Everlasting

chapter 5: a deep, dark secret

Presentation day in Potions finally arrived, and the results couldn't have been more ironic.

"Attention, everyone! As you all know, today's the due date for your potions. I'll be calling you and your partners to the front, so that I may examine your results," Caliga spoke loudly, and the students all stared at their vials nervously. "Why don't we start off with our cutest couple Remus and Teresa!"

A couple of students laughed as Remus and Teresa nervously made their way to the front. Remus was clutching a vial of green-colored potion which contrasted sharply with Sirius' blue one.

Professor Caliga examined the potion carefully, shaking its contents slightly. She then, looked at the two tense Gryffindors and clucked her tongue.

"What a pity. It seems as though you two spent more time trying to perfect the potion, than to get to know each other. A pity indeed..." Caliga shook her head. "Nonetheless, you put in a good effort, so I suppose I'll have to give you two an 80."

Teresa looked thrilled, and Remus rather disappointed. Lily only wondered how the professor could know all of that just from looking at the color.

"Next will be Stuart and Elizabeth." A short Slytherin boy and a pretty Gryffindor girl walked to the front, holding a vial of purple-colored potion.

This time, however, Caliga didn't even bother to examine the potion. She took one glance at it and frowned deeply.

"You aren't even little children; how could you two be so disagreeable with each other? Absolutely terrible! 20 points; and only for the time spent working on the potion, which I assume wasn't much," Caliga said in disgust and shooed the two crestfallen students back to their seats.

"And now, one of our school's most famous couples, Lily and James," Caliga said, raising her eyebrows curiously.

Lily avoided James' line of vision as she trudged towards the professor. Their potion had turned a strange pinkish sort of color, and Lily didn't feel all too good about that. She held out her potion, and the professor's face immediately fell. She pursed her lips, and looked over at Lily, and then at James.

"I advise you to solve your problem as soon as possible. I do find it a great pity that an already dating couple would do so badly, but I have no choice but to give you the grade that you deserve; 40 points." Caliga looked sternly at Lily and James, who lowered their eyes in embarrassment.

"Next, Sirius and Narcissa!"

The two smiling students quickly rushed up to the front with their shimmering blue potion. Caliga's eyes lighted up in delight the moment she spotted it. She clapped her hands, beaming as she eagerly grasped the vial.

"Wonderful work! Absolutely wonderful! I see now that my efforts to bring two rival houses together has paid off. I congratulate you both for being so open-minded and thoughtful towards one another. So I award you both full marks!" Sirius looked surprised, but Narcissa only smiled as if she had known all along that they would pass with flying colors.

Lily only scowled, resting her chin in her hand. She had never before received such a low mark, and it hurt her pride greatly. But what annoyed her even more was the fact that Sirius and Narcissa had done so well.

'They weren't supposed to do that well,' Lily thought to herself grudgingly. Although she had always wished her friend nothing but the best, after realizing her feelings for him, she hated the idea of Sirius and Narcissa becoming close even more.

"Lily, are you ever going to speak to me again?" James stopped Lily on her way back to Gryffindor Tower. "I said I was sorry..." He looked down at her anxiously.

"James..." Lily started, wanting to apologize herself, but James cut her off.

"Lily, please forgive me! You can't imagine how horrible I felt after I almost told Sirius... and I'd do anything to make you forgive me." James wrinkled his eyebrows, aiming for the sad puppy look. But Lily just looked away, feeling even more sorry.

"James, you don't have to apologize. I- I've already forgiven you. But I just need some space right now, alright?" Lily said softly, then quickly walked away. James stood in the distance, looking defeated.

***

"Are you going to come and watch the Quidditch game tonight? Gryffindor against Hufflepuff, you know." Sirius grinned at Lily, who was absorbed in her History of Magic homework.

"I suppose I will. That is, if I can finish all of my homework in time..." Lily said, not looking up from her parchment even once.

"How can you prioritize homework over a Quidditch match, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, though he was grinning. "I'll be expecting to see you in those stands tonight watching James and I play, or you will unfortunately find yourself to be moulting canary feathers tomorrow morning, Lily Evans!" Sirius smirked playfully, and Lily found herself smiling.

"Is that a threat, Sirius Black?" Lily smiled back, just as impishly.

"Maybe it is." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows, making Lily giggle, but his expression soon turned serious. "But on a heavier note, Lily, I think you should forgive James for whatever he's done. The lad's been miserable lately."

"I've already forgiven him. It's just that I want some space to be alone for a while." Lily turned her attention back to the History of Magic textbook, hoping to avoid the subject.

"By the way, what was it that you were going to tell me in that classroom a couple days ago? To tell the truth, I felt kind of bad for just leaving you there, later on. I guess I was just so worked up over the project..." Sirius grinned apologetically.

"Oh, well, anyone could understand that; Sirius Black getting worked up over a school project." Lily rolled her eyes and smirked at Sirius.

"Hey! I happen to get very good grades!" Sirius pretended to look hurt, but soon pursued the subject once more. "So tell me, what was it that you were going to say?"

"Oh, nothing Sirius. It's nothing very important." Lily sighed, and lifted her quill to write.

"Please tell me; I am your best friend," Sirius pleaded, but Lily wouldn't budge.

"Perhaps another time, Sirius. It would only cause me trouble if I told you, and I've had enough of rows," Lily said sternly, and Sirius finally admitted defeat.

***

Lily followed Remus and Peter to the Quidditch pitch, all three of them clutching umbrellas. It was pouring heavily outside, but nevertheless, Professor Trafield, the flying instructor, didn't postpone the game. Students hurried to the stands, huddled underneath umbrellas.

"With such advanced magic, you'd think they'd invent something to replace Muggle umbrellas," Lily grumbled, but the two boys didn't hear her.

The three Gryffindors trudged through the damp grass, mud splashing onto their black robes. The hems of their robes were already dirty, and in Peter's case, even his face was flecked with mud; he had tripped over his robes numerous times, not to mention a couple of the Slytherins knocking him over on purpose.

"You reckon it's safe for James and Sirius to play in this sort of weather?" Peter spoke up nervously, and Lily also frowned in concern.

"I wouldn't worry so much if I were you; James and Sirius are always getting into danger sometime or another and they almost always seem to come out without a scratch," Remus said jokingly, just as they reached the stands.

The three squeezed through the long lines of dripping umbrellas and grabbed a seat near Arabella Figg and her group of friends.

"Say, do you think it'll be alright for Sirius and James to be playing in weather like this? I wouldn't be surprised if their brooms were blown completely off course in this wind..." Arabella spoke suddenly to Lily, startling her.

"I suppose they'll be alright..." Lily replied unsurely; Arabella Figg had always intimidated her for some reason.

"You don't seem awfully concerned..." Arabella eyed Lily carefully, but didn't say anything further.

Suddenly, Trafield's whistle was heard in the distance, and the two captains shook hands. Sirius hovered several feet behind the Gryffindor captain, looking nervous. James also looked tense, as he began to circle the pitch. The snitch was released, and then the game began abruptly.

Sirius zoomed between the other players, and received the Quaffle from a fellow Gryffindor. Easily swerving away from a Bludger, he tossed the Quaffle into the center hoop. A cheer from the Gryffindor side of the stands erupted, and Sirius flashed them a charming grin. His hair was soaked, and his Quidditch robes muddy, but he couldn't have looked more dashing all the same.

The game continued considerably smoothly, despite the pouring rain. Although the students couldn't have noticed the rain amidst all the excitement, Lily felt rather uncomfortable. Quidditch had never really been her thing, and the rain was just making it worse.

"You don't happen to know any drying charms or anything of the sort, do you?" Lily asked Remus, who had his eyes firmly fixed on the game.

"W- what? Oh, no actually I don't. Sorry. Then again, you're much better with Charms than me anyway." Remus smiled apologetically, but soon returned his attention to the pitch.

"I can't stand this... it's freezing out here..." Lily grumbled to herself, but no one paid any attention. She started to adjust the position of her umbrella, when Remus suddenly tapped her urgently, almost knocking her over.

"It's Sirius!"

Lily, who was extremely startled and rather dazed, put her umbrella aside, and looked down at the pitch. Sirius was lying on the wet ground, seemingly unconscious. All of the other players had stopped playing, and Trafield, along with several other professors, ran to help Sirius.

"What just happened?" Lily asked in panic.

"Sirius was going to score for Gryffindor, and I guess he couldn't see very well through the rain, because he ended up colliding with one of the Hufflepuff beaters..."






A/N: That's all for now... Sorry I took so long to update; I've been a bit busy with other things, to tell the truth. I'll try to update more often, and I am really looking forward to finishing this story... (The plot is getting sort of messy. I'd tell you I have writer's block, but I think it's just more due to me being lazy^^;)

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement unintended. Don't sue me, or you'll have to sue millions of others... Do you really have the time for that? I didn't think so. ^^;;