the fudge was simply dangerous. Hagrid has absolutely no idea how to cook, but he likes to think he does, so Megan and I try not to hurt his feelings.
"So how's school goin', yeh two?" Hagrid asked.
"Terrific as usual, Hagrid," I replied with a grin.
"She's lying, Hagrid," Megan said giving me a look. "Some of the classes are just impossible! Divination is a nightmare, and Potions, don't get me started on Potions."
"Ah, I'm sure that yer just, er, exaggeratin'. Professor Trelawney's an unusual teacher, but she's no nightmare. And all Gryffindor's have trouble in Potions. It's just how it is."
"I guess you're right," Megan said with a sigh.
"So where's Claudia?" Hagrid asked.
"Quidditch practice, where else? Patrice is making them practice more than ever," I said. Then I surreptitiously glanced at my watch and did a double take.
"Oh, bloody hell," I muttered and then realized that Megan and Hagrid were watching me. "Oops, sorry. I think I'm supposed to tutor Potter now."
Hagrid shook his head. "Yeh know, Lily, if ye'd just give James a chance, yeh might end up likin' him."
"I don't think so, Hagrid, but thanks anyway. Meg, I'll see you later."
Then I ran back up to the castle. I wanted to be Head Girl and if that meant that I had to make James Potter learn how to perform a proper Summoning Charm then so be it. But he was going to have to apologize to me first.
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Evans, I'm sorry. No, that won't work. I just can't apologize to her! She'd take it the wrong way, or the fellows would see me and I'd never live it down. I guess since she hates me anyway, it won't matter if I don't apologize.
"Potter! Your concentration is shot to hell! What's the matter with you?" Patrice called to me from her broomstick.
I forgot, we were still at practice. Evans' friend Claudia was giving me funny looks, but that was nothing compared to the looks the other players were giving me.
"Sorry, Patrice, my mind wasn't on the game."
Patrice shook her head. "Look, we've been working hard, and we're all tired, so I'll cut practice off here. Go back to the castle and get some rest, okay, Potter?"
I nodded. That's probably all I needed was some rest and an Exploding Bon Bon. I was about to lock my Nimbus in the shed when Sirius came running toward me.
"James! Professor Dumbledore needs to talk to you!"
"Did he say what it was about?" I asked curiously.
"No, just that he wanted to talk to you. You'd better hurry, it sounded important. Oh, and he said the password was Jelly Slugs."
"Thanks, Padfoot," I called as I ran back to the castle. I finally reached the gargoyle that stood in front of Dumbledore's office. "Jelly Slugs!"
I ran up the spiral staircase and pushed open the doors. Dumbledore was sitting behind his claw footed desk and before him, to my surprise, sat my younger sister Katherine.
"What's going on?" I asked slowly. "What's wrong?"
"James, please sit down. I'm afraid that I have some terrible news." Dumbledore paused, his blue eyes clearly troubled. "Perhaps this letter can explain it better than I can. There is one for each of you."
Once I recovered I managed to copy down the letter into this journal. It's message was more terrible then I could have ever imagined and it was in that moment that my life was turned upside down.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are sorry to report this to you in a letter. He Who Shall Not Be Named has committed another murder. Your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Potter, are dead. We are terribly sorry for your loss. Beginning this summer, you and your sister will be in the custody of another wizarding family. We wish you the best of luck and hope that you recover in due time.
Sincerely,
Lorena Davies
Assistant to the Minister of Magic
I was stunned. I was in complete shock. I was devastated. I looked up at Professor Dumbledore, searching for confirmation on this horrible news. He nodded briefly and Katherine burst into tears. I couldn't cry, I couldn't even say anything. I just put my arm around her and let her cry into my shoulder.
"I am so very sorry. I don't know what to say to make you feel better. Unfortunately, your parents were neither the first, nor will they be the last, to die at Voldemort's hands."
I found my voice and the first thing I said sounded so daft. "I hadn't realized it had gotten so bad. I don't understand, I thought he only killed muggles and muggleborns! My parents are, were, purebloods!"
Dumbledore looked me straight in the eyes. "You can be very proud of your parents, James and Katherine, they died fighting Lord Voldemort and saved many people's lives."
"That won't bring them back, will it?" I said shortly. My arm still around Kat's shoulders, we walked out of Dumbledore's office and back to the Gryffindor common room. Kat was sobbing, but I was still too stunned to cry. My parents were dead. I didn't understand, how could this happen?
I guided Kat over to one of the squashy armchairs and just let her cry. Sirius, Remus, and Peter came in a little while later.
"Prongs! What's wrong? Did those dirty Slytherins tease Kat again?" Sirius asked concernedly.
My sister is kind of the Marauders mascot. It's more like she has four older brothers instead of just one.
"No," I said shortly. "We just received a letter. Our parents have been murdered."
My three friends didn't know what to say, and I honestly can't blame them. I wasn't sure I wanted them to say anything. Remus spoke first, he's always been the most sensitive.
"Voldemort? Oh, James, we're so sorry."
"I don't want to talk to anyone right now. I'm going up to our dorm. If Patrice comes looking for me tell her to go away."
"Are you sure you don't want any company, James?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Kat, do you want to find your friends or—" I didn't finish the sentence, because a group of Kat's friends descended around her and took her away, still sobbing. I started to walk up the stairs when Evans burst into the common room. She looked around wildly and stopped when she saw me.
"There you are, Potter! Let's go, you're going to learn Charms, or so help me!"
I lost it. Looking back, I realize I shouldn't have said the things I said to anybody, even Evans. But I had just found out that I would never see my parents again, and I was on edge.
"Look Evans, Charms is the last thing I ever want to do and you are the last person I ever want to see! Stay the hell away from me! Just sod off!"
Then I ran up to my room, threw myself on the bed, and started to cry.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I ran into the common room looking for Potter. He hadn't been anywhere else I looked, so I assumed he had to be here.
He was. I didn't say anything that was different then what I usually say, but he was completely offended and told me to sod off! I can't believe he was being such a prick. After all, I was still trying to help him, even after what he said about me, and he has the nerve to tell me to sod off? Then Remus enlightened me and I felt terrible.
Remus looked at me, almost with pity. "Lily, you don't know what James is going through right now! He just found out that his parents have been murdered."
I clapped a hand to my mouth. "Oh, no! What have I done?"
"It's not so bad, Evans," Sirius said, looking at me with alarm. "It's not like you're best friends. He's used to you being insensitive."
"You don't understand, Black!"
I ran up the stairs to the dormitories. I was going to go to my room, but then I changed my mind and pushed open the door to Potter's dormitory.
"Potter?" I said quietly.
"Evans, what part of 'sod off' don't you understand? I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to talk to anyone, but especially you."
I moved closer anyway. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
He shrugged. His back was still to me when he responded. "Does it matter? You don't have to be nice to me just because my parents died. We don't like each other, remember? If it matters to you so much, I forgive you."
"I'm still sorry. Your friends don't understand, do they?"
"What are you on about, Evans?"
"None of them have lost their parents, have they?" I asked gently.
"No. All I have left is Kat. I feel bad for her too. She needs her parents, she's so young."
"Your little sister, right?"
Potter nodded. "Yeah. You know, you're right, Evans. The Marauders can't understand. They haven't been through this. Wait, what is this? Why are you being nice to me? I don't need your pity."
I ignored him. I was about to tell my enemy something I had only told my best friends. But I figured he should know.
"Do you remember that week last year when I told you that if you even spoke to me, I would kill you?"
"Yes. Wait, are you saying that your parents—"
"Were murdered, yes, by Voldemort. My sister survived too. Except that I hate my sister, almost as much as I hate you, Potter."
That got a smile out of him. My heart fluttered again, but I pushed it away.
"Isn't ironic," Potter said quietly, "that my enemy is the only one who understands?"
"I know that we don't like each other, Potter, but I do understand."
Potter seemed to be thinking about something. Finally he turned and looked at me.
"I still don't like you, you know. But," he hesitated as though what he had to say was very painful, "thank you for understanding. And, Evans? I'm sorry about what I told Sirius. I was only joking."
"It doesn't matter now. Forget it." I started to walk out of the room.
"So, are you going to continue to tutor me?"
I turned back in surprise. "You still want me to tutor you? Don't you need time to, er, mourn."
"I will, but I also don't want to fail Charms."
"Okay. I'll tutor you. Goodbye, Potter."
I walked into my room. What had just happened? I was comforting my worst enemy! We had an actual nice moment! And for some reason, I can't quite explain it, when Potter told me he still didn't like me I felt, well, disappointed. It only lasted for a fleeting second, but it was still strange. I didn't like feelings like that, they confused me.
Oh, hell, it's still Potter, great smile or not. He's the same stuck up prat, with or without parents. The one I really felt sorry for now was his little sister.
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Evans actually made me feel a tiny bit better. Who could have imagined that? My worst enemy could help me when my best friends could not. But it didn't make us friends or anything. I still didn't like her. Right?
Professor Dumbledore excused me from all of my classes for two days, but for some reason I went to Divination anyway. I can't imagine why since I hate Professor Trelawney and she was sure to make up some ridiculous claim like she foresaw my parents' deaths. However, I felt like I needed a distraction. So I got off of my bed and went down into the common room. That's when I was ambushed.
Well, not exactly, it was only Sirius, but it felt like an ambush because he put a lot of enthusiasm into it. I was in no mood for games.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class, Padfoot?" I asked irritably. "I was just on my way to Divination.
"We're not going to Divination," Sirius said cheerfully. "Come on. Moony and Wormtail aren't coming so it's just the two of us. You know that Moony would never miss a class even if you were dying," Wrong word, "and Wormtail can't afford to miss a class."
Despite my depression I was mildly curious. I agreed to go with him, and he led me to the kitchens. Pretty much the last place I wanted to be, though I was hungry.
"The kitchens, Padfoot? I'm not some daft girl you're trying to impress. Why are we here?"
"Simple. You need to eat and I wanted to go somewhere where we could talk undisturbed. The House Elves won't pay any attention to us. Come on."
He reached out and grabbed the pear/handle and pulled the door open. We stepped inside and were set upon by the friendly House Elves. Sirius ordered us some pastries and pumpkin juice, before he got to the point.
"So, how are you?"
I looked at him scornfully. "That is quite possibly the stupidest question you have ever asked me."
Sirius shrugged. "Yeah, but it had to be asked."
I shook my head. "You are very strange, Sirius."
"Talk to me, James, tell me what's wrong."
"I can't!" I said with frustration. "You just wouldn't understand."
Sirius looked like he didn't believe that. "I'm your best friend, Prongs. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
I thought about it. Then I smiled. "Lily Evans."
Sirius started laughing hysterically, frightening the House Elves so that they dropped a cake on the floor.
"Evans?" he gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. "That's very funny, Prongs! Now seriously, you better not have talked to Remus about this and not me, because that's not fair."
I smiled weakly. "No, I haven't talked to Remus. I haven't talked to anybody," I lied.
"Good. But speaking of Evans, do you fancy her?"
I spit out my pumpkin juice. "What?! Are you batty? I hate Lily Evans! Fancy her? Never!"
Sirius smiled knowingly. "Uh huh, sure."
I glared at him, but he just kept smiling. "So who's your crush of the day, Padfoot?"
For some reason, instead of replying promptly with the name of some Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw like he usually did, Sirius turned red and refused to look at me.
"Uh, no one today," he said quickly, but I wasn't convinced.
"Come on, Sirius, I tell you about all of the girls I like! This is big, I can tell. Who is it?"
But Sirius shut his mouth tight and shook his head. "I can't tell you. I–I–I just can't!"
I was baffled by my friend's strange behavior, but the discussion served to take my mind off of my parents. "It's not a Slytherin, is it?"
Sirius looked horrified. "Now you're the one who's lost it! That is a thoroughly revolting thought."
I was about to say something when the door to the kitchens creaked open again. We didn't have time to throw the cloak over ourselves and we were sitting on the floor surrounded by pastries and drinks. It wouldn't look good if the person who entered was a teacher.
Just our luck, it wasn't just a teacher, it was McGonagall. She came in and stopped short when she saw us sitting there. I saw all of the signs of her anger, and was preparing myself for the shouting that was sure to come.
"Potter, Black," she said when she managed to speak; she seemed like she was choking on her fury, "what in the name of Hogwarts do you think you're doing here? You're supposed to be in class!"
I winced. I had forgotten about Divination. I looked at Sirius and saw that he had frozen completely. Sirius isn't afraid of much, but most smart people are afraid of McGonagall when she's angry.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but Professor Dumbledore excused me from classes today and I missed lunch. I was hungry."
I saw her expression soften slightly; Professor McGonagall had known my mother at school, they had been friends.
"I can accept that, Mr. Potter, but that doesn't explain why Mr. Black is here."
Before Sirius could make some ridiculous excuse, I spoke. "It's just that I really needed a friend today, Professor. Sirius was just comforting me."
I thought I saw a tear come to Professor McGonagall's eye. She nodded. "Alright, I won't punish you this time. But go back to your common room and stay there today. I don't ever want to catch you in the kitchens again."
I nodded. I also noticed she only said she didn't want to catch us in the kitchens, not that we couldn't come back.
Sirius and I walked back to the common room and tried to play a game of chess. Remus is the best chess player in Gryffindor, but Sirius and I aren't too bad. My mind wasn't on the game. I was depressed and unhappy, but strangely enough my thoughts weren't on my parents or even my sister.
They were on Lily Evans.
A/N: Thank yous to those who have reviewed so far:
~*Crystal Lily*~: I'm sorry this wasn't soon, but I hope you enjoyed!
AngelsChains124: thanks so very much, I'm glad you like it
Katherine Bell: yes eventually they'll get together, but it can't happen too soon or I lose my story.
Obscurity Personified: thanks, I liked the egg trick too. I'm glad it's funny, but I can't promise it always will be
Priya-chan: I don't think James is a prat, he's just James. He's the way a lot of guys act at my school. Wait, maybe he is a prat!
Reine Dansante: wow, thanks for reviewing after every chapter, I'm glad that you're so into my story. I do try.
Okay, let's work on many more reviews for this chapter!
