Year Two – Part Four
"I saw you with him, Lils!" cried Arabella with relish, as they headed off to Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Wickham. "You two were holding hands!"
"For about three seconds!" retorted Lily. She was fed up with all the talk of her and James as a couple. Surely she knew they would get married later, but she didn't like him just now, especially with Bella never letting her live up to this.
"Bells, leave Lils alone," said Jennifer, yawning widely. "Who cares if she and James Potter were holding hands. They're going to get married anyway after Hogwarts."
"Thank you, Jen, I've been waiting for Bella here to understand that. Now, Bells, will you now leave me alone?"
"Let me think about that—no."
"I hope Potter is suffering just as much as I am from Sirius," muttered Lily gloomily, as she sat at her usual table for class. She adored Professor Wickham: he was a young wizard in his mid-thirties who was always enthusiastic about teaching them to fight the Dark Arts and the many curses. Most fortunately for the young Gryffindors that they didn't take a double class with another House; they wanted Professor Wickham all to themselves.
"Lily! So kind of you to join us!" Professor Wickham winked as she sat down. Lily looked at him, confused for a moment, but then realized that she had been yelling at Arabella for a full three minutes.
"Oh—sorry about that, Professor," Lily mumbled.
Professor Wickham grinned. Ah…young love. In this case, very young love. He knew of young Lily and James' destiny for each other. So young to cope with such responsibility! He also knew of the two's hatred for each other, but every day, he'd see James Potter glancing at Lily with a dreamy expression.
"Mr. Potter, if you would be so kind as to pay a bit more attention to these curses I'm about to explain here," he patiently said, interrupting James' daydream for the fifth time that day. "If I may have a word with you after class."
Remus was glaring at James. Defense Against the Dark Arts was his favorite class and he took notes very dutifully every single class, even if it was boring. He felt it very insulting that James barely paid attention to such fascinating curses, but quickly hastened himself to his notes again, grinning, as he saw James glance toward Lily again.
Sirius, obviously, watched this all with an eagle eye, and gave a thumbs-up to James when Wickham had interrupted his little daydream. He personally thought that Lily and James were so over each other, but wouldn't admit it. He also thought that they were both as stubborn as mules.
Lily, who was always a good student, flushed whenever Professor Wickham said James' name. She did not look over towards his way, but always ended up in some sort of dazed dream whenever she stared at the notes in the book that she was supposed to be copying. It happened quite often in every class except for Charms and Potions; Charms was her favorite class and because it was likely to get all the points from Gryffindor taken off if she didn't pay attention in Potions.
Arabella was currently laughing at Lily silently to herself. Lily was barely noticing because of two reasons: either because she was daydreaming about James again or taking down detailed notes. Too bored to now pay attention to Wickham's energetic voice, Bella passed a note to Lily.
Hey Lils!
Lily replied, almost surprisingly: Bella! What are you doing?
Hey, this is boring, you know.
It is not! Professor Wickham is very intellectual in this field of study. And these curses are fascinating.
Yeah, whatever, forget the stupid speeches. Wickham's cool, but he's so boring sometimes. All right, all the time.
Well, it's not my fault you barely passed your exams. I wouldn't be surprised to see you fail this year.
Would you want me to?
If you keep bothering me about this nonsense of James Potter, yes, I would.
Darn. Fine, I'll stop bugging you about Jamsie.
Good. And it's Potter, not Jamsie.
Same thing.
Miraculously, Wickham had not noticed them writing notes, but the boys had, and ached to find out what they were talking about. So after class, the piece of parchment that Lily and Arabella were passing back and forth was completely forgotten by the girls, the boys took it and began reading.
"I can't believe Arabella doesn't think Defense Against the Dark Arts is interesting! I'm glad Lily thinks it is, though." Remus was extremely affronted.
"And I was hoping they'd be saying something about how Lily is head-over-heels for James, too," replied Sirius regretfully.
"Sirius, you're an idiot," said James good-naturedly, though his face was flushed at the mention of Lily.
Sirius snorted. "Jamie-boy, the whole school knows you're all over Lily Evans, so stop trying to hide it."
"I am not!" cried James, flushing.
"Yes, you are," said Remus, smiling. "Lily thinks the same way too. Jenny told me that Lily is frequently caught daydreaming, no doubt about you."
James blushed furiously. "Well…it might be about some other guy…like Amos Diggory," he added, scowling. "The idiot."
"Diggory's too arrogant," said Sirius. "Guy has girls flocking around him all the time, though."
"Hey, I have girls flocking around me too!" snapped James irritably. Then he added, "Though it's a lot of unwanted attention."
"Because you want Lily to notice you even though she doesn't?" suggested Sirius hopefully.
James had a sudden urge to punch Sirius right across the nose, but it didn't seem like a good idea at the time.
Remus grinned. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"I'll see you guys later, Wickham wanted a word with me," said James.
"James, I'm aware of this lack of attention you have towards this class," said Professor Wickham seriously, though a hint of a grin was pulling on his mouth. "I know that Lily Evans is very entrancing for you to be staring at her the whole time, but—"
"I hate her!" shouted James, without even realizing it. Then he turned red and muttered, "Sorry, Professor."
"No need. But I would love you and Lily to be friends so this whole dispute will be settled. And I really do feel for you, James. I know how stressful it is to learn of the future at such a young age."
"Thank you, sir." James left his office, and hurried to find his friends, who were nowhere to be found.
After searching for about a quarter of an hour, James gave up and decided to go to the library and get a head start on the Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. Unsurprisingly, Lily was there when he entered, poring over thick books.
"Hey, Lily," he said, and Lily turned around, surprised. She would never expect James Potter, of all the people, to be at the library so early.
"Potter?" she asked cautiously. "What the hell are you doing in the library right after a class? This must be a first!"
"Yeah, well…" James shrugged. "I was looking for Sirius, Remus, and Peter, couldn't find them, so I decided to come here to get a head start on that ruddy essay."
"I think it's an interesting topic," said Lily thoughtfully. "And what's it to you how you lost you friends? Aren't they always with you?"
"Er—" James was debating whether to tell her or now. "Well, Professor Wickham kept me back after class for a few minutes, and when I got out of his classroom, well, they weren't anywhere in sight."
"I'll help you look for them," offered Lily, amazed herself at what she had said. Hadn't she wanted to finish her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay as soon as possible?
James seemed to be having similar thoughts. What was Evans thinking, helping him find his friends? Surely, it was a friendly gesture, but was she serious? All she cared about was finishing that stupid essay and getting ten out of ten.
"Are you sure, Lily?" he asked cautiously, still doubting the redhead. "I mean, you did come to the library this early to get a head start on that essay of Wickham's."
"Oh, forget about that, I have all weekend!" exclaimed Lily. She was suddenly in a very hyper and hysterical mood. "Besides, it's nice to get out of the library for a while. I go there every day, and I need a new place to go to, for a change. Exploring Hogwarts is definitely better than poring over books in the library."
"You go to that ruddy library every day?" asked James in amazement. "My, isn't that a dull life!"
"Hey, I've made my point," said Lily, shrugging. She grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulders. "Come on, are we going to find them or not? They're my friends, too, you know."
James was surprised, but quickly felt guilty, since he always considered Sirius, Remus, and Peter his and only his friends. Now he found out how selfish he was to think that.
"Of course I know that they're your friends," he snapped rather nervously.
Lily rolled her eyes; she obviously didn't believe him. "Whatever." Then she left the library, causing James to think twice and run after her.
Evans is really different – unlike any girl I've ever known, mused James. I wonder if she'd make a good mother…wow, I must be going way too far!
"Potter?" Lily poked him on his ribs. "Hello? Well, you're pretty blind, the rest of the Marauders were waiting right outside the library for you. They've been looking for you everywhere."
James turned and saw Sirius, Remus, and Peter smiling at him near the library door. Where the hell had they come from? He hadn't seen them there when he entered the library! Unless—
"You three stole my Invisibility Cloak!" he cried frantically. "All right, Sirius, where is it?"
Sirius shook his head, grinning, and took out the silvery cloak from his robe pocket. "My, my, are you quick, Potter."
James grinned. "I know all your antics, I do, Siri-boy. I know 'em even better than old Figg."
Both Lily and Sirius turned red, and James laughed. "I was just kidding!"
"Good," said Lily, still frowning. "'Cause Bella's your friend, isn't she?"
"Of course she is! So is Jen and Vi…and somehow, you're sort of my friend."
Lily looked horrified. "Very funny, Potter."
"Funny? It's no joke."
"Considering that his attention span completely lapses when he thinks of you," added Peter. He had barely spoken those last few days, and whenever he did, he always ended up stuttering very badly.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "You talk?"
Peter flushed. "Yeah, I do."
"With no stutter? Really, Peter, this must also be a first for you! I haven't heard you talk without a stutter for months on end."
Peter was now extremely red, and Lily grinned. "Come on, Pete, I was joking. I'm not that mean, you know."
"You aren't?" asked James, hiding a smile.
"No, Potter, I'm not…most of the time. When I am mean, it's always either to you, other idiotic people, or the Slytherins. You and the Slytherins most of the time."
"Well, well, well. It looks like Potter is flirting here with yet another girl. Getting sick of that Jackson, Potter?" They all turned around to see Snape and his Slytherin gang. Lily suddenly felt very sick.
Snape was taken aback when he saw Lily. "Why, Lily! It's so pleasant to see you here…in the company of Potter." He frowned.
"Didn't you hate me last week, Severus? You did call me a Mudblood, after all."
"Oh!" Snape was now bright red. "Well—er—you see, now, Lily, I was just—"
"And you better not say I had something to do with it, because I didn't play a prank on you for a week," interrupted James, seeing that Snape was desperately looking at his direction.
"Yeah, Potter, like I can believe that. Last time you made me like Evans for the whole first year. How do I know if you didn't this time?"
"Because I've definitely learned my lesson," replied James, wincing slightly at the remembrance of Lily slapping him hard across the face after she had found out.
After Snape and the other Slytherins left, Sirius burst out laughing. "Oh my God, Snape still likes you, even though Jamie-boy didn't do anything! It's priceless!"
Lily was beet red. "Hush it, Black, or you were personally be injured."
"Oh, I'm so scared," muttered Sirius.
"You'd better be," threatened Lily.
"Ooh, is that a threat? From a girl?" mocked Sirius, grinning.
"Sirius…" muttered James.
"Yes, Jamie-boy? Oh…jealous, are you?" Sirius' grin, if possible, became even wider.
James looked incredulously at his best friend. "Jealous? Of what?"
"How should I know? I'm not you."
"I don't know why you were named Sirius, Siri-boy. After all, you aren't very serious."
"He's the most un-serious person I've ever seen!" cried Peter.
"Grammar, Pete," said Remus, smiling at the small boy. "There's no such thing as 'un-serious' in our language."
"You know, Remus, you and Lily would make a great couple. You guys correct all of us on stupid grammar," said Sirius.
"I don't want to be killed by Jen, Sirius, so I think I'll pass," snapped Lily angrily. "Besides, she loves Remus to death, why live a few years shorter?"
"We're only twelve," mumbled Remus, blushing. "We…we don't understand love yet."
"Don't worry, Remus, Jen's just really precocious," said Lily, smiling at the brown-haired boy.
"What's 'precocious' mean?" asked Peter, yet again.
They all sighed. "Never mind, Pete."
"What?"
(A/N: Yes, I know I'm making Peter really dumb, but he is…isn't he?)
"Well, I'm going back to the library, if you don't mind," said Lily rather snappily.
"Of course I don't. I barely even know why you even came to help me look for those morons"—James pointed to his friends—"in the first place."
Lily shrugged. "Hey, I'm a nice girl!"
James snorted. "Right."
***
Spring passed quickly, as did the Easter holidays. Lily had gone home as she had promised Mum, and now it was May, summer fast approaching. The second years had more homework than ever, and it was a common sight to see Lily bent over a book and writing viciously with her quill. Still, she managed to get the top grades of their year—at least, so far.
James was gradually failing every subject except for Transfiguration. Professor Flitwick was especially displeased at his indifference and inability at Charms, and even Professor McGonagall got impatient with him when his attention lapsed again in class. He ended up having even more work to do than Lily.
"James?" Lily asked timidly, as he worked furiously fast at his nasty Charms essay.
"Yes?" he answered curtly. James was not in the mood to talk to anyone, especially Lily.
"I was wondering…if you need any help," continued Lily, her voice unusually small. "Since, well, Professor Flitwick did give you more homework than the rest of us—"
"So you're here to jeer and make fun of me," finished James angrily. "Really, Lily, if you had anything better to do, you'd get started on your own work. Oh wait! I forgot! You already finished all your homework, so you came to make fun of me instead! Ha!" With that, James gathered all his books, parchments, quills, and ink and left for the boys' dormitory.
"Sorry about James, Lily," said Remus quietly, as he watched James storm up the circular staircase. "He's a bit strained at this moment."
Lily looked after him, astonished, but then her face turned angry as well. "He didn't have to be so nasty about it. I mean, I was only trying to help after all. Besides, it's his own fault that he stays up late every night marauding around the school and not getting any of his homework done. Really!" Her face was bright red, and she was breathing very quickly.
"Don't worry about Potter, Lils, he's a real jerk," said Arabella, trying to calm down her friend.
"He's not!" cried Sirius hotly, who was scribbling on his parchment as well. "He's just stressed like the rest of us. It's not his fault he thought Lily was making fun of him. After all, she does do it all the time, and she is done with all her homework." He shot Lily an extremely nasty look.
"Sirius Black!" shrieked Arabella, making the whole common room silent. "Don't you dare insult my best friend!"
"Well, you insulted mine!"
Lily felt her eyes sting with tears. Arabella and Sirius were fighting…because of her! Suddenly, without warning, she took a leaf out of James' book and stormed up to her dorm as well. Behind her, she heard Jennifer and Remus' voices mingled in the argument also.
Lily started crying as soon as she reached her four-poster bed. It was empty, since her friends were still in the common room, arguing. She suddenly heard knocking on the door, and thinking it was Arabella or Jennifer, she called, "Come in."
It wasn't them. It was James.
"Go away, Potter!" Lily cried, and sobbed once more.
"Lily?" he asked. "Why are you crying?"
"I'm not crying!" shouted Lily, wiping at her tears furiously.
James rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, and I'm the Minister of Magic."
"Why are you here anyway?"
"I just came to apologize," he said rather awkwardly, blushing. "I—didn't mean to lash out at you like that. Must've just…slipped my mind. All that homework is a bunch of cra—" He stopped, noticing that his language was slowly slipping. "Sorry."
"It's all right," replied Lily, trying to smile, but failing terribly. "It's just that…you could try studying once in a while. It works."
James grinned. "James Potter, King of the Quidditch Field—study? How unlikely is that?"
"You're right," said Lily, sighing. "You can never be expected to study. It's just like saying Snape apologizing to you and becoming your friend."
"Or you and Remus kissing," added James, sniggering at the thought.
Lily made a face. "Remus and Sirius are like brothers to me. So is Peter, I suppose, though he is a bit slow. And so are you." Lily stood up and kissed James lightly on the cheek and smiled mysteriously.
James blushed even redder than he was before. "I hope Sirius isn't watching with my Invisibility Cloak right now. Because he will never let me live it down."
"Don't worry, he's still arguing in the common room with…" Lily gulped. "…with Bella." She broke down again. "It's all my fault that they're all arguing!"
"Nah," said James, and he grinned. "They're stressed, too. It may seem like Sirius and Arabella were arguing because of you, but they're not. I've known Sirius too long of my life."
"So it's not my fault?"
"Of course not! Though watch Sirius and Arabella break up. They'll both date other people just to make each other jealous, and then confess their undying 'like' for each other again. It's not love, of course. We're only thirteen, after all."
"I'll be thirteen in June," said Lily, smiling now. But then she frowned. "They'll break up? But that'll shatter poor Bella's heart into pieces!"
"And Sirius'," added James. "My God, you think he's in love with the girl, the way they snog each other like there's no tomorrow."
Lily laughed. "Still…I hate it when my friends are unhappy. Though I'm rather ecstatic when you're unhappy…no offense. Actually, it was an offense."
James grinned again and shook his head. "You, Evans, are still my enemy. Am I right?"
"For once in your life, you are."
***
"I hate Sirius Black!" gushed Arabella. She had been shooting daggers at Sirius all day today. "The way he's snogging Sarah Abbott…and he said to us he'd never kiss any Hufflepuff in his life!" She burst into tears, but smiled at the sight of Amos Diggory at the Hufflepuff table. "Now there's one hot Hufflepuff that I must get my hands on."
Lily, Jennifer, and Violet all watched as Arabella walked up to Amos and kissed him. He looked surprised for a moment, but then returned her kisses more than willingly. After all, most of the male population at Hogwarts were after Bella. The three other girls tried to stifle their laughs as they watched Sirius stare jealously at the kissing couple at the Hufflepuff table.
"So."
They turned around, and saw James Potter smiling at them.
"Looks like Diggory and Figg have finally gotten together, after her making faces at him for over a year."
"You mean used to, before Bella met Sirius," snapped Jennifer.
"Jen," warned Lily.
"What, sticking up to your boyfriend?"
"Jennifer!" Lily was scandalized. "The way you think sometimes!"
"I'm only joking," said Jennifer, grinning. "You know they'll get together any day now. It's no surprise."
"But look how much they're both suffering, though," commented Violet, looking pityingly at Sirius' sad and angry face.
James opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it, smiling wickedly. "How about you start kissing Sirius, Vi, so you can make those two airheads get together sooner."
"I'd never!" cried Violet, her eyes widening. "How can you suggest such a thing?"
"I was just saying…" muttered James, shrugging.
"James Potter. What are you doing with her friends?"
James turned around to find a furious Sirius glaring at the three girls.
"What?" he asked, surprised.
"You're talking to Evans, Dean, and Walker. Figg's friends. My ex-girlfriend, who will never become my girlfriend…ever." He emphasized the last word hardly.
"What are you blaming Evans, Jennifer, and Vi for, anyway, Sirius? Sure, I don't like Evans, but Jen and Vi are my friends. And yours. So is Arabella."
"Don't say her name James, how many times do I have to tell you?"
"Humph! You know you miss Bella, Sirius, I can see it in your eyes. And Bella misses you too."
"Then why is she kissing Diggory?" spat Sirius.
"Well, why were you kissing Sarah Abbott?" asked James lightly. Seeing Sirius' stunned expression, he continued. "Make your choice, Siri-boy. If you need help, ask me, Remus, or Peter any time."
"You…" Sirius shook his head and stormed off to snog Sarah again.
"The boy's too stubborn," said James, sighing, as he watched Sirius now deepen his kiss with Sarah. "It's disgusting."
"Why? You've kissed Lils loads of times, James," said Jennifer placidly, smiling at the boy.
Then Remus sat next to Jennifer and they began their own little "snog session", leaving Violet, James, and Lily look disgustingly at them. Or rather, Lily and James looking disgustingly at them, and Violet looking at them dreamily.
"Romance in the air," sighed Violet, grinning.
"Vi, you're incorrigible," said Lily, shaking her head. "Spring's almost over!"
"And it's so upsetting that Bella and Sirius won't get together."
"Don't worry, they will soon enough," snapped Lily impatiently. "You know them. Stubborn as mules, both of them. Won't admit that they still like each other until the very end. I hope this kind of stuff doesn't happen to me, though. I mean, who'd want to kiss a Hufflepuff? Please remind me, Vi, to never kiss a Hufflepuff no matter what."
"Don't worry, I will," said Violet brightly. "After all, you and James will be kissing before long."
"VIOLET!" exclaimed Lily and James, blushing furiously. (A/N: There seems to be a lot of blushing in my story, isn't there?)
"What? It's probably true!"
They both groaned loudly.
Arabella skipped next to them and plopped herself down in a seat. "Hey guys!" she cried enthusiastically.
"Hey," the three said…rather unenthusiastically.
"Guess what?" she asked excitedly. "Amos Diggory asked me out! He asked me out!" She squealed with delight.
"Oh," said Violet, who was extremely gloomy. "What about Sirius?"
Arabella was suddenly back on earth. "What about…him?" she spat.
"Don't you miss him?" asked Violet timidly.
"No. And please don't ever mention his name again, Vi, or I will injure you." Arabella glared so hard at them all that they didn't dare say another word.
"Those two," sighed Lily, watching Arabella flirt with Amos, "are completely hopeless. I think that if they can't get together themselves, we're going to have to play matchmaker."
"Did someone say matchmaker?" asked Jennifer excitedly, while Remus groaned. "I'm in, of course."
"But what about the exams?" whined Lily.
James glared at her. "Do you care more about the stupid end-of-the-year exams, or do you care about your best friend?"
Lily sighed. "I guess I have no choice, of course, then. I'm in."
But little did they know that, even though Arabella and Sirius did get together with their plan, it all fell apart and didn't go the way they expected it to go.
***
"This'll never work," said Lily, shaking her head. "It's too risky."
"What, scared of failing the exams, Evans?" asked James coldly. He and Lily were not on speaking terms at the moment.
"No, Potter. It's just that this plan is so horribly put together that it'll surely fall apart."
"I hate to admit it, James," said Remus awkwardly, "but I agree."
James narrowed his eyes at the two. "Fine, be that way. But trust me, it'll work all right. Then you'll be sorry you ever doubted me, Evans."
"Hey, Remus doubts you too!" cried Lily, angry at the injustice of the statement.
"Well, he's my friend, so it doesn't count."
While Lily fumed over James' comment, they all went with his plan. Since Arabella and Sirius see them giddy and careless over their whole break-up, they wouldn't expect them to play matchmaker at all on them. That, of course, was a part of the plan. After countless arguments in the boys' and girls' dormitories, they came up with the old-fashioned way of locking them into a closet and making them settle differences. Lily and James both wrote notes, trying to copy Arabella and Sirius' handwriting style, and send it to them both, writing it under their names. Praying that they'd follow the instructions of each note, the two would end up in the closet.
"It's a brilliant plan," said James, grinning. "All thanks to the wonderful Mr. James Potter."
"Hey, the rest of us helped too, you know!" said Lily grumpily. "Don't think you're so high and almighty."
"Isn't that supposed to be you?" asked James innocently.
"Whatever, Potter. Let's just get with the plan."
Lily had written Arabella's note:
Dear Sirius,
Look, I'm really sorry for being such an idiot. Can we just forget about this whole argument and start over again? Please meet me at the Charms corridor tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. After all, we don't have classes. I hope to see you there.
Love,
Arabella Figg
Thinking she had better make the note more realistic, Lily also wrote a P.S. underneath the signature:
P.S. Oh, and I hope that we can get together and play matchmaker on Lily and James.
Meanwhile, James was writing his note, which was feigned to be written under Sirius' name. Little did the rest of them know that his note was the one that made this plan fall apart.
My dear Arabella,
I so hope that you would forgive me by now. I mean to say, Sarah Abbott is a total airhead and idiot. I mean, she was such a bit—well, you know, to my friends today.
I still love you a lot. Yes, that's right, I love you. It's no joke, really. You're perfect in every way. Smart, beautiful, with those curls of mahogany cascading down your back…You're my dream girl, Arabella Figg, and I'd ask you to marry me right now if we were old enough.
You still think this is a joke, don't you? I don't blame you. But I hope that you will share similar feelings after you read this note. After all, why did you kiss Amos Diggory? You know how I hate him so, Bella! When I saw you with him, a cold realization of jealously froze my soul.
You're wondering how I write such romantic notes? Jamie-boy taught me. I'm sure that we'll be able to get him to write such notes to Lily someday, huh? Oh, and please meet me at the Charms corridor tomorrow afternoon at 3:00. We still need to settle out some matters at hand.
You're one true love,
Sirius Black
James smiled. Yes, a masterpiece was right in front of him. Even Evans would be beaming and congratulating him once this plan worked out.
Minutes later, both of them met back at the common room, beaming at their so-called "masterpieces", and put them on the beds of their owners in their respected dormitories.
(A/N: No, I will not switch the notes so that Arabella and Sirius are supposedly going to get the notes they "wrote". But it's a nice thought, but too long to write.)
"So…Evans. What did you write in your note?" asked James, smirking.
Lily shrugged. "Oh, you know, the regular stuff. Here's what I wrote. You did make a double of the note, didn't you?"
"How could I forget? Mine was a masterpiece."
James read Lily's note and stared at her with disappointment. "That's all you said? No romantic stuff?"
"No, of course not," said Lily sensibly. "If we put that stuff in, then it'll ruin the whole plan. They're supposed to be making up each other's amends. If we do it for them, then, well, they're likely to be both exploded by the time we find them."
James' face suddenly turned white.
Lily looked at him impatiently. "Well, where's your note? I want to read your little 'masterpiece'." She chuckled.
James handed her the note, waiting for the blow. After she finished reading the signature, her face was as white as his was.
"You wrote that romantic nonsense when I told you not to?" she hissed.
"You never told me!" exclaimed James, trying to remember.
"Of course I did! You were probably off in la-la land, though."
James didn't even want to look at Lily. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"More than trouble, boy. This is going to cost you…and I a lot of that trust Arabella and Sirius put into us. We're dead as dead fish."
James gulped. "Well, I guess this didn't work out as fine as I thought it would."
"Definitely not."
Suddenly Arabella and Sirius both entered the common room and waved to them, ignoring each other. Then they both went up to their respected dormitories, while James and Lily's eyes widened.
"We have to go after them before they read those blasted notes!" cried Lily. Then they both dashed up to find their friends, but it was too late by the time they reached them.
"Oh, Lily," said Arabella, smiling, with tears in her eyes. "Who knew Sirius could be such a writer! And James helped him, too…good boys, they are. I'm so proud of him! He says he loves me."
Lily was extremely tense. "Don't be ridiculous, Bella, we're too young to understand love," she said nervously.
Arabella threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, Lily Evans, you cease to amaze me sometimes. Even though James hasn't written you a love note as beautiful as this, he will…and probably will be even more beautiful that this one. No need to get jealous here." She winked.
Lily stared at her best friend, vaguely wondering if she was drunk or had snogged Amos Diggory for way too long. "Jealous? I'm not jealous. I was just saying…I don't want you to get hurt, Bella."
"Don't worry, Lils, I won't. Don't be so overprotective."
Over at the boys' dormitory, Sirius had a triumphant glint in his eyes. "I knew that Bella would surrender to me! The sweetheart." He sighed.
James was desperately trying to make Sirius say that he loved Bella, with the help of Remus and Peter, who had found out what happened.
"So…do you love her, Sirius?" he asked anxiously.
Sirius stopped smiling. "Love her?" he echoed in disbelief. "Of course not! We're thirteen, Jamie-boy, we don't know about love yet. What put an idea like that into your head?"
"Er—nothing."
"But isn't she the perfect girl, Sirius?" began Remus.
"Well, sure, she's gorgeous and smart, but—"
"And she's really loyal, Sirius," added Peter. "She loves you."
Sirius' eyes widened. "She does?"
"Er—of course. Lily told me," said James, feeling extremely guilty for lying to his best friend who would be heartbroken very soon.
"Then, if she loves me, I love her too!" exclaimed Sirius in joy.
Remus, James, and Peter all exchanged glances. This means trouble…big time.
-
"Sirius Black, you said in that note that you loved me!" was the moan that Arabella made in the stuffy closet.
Lily and James were both watching the door tensely. If there was any sign of curses that they were about to throw at each other, they would immediately let them out.
"I didn't write any note!" yelled Sirius, his voice muffled in the darkness.
"Yes, you did! Here it is, I have proof." They heard the distinct sound of crumbling paper and Sirius' gasp.
"You know what, this is some trick," they heard him rasp. "James."
"Lily," Bella whispered.
"You two let us out!" they both cried in unison.
"Not until you two settle out your differences and get together again," called Lily. "Besides, the notes weren't supposed to be mushy and romantic; Potter just thought he should add some 'texture' into it."
"That was mean, James," cried Arabella. "Though you are a romantic man, I must say," she added as an afterthought.
"What about me?" asked Sirius. Lily laughed and could imagine Sirius pouting in that closet.
"Oh, Sirius, they're right. I'm really sorry."
"So am I, Bella. Together again?"
"Together again."
Lily grinned. "Well…at least they're together again."
"See, Evans, what did I tell you?" bragged James. "It worked!"
"You know Potter, I hate to admit it, but you're right. It did work…somehow."
James smiled warmly at the redhead. "But I promise I'll listen more carefully to your plans next time."
Lily magically unlocked a kissing Arabella and Sirius, and laughed. "Potter, that has to be a promise."
"I promise."
***
Lily trembled as they finished off their last exam on Thursday. Her face was extremely red and strained, and she sighed happily as they headed off to lunch and the prospect of experiencing a two week-free of exams was refreshing.
"Evans," said James gruffly, "nice show of that Whistling Charm there."
"Thanks Potter." Lily couldn't but help grin slightly at James' downcast face. "Don't worry, Potter, you did fine. Even though it wasn't as good as mine, though I did rather fail at Transfiguration."
James' face brightened. "Yeah…I have to admit, though, you do a lot of good time management. Think you can give me a few tips and pointers?"
"Sure. Here's the motto you should follow: More study, less pranks."
Lily laughed at James' pout that followed the motto. "Well, I think I've finally found my motto."
James grinned. "Mine is: Try your best at studies, but have some fun in life. That should be yours, Evans. You need to have some fun in life."
Lily stiffened. "I don't know…"
"Come over my house this summer, and I'll show you what fun really means, since you barely know what it means now. The Marauders and you four girls. It'll be a blast!"
"And think of all those possible pranks we can play on each other," said Lily, liking the idea. "Sure, I'm in. Have you discussed it with the others yet?"
"Not yet, but they'll be in, too."
It was very true. When James mentioned it to the others, Sirius started to hyperventilate.
"Oh, Jamie-boy, brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" he cried, startling the whole Hall.
"I'd like that," said Arabella, smiling at the prospect of spending the whole summer with Sirius and her best friends.
"For how long?" questioned Remus. They all knew that he would be out for once a month as a werewolf.
"The whole summer!" said James excitedly. "I asked Mum and Dad, and they allowed me to have you guys for the whole summer. Oh, and Remus, we'll think of something for your…problems. Mum and Dad can fix it up; they already know. We have plenty of room, after all, in our house."
"You mean manor," interrupted Remus.
"Mansion," said Sirius. He turned to the three girls and said, "The Potters have an huge mansion with at least fifteen rooms. They're one of the richest and most prominent pureblooded families in the wizarding world."
"Really?" asked Lily, who was astonished.
"Yeah…I guess," said James, flushing. "You didn't have to tell them that much information, Sirius."
"Oh, but Jamie, we already know, so why not share with the girls?"
James rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just two more weeks, and we'll be home."
-
"Lily!" cried Mrs. Evans, hugging her daughter.
"Hi Mum, Dad." Lily returned the hugs she was receiving from her parents and pointedly ignored Petunia, who was standing off the side as usual.
"Mum…James asked me to stay at his house for the summer. May I?"
"James?" asked Petunia, suddenly speaking.
"You talk?" asked Lily coldly. But Petunia ignored her and continued.
"Is he the one with the hair that looks like he hasn't brushed it in a million years?" she asked, sneering. "Your boyfriend?"
Lily colored. "James Potter is not my boyfriend."
"Then why'd he kiss you?"
"When did he kiss me?" asked Lily, annoyed.
"My dear, James kissed you?" squealed Mrs. Evans, delighted. "Did he really? Oh, Lily, James is a sweet young boy and this is lovely!"
"He's a nice boy," said Mr. Evans gruffly, but Lily saw that he was smiling as well.
"Mum, James is not my boyfriend, Petunia's just trying to annoy me. And she's doing a great job, too." Lily scowled fiercely at her sister.
"But he kissed you?" her mother persisted.
Lily shrugged. "Oh, once or twice this year, I can't remember."
Mrs. Evans squealed again and Mr. Evans' smile widened even more.
"You must be the Evans'," said a warm voice. They turned around to see the Potters standing there, James' hair messy as usual.
"I'm Daniel Potter," said Mr. Potter. Lily saw that he looked remarkably like an older version of James, with untidy black hair, but his eyes were gray instead of brown.
"And I'm Sarah Potter," said Mrs. Potter warmly. Lily gasped when she saw her. She had beautiful soft layers of golden-brown hair that cascaded in waves down her back, and her eyes were exactly likes James': a warm, golden-brown.
"I'm Anna Evans and this is my husband, Steve Evans," said Mrs. Evans, smiling. "I take it that your dear boy James invited Lily over this summer?"
"If you'd agree, that is," said Mrs. Potter, beaming, "we'd love to have Lily and her friends over. After all, James' friends will be over, too, so they'll have a little reunion." She laughed.
"Mum," muttered James under his breath.
Mr. Potter cleared his throat and James jumped.
"Hello, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans," he greeted shyly. Then he grinned at Lily. "Hey Lily, Petunia."
Petunia ignored James completely, and Lily said hello in a civil manner.
"We'd love to have Lily stay with you for the summer," said Mrs. Evans, smiling brightly.
"Wonderful! Well…come, James, Dan, we must be getting back. We'll be late for that train soon."
"Mum," whined James. "Why couldn't you and Dad come here by broomstick? I have my own in my trunk! Or I could've flown home by myself."
"That's what I said," said Mr. Potter, delighted that his son spoke the same language like him.
"Men," muttered Mrs. Potter. "Of course we couldn't come here by broomstick. I can barely get the broomstick in my hand by saying 'up'. And it's quite dangerous, too, if the wind was blowing too hard and—"
"We understand, Sarah, don't make it such a big deal," said Mr. Potter, rolling his eyes. Lily stifled a giggle.
The Potters then left after parting a good-bye with the Evans. Then Lily got in back of the Evans' car as it started home. It was good to be back. And she had a long summer to look forward to, even if it meant staying at her enemy's house…or, rather, mansion.
- - - -
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling except for the weird names and characters that I, moi, made up.
This chapter was all right, I suppose, but I didn't expect to update so soon! All right, so it didn't seem so soon, but it did to me. After all, I have so many tests, projects, and other junk in the way :P
Yay! Three more months until school ends! Life is good again!