Disclaimer- Yes, we are poor, terribly sorry...you can go sue someone else,
though, eh? Someone who hasn't put up their Disclaimer? Ooh, nice, guilty
meat.
Authors Note- All right, that was a lovely chapter from DracosDramaQueen, and now it's back to me...I'm slightly braindead right now, but I'm trying. So stay with me here. As in, review every chapter here, thanks.
Chapter Seven (wheee we're here already!)
The next morning, Lily awoke to the sound of someone humming. It was a sweet, buoyant sound, and Lily grasped onto it with her mind, not wanting to surrender her calmness to the chaos of the day. It continued, growing softer and louder, until it abruptly stopped. Lily frowned. Ah, yes, why don't they just go and ruin her happiness, she thought angrily, opening her eyes. The person humming had been Claire, who was standing in front of her full-length mirror, her gold hair piled on top of her head.
"Avery! What were you doing, humming horribly like that, waking me up?" she snapped irritably, sitting up in her bed. Claire whirled around, eyes wide.
"Oh, Ev-er, Lily, I'm so sorry! I've been up for nearly an hour, now, and had nothing better to do than-"
"Wake the entire school up with your lack of skill at singing? And why were you up an hour ago? It's only..." she looked over at her bedside table, where there was a clock. "Seven o'clock!" she cried, turning back to her friend. Claire fidgeted with her robes guiltily. "Do you always wake up at six?"
"Yes," Claire murmured. "I get up early. I can't help it, Lily! It's like my biological clock rings at the same time every-"
"Shut up! I don't care about your biological clock!" Lily screeched, throwing herself out of bed. The carpet was soft but still chilled with the Octbober weather on her bare feet as she walked over to her chest, heaving it open. Mumbling angrily to herself, she sifted through her clothes, finally grabbing-who would have guessed-a clean pair of her school robes.
To her right, Kate was beginning to awake from the noise. She sat up, groggily running a hand through her brown hair, peering around sleepily.
"What's all the noise?" she muttered.
"Shut up," was all Lily said, as she stormed into the bathroom. Kate turned and stared at Claire, who was equally confused.
"What's up with her? What did you do, Claire?" Kate asked, immediately blaming Lily's bad mood on Claire, who seemed to have a knack for annoying people. Claire actually wasn't all that annoying, it was just that Lily was incredibly irritable.
"I didn't do anything, thank you, she woke up just like that," she said flatly, turning back to the mirror and once again running her brush through her hair, resuming her humming as she vainly began to braid her hair for the day.
~*~*~*~*~
That morning at breakfast, the very air in the Great Hall seemed to be rather tense; perhaps the memories of yesterday were still floating through the tense atmosphere, reminding people of their outbursts, and maybe spurring guilt. Lily sat in her usual seat, grumpily stabbing a pancake mercilessly and then waving it through the air, letting it flop down onto Claire's plate. Claire hardly noticed; she was stuffing bacon into her face at a speed that was hardly natural.
"My god, you're going to get horribly fat some day, you know that?" Kate said as she picked at a piece of her roll with her painted fingernails.
"Not like you don't remind me every day," Claire retorted thickly, mouth still full. "And I won't get fat, I have a fast metabolism." She seemed to swell with pride upon saying this, as though proud of saying such a big word.
"Oh, nice one, retard," Kate snapped sarcastically, eyes glimmering. Claire opened her mouth (which was not a pleasant sight) to reply, but Lily cut in.
"Shut up! Must I hex you both to get you to be quiet? Just give us some peace, here!" she cried, throwing her fork down. It skittered down the wooden table, clattering loudly. Kate and Claire fell silent.
Just then, Lily looked up, her emerald-green eyes surveying the Hall. People were pigging out, as they usually did during breakfast, and getting fat, if she might add. She lazily looked over to the Gryffindor table, with no real intention, but of course saw James, Sirius and Remus sitting together, bent over a piece of parchment, talking in hushed voices.
At once, she was suspicious. What were they doing? She watched as Sirius said something rather loudly and James immediately hushed him, stuffing the paper under the table as a few other Gryffindors looked their way at the sudden noise. When the people turned their heads again, they drew out the paper and continued looking at it, nodding, pointing their fingers at it.
"What are they doing?" Kate asked, who had followed Lily's gaze, and was watching them.
"I don't know," Lily said, immediately on guard. "I wasn't looking at them, I was watching those guys," she lied, beckoning her hand to a couple a little ways down the Gryffindor table; the boy had ridiculously orange hair, and the girl's hair was rather red, and they were huddled together like fat little birds during a rainstorm. And indeed, the girl was rather plump.
Kate shrugged and returned to picking at her food. Finally, breakfast was over and the students oozed out of the Hall and towards their first classes.
~*~*~*~*~
The next day was a Saturday, and Lily couldn't be more thankful. She slept in until ten o'clock, missing breakfast completely, but didn't feel like eating anyways. The Slytherin common room was bustling with commotion, full of gossiping and preparations for the upcoming Quidditch match; Slytherin verses Gryffindor. The Slytherins had no doubt that they would win; they had positively slaughtered the Hufflepuffs the week before, and were now tied in the lead with Gryffindor. This one match would pull them ahead, until another house's Quidditch points passed theirs.
The day was dreary and cold, as if a thin, gray blanket had nestled itself firmly over the grounds of Hogwarts, sodden and wet with a light drizzle that lasted throughout the day. Needless to say, this seriously dampened Lily's mood, if that was even possible. Nonetheless, she was looking forward to watching the Gryffindors struggle on the field.
Trudging across the damp grass, she, Kate and Claire murmured softly, their cloaks tight around their bodies, their hoods draped over their heads.
"This sucks, I hate coming out here when it's raining," Claire whined, frowning as the hem of her black cloak dragged in a muddy puddle.
"You can go back inside, Avery, we won't miss you," Lily said acidly, not even looking the other way towards her friend. Claire fell silent as they began ascending the stairs to their high perch on the stands.
They sat there, cramped together in the October cold, grumbling under their breath. Lucius and Severus came over to sit with them, as neither of them were on the team. Augustus and Jack were, though, and Claire was squirming in her seat, waiting to see them on their broomsticks. Kate had to repeatedly tell her to shut up before she fell silent and sat, slumped and frowning.
Eventually, the game began, though it was hardly exciting for Lily. She watched, bored, as the Quaffle was passed from Slytherin chaser to chaser, and grinned as the Gryffindor keeper nearly got knocked out of the air. The Slytherins were winning, Augustus was performing wonderfully, often showing off with pointless little tricks that made Claire squeal and Lily scowl. Sometimes she wondered why she was even friends with that girl. But she does keep your secrets, she thought to herself, and snuggled deeper into her cloak.
But Lily couldn't help letting her eyes wander over to one of the Gryffinor chasers, James Potter. He was currently racing through the air, like a red streak, towards the Slytherin goal posts. She watched, rather stricken with some unknown emotion, as he weaved around more players and skillfully passed the Quaffle to another one of his chasers, and assisted as the Gryffindors scored.
Finally, the game ended, with the Slytherins winning. Lily felt terribly superior as she strutted through the crowds towards the castle, as though she had actually done the work to win. People were cheering the players, clapping them on the back and yelling in their ear, as though they couldn't hear, while the Gryffindors slumped away, looking dejected, dragging their feet through the grass.
Lily was walking away, anxious to get inside, when she saw James wandering away, his broomstick hanging limply over his shoulder. She stopped abruptly, causing Kate to crash into her.
"Hey! Watch out!" her friend cried, but Lily didn't care. She turned around, her eyes suddenly glimmering.
"Go back inside, I'll be there in a little while. I just want to talk to someone," she said, and marched away towards James. She rushed past him, grabbing his arm as she did so and dragging him around the corner of the building, where they were concealed from sight. He stared at her and jerked his arm away when they stopped, massaging it, leaning his broomstick against the wall.
"What was that for?" he asked, frowning. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking pointedly at him, looking rather smug.
"I want to know why you wanted to talk to me the other day," she said. He looked confused for a moment, and then blushed a little, to her surprise.
"Oh, that. It was nothing. Forget it." He attempted to turn and walk away, but she grabbed the back of his scarlet Quidditch uniform and pulled him back.
"No, I want to know what you were going to say. I'm not going to let this go easily, you know." He turned around and rolled his eyes, much to her annoyance, but said nothing. "Come on, now, talk. Patience isn't one of my virtues," she said.
He grinned. "Well, you have so few of them, I wouldn't waste your time worrying about that one." His blue eyes glimmered and her green ones narrowed.
"Oh, that sure was smooth, Potter," she spat. "I bet you spent all night thinking that one up. Now, tell me!"
He sighed and shrugged. "Sure, fine. You're not going to be incredibly excited, though. I just wanted to apologize for what I did the other night. I probably scared you," he said calmly, though his insides were squirming with nerves and he felt as though his head was going to explode.
"Scared me? You freaked me out!" she shrieked, and his eyes widened.
"Yeah, and you just happened to slap me for it, you know!"
"Well you deserved it!"
"Okay, maybe I did, but you sure as hell don't seem to be regretting it," he snapped.
She stared at him. "What? Where did you get that? God, you're so thick sometimes!" she yelled, waving her arms around, her deep red hair in bouncing on her shoulders, making James feel even more queasy.
"Never mind! I don't care any more about you, Evans! Let's just pretend that we never cussed each other out, that I never kissed you, that you never slapped me, that I never embarrassed you in front of everybody in the Great Hall, and that you never slapped me again."
She just watched him, her emerald eyes watching his every move.
"Fine. Agreed. I'll just completely forget all about you," she said, though her mind was telling her that that was far easier said than done. Strangely, he seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he looked at her, his exasperated expression softening, making Lily's heart flutter as his features melted into perfect handsomeness.
"Are you sure?" he suddenly whispered, surprising her, though pleasing her all the same. And she smiled softly, her former icy appearance suddenly completely gone as her heart thudded in her chest.
"No." She smiled again. "Let's forget I ever said that." And then, knowing she couldn't possibly refuse, he leaned forward and kissed her, his slightly wind-chapped lips pressing against her soft ones, as she felt herself practically melt underneath him, in his strong grasp. And she didn't refuse him. In fact, she rather welcomed him, as odd as that may seem.
~*~*~*~*~
Sirius watched glumly as the red and orange flames danced in the hearth of the common room, their slender bodies twisting, leaping and shrinking, merging into each other, casting eerie shadows across the carpet floor. They reflected in his dark, unblinking eyes, trying to cheer him with their act, though they weren't exactly what he needed right then.
He turned his head slowly to see James sitting, reading a book for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, drumming his fingers cheerily on the arm of his plush chair. He looked perfectly happy for some reason, and it was irritating Sirius.
James looked up and met his friend's eyes, but Sirius looked quickly away, confusing James. Suddenly a snore cut through the awkward silence and both of them looked over to a couch where Remus was lying, sprawled out, his chest rising and falling peacefully. The shadows of the fire leapt across his face, making him seem all the more pale and gaunt.
"Why are you so sad, Sirius? You seem awful serious," James said. He paused for a moment, and then burst into insane laughter. "Get it? Sirius? Serious? They're like...the same!" he threw his head back and cackled loudly, pounding the chair in his glee. He looked back to his friend, still laughing, though they slowly subsided at Sirius' frown. "What'd I do?"
"Why are you so happy, James?" Sirius asked. James frowned suddenly, confused.
"Why does it matter? Aren't I allowed to be happy?"
"Well of course," Sirius snapped, clearly annoyed, "but not when you just lost a Quidditch game."
James stared at his friend. "So? We lost, so what? We've lost a game before. At least it wasn't my fault and...why does it matter if I'm happy?"
"It doesn't! It's just, well, why are you happy? Nothing happiness- worth has happened today, which is why I'm rather not happy, and yet there you are, bouncing around with glee. If something is worth such radiance then maybe you should tell me."
At once, James swelled with importance, though knowing that he couldn't possibly tell Sirius about he and Lily's infatuation for each other, even though they were as close as friends could get. "Nothing happened. I'm just happy, for some reason," he said softly, not really wanting to get into an argument.
But apparently, Sirius did. "God, James! Why won't you just tell me?"
"What are you, a control freak? I don't have to tell you anything! What if I don't want to tell you? Ooh, Sirius, I bet that's a big surprise. James Potter not telling his best friend why he's happy? Oh, god, shield us all!" he yelled sardonically, blue eyes flashing. Sirius was fuming now.
"Well what'd you do, go screw one of your stalkers after the game?"
James eyes widened with fury. "WHAT?" he yelled. "One of my stalkers? Excuse me, no one stalks me, and I'd never screw one of them, you sick bastard!"
"Oh, you don't have stalkers, eh? What about all those girls who follow you around, groveling at your feet, basking in your incredibly Glory of Potterness, huh? You've got everyone at your beck and call, you can get any girl in your bed with the slightest little wink in their direction! Think about us, once in a while!"
"Oh my god, Sirius. I don't know where you're getting all this crap. I'd never do that, and I do not have girls-"
"Oh yeah? There's a James Potter fan club," Sirius said acidly, standing up. James gawked at him. A fan club? He actually wanted to laugh at the thought.
"Well...well..." he stammered, not finding anything to say. Sirius laughed a sharp, short laugh that hurt James' ears.
"Guys?" a meek voice suddenly said. They turned around to see Remus sitting up, staring at them, his light brown hair tousled, his eyes heavy from sleep. "Why are you yelling? What's the problem?"
James rolled his eyes, pointing at Sirius. "It's him. He got all mad at me for being happy. Happy! Damnit, what the hell's there wrong with being happy?" he yelled, his voice raising involuntarily as he glared at Sirius.
"He won't tell me anything!" Sirius yelled. "Nothing! Has he told you- "
"SIRIUS! I have NOTHING to TELL!" James roared, leaping out of his seat, his eyes looking strangely red in the firelight. Sirius opened his mouth to scream back when Remus leapt in between them, holding out his arms, as though bracing himself for a fight.
"Guys! Chill out, I'm sure this is nothing but a little brawl...from what I can tell, it sounds like James has nothing to tell, Sirius. He's just being happy, and he wouldn't keep secrets from us, that's absurd," he said wisely in his calm, slow voice. Just the sound of it soothed James, but he wanted to hex Sirius so badly his fingers were aching to grab his wand.
"Oh, yeah, of course, Remus! Side with James, why don't you? Be one of his followers, grovel at his feet-"
"SHUT UP!" James suddenly screamed pointedly at Sirius. "Just SHUT UP!" Then he whirled around and stalked up the stairs, fuming, as though he had never been this angry in his life. He had no idea what he was angry at. That was the stupidest fight he had ever had in his life. Why couldn't Sirius just leave him alone in his own blissful world of cracking stupid jokes and dreaming of Lily?
Throwing himself onto his bed, he kicked off his shoes and crawled under his blankets, glaring up at the red canopy as though it was Sirius himself. You have no reason to be mad, he told himself. Sirius is just jealous, that's all. Just chill out and it'll all be over in the morning. Just pretend like nothing is going on, like you're not keeping any secrets from your friend.
More shouts from down the stairs told James that Remus' peacekeeping acts hadn't exactly worked on the angry Sirius. It would take more than that to calm him down, though he, too, hardly had a reason to be mad.
~*~*~*~*~
Authors Note: Wow! Seven pages! Geez! I just went on a total streak there and wrote five of the pages...sorry if it was too long, if that's even possible. Anyways, hope you liked that. Yes, the argument was stupid and pointless and there was no reason for Sirius to get mad, he was just pissed off. Don't flame me about it, please. ~BlondieChild
Authors Note- All right, that was a lovely chapter from DracosDramaQueen, and now it's back to me...I'm slightly braindead right now, but I'm trying. So stay with me here. As in, review every chapter here, thanks.
Chapter Seven (wheee we're here already!)
The next morning, Lily awoke to the sound of someone humming. It was a sweet, buoyant sound, and Lily grasped onto it with her mind, not wanting to surrender her calmness to the chaos of the day. It continued, growing softer and louder, until it abruptly stopped. Lily frowned. Ah, yes, why don't they just go and ruin her happiness, she thought angrily, opening her eyes. The person humming had been Claire, who was standing in front of her full-length mirror, her gold hair piled on top of her head.
"Avery! What were you doing, humming horribly like that, waking me up?" she snapped irritably, sitting up in her bed. Claire whirled around, eyes wide.
"Oh, Ev-er, Lily, I'm so sorry! I've been up for nearly an hour, now, and had nothing better to do than-"
"Wake the entire school up with your lack of skill at singing? And why were you up an hour ago? It's only..." she looked over at her bedside table, where there was a clock. "Seven o'clock!" she cried, turning back to her friend. Claire fidgeted with her robes guiltily. "Do you always wake up at six?"
"Yes," Claire murmured. "I get up early. I can't help it, Lily! It's like my biological clock rings at the same time every-"
"Shut up! I don't care about your biological clock!" Lily screeched, throwing herself out of bed. The carpet was soft but still chilled with the Octbober weather on her bare feet as she walked over to her chest, heaving it open. Mumbling angrily to herself, she sifted through her clothes, finally grabbing-who would have guessed-a clean pair of her school robes.
To her right, Kate was beginning to awake from the noise. She sat up, groggily running a hand through her brown hair, peering around sleepily.
"What's all the noise?" she muttered.
"Shut up," was all Lily said, as she stormed into the bathroom. Kate turned and stared at Claire, who was equally confused.
"What's up with her? What did you do, Claire?" Kate asked, immediately blaming Lily's bad mood on Claire, who seemed to have a knack for annoying people. Claire actually wasn't all that annoying, it was just that Lily was incredibly irritable.
"I didn't do anything, thank you, she woke up just like that," she said flatly, turning back to the mirror and once again running her brush through her hair, resuming her humming as she vainly began to braid her hair for the day.
~*~*~*~*~
That morning at breakfast, the very air in the Great Hall seemed to be rather tense; perhaps the memories of yesterday were still floating through the tense atmosphere, reminding people of their outbursts, and maybe spurring guilt. Lily sat in her usual seat, grumpily stabbing a pancake mercilessly and then waving it through the air, letting it flop down onto Claire's plate. Claire hardly noticed; she was stuffing bacon into her face at a speed that was hardly natural.
"My god, you're going to get horribly fat some day, you know that?" Kate said as she picked at a piece of her roll with her painted fingernails.
"Not like you don't remind me every day," Claire retorted thickly, mouth still full. "And I won't get fat, I have a fast metabolism." She seemed to swell with pride upon saying this, as though proud of saying such a big word.
"Oh, nice one, retard," Kate snapped sarcastically, eyes glimmering. Claire opened her mouth (which was not a pleasant sight) to reply, but Lily cut in.
"Shut up! Must I hex you both to get you to be quiet? Just give us some peace, here!" she cried, throwing her fork down. It skittered down the wooden table, clattering loudly. Kate and Claire fell silent.
Just then, Lily looked up, her emerald-green eyes surveying the Hall. People were pigging out, as they usually did during breakfast, and getting fat, if she might add. She lazily looked over to the Gryffindor table, with no real intention, but of course saw James, Sirius and Remus sitting together, bent over a piece of parchment, talking in hushed voices.
At once, she was suspicious. What were they doing? She watched as Sirius said something rather loudly and James immediately hushed him, stuffing the paper under the table as a few other Gryffindors looked their way at the sudden noise. When the people turned their heads again, they drew out the paper and continued looking at it, nodding, pointing their fingers at it.
"What are they doing?" Kate asked, who had followed Lily's gaze, and was watching them.
"I don't know," Lily said, immediately on guard. "I wasn't looking at them, I was watching those guys," she lied, beckoning her hand to a couple a little ways down the Gryffindor table; the boy had ridiculously orange hair, and the girl's hair was rather red, and they were huddled together like fat little birds during a rainstorm. And indeed, the girl was rather plump.
Kate shrugged and returned to picking at her food. Finally, breakfast was over and the students oozed out of the Hall and towards their first classes.
~*~*~*~*~
The next day was a Saturday, and Lily couldn't be more thankful. She slept in until ten o'clock, missing breakfast completely, but didn't feel like eating anyways. The Slytherin common room was bustling with commotion, full of gossiping and preparations for the upcoming Quidditch match; Slytherin verses Gryffindor. The Slytherins had no doubt that they would win; they had positively slaughtered the Hufflepuffs the week before, and were now tied in the lead with Gryffindor. This one match would pull them ahead, until another house's Quidditch points passed theirs.
The day was dreary and cold, as if a thin, gray blanket had nestled itself firmly over the grounds of Hogwarts, sodden and wet with a light drizzle that lasted throughout the day. Needless to say, this seriously dampened Lily's mood, if that was even possible. Nonetheless, she was looking forward to watching the Gryffindors struggle on the field.
Trudging across the damp grass, she, Kate and Claire murmured softly, their cloaks tight around their bodies, their hoods draped over their heads.
"This sucks, I hate coming out here when it's raining," Claire whined, frowning as the hem of her black cloak dragged in a muddy puddle.
"You can go back inside, Avery, we won't miss you," Lily said acidly, not even looking the other way towards her friend. Claire fell silent as they began ascending the stairs to their high perch on the stands.
They sat there, cramped together in the October cold, grumbling under their breath. Lucius and Severus came over to sit with them, as neither of them were on the team. Augustus and Jack were, though, and Claire was squirming in her seat, waiting to see them on their broomsticks. Kate had to repeatedly tell her to shut up before she fell silent and sat, slumped and frowning.
Eventually, the game began, though it was hardly exciting for Lily. She watched, bored, as the Quaffle was passed from Slytherin chaser to chaser, and grinned as the Gryffindor keeper nearly got knocked out of the air. The Slytherins were winning, Augustus was performing wonderfully, often showing off with pointless little tricks that made Claire squeal and Lily scowl. Sometimes she wondered why she was even friends with that girl. But she does keep your secrets, she thought to herself, and snuggled deeper into her cloak.
But Lily couldn't help letting her eyes wander over to one of the Gryffinor chasers, James Potter. He was currently racing through the air, like a red streak, towards the Slytherin goal posts. She watched, rather stricken with some unknown emotion, as he weaved around more players and skillfully passed the Quaffle to another one of his chasers, and assisted as the Gryffindors scored.
Finally, the game ended, with the Slytherins winning. Lily felt terribly superior as she strutted through the crowds towards the castle, as though she had actually done the work to win. People were cheering the players, clapping them on the back and yelling in their ear, as though they couldn't hear, while the Gryffindors slumped away, looking dejected, dragging their feet through the grass.
Lily was walking away, anxious to get inside, when she saw James wandering away, his broomstick hanging limply over his shoulder. She stopped abruptly, causing Kate to crash into her.
"Hey! Watch out!" her friend cried, but Lily didn't care. She turned around, her eyes suddenly glimmering.
"Go back inside, I'll be there in a little while. I just want to talk to someone," she said, and marched away towards James. She rushed past him, grabbing his arm as she did so and dragging him around the corner of the building, where they were concealed from sight. He stared at her and jerked his arm away when they stopped, massaging it, leaning his broomstick against the wall.
"What was that for?" he asked, frowning. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking pointedly at him, looking rather smug.
"I want to know why you wanted to talk to me the other day," she said. He looked confused for a moment, and then blushed a little, to her surprise.
"Oh, that. It was nothing. Forget it." He attempted to turn and walk away, but she grabbed the back of his scarlet Quidditch uniform and pulled him back.
"No, I want to know what you were going to say. I'm not going to let this go easily, you know." He turned around and rolled his eyes, much to her annoyance, but said nothing. "Come on, now, talk. Patience isn't one of my virtues," she said.
He grinned. "Well, you have so few of them, I wouldn't waste your time worrying about that one." His blue eyes glimmered and her green ones narrowed.
"Oh, that sure was smooth, Potter," she spat. "I bet you spent all night thinking that one up. Now, tell me!"
He sighed and shrugged. "Sure, fine. You're not going to be incredibly excited, though. I just wanted to apologize for what I did the other night. I probably scared you," he said calmly, though his insides were squirming with nerves and he felt as though his head was going to explode.
"Scared me? You freaked me out!" she shrieked, and his eyes widened.
"Yeah, and you just happened to slap me for it, you know!"
"Well you deserved it!"
"Okay, maybe I did, but you sure as hell don't seem to be regretting it," he snapped.
She stared at him. "What? Where did you get that? God, you're so thick sometimes!" she yelled, waving her arms around, her deep red hair in bouncing on her shoulders, making James feel even more queasy.
"Never mind! I don't care any more about you, Evans! Let's just pretend that we never cussed each other out, that I never kissed you, that you never slapped me, that I never embarrassed you in front of everybody in the Great Hall, and that you never slapped me again."
She just watched him, her emerald eyes watching his every move.
"Fine. Agreed. I'll just completely forget all about you," she said, though her mind was telling her that that was far easier said than done. Strangely, he seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he looked at her, his exasperated expression softening, making Lily's heart flutter as his features melted into perfect handsomeness.
"Are you sure?" he suddenly whispered, surprising her, though pleasing her all the same. And she smiled softly, her former icy appearance suddenly completely gone as her heart thudded in her chest.
"No." She smiled again. "Let's forget I ever said that." And then, knowing she couldn't possibly refuse, he leaned forward and kissed her, his slightly wind-chapped lips pressing against her soft ones, as she felt herself practically melt underneath him, in his strong grasp. And she didn't refuse him. In fact, she rather welcomed him, as odd as that may seem.
~*~*~*~*~
Sirius watched glumly as the red and orange flames danced in the hearth of the common room, their slender bodies twisting, leaping and shrinking, merging into each other, casting eerie shadows across the carpet floor. They reflected in his dark, unblinking eyes, trying to cheer him with their act, though they weren't exactly what he needed right then.
He turned his head slowly to see James sitting, reading a book for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, drumming his fingers cheerily on the arm of his plush chair. He looked perfectly happy for some reason, and it was irritating Sirius.
James looked up and met his friend's eyes, but Sirius looked quickly away, confusing James. Suddenly a snore cut through the awkward silence and both of them looked over to a couch where Remus was lying, sprawled out, his chest rising and falling peacefully. The shadows of the fire leapt across his face, making him seem all the more pale and gaunt.
"Why are you so sad, Sirius? You seem awful serious," James said. He paused for a moment, and then burst into insane laughter. "Get it? Sirius? Serious? They're like...the same!" he threw his head back and cackled loudly, pounding the chair in his glee. He looked back to his friend, still laughing, though they slowly subsided at Sirius' frown. "What'd I do?"
"Why are you so happy, James?" Sirius asked. James frowned suddenly, confused.
"Why does it matter? Aren't I allowed to be happy?"
"Well of course," Sirius snapped, clearly annoyed, "but not when you just lost a Quidditch game."
James stared at his friend. "So? We lost, so what? We've lost a game before. At least it wasn't my fault and...why does it matter if I'm happy?"
"It doesn't! It's just, well, why are you happy? Nothing happiness- worth has happened today, which is why I'm rather not happy, and yet there you are, bouncing around with glee. If something is worth such radiance then maybe you should tell me."
At once, James swelled with importance, though knowing that he couldn't possibly tell Sirius about he and Lily's infatuation for each other, even though they were as close as friends could get. "Nothing happened. I'm just happy, for some reason," he said softly, not really wanting to get into an argument.
But apparently, Sirius did. "God, James! Why won't you just tell me?"
"What are you, a control freak? I don't have to tell you anything! What if I don't want to tell you? Ooh, Sirius, I bet that's a big surprise. James Potter not telling his best friend why he's happy? Oh, god, shield us all!" he yelled sardonically, blue eyes flashing. Sirius was fuming now.
"Well what'd you do, go screw one of your stalkers after the game?"
James eyes widened with fury. "WHAT?" he yelled. "One of my stalkers? Excuse me, no one stalks me, and I'd never screw one of them, you sick bastard!"
"Oh, you don't have stalkers, eh? What about all those girls who follow you around, groveling at your feet, basking in your incredibly Glory of Potterness, huh? You've got everyone at your beck and call, you can get any girl in your bed with the slightest little wink in their direction! Think about us, once in a while!"
"Oh my god, Sirius. I don't know where you're getting all this crap. I'd never do that, and I do not have girls-"
"Oh yeah? There's a James Potter fan club," Sirius said acidly, standing up. James gawked at him. A fan club? He actually wanted to laugh at the thought.
"Well...well..." he stammered, not finding anything to say. Sirius laughed a sharp, short laugh that hurt James' ears.
"Guys?" a meek voice suddenly said. They turned around to see Remus sitting up, staring at them, his light brown hair tousled, his eyes heavy from sleep. "Why are you yelling? What's the problem?"
James rolled his eyes, pointing at Sirius. "It's him. He got all mad at me for being happy. Happy! Damnit, what the hell's there wrong with being happy?" he yelled, his voice raising involuntarily as he glared at Sirius.
"He won't tell me anything!" Sirius yelled. "Nothing! Has he told you- "
"SIRIUS! I have NOTHING to TELL!" James roared, leaping out of his seat, his eyes looking strangely red in the firelight. Sirius opened his mouth to scream back when Remus leapt in between them, holding out his arms, as though bracing himself for a fight.
"Guys! Chill out, I'm sure this is nothing but a little brawl...from what I can tell, it sounds like James has nothing to tell, Sirius. He's just being happy, and he wouldn't keep secrets from us, that's absurd," he said wisely in his calm, slow voice. Just the sound of it soothed James, but he wanted to hex Sirius so badly his fingers were aching to grab his wand.
"Oh, yeah, of course, Remus! Side with James, why don't you? Be one of his followers, grovel at his feet-"
"SHUT UP!" James suddenly screamed pointedly at Sirius. "Just SHUT UP!" Then he whirled around and stalked up the stairs, fuming, as though he had never been this angry in his life. He had no idea what he was angry at. That was the stupidest fight he had ever had in his life. Why couldn't Sirius just leave him alone in his own blissful world of cracking stupid jokes and dreaming of Lily?
Throwing himself onto his bed, he kicked off his shoes and crawled under his blankets, glaring up at the red canopy as though it was Sirius himself. You have no reason to be mad, he told himself. Sirius is just jealous, that's all. Just chill out and it'll all be over in the morning. Just pretend like nothing is going on, like you're not keeping any secrets from your friend.
More shouts from down the stairs told James that Remus' peacekeeping acts hadn't exactly worked on the angry Sirius. It would take more than that to calm him down, though he, too, hardly had a reason to be mad.
~*~*~*~*~
Authors Note: Wow! Seven pages! Geez! I just went on a total streak there and wrote five of the pages...sorry if it was too long, if that's even possible. Anyways, hope you liked that. Yes, the argument was stupid and pointless and there was no reason for Sirius to get mad, he was just pissed off. Don't flame me about it, please. ~BlondieChild