HERE IT IS!
You'll know what I'm talking about once you've finished the chapter. And as promised, I've uploaded a chapter in the middle of the week. And sure enough, I will upload the next chapter this weekend.
So, thanks for the reviews. I've reached beyond a hundred reviews and that felt really nice.
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Yup, that's about the new reviews I've had since the last time I've named all those who submitted a review. They're way back from chapter five and they've been great to me.
Anyway, I've passed all my courses and I'm finally in a good mood. :)
So, on to this chapter, it's a pretty long chapter so I hope you'd really like it.
Well, I'd shut up now.
Read! Be nice to me :) and review!
Thanks!
love is like a barren place... and reaching out for human faith... is like a journey i just don't have a map for... -- savage garden, "to the moon and back"
~*~*~*~
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Suspicions and Misconceptions
For the first time in his Hogwarts life, Sirius woke up early – well, earlier than his roommates, that was. It was about an hour before breakfast and he already got up, took a shower, and finally came out of the bathroom. It could've had signaled the end of the world because of his weirdness, but apparently, there was something about that morning that made him seem… well, normal.
With only a towel wrapped around his waist, he came out of the bathroom and the first look plastered across his face was a look of utter confusion. Peter was still sleeping – there was nothing really wrong with that. But the other two boys in the room were acting a bit out of their… normal… selves.
Remus was sitting on his bed, looking out the window – actually, at nothing. But his head was facing the window. While James… James was wide-awake, yes. But he was still lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling – at nothing but since he was still lying on his back, he must be seeing the ceiling.
Sirius walked to the middle of the room and turned around, observing his friends. What could've gotten into them, he had no idea.
But he wasn't just going to stand there – half naked – and wonder about what was happening in those heads.
"Alright, what's going on?" Sirius finally blurted out, looking back and forth from James to Remus then from Remus to James.
Because of this abrupt outburst, Peter suddenly woke up kind of staggered. And then realized that he was still in the dormitory, saw his three friends being weird and then groaned because his sleep was disturbed.
Sirius stood for a minute waiting for a reply. But he could've waited the whole day and all would just be in vain. So, he walked up toward James' bed. "Hey! Hey!" he called him back to earth, as he flicked his fingers practically two inches from James' face. "Snap off it!" he exclaimed, this time finally getting his friend's attention. "The two of you look like a couple of broken-hearted freaks," he snorted and then added, "Believe me, both of you look stupid."
James sat up, wondering whom the other person Sirius was talking about. Then he saw Sirius talking to Remus. "And it's not even near full moon," he heard Sirius say.
"What's going on?" Peter asked no one in particular, as he sat up, yawning.
James ran a hand through his impossible mop of hair and looked interestingly at Sirius, who was fixing himself in front of the mirror. "What are you doing up?" he asked.
Sirius glanced back at him and then turned back to the mirror. "What were you doing looking up at nothing?" he replied, as he reached for a hair comb and started trying to manage his hair.
"Oh, god!" James exclaimed, standing up out of sudden panic. "Are we late?"
Sirius smirked at James' reflection. "Hey, it's not because I woke up earlier than you means that you're late," he said.
James scratched his head realizing what had just gotten into his best friend. "Oh, you're going to meet with Toni," he concluded. He walked up to Sirius and messed up his friend's already messed up hair. "There's nothing you can do about that," he declared.
Sirius mocked a laugh so hard it was almost sounding crazy. "Like you have any kind of hope with that unruly swab you have for a hair."
But James was too sleepy to listen to Sirius that he went straight to Remus. He had spent most of the night thinking whether to tell him about Lily and – he wanted to hurl but he just couldn't do anything about it – Malfoy. But from the look on his friend's face, he was thinking maybe the truth had already been made known.
James struggled to get a chair and sat in front of Remus while Peter bumped into a couple of drawers and trunks before he finally found the door to the bathroom.
Those were the mornings in the boys' dormitories.
Well, except for the Sirius getting up early and Remus and James terrifyingly deep in thought – for James' case that was. Basically, they were always half asleep.
"So, what's up with you?" James asked Remus. He sat on a turned-back chair and rested his chin on the back of it, waiting for a reply.
"Nothing," Remus replied with a shrug. "I was just thinking… do you think there's a chance that full moon could come later this month? Let's say, in about two week's time?"
James knitted his eyebrows in puzzlement. "What's with the sudden interest in full moon talk?" he said, straightening in his seat. "Wait a second. Two weeks? That's the Yule Ball."
Remus snorted. "Yeah. So I wouldn't have to come into that stupid dance."
Not only James was surprised in this emotional ride that Remus was in; but Sirius stopped trying to comb his hair and faced the two people talking.
James glanced at Sirius, quite clueless on what to say. "Wha— wait," he started, chuckling at Remus' serious expression. "That's the dance! That's like – that's the only time of the year when the girls are all made up and gorgeous, man!" he exclaimed, his opinion oh so well what he had been dreaming of for the past nights.
Remus laughed and gave out a groan to release his frustration. "I am quite aware of that," he said afterwards, looking at James.
Sirius, who was attempting to stay quiet throughout the conversation, cleared his throat. "Okay, I know this!" he exclaimed, taking a glance at his best friend, who was a bit stunned with his behavior. "You're having a relationship problem," he declared looking like he had just solved the million-dollar question as he pointed at Remus. He gave James a pat on the back at the same time, probably saying to agree with him.
"He's not in a relationship, you overgrown canine," James uttered, as he stood up to give Sirius a playful punch on the shoulder.
"Hey," Sirius said, starting to wrestle with his best friend.
Remus chuckled at the sight of the two. Then, he stood up and stopped them with a, "It's Lily."
James ceased messing up Sirius' recently-made up hair and looked at Remus. "What about her? I mean, well, uh, ahem, so, yeah, what's… up?"
Remus sighed audibly and then spoke. "Apparently, she likes Malfoy."
"Oh," James and Sirius uttered simultaneously.
"Yes," Remus said, nodding. "I heard him ask her to the dance. I can't believe it. I can't believe I didn't notice that she likes that guy," he added. And then he noticed that James was quiet all too suddenly. "What?"
"Uh, well, let me put it this way," James began, trying not to stutter.
Remus waited for James to continue but the way his friend stammered suggested only one thing. "You knew about it," he said as an affirmation rather than a question.
"Well—"
"Don't worry," Remus replied, waving a hand. "I'm not gonna take it against you."
"Oh, c'mon, Rem!" James exclaimed, giving Remus a firm pat on the shoulder. "It's not the end of the world! And you know what? Alexis Catalano suits you better," he added, mentioning the name of a Ravenclaw girl, who was his seatmate in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class and was constantly bugging him for information about Remus.
"Lily and Malfoy?" Sirius said, not quite believing what he had just heard. Then, suddenly, his face lit up just realizing something. "So, that's the reason why Lily didn't talk to you for a week!" he yelled animatedly. "You dissed her about Malfoy!"
"Oh great. You can put two and two together," James replied sarcastically. "That issue's over," he added putting a lid on the subject.
"The issue here is why do you care so much about who she likes anyway?" Sirius demanded. "You're not her boyfriend."
"No. I'm not," James affirmed. "I just – I just – she can do better than that."
"Who? Do you mean like you?" Sirius said.
James eyed him to be a little bit sensitive especially that Remus was still in the room. To his contentment, Sirius got the message.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Sirius told Remus. "I'll go hit my head on the wall right now."
* * * * *
Lily was practically hopping down the steps from the girls' dormitory, apparently in a good mood. She walked to the portrait hole and saw Remus and Peter about to go out of the common room too.
She walked up to them and smiled widely. "Good morning, Remus," she said, nodding at Remus and then at Peter, "Good morning, Peter."
Peter smiled back and greeted her. "Mornin', Lily," he said, as he opened the portrait and went out.
Lily looked at Remus and was a bit surprised on how he behaved. Usually, he would not only smile and greet her back; he would also open the portrait for her. But that morning, all he gave her was a weak smile on his face, as he dragged himself out of the common room.
With a puzzled expression on her face, Lily followed Remus out the portrait hole. Outside, she saw Lucius leaning back on a wall, engaged in an eye-to-eye war with James, who was leaning against the wall opposite Lucius. James was waiting for Remus and Peter, while Sirius was busy talking with Toni.
Lily felt the sudden tension between Remus and Lucius – something that didn't usually happen between them since Remus kept away from Malfoy as much as possible. And what she didn't like the most, was the way Remus eyed Lucius as he passed him in the hallway.
Remus didn't even stop walking. "C'mon," he called to James as he continued marching straight down the hallway.
Lily looked at James for some sort of help… or explanation but the only thing she got from him was a shrug before he followed his friends.
She had to shake her head like she was expecting for something to rearrange in there. It was all too puzzling and all too sudden. She knew that they weren't very fond of Lucius. But to see that behavior from Remus, she didn't expect it.
She walked up to the guy waiting for her, putting aside all the questions in her head. "Lucius," she called.
Malfoy, who was following James and his friends with his eyes, shifted his attention to Lily only when he heard his name. "I'm here to walk you to the Great Hall," he said, his voice still that stiff emotionless tone but Lily couldn't help but accept the hand that he offered for her to take.
* * * * *
It was the big day in Transfiguration class. McGonagall's essay was due that day and all the students were rather sleepy since they had spent most of the night trying to finish the assignment.
McGonagall walked around the room and collected her students' essay one by one. After which, she placed the stack of parchment on her table and started discussing the advanced portions about Animagi. It was, in the simplest of words, heaven… for any teacher to be talking in front of the class with none of the students' buzzing suddenly rising in the air.
But the silence was so unusual. In the middle of her discussion, she stopped talking and looked at her class. She noticed them to be awfully quiet. It was almost bizarre. Then, she realized that most of the class were either half-asleep or just plain half-not in their bodies.
"Honestly!" she exclaimed. "What is going on with you today? It sure is nice having a silent class but I'd rather you buzz around while listening than just stare at me all day, without even understanding a word I say."
McGonagall looked around the room. Usually, the class was full of whispers and buzzing that were mainly created by James and his friends. But that day, they seemed to be not in the mood. As a result, everyone seemed to be affected by their gloomy attitude – the sleepy just went to half-asleep and the staring at nowhere just left earth.
Amidst McGonagall's speech, James looked around at his classmates' reactions. For a while, his eyes got fixed on Malfoy who was listening – or maybe suddenly pretending to be listening. Then, his eyes traveled toward Remus who seemed to be one of those who left earth. Another thing he noticed was how Remus appeared to be paler than usual. Then he realized that full moon was coming soon… and not later – like in two weeks time.
Then, his attention went back to the professor, when he heard her said something very undesirable.
"Alright," McGonagall announced, clapping her hands to get the class' attention. "Maybe this is because you have already known so much about the subject matter. So, we will have a little graded… recitation."
The class groaned in unison.
"Well, I suppose you've all done your assignment, haven't you?" McGonagall rebutted after the class finished their groan chorus.
And so it began.
She threw out her first question and Malfoy boasted his answer out loud even before everyone else could even think what the question meant.
Malfoy sneered at James and his friends when McGonagall complimented him with a, "Very good!" Then he turned to Lily who was looking at him, smiling.
That was disgusting! James thought. And because of that, he decided to beat Malfoy in his own game. He answered the next question and the next one and the one after that – all even before Malfoy could even open a crack of his mouth.
And to Malfoy's dismay, he got all the answers correctly. Then, it was his turn to smile annoyingly at him. He looked over at Lily to see how she reacted. But even Lily appeared to be impressed that he didn't even pause to think of what to say the next. It seemed like he had memorized every single aspect of the subject matter by heart.
And to top it all, even McGonagall appeared to be impressed with him. "Well, very good, Mr. Potter," she said. "I wish you could always participate with much enthusiasm in my class."
James leaned back in his seat, satisfied.
* * * * *
Just about time for lunch in Great Hall. Who could sit put in hunger while waiting for the food to appear on the table? Lily.
Definitely not James.
James entered the Hall and walked up to the Gryffindor table. He was on his way to the front end of the table when he saw Lily busying herself with the appetizers. And just like what that little mischievous devil in his head said, he sat beside her and started, "So, where's your lover?"
Lily smirked at him. "What's your point?" she questioned, a little defensive.
"Nothing," James replied, with a shrug. "I mean, you're eating alone. Just a bit curious."
Lily chuckled, puzzling him. "Here's what's curious, James," she began, pointing a piece of breadstick at him. "Transfiguration."
"What about it?" James asked innocently.
"No offense, but ever since day one, you didn't ever take an assignment so seriously," Lily replied.
"It interested me. What's wrong with that?"
"Whatever you say," Lily answered in a singsong voice. "It just seemed like you've done research for a thesis rather than an essay."
James let out an audible sigh. "Well… that's how the world goes. Full of surprises," he said, as he stood up like he was avoiding the conversation. Before he left, he nodded at Vince who just arrived from class. "Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," Vince nodded back, before he sat down beside Lily.
"See you around," James told Lily before he left.
When James was surely out of earshot, Vince looked at Lily interestedly and said, "What was that about?" he asked her.
"Nothing," Lily replied. She took in a deep breath then added, "He hates Lucius and he's just trying to say it in different creative James ways."
"They're mortal enemies. What do you expect?" Vince replied, with a shrug, grabbing a piece of breadstick himself.
"A little maturity?" Lily uttered.
Vince snorted like what Lily had just said was incredibly laughable. "We're talking about James Potter here. Anyway, where's Toni?" he added, looking around.
Lily pointed to Sirius who was sitting with his friends at the front end of the table. At the same time, she caught Remus taking a glance toward her direction. Then, she just looked away and turned to Vince. "So… where's, uh, Kiara?" she asked, desperate to get the conversation going – or maybe, to take her attention off Remus and what James had just told her the night before.
Vince flashed a weak smile. "Gregory Carol is talking to her."
"Hey, cheer up, Stradler," Lily said, cheerfully. "He has a girl's name for a last name. It's not going to last," she added, looking at Vince who let out a light chuckle.
Just then, Kiara, with all smiles, walked up to them and sat opposite Lily.
"You look happy," Lily greeted.
"What makes you say that?" Kiara asked, unable to hide that smile across her face.
"You're smiling from ear to ear. It's pretty hard not to notice."
"Well…" Kiara began. "Gregory Carol asked me to the dance."
Lily, her head facing straight at Kiara, smiled then slightly bobbed her head toward Vince's direction.
Vince saw what Lily was doing that he had to suddenly deny. "Oh, don't, don't mind me," he told Kiara. "I mean, we agreed to stay friends."
"I, I know," Kiara replied shyly, suddenly getting uncomfortable of the situation. "And yeah, well…" she added, looking at Lily.
"So, you're going with Gregory?" Lily asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"I don't know," Kiara shrugged. "I mean, he's sweet and all… But not really someone I'd like to go with."
At the said of that, Lily couldn't help but look at Vince, with a smile across her face that seemed to be saying, 'see, I told you.' And Vince couldn't help but also snigger.
"Am I – am I missing something?" Kiara asked, curiously, suddenly feeling that her friends were hiding something from her.
And to Vince's delighted thought of Kiara thinking of turning down Gregory Carol, he looked at her and flashed a mischievous smile. And as if their minds were an extension of each other, Kiara realized what he was saying.
"Oh, that is mean…" Kiara told him, a smile forming on her face.
Vince suddenly became defensive. "All I'm saying—"
"Vince…"
"What?"
"Leave the poor guy alone."
"Okay, I didn't call him poor guy," Vince uttered. He looked at Lily and insisted, "Did you hear me say that?"
And just like what Vince always did before, Lily stayed out of the conversation. "I'm not getting involved in that," she said, as she laughed at her two friends who were joking about a guy's name.
Poor guy.
* * * * *
James was within the crowd outside the Potions classroom, as the students squeezed themselves to get in, when suddenly, a hard slap hit him on the shoulder. He stopped and turned around to look at the offender. "Aw!" he complained, nursing his hurt arm. "Evans, what was that about?" he demanded, seeing that it was Lily who hit him.
"Emma!" Lily explained in one word. But apparently, he didn't get it, so she had to explain further. "Emma Creton. Remember her?" she continued. James apparently took the clue and was about to say something, but she didn't let him. "She hates me, Potter. Because of you."
"I – I tried talking to her," James replied, stuttering. "She wouldn't listen," he insisted.
"Well," Lily started again, raising an eyebrow. "Better make her and get me out of the issue," she finished before she entered the room.
James was about to follow her when Malfoy suddenly appeared from behind him. He realized that Lucius had been listening. "Get out of my sight, Malfoy," he spat, like saying his name could give him an incurable illness.
But all Malfoy did was sneer that oh so annoying sneer he had ready for all the James Potters in the world. And then he left him and entered the room.
* * * * *
Vince cut off a caterpillar's head quite angrily that his Potions partner, James, couldn't help but notice. "Hey, take it easy," he said, as he put some leaves in the cauldron – which was filled with simmering potion – that was sitting in front of him. "You don't have to take it all out on that poor thing."
The class had been asked to pair off. And since Sirius was obviously with Toni, James and Vince ended up as partners.
They had been doing the day's potion for about an hour and all James was noticing was how Vince seemed to be preoccupied looking toward the table where Lily and Kiara were sitting. And that was probably what James was talking about when he told Vince to 'take it easy.'
Vince only glanced at him and went back to beheading a couple more caterpillars.
"She's with Malfoy now," James started. "And I hate to say this… really… really… not liking it… but she seems to be pretty smitten about him." He paused then continued, as if he didn't make it any more clearer. "And I mean… really… not liking it."
Vince stopped chopping the poor caterpillars and looked at James. "Are you talking about Lily again?" he asked.
"Who else could it be?" James replied, shrugging like it wasn't news to him that 'Vince likes Lily.'
Vince picked up the caterpillars and then tossed them all into the cauldron. "Don't you ever stop and think?" he began, finally making everything clear for James. "When Kiara and Lily are together – you see Lily. You see me seeing Lily. And when Kiara, Toni, and Lily are together – you see me seeing Lily again." He paused, looking at James' expression expecting some bulb to have finally lit up above his head.
But.
No.
Vince sighed audibly and then finally stated the supposed reason. "Seems to me you don't really see her as just another face in the crowd. Or just another girl. Maybe you're the one who sees her as something more." He paused again and looked at James. This time, something in his expression said that there was some sort of realization was forming in that head.
Sort of.
"Cause I sure like her so much as only a friend," Vince continued. "I don't know about you."
No one spoke for a moment.
James was too taken aback by what had just been said.
Then, to release the tension, he forced out a laugh. "Me? Like Lily? I don't even have an idea why Remus has this… crush… likes her."
"People don't like other people in the same ways, James," Vince replied with a shrug.
James, for once, was out of words.
Definitely, out of words.
He looked at Lily, who was talking and laughing with Kiara. Then he realized, alright, maybe it wasn't Lily that Vince was looking at from the back of the room during Transfiguration. Now that it was pointed out to him, he realized that Kiara sat in the first row of the class – just about in front of Lily.
And how again could he miss that?
He leaned back on his chair and watched Lily. For the first time, he looked at her.
Closely.
And intently.
And tried to see what Remus or even Malfoy could see in her.
Alright, Lily was pretty but she wasn't really his type…
"N-no," James stammered, thinking of a valid and very good reason why he didn't like Lily. "I – I don't date redheads!"
Alright, that was deep.
Vince snorted. That was the shallowest of reasons that he had ever heard. "Now, who's in denial?"
~*~*~*~
i can't believe you're the one for me... -- pj olsson, "ready for a fall"
i guess i would say that i want you to stay... cause you have this strange knack, adds a glow to my black as you chase it all away... -- sixpence none the richer, "i can't catch you"
Okay, so there was sort of a little bit… lots… of Malfoy and Lily here but, see, James is going crazy because of it…
Hmmm…
And if you didn't quite understand the way I wrote the sitting arrangement in Transfiguration in the previous chapters, it's like this:
front
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Kiara
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Lily --
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- -- -- Vince -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Yeah, something like that. If you draw a straight line from Vince to Kiara, it would pass through Lily so that's why James thought that he was looking at Lily.
Some readers are confused on why Vince suddenly liked Kiara when he liked Lily. Remember I never said he liked Lily – James thought it.
Alright, please review.
