FOREVER

FOREVER

Year Three

Part Six

Subtitled: It's ALIVE

A/N- I would have gotten this up sooner but I was away from a computer ahhhh torture!!! I love you all! This part is a little weird but I had fun with it. 15 reviews = next part!

Once Sirius got over the initial shock of James having a girlfriend, he decided to have some fun himself. The first week after he found out, he had five dates, two on Friday night and three on Saturday (that one was a little messy; Sirius is still recovering from the slaps). At first he restricted himself to the Hufflepuff girls. No one was really sure why; he just did. But as the year drew to an end he expanded to the Ravenclaws and even a few Gryffindors. No one, except for maybe Sirius himself, really knew what his standards were. (There were definitely standards) But without fail, some poor girl would run out of the Great Hall crying, every Friday at lunch. He chose lunch, or so he confided in James, because that still gave him time to ask somebody else out for dinner.

*****

Lily sat in the corner of the common curled up with a good book. She was terribly comfortable and had no intention of getting up any time soon. She was just about to read about how the hero saved the day, (her favorite part) when the portrait door swung open. Sirius and Remus walked in laughing. Lily knew it was them without even looking up. Sirius was the only kid in the school who laughed like that. (A lot like a maniac). She started to edge away, hoping not to attract any attention. She was in no mood to talk to Sirius now, and she was afraid he bring up their family. It felt so weird to her to address Sirius' family as hers or theirs. Sirius knew that Lily was his cousin but neither had said anything about it to each other, and everything went normally for awhile, well as normal as you can get with Sirius for a housemate. Just as Lily was slipping out of sight behind a chair, Sirius spotted her.

"Oy, Lily, Come sit with us." He called. She groaned. Sitting with Sirius could mean only one of two things: that he wanted to plan a prank with her, or he wanted to play a prank on her. Lily didn't want anything to do with either, though, she hoped it would be the former. At first she considered saying no, but that would warrant an automatic prank. At least if she went over she had a fifty-fifty chance.

"K." She yelled back and slid her book under the chair for safekeeping. After all this could get very messy. "What's up?" She chose the seat furthest from him. Remus smiled at her actions.

"We have to talk." He said in a surprisingly serious voice. She had only heard him sound like that once before. When they had found out that Remus was a werewolf, he had sounded a lot like that.

"What about?" She asked innocently. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"About you and me." He said, looking strange without his usual grin. Lily nodded, sighing. She had known that eventually they would have to talk she had just been hoping not so soon. Lily still had quite adjusted to the idea of have an entirely different family from the one she had loved her whole life, She vaguely wondered if Petunia knew about their real heritage.

"Where did Remus go?" Lily scanned her friend who had just disappeared.

"Hello! Earth to Lily, Remus just said that he was going to help James and Eric find Tiger." He looked at her, smile returning. "Space out much?" Lily glared at him and was glad for his sake that it was a rhetorical question. "Look, Lil, this cousin thing, it's not gonna change anything is it?" His face had resumed its serious form and voice.

"No, no of course not." She said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly.

"You do realize that you'll be living with James now." He said, his eyes dancing. "And my parents too, of course." He added as an afterthought. Lily blushed.

"Don't you think its odd how much Remus, of all people, loves cats? I mean look how much he likes Tiger." She mused, trying not so subtly to change the subject. "I mean with his canine roots and all?" Sirius stared at her for a second, not quite understanding.

"Oh!" He said suddenly. "Yeah, that IS weird!"

*****

Anna shook her head as yet another girl ran from the Great hall crying. It was Friday, and as tradition dictated, Sirius broke up with his girlfriend.

"This is going too far!" She decided. "Someone should do something." She stared at the retreating figure of the girl and sighed. If no one else was going to do some thing, she would. And Sirius could be sure that this was a lesson he would never forget.

Grudgingly, Anna turned her attention back to the conversation. It seemed that Lily and Sirius were now on speaking terms, she noted. The talk had turned to the quickly approaching summer vacation. James and Lily were going to Sirius' house.

"Oh that should be interesting, James and Lily living together." Anna thought, smiling at her friends. Tina and Eric were going to Peter's house for a week and Roslyn was telling them about her upcoming trip to Japan at the end of term. Anna, herself was going to stay with Annabelle and Adam. Anna really liked Annabelle, but Adam could be really strange sometimes, almost secretive.

"Oh well," She thought. "I'm probably just imagining it anyway."

"SO, are you guys nervous about the Quidditch Final?" She asked. Lily shrugged, then nodded.

"Nah." Said Sirius grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "James and I have it MORE than covered."

"Oh you're modest!" Lily laughed. "Have you already forgotten that you would still be backup if Ryan hadn't graduated." Sirius sent her a hurt glare.

"I'll have you know that I'm not a bad beater." He said. "Besides, it's either me or John Collins. Take your pick." He sniffed.

"Well if you insist." Lily said. " James, tell John he'll be starting." Lily said turning to James. Sirius gave an outraged cry. James pretended to make a note on the roster, Sirius opened his mouth to say something when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Well hello, Maggie dear. Snape." Sirius nodded to his least favorite people on the planet, with the exception of perhaps Lucious Malfoy and his Uncle Arnie. "So, Maggs, we still on for tonight?" Sirius asked casually. There were collective gasps around the table. Maggie nodded. Sirius had always personally thought that Snape's eyes were entirely to large for his greasy head to begin with, but the size which they had achieved in the last three seconds was astounding, and he told him so. Sirius laughed at Snape's face and turned back to his lunch.

"Now you've done it Snape." Sirius snapped. Snape gazed at the back of his head incredulously.

"Done what, Black?" He drawled, irritated.

"Your ugly face has made me entirely loose my appetite. Now for the sake of all that is good PLEASE leave." He said turning toward the Slytherin again. Snape glared at him and muttered something about idiots under his breath but left.

"Bye Sirius! See you tonight!" Maggie called smiling widely and batting her eyes in a would-be-seductively way.

After they had gone Sirius burst out laughing. "Did… laugh…you…laugh…see…laugh…his…laugh…face?" He gasped, clutching his side. There was no answer, "What's up with you guys?" He asked noticing for the first time that his friends were not only quiet but some looked really mad. Anna was the first to leave. She stood up shaking her head.

"Really Sirius, Maggie? That's got to be an all time low. Even for you." She said with disgust creeping in her voice. "I gotta go, bye you guys." She gave Sirius one last disdainful look. Tina followed her looking at Sirius hurt.

"Jeez! What's with them?" Sirius asked his remaining friends. Roslyn's eyes grew wide.

"I can't believe you Sirius Black! You really don't know!" She cried leaving in a huff. Sirius shook his head.

"Must be a girl thing." He shrugged, "They get upset so easily. It must be that time of the month." Lily shot daggers at him.

"You'd know about girl's being upset wouldn't you?" She yelled banging her books on the table. "Who's next, Tina, Anna? It doesn't matter to you though. We're all the same to you! YOU do nothing wrong. It's all OUR fault." She whirled around and stormed out of the Great Hall. James began to get up after her.

"You're going too?" Sirius asked looking at James with horror.

"You saw her, she's really upset. I'm just gonna see if she's OK." He raced after her.

"Some best friend he is." Sirius said in disbelief. "Left me for a crying girl. Unbelievable." Suddenly Sirius became aware of someone laughing. He turned to find Remus clutching his sides and pounding the table. "What's so funny?" He asked vaguely wondering if Remus had lost his mind.

"Bye…laugh…Sirius…laugh…see…laugh…you…laugh…tomorrow." He said doing a very bad impression of Maggie, eyelashes and all. After he had calmed down he stared seriously at Sirius. "Really though, Sirius, have you no standards?" Sirius put up his hands in defense.

"Hey, if she's hot, she's hot. End of discussion." Remus shook his head.

*****

Lily stepped uncertainly through Platform 9 3/4. This would be the first time her parents weren't there to meet her and she didn't think she could take it. Inside she felt as if her heart was breaking all over again. With a glance at the milling crowd she tried to recall her Aunt and Uncle's images to prepare herself, when suddenly a new idea hit her. What if they didn't like her? She had of course met them before but people always judge family differently from friends. She looked anxiously at her clothes and tried to tidy herself up as much as possible. Lily felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped a mile. She turned around.

"Oh, James, you scared me." She breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at her worriedly.

"You're awful jumpy." Said James.

"Yes, well…" She continued to tidy her hair. James laid his hand on hers and looked into her eyes.

"They will love you." He said firmly, reading her fears. Instantly she felt better. She nodded weakly.

"Hello dear." A kind voice said from behind her. She turned to find a very pretty middle-aged woman standing next to Sirius. "You must be Lily." She said. Lily nodded. "Why," asked the lady. "Didn't I see it before?" Lily stared at her blankly.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I don't understand."

"The resemblance, child. Last summer, you stayed with us and I didn't even see it. Amazing." She shook her head. "Well, shall we go?" She asked brightly gesturing toward a car. "Hello James dear."

"Hello Mrs. Black." Said he, climbing into the car after Lily.

*****

Rain splattered relentlessly on the windows. Which was fine with Lily because it matched her mood perfectly. Her new room was cheerful at best and it was apparent that the Blacks had made an effort to make it seem cozy and nice but it still was her room. Suddenly her door burst open.

"Good morning LILY!" Sirius burst in. Lily pulled the covers to her chin.

"You could have knocked you know." She said, irritated. " I'm not even dressed."

"Oh, never mind that! I have great news!" Lily stared at him expectantly as he plopped into her wicker rocking chair. "Guess who's coming to dinner!" He cried, looking as though he could burst. Lily breathed in sharply. "Everyone." He said happily without even waiting for an answer.

"Everyone?" She asked quickly. "Who exactly is everyone."

"You know, everyone, the whole family and, Tina, Peter and Eric. Isn't that great? They're coming for my birthday." He said over his shoulder as he bounded out of the room.

"Yeah," She said softly. "Great." Lily had only been there a month and the thought of meeting the whole family didn't excite her. Tina's presence should have consoled her, she knew, but it didn't. It seemed worse that Tina was there because now they would have someone to compare her against. She moved to the window and put her fingers on the cold glass. She stared outside. The rain seemed to have consumed the whole day. It was gray outside and Lily didn't doubt that it was cold for July too. Very fitting.

Lily pulled on her new robes that the Blacks had bought her and stared sadly at her reflection. She didn't deserve these nice things, as the Blacks would find out tonight at dinner when she made a fool of herself. Lily fingered the soft cloth and although she loved it, Lily would have traded it for rags in a second if it meant she could skip tonight. All day she had sat about thinking up excuses for not going. She was going to act sick but then she remembered that Mrs. Black could brew the Pepper Potion and she would be cured in seconds. Other thoughts came and went and before she knew it, it was time it get ready. Time was cruel she decided. Time and fate, two peas in a pod. There was a knock on the door. Lily pushed her earring in quickly.

"Come in." She called. James walked in smiling broadly.

"Hey," He said. "You look good."

"Thanks." She said smiling for the first time that day. "You do too."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, except for a hundred thousand butterflies have taken residence in my stomach. But nothing unusual." She smiled wryly.

"I can definitely relate." He sat down in the chair that Sirius had sat in that morning.

"You get nervous?" Lily asked surprised. But the second they were out of her mouth she regretted them.

"I sound so stupid!" She thought to herself, making a mental note to beat herself up later. James didn't seem to notice though.

"Yeah, the butterflies pay me a visit all the time." He said casually. "Every time I see you in fact." Lily was beginning to see what he meant because her butterfly count had suddenly tripled and her heart pounded painfully against her protesting ribs.

"Oh, really?" She asked breathlessly. The silence was so thick you could have cut it with a knife, as James slowly got up and walked toward her. They were just coming just coming up for air when there was a very loud AHEM from the doorway. Lily and James backed away quickly. James swiped his had over his mouth to remove any tell tale lipstick. Sirius and Tina who had been standing there burst out laughing.

"What, might I ask, were you doing alone in Lily's bedroom?" Tina asked her eyebrows raised.

"Tina! Hi how are you?" Lily put her arm around Tina's shoulder. "Let's go downstairs shall we?" Lily steered her out the door. When they had gone, Sirius stared at his friend with a surprised look.

"Really James, I never expected this from you. Is this the first time?" He asked, his eyes dancing. James blushed and shook his head.

"Come on Sirius, let's go." He walked down the stairs quickly.

*****

The party had turned out to be a lot more fun than Lily thought it would be. Everyone was just leaving when Tina turned to Lily.

"Look, remember what I was going to tell you about James? You know at Christmas?" Lily nodded. "I was going to tell you tonight but there's not enough time so I'll mail you about it from Peter's house. Look for my owl." She called as she slipped into the fire.

"Want to take a walk?" James asked gesturing toward the hall to their left. Lily nodded. They walked for some time until they came to a very odd hall filled with portraits. James and Lily made jokes about some of the older ones dating back to the 1400s. Near the end of the hall they came to some more modern portraits. Lily didn't recognize any until the very end.

"Oh my god." She gasped.

"What?" James asked alarmed.

"That's me." She said pointing to a picture of a very small girl who indeed did resemble Lily a great deal. She was waving happily and showing off her new tooth. "And if that's me than my mum should be here too and Petunia." Sure enough, when Lily turned to the other side of the hall, a two year-old Petunia and a young Rose Evans waved back. Rose was so young Lily didn't wonder that she had missed the first time. "And if my mum and Petunia are here then this must be my dad." She said softly, staring at her father for the first time.

Trifid Black

1938-1963

died dueling accident

Beloved husband of Rose and father of Lily and Petunia

May he rest in peace

the inscription read.

"He died in a dueling accident." She repeated. "But then why is his inscription here instead of the graveyard?"

"Because this is the hall of the dead." A new voice said. Lily world around to find no one.

"Who said that?" James asked scanning the room.

"I did." Lily's eyes shot up.

"Dad?" She asked hardly daring to believe it. "You can talk?" The portrait nodded.

"We all can." He gestured to the other portraits.

"And I don't appreciate that comment about my nose young man." One of the portraits called from the other end.

"Sorry." James murmured.

"This can't be the hall of the dead. I'm in it and so is Petunia." Lily said very sure of herself. "And I'm not dead."

"No you're not." Her father agreed. "But when I died you're mother fled to the muggle world, so to the Blacks you were as good as dead."

"Oh. So all these portraits can talk?" Lily asked. Her father nodded. Lily walked to Petunia's Picture. "Hello Petunia." She said genially. Her father laughed.

"Portraits of people who are alive can't talk." He explained, leaving Lily feeling very foolish. Suddenly and idea hit her.

"Did you know that Mexicans used to believe that picture takes more than a copy of your face but your soul too? You wouldn't happen to know where they got an idea like that? Would you?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Not all wizard pictures don't TAKE your soul only some. They take a copy of it and it's put on hold unitl you die anyway."

'Oh THAT"S a comfort." James snorted.

"No it really is though when you think about it. Besides we don't stay here all the time. Just like normal wizard pictures, we move between frames." Although Lily didn't happen to agree that wizard and normal belonged in the same sentence, she nodded. Suddenly James' watch beeped.

"What time is it?" her father asked. James glanced at his watch.

'Twelve."

"Oh, I've got to go. I'm scheduled to have a duel with Merlin in fifteen minutes. I'll see you soon Lily." He said and disappeared.

"We'd better go too." She said slowly, taking one last look at her father's empty frame.

"You know, Sirius and your father are a lot alike." He mused. "You might say they have the same frame of mind." He laughed at his own cleverness and Lily groaned.

"Let's go!"

A/n- okay THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! I LOVE YOU ALL !

Deepa- Thank you very much and I think that most of the loose ends were tied up in this one! I hope.

Jagara - I tried really hard to work more Sirius into this!

Ophie- I tried to work the answer to your question into the fic

Kewl Jewl- yep three moths well by this fic I guess it's about nine

Janus- I didn't mean to offend you I was just joking around about the good readers. What's the name of your fic? I want to read it! Oh yeah Tiger's in this one, I think well kinda.

Sarah - The book has to be closed to be reset

Jupiter's^angel - Eric is there, he's pivotal in the next fic!

Rebecca- haha thanks SOOO much hehe

Thanks to - SMD, Mistress Darkness, mmm, xmerlin42x, angel, Natasha, DaPaNDaZz, bth, amanda, lily white, natalie, fifi, sovia, jaw, cee, prongs, Liz, Thumper, Demon Child, deb, Rhys, NaaviO, Sidney rose Potter, Unshed tears, K, Harry's crush and katy-beth

Thank you all so much! Same deal fifteen reviews = next part