A/N: otayz...here's chapter four...there's probably only one or two chapters to go, so enjoy this while it lasts!
Disclaimer: I own whatever I own...which is not very much...and, I do *not* own the Celine Dion song, A New Day Has Come...
Chapter Four:
Very Bad News
"Damn, that Lily!" Bella muttered, "She's gonna get herself hurt! She's not supposed to be apparating!" She then disapparated, leaving a stunned, not to mention hurt James, and a completely shocked Sirius
"Ok, so, let me get this strait, you kissed her, she kissed you back for a few seconds, you told her you loved her, and she said she hated you?!" Sirius said, sitting in the living room with James, Remus and Peter.
"Yes, that's what I said, wasn't it?" James said, annoyed and sad, as he fell back into the sofa (A/N: you know how like if you sit on the edge of the sofa, and then you fall back into it? Dat's what I mean...tehehe...im always doing dat...)
"She doesn't mean it," Remus said, logically, "She doesn't hate you."
"Well, then, why'd she say it?" James snapped
"Chill, Prongs, I didn't say it, Lily did." Remus said, "I dunno why she said it, it's probably girl code, or something like that..."
"Girl code?"
"Yup, girls are always saying one thing, and meaning another. And, no matter how hard guys try, they'll never understand it." Remus said
"Well, what do I do?"
"I don't see what you're so pissed about," Sirius said, "If it really is this girl code, then it'll blow over in a few days, and you'll be going out by next week,"
"You just don't understand!" James snapped fiercely, and stomped out of the room.
Sirius raised his eyerows, "Honestly, Prongsie is the prime example of why it is a good thing that boys don't PMS. 'You don't understand?', honestly!" Sirius laughed
"LILY! Talk! You've been sobbing into your pillow for the past hour! What's wrong? If you don't love James, then what're you sad about?" Bella asked, concernedly
"That's what I'm sad about. I do love him. And it's all his bloody fault! Well, at least he hates me now,"
"Lily! What the hell are you talking about? You love him, so you want him to hate you?"
"Yes..." Lily said.
"Why the hell d'you want that?"
Lily was trembling, "Danny..."
"What? Who's Danny?"
"I've never told you about Danny..."
"Well, now might be a nice time to tell me," Bella said sarcastically
"Danny was my boyfriend...in Hogwarts...he was a muggle, but we always wrote each other when we were away, and I loved him..."
"Yeah, and?"
"H-he died..." Lily's eyes were pouring with tears, "He died from drunk driving...In 5th year...He shouldn't have been driving at all...let alone drinking...but, it was just that once...he didn't know anything would happen..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Lily..." Bella said, sympathetically
"A-and at the funeral..." Lily continued, "I found out he'd been cheating on me...and that he had been going out with a blonde muggle girl for the past six months,"
"Well, then, Lily, he was a jerk." Bella said logically, "Why does he have anything to do with James?"
"I swore I'd never love another guy again." Lily cried, "And look at me now! I hate James Potter!"
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do! I need to! I need to hate him! I never want to see him ever again!" Lily cried into her pillow
"Lily," Bella said softly, "Things happen. But, everything happens for a reason. There's no point in trying to change fate, and obviously you and James were destined to be together."
"No, I can't let it happen..." Lily said, "I can't," She repeated, and fell deeply asleep.
Lily woke up that morning, fatigued, and frustrated. For a blissful few seconds, she hadn't remembered the events of the day before, and then it all came back. She groaned. It was all so terrible. She hadn't planned for this.
Lily began to walk to work. She knew she had to obey the doctor, so, even though she had gone against the doctoral decree of 'no apparating' the day before, she still needed to obey it now, seeing as Bella would freak if she found out Lily had apparated again. She thought she had seen some people had tilted their heads at her, and whispered things below their voices. She thought this was odd, but she told herself that she was simply being paranoid.
When Lily walked into her office, she was surprised to see that Rita Skeeter was sitting in a seat, smiling in a sickeningly sweet way. "Morning, Lily, dear" She said, continuing to smile
"Err...good morning, Rita" Lily said uncomfortably, this was very odd. Usually, Rita did not take the time to say much more than, 'Miss Evans, would you please be a dear get me some coffee?' or, 'Please hang up my coat'.
Rita was trying so hard to be nice that it wasn't even funny. "Lily, dear, surely you've seen this morning's paper?"
"Well, actually, no, Rita, I haven't gotten a chance to look at it yet, why?" Lily was getting nervous. Had she made a mistake on her front cover article?
"Oh, well, I suppose Mrs. Rimly hasn't told you." Lily hanging on Rita's every word. What hadn't Mrs. Rimly told her? Was she being fired? "Well, Lily, you see, you're cover story's been moved down."
"WHAT?!" Lily shrieked, "But...I worked so hard on it! I spent an entire day with that godforsaken idiot James Potter!"
"Don't worry, dear, it's still on the 2nd page. No need to fret much. Anyways, it's funny you'd mention James Potter..." Lily's stared blankly at Rita, what was going on? How could James Potter have anything at all to do with this? She'd had enough James Potter talk for one century! "Well, I guess you should see for youself..."
Rita handed Lily a newspaper. After a second, Lily shrieked, "What the hell is this?" Lily saw none other than HERSELF, and James on the front cover of the newspaper. Lily read the article;
Last night, at a certain party, of sorts, James Potter himself, the famous ex-quiddich player, and one of the finalists for this year's Witch Weekly's "Hottie of the Year" awards, Lily Evans, a journalist for this very newspaper completely broke his poor innocent heart. Lily, a heartless, conceited brat, whom should consider herself lucky to have been handed the heart of the wizard whom we all want on a silver platter, completely turned him down when he kissed her, and declared his love for her, in front of an entire crowd. It is rumored that...
Lily had read enough. Her face was red with fury and embarrassment. "This? This replaced my auror article? This isn't news! This is crap!"
"I understand how you're jealous, Lily, but don't feel bad, not everyone has the amazing writing talents that I do." Lily then realized the article had been written by none other than Rita herself...
"JEALOUS? You think I'm jealous? I am NOT jealous! I am infuriated!" Lily shrieked
"Well, I came to ask you if I could interview you-"
"NO! GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" Lily screamed.
Lily continued to read the article, which, she was shocked to see, contained a quote from none other than James himself, and Sirius also. To think, she thought she knew them, but she was wrong. Sirius had said, 'Lily is simply an impertinent brat, who does not deserve my best friend', and James, to Lily's complete sorrow, had said, 'I don't know why I had feelings for Lily in the first place, she's not worth my time'. Lily dabbed her crying eyes. "What happened to the newspaper business? It's all junk these days." Lily muttered, and made up her mind, she picked up her things, and walked out of her office.
"Maria, I'm sorry, I'm leaving. I quit. Tell Mrs. Rimly that I'm sorry, but no. I've had enough." Lily said to the secretary.
"But-but miss! You were our best writer! No one else could do articles like you! You can't leave!"
"Sorry, but things have changed. I don't belong here. Newspaper these days is all scandals, and gossip. Nothing good. Goodbye, Maria! Drop me a call sometime!" At that, Lily smiled, and walked out of the building.
Maria tried to look cheerful, and smile, but it was terrible. Lily not only was The Daily Prophet's best writer, but their nicest. Why, the way the other writers treated her, you'd think she was a slave, not a secretary. Lily would often talk to her about random things, just for the sake of talking on and on as she worked. None of the other writers had given her the time of day.
Lily flagged a taxi, and jumped in. The city was bustling, and Lily had no idea where to go, so she decided to go to the one place she knew she could find someone she could trust; Bella's office. "104 Newberry Street, please," (A/N: I don't think that's actually a street, but oh well.), Lily said.
In the taxi a muggle song was playing on the radio. (A/N: I know, this song didn't exist back then, but, oh well, I needed 2 put it in...plus, there's no real set time for HP, no matter what people say...), Lily began to notice the lyrics...
I was waiting for so long,
For a miracle to come
And everyone told me to be strong,
Hold on and don't shed a tear
Through the darkness and good
times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I'd had it all
But I was waiting for you
Hush now I see a light in the sky
Oh it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my tears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has come
When it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now's there's joy
Where there was weakness I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy
Lily sighed, it was all too ironic. But, that was a song. Her life was real, and not one bit so perfect.
"Upset, Miss?" The driver commented, noticing the frown plastered on Lily's face.
"Oh, yes." Lily said, "It's just all too much." Lily began to pour out her story, everything. She told him things she'd never told anyone in her life.
"Well, Miss, this is your stop, but don't forget this, Miss, things are always perfect if you look at them in perspective." The taxi driver said. Lily smiled although she didn't quite understand, and hopped out of the taxi, "Good day, Miss," The driver saluted her.
"LILY!" Bella shouted, "Oh, my gosh! Oh, god! Lily, I'm so sorry! I guess you've seen the paper..."
"Yeah, I have."
"Rita Skeeter's just a pathetic idiot. And so are Sirius and James. I dumped Sirius this morning. I can't believe he had the nerve to say that..."
"I'm sorry, Bella...I didn't mean to ruin your relationship..."
"No, Lily! Don't blame yourself! He's a jerk, it would've ended on it's own." Bella saw the look on Lily's face, "You still love him, don't you?"
"Yes, and I can't help it. But, at least I know now that he's a jerk...or he's hurt really bad...which just makes me feel worse."
"It'll blow over." Bella reassured her, "You'll never have to think about James ever again.
"She dumped me." Sirius said, walking into James' office. "She dumped me."
"Bella? Why?"
"I have no idea...she said something about me being an insensitive jerk, and how it's all in the paper..."
"Weird..." James said, "Let's go borrow a spare copy of the paper from Patrick..."
As they walked down the hall, a few people approached James. "Hey, James. I had no idea, man. I'm really sorry." Was along the lines of what they all said. James was completely flabbergasted. What was going on?
"Hey, Pat," Sirius said to his boss, "Got a spare copy of The Daily Prophet?"
"Yeah, right here...wow...James, I'm really sorry. I had no idea. You can always come to me and talk about it, if you want." Said Mr. Beanmore, in a way very unlike himself,
"WHAT THE HELL IS EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT?!" James yelled, and a few heads turned, "Err...sorry, but, what're you talking about?"
"This." Patrick opened to the front cover of the paper, "I never would've thought. And, to think, she always seemed so nice...she even wrote a great article on us...It was on the 2nd page, though, it was supposed to be on the first..." Patrick said, although James and Sirius were preoccupied by the paper, their faces getting redder with fury by the second.
"This is insane! I didn't say anything to Rita about any of this! Sirius?!"
"I didn't talk to that little rat! I swear! Why is this even on the front page? This isn't news!"
"I'm going to give that girl a piece of my mind..." James said, furiously, and ran out of the room, followed by Sirius, leaving behind their very dazed and confused boss.
"So, you quit? But, you love your job!" Bella said
"No, I don't. The news is too terrible, and graphic. Plus, with that bitch writing for it, it's practically a gossip column, spilling out people's personal lives."
"You're probably right. What're you going to do to find work?"
"Well, actually, Dumbledore owled me a few weeks ago to see if I'd like to be the Charms teacher next year...Professor Korlem is retiring. I've always loved charms, and I figure it'll be a good opportunity."
"But...Lily! Hogwarts is so far! You'll have to move in there! What would I do without my best friend for an entire year?"
Lily laughed, "You'll survive, plus, it's not until September, we have all summer to be room mates, and I'll owl you every day from Hogwarts, and visit all the time. You'll be sick of me by the time next summer comes!"
Bella giggled, "I already am sick of you, but you're my best friend! I can't imagine a year without you! I'll be so lonely in that apartment all alone!"
"Well, I'll miss you too! Terribly! But, I need to get away..." Lily said, sadly, "I need to start over. No James Potter. No Sirius Black. And, especially, No Rita Skeeter."
"It's your decision, but I'll miss you like hell!"
"May I help you?" Maria said, a bit coldly when she saw James Potter and Sirius Black walk through the office doors. It was their fault, and Rita's fault, that Lily had not only been publicly humiliated. Maria knew that Lily would never do anything that terrible, and if she had refused James Potter, the only reason could be that he was a jerk.
"May we speak to Mrs. Rimly?" James said, remembering Lily's boss's name.
"She's on vacation, I just received a call from her." Why did they want to talk to Mrs. Rimly? Were they going to cause more trouble than they already had?
"Well, then, what about Lily Evans?" Sirius said, ignoring James' expression that clearly stated he did not want to talk to Lily at the moment.
Maria then blew her top. What right did they have to talk to Lily after everything? The nerve of them! "She quit." And before she could stop herself, she added, "Thanks to you,"
"Listen, miss, I don't know who you think we are, but we'd never say those things about Lily. She's...Lily...She's everything. We need to clear this whole thing up." James said, clearly upset.
"Oh." Maria said, shocked, "I apologize, then, but, as I said, Lily quit." She smiled, an idea occurred to her, "Miss Skeeter's office is down the corner, if you'd like to speak to her, I suggest you wait a few minutes, though, she's down getting coffee at the moment, but you can wait in here." Her smile widened, and she added, "I'm going to step out for a few minutes, if you don't mind. Make yourselves comfortable."
As Maria disapparated, James and Sirius gave each other suspicious glances. "Is it just me, or is that woman up to something?" James said, and Sirius nodded. Of all people, the Marauders knew when someone was up to something.
Lily was shocked to see Maria apparate into her apartment. Maria visited often, since she was quite a close friend of Lily's, but Maria worked almost as much as Lily. "Maria! Hi!"
"Hi there, Lily!" Maria had on a wide smile, "Well, I know you've quit and all, but Mrs. Rimly wanted you to go and speak to her. It's urgent. Do you think you could apparate over there?"
"Sure, Maria" Lily then apparated into the office, followed by Maria
"She's a bit preoccupied in Miss Skeeter's office right now, Lily, but she'll come out in a few minutes, just sit down in that chair outside of Rita's office." Maria was trying hard not to laugh. It was too perfect.
Lily seated herself in the chair outside of Rita's office. She was silent, waiting for a few minutes, when she heard two familiar, and utterly loathed, voices...
"This is a scandal! A complete and total mistake! What is this load of shit doing on the front page?!" James yelled
"It is news. I have a duty to the public to let them see it. I'm sorry if it makes you look bad, but, as it is, she already hates you anyways, so what's the difference?"
"THE DIFFERENCE," James screamed, "Is that now she hates me for something I didn't even say!"
"My thoughts exactly," Sirius said angrily.
"It is news. In every truth, there's millions of lies." Rita said
"Well, there shouldn't be! If there's anything Lily's taught me, and there is. She's taught me everything. She is everything. I love her more than anything else in the world, and-"
"James! The point?" Sirius said
"Oh, yeah, the point is, you can't quote things people didn't say, you can't quote things at all, without permission. Why did your boss even allow you to do that?"
Rita laughed, "Don't be stupid, she didn't. She adores precious little Lily, so I figured now that she's away on vacation, I'd get rid of Lily. And it worked."
"You bitch! You'll pay for hurting Lily like this. You will." James said vengefully.
Lily heard it all. She then ran out of the office, and apparated home. "BELLA! BELLA! Bella!!!" She screamed, "You'll never believe this!"
"What is it, Lil?" Bella asked
"Oh, I love James Potter!" She danced around the room, "I love him, I love him, I love him!"
"Wait, Lily! Slow down! What happened? Last time I checked, James was the scum of the earth."
"It's all changed now. He didn't say that stuff! Neither did Sirius! I heard it all! It was all a scandal!"
"YAY!" Bella squealed, "Oh, my god! I can't believe I said that horrible stuff to Sirius! I have to go say sorry!"
"I'll come with you!" Lily squealed, jumping up and down
"Ok, but we'll walk, I know it's raining, but you can't apparate, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Lily said dismally, "Oh, well! It'll be all the more romantic arriving soaking wet!"
Were these words coming from Lily's mouth? Lily Evans? Her best friend was saying this stuff? Bella was awestruck, but happy. Lily would finally be happy. Things would be perfect.
James and Sirius apparated home, angry, and sad. There'd be no way to get Lily or Bella back now. It was all over. They were shocked to appear in their house and see a visitor already inside.
Lily? Bella? No, it was none other than Victoria Hemlocks the 5th.
"Jamesie! Darling, it's been too long!"
"It was yesterday..." James muttered
"Oh, Jamesie! I saw the paper, and I'm so sorry! It's terrible, but don't be worried. I've been thinking, and I've realized that I never really loved Roger, Jamesie! I still love you!"
"You do?" James asked
"Yes, I do, Jamesie!" Victoria wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him passionately. If he had any common sense at all, he would've pulled away, but, truth be told, he still, by some miracle, had feelings for Victoria, and it all happened so fast. So, James figured what the heck? Everything was already terrible enough. He'd never get Lily. So, why not go along with it? It was the mistake of a lifetime...
(A/N: Well, you didn't think I'd end it THAT soon, did you?)
It all happened so quickly. Soaking wet, Lily and Bella finally arrived at the apartment complex. They rushed into the door, expecting to see two sad-looking boys. Instead what she saw was horrendous.
James pulled away from Victoria, five seconds too late, "Lily! It's not what you-"
"I don't need explanations," Lily said, tears forming in her eyes. "I remember now. You've told every girl in England that you love her. I was stupid to think that maybe you'd changed. I was stupid to think that maybe this time it meant something." Lily ran out of the room crying.
A/N: tehehe...i'm just too evil...*gags* I can't believe James actually did something that moronic, can you? Well, hope ya liked it!
Thank-Yous:
Quinn: lolz! Tehehe...I can never remember what I write in reviews either...*nodz* anywayz, thanks!
Holiday Special: tehehe...i know, Lily was terrible...*nodz* but, now it's James' turn to be terrible (or at least moronic), and he did quite a good job of it, if you ask me...lol...
Jade: lolz, you don't like cliffys? Uh oh...you're prolly very maddened right now, then (cuz of my latest cliffy)...lol...*ducks tomatoes*
Martini Addict: tehehe...you don't like the name Prune? I happen to love that name! lolz, j/p...i think it's icky...lol...thanks!
Peppermint: tehehe...i absolutely ADORE dat phrase...*nodz* fabulously fabulous! YAY! Btw, I'm so glad you check it that often! Thanks a billion!
lala: adoreable? YAY! I have an adoreable fic! *dances* tehehe...thanks!
Ari: oopsies...i wrote dollars? Heh...sorry! but, thanks for the review!
Milkyweed: YAY! You think it's good! *dances* thanks!
Lady Wildcat: LOL! A mentally retarded domkey...tehehe! dat's funny! You don't like cliffys either? Tehehe...i happen to love dem...*nodz* well, thanks!
Libertygrl413: tehehe...another cliffy-hater...thanks!
Suze: wow...you hate cliffs too? Tehehe...there's gonna be a lot of upset people after reading this chapter...hehe...
Felicity Aulia Evans: YAY! I continued! Lolz...thanks!
Kirbee: hehe...i know, dontcha just loveee Sirius? And *sob* poor James...well, thanks!
Taty-Chelle: yup...James said the *very* wrong thing, but Lily said a wronger thing...*nodz* well, thank you!
Queen of the Queer: it's great? Really?! Thanks so much!
Kasy: YAY! I did write more! Thanks for the review!
Harryett: tehehe...so many people actually think it's good! I can't believe it! You're all insane! Lolz...well, thanks!
Thistle Meg: yesh! Wacking Lily on the head with a bludger would be a very good idea...*nodz* hehe...
MaNiC PaNiC: tehehe...an avocado green stool? Neato! lol...tehehe...don't break through and get me, 'cause then I won't be able to write more of my "felicitous" (ha! Yeah right, tehehe...did you know I had to look that up in the dictionary? lol! Felicitous is something I would *not* describe my fics as...) fics...and, anywayz, admit it! You're fics are brilliant! You definitely are *not* less talented...
Sarcasm Queen: YAY! Glad you like it! Thanks!
Ooo...20 reviews for chapter 3...*is in shock* thanks soooo much!!!