Title: Understand Me (5/?)

Author: Eleret

Author E-mail:Eleret@aol.com

Category: Romance/Angst

Rating: PG-13 (For some kissing, depressing stuff, and adult themes)

Spoilers: PoA GoF (maybe) (Knowledge in all of the books is recommended but not necessary.)

Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter have been on the same Quiditch team for a while, yet they know almost nothing about each other. Narcissa Claude and Sirius Black are completely different and they don't even know each other yet. Remus Lupin can't figure Nancy Bode out. Sybil Trelawney and Peter Petigrew form a club for unappreciated people. And no matter how much they deny it, what all of these eight teens want most is someone to understand them. N/S, L/J, R/OC (not a Mary Sue), and P/Sybil.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. I own only Nancy Bode's first name and Narcissa Claude's last name.

A/N: To all who reviewed: Thank you so much! Personal reviews are at the bottom, but I have to have a quick note for WhetherRose here. I will be doing the outcome of the kiss, but I needed to write a little bit about Narcissa first. And oh my god, I can not *believe* how quickly I am writing this! I have never gotten past the third chapter in a story before, but this just gets written so easily! This chapter features Sarcastic!Narcissa and Denial!James.

Chapter Five: Thoughts on the Consequences

It was fifteen minutes before breakfast when Narcissa finally got out of bed. She had been hoping, and fearing, that when she woke up everything from the day before would have been a dream. The intensity of waking up and finding out that it wasn't was a little too much for her. She had lain in bed just trying to process the facts. She had told Sirius one of her most sacredly kept secrets- and he had understood. That was the good part; the part she had hoped was true. But what if Sirius had decided to betray her? What if he had told someone? That was the part that made her wish none of it had happened.

As she got dressed, Narcissa wondered what would happen. Would she and Sirius be friends now? Would they be more than that? He had said he only wanted her for herself, but had it been a lie? With a groan, Narcissa fell back onto her bed, not caring that she was messing up her robes and hair.

After lying there for several minutes, she sighed and got up. Quickly yanking a brush through her hair, she grabbed her book bag and began her walk to Transfiguration. She would skip breakfast, partly because she was late and partly because she wasn't hungry anyway.

First class is Transfiguration. That means you have to go left here. Wait- It's double Transfiguration. Oh, shit, that's with Gryffindor. Who's previous life do I have, Grindelwald's? As Narcissa walked she carefully gave herself directions so that she wouldn't end up lost. Narcissa might be smart, sarcastic, and seem like the sort of person who was always in control, but she had a bad sense of direction even when she was fully in the present, and today her head was jumbled with thoughts and emotions. She would be lucky if she ended up at the right end of the castle.

***

As it turned out, she did end up at the right end of the castle. She just happened to end up ten minutes late. As McGonagal lectured her, Narcissa barely listened. She was still trying to figure out if Sirius was really trust-worthy. When McGonagal told her she had detention that evening, Narcissa's distracted reply was, "Yes, that's good."

Narcissa went to find a seat, and found that the only one available was next to the very person she was obsessing about. She walked over the vacant seat beside Sirius Black with an inward sigh. Plunking her books on the desk, she flopped into her seat and took out a quill and parchment. As McGonagal started talking again, Narcissa dutifully pretended to take notes.

In reality, Narcissa was writing a note for Sirius. She could feel him looking at her parchment, and she could swear that she felt him nod when he read what she had written. Then she threw the parchment back into her bag and began to really take notes.

After all, she thought with bitter sarcasm; if I fail Transfiguration I'll never learn how turn Lucius into a ferret and my family into Galleons.

***

James dozed on and off that night. He considered going for another fly, but what if Lily was still out there? He had tossed and turned until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

However, the next morning everything came flooding back. As James woke up to Sirius bouncing on his bed, he groaned. What had he been thinking, kissing Lily? She would probably hate him now. And plus, they wouldn't be able to communicate well together. Communication was one of the most important things in Quiditch. Why couldn't he have gotten a crush on someone who wasn't on the Quidditch team? Only it wasn't a crush, James reminded himself. It was just a silly…something. It was nothing, really nothing. And he would just forget it. He would just have to.

He got dressed and walked to breakfast in a daze of confusion and annoyance. He would ruin their chances for the Quidditch cup. He would be distracted every time he saw Lily. He wouldn't be able to think about the Snitch.

I am an idiot.

Sirius was asking him something. It sounded as though he was repeating himself for the second or third time.

"Hmm?" James asked.

"I said," Sirius said exasperatedly, "Where were you last night? I woke up and you were gone!"

As he said this they entered the Great Hall and James caught sight of Lily. The world stopped and James's stomach dropped dizzyingly. He did wish it wouldn't do that. Lily was sitting beside some other girl and chatting amiably while digging into a plate of waffles. Her red hair was gleaming in morning sunshine and her green eyes looked as radiant and alive as ever. She actually seemed…happy.

Perhaps, James thought dazedly, she didn't mind the kiss. Or better yet, perhaps she can't remember it, for some odd reason. Although, if James thought about it, kissing Lily hadn't been bad at all, it was just the consequences of it that were bad.

Sirius waved a hand in front of James's face, "Hey, James, anyone home in there? Where were you last night? Remember?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I was…um…doing something. Something that needed to get done. Um…going to the…Library…or…something else important." James wanted to hit himself or bang his head against the wall, but people could see him and he didn't think it would help to convince Sirius he was telling the truth. James was a horrible liar.

Sirius smirked, "Yeah, that's a likely story. You were with Lily somewhere, weren't you?"

James sputtered, cursing Sirius silently for being so perceptive, "Wh-Wha- That's- I don't know- Why would you- yeah, we went flying," James stuttered and floundered, looking for a good excuse, and then gave up and told the truth. Sirius knew him too well to believe any of his lies.

Sirius grinned as he loaded his plate with sausages and pancakes, "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" asked Remus as he sat down on the other side of Sirius.

"I knew that-mph!" Sirius glared indignantly at James, who had just clamped his hand over Sirius's mouth.

"I'll tell you later Remus, and Peter too, if he's around, but anyone can here us here," James explained, glaring at Sirius before removing his hand gingerly.

Sirius glowered, "Hey, I wasn't going to tell!" Then realizing that his story was unbelievable, he added, "Well…he asked, after all!"

James sighed. Sirius was a wonderful friend, but excuses were not his forte.

***

Peter sighed as he sat down at the Gryffindor table. His friends were talking about something, but he could care less. They were ignoring him again, but really, he didn't mind. Well, at least not very much.

Peter was usually a very good eater, but today he nibbled listlessly at his plate of eggs and bacon. He was mulling over the events of the previous evening. He and Sybil had chatted for quite a long time, about all sorts of things. However, the main focus had been the Marauders.

Peter had told Sybil everything about the Marauders. About how they teased him, about how he felt left out, even about how he was sometimes ignored. It had felt wonderful to get it off his chest. Sybil had even understood why he couldn't just spit it out and tell them how he felt. And she had promised that they would figure out a way to make them stop. Peter knew she would. He trusted her.

***

Lily had woken up in the morning half scared that it had all been a dream. Then she had decided it couldn't have been; it was all too real. She sighed as she got up and dressed after showering. Brushing her red hair back, she braided it into two braids, then surveyed herself in the mirror. She knew that she really had no reason to be happy. She had been up half the night, James had kissed her, she had no idea what the kiss had meant, she suspected she had a crush on James, she hated crushes, and yet she was fairly bubbling with happy energy.

Lily bounced down to the common room, still wondering why she was so happy. She skipped down the halls, replaying every moment of the night before. Finally, she decided that that must be why she was so happy. She had a wonderful moonlit ride with James, and it had ended nicely, apart from the kiss.

Lily sighed, her bubbling energy slowly leaving her. She entered the Great Hall back on earth, and sat down beside Alanna.

"Hey!" Alanna greeted her.

Lily replied with a smile and dug into her breakfast, her mind on other things.

Oh, what did that kiss mean? I wish I knew so badly! Was he just being nice, or…but he blushed, I saw him. So…maybe it meant something to him, too. I hope so…James is just so…perfect. Lily looked up briefly as James came into the Great Hall, and her stomach lurched. God, he did look damn fine. Oh, bugger this; he looks so good- it shouldn't be allowed. I'll ask him this afternoon, after classes. I just need to know what he meant. And with that Lily resolved not to think about James and to have a nice conversation with Alanna. Or, to just have a nice conversation with Alanna.

***

Nancy's first class the next day was Double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. She zombie-walked through it, automatically answering any questions given to her and doing to work mechanically. While she worked she thought about the events of the previous day. When she had gotten back to the Library, Lupin had been there…

Nancy entered the Library resolutely, her head held high. Lupin was sitting at a table working on an essay. She saw him, refused the urge to turn tail and run far away from those all-knowing gray eyes, and walked over to his table. When she got to it she sat down without an invitation, breaking his concentration.

He had looked up, and she hadn't been able to stop a small wince. There were those all-knowing gray eyes that she couldn't stand looking at her. It felt as though they were boring holes through her own and seeing into her soul.

"Yes?" he had asked, breaking her half-terrified reverie.

"Um…" Nancy suddenly didn't know what to say. It was those damn eyes. "Why are you follow- following me?" she stuttered, still captivated by his wise gaze.

Now, the gray eyes changed from calm knowledge to slight puzzle, "Following you?"

"Yes. Yes, you came into the Library right after I did. Why?"

Those damn eyes again, now looking completely honest, as if trying to find something out about her. She felt as if she were naked, open, for him to see all of her thoughts.

"I wanted to know who you were."

"Why? Why do you need to know who I am? I'm not a Death Eater, you know. Just because I'm in Slytherin doesn't mean anything!" She snapped all of this out very quickly.

He raised his eyebrows, his eyes looking half puzzled half astonished, "Who says I think you're a Death Eater? You're jumping to assumptions. I just wanted to know who you are because you were very rude the other day and I wanted to know why. Would you tell me?"

She glowered at him, but his eyes were compelling her. They had something in them that she recognized; a need, lust almost, for knowledge of any kind. This was a person who wanted to know the secrets of the world. That was something she could relate with. She sighed, "I'm rude because I don't like to give people a chance to be rude first. It's my defense mechanism. My name is Nancy Bode. Can I leave now?"

He rolled his eyes, for once looking normal, "You walked up to me, not vice versa. Of course you can leave. I'm Remus Lupin, by the way. Thank you."

Nancy swallowed. Those eyes were drilling holes in her again. She just knew they could see right through her, "N-no problem," she stuttered and jumped up and left the Library. She never wanted anyone to be able to read her like that again. It was just too personal for her to bear…

Nancy winced mentally as she thought of how stupid she must have sounded. She didn't have any edge over him now. Now it was his game. She hated not being on top. She would get back on top though, and she would figure out how to stop those eyes from affecting her.

***

End of Chapter Five

A/N2: So, the end of chapter five! Tell me what you think, please? I'd love to know how you like this chapter. Also, did I overdue the last bit? I'm not sure.

Here are the thank-you's (I've given up on predicting what will happen in the next chapter-it has a mind of its own.):

Zetta~ Thank you! I'm done now, so I'll be hurrying on the next chapter.

WhetherRose~ Thank you, as always. And your bit of information came in handy the other day when our homeroom teacher decided to teach us some proper grammar. I just took a course to prepare for the SSATs, though I don't have to take them 'til next year, and it was very good preparation. However, I think I'd be just as glad to go to the local Public School.

Hollie~ I got your latest review while writing this! Thank you!

Yikes, I have never had my work appreciated so much! It's wonderful. You're going to give me an inflated head, everyone!

Hope you enjoyed it, everyone!