Chapter 7- Smacking Filch and Hiding
All four Marauders somehow managed to stuff themselves under James' invisibility cloak, and were presently slinking down the corridor, silly grins plastered onto their faces. Up ahead was a tall, lanky figure in star-speckled and planet-embroidered pajamas. The obvious question was: what on earth were they doing up in the middle of the night, following the Astronomy teacher, Professor Aster, around? As usual, they themselves didn't precisely know the answer.
The old man was sleepwalking again, and had always been rather amusing when he did so. Mumbling things about the movement of the planets and 'those damn students', he failed to notice the sniggers that trailed him; and despite the fact that his eyes were shut, he knew his way around perfectly.
Remus had always thought that sleepwalking was a bit strange. How could someone who was in another state of mind suddenly jump out of bed and decide subconsciously to go for a walk? No matter, he tried to shove his thoughts away and concentrate on the amusing situation at hand.
Sirius wondered how a man could wear such pajamas and still call himself a man. It was embarrassing to his gender! Who sold such attire, anyway? Although it did look awfully comfortable, footies and all. Perhaps he would check for some in Hogsmeade. After all, he could always wear them when he was all alone at home, the alone time that he reserved to …well, nevermind.
Peter was casting glances around him, hoping that nobody could hear or see them. McGonagall had caught them once before…and he still thought about it. Maybe he should mention to his friends that they were being too loud. But no, they would think he was a coward. Was he a coward? What a perfectly dreadful situation.
James blew out his cheeks as he thought about…stuff. Wait, no- he wasn't thinking. He was merely considering. Yes, that would be it. He was considering what he had been told by- some people…and what it meant to him. He often didn't get very far in his supposed revelations, however, before he lost track of where his mind was, or he was interrupted by Sirius.
"James," the jocose, dark-haired boy whispered eagerly, "have I told you about what that Hufflepuff girl did today to Moony?"
"Er-no." messy-haired James replied, sneaking a quick glance at Professor Aster in front of them, still oblivious.
Sirius stifled a laugh. "Well, she came past the table at dinner- where were you, by the way?"
"Um- doing homework I forgot about."
Sirius gave him an unbelieving, 'I'll ask again later', sort of stare. "Whatever. She was coming past the table, and all of a sudden latched herself onto our poor werewolf friend in a rather tight hug, I must say-"
"Padfoot." James hissed, "Stop being so loud." The boy had been getting to what he felt was the most interesting part of the story, and apparently this story couldn't be told in a soft tone.
Professor Aster mumbled something that sounded like, "Classes, always noisy."
Sirius shook his head and turned back to James, eyes gleaming with contained mirth, "As I was saying, his eyes buggered out when she hugged him, and he threw his hands back, just like-"
Smack. Sirius, in his imitation of their friend, had somehow managed to hit something with his absurdly waving arms. A something named Argus Filch. The four of them spun around upon hearing a groan of complaint behind them that sounded awfully familiar…Filch was looking around, rubbing a red nose, with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
The Marauders stood rooted to the ground wonderingly. Deep down in their minds, they realized that they should be running, but their brains didn't will it so. Filch reached an arm out and upon feeling the silky material of James' invisibility cloak, yanked. It slid off easily, exposing the faces of four very surprised boys- one thoughtful, one guilty, one terrified, and the other undecided. Before Filch could yell, and before they could splutter out excuses, it seemed that Professor Aster had noticed the slight commotion and come over for a shut-eyed investigation.
You would have thought he had woken up, but no, Aster was still sleepwalking. He grabbed both of Filch's shoulders in either hand hastily, and exclaimed, "For the love of God!", as he began to violently shake the caretaker with unsteady hands.
The boys had no time to laugh. They grabbed the cloak and rushed down the corridor, in hopes that their professor, complete with footie pajamas, would unknowingly hold Filch off.
After a bit of a marathon, they launched themselves into the Gryffindor common room, panting uncontrollably.
"Well- that – was fun." Sirius sputtered in between breaths.
Moony clutched his stomach. "Say what you will, Padfoot, but I entreat you not to drag me on another expedition like that for say, one week."
"Entreat? What d'you mean entreat? Geez, Moony, whatever shall I do with you?"
The young werewolf rolled his eyes and looked to James and Peter for assistance. But Peter was too busy in an attempt to recover to notice, and James- he was too busy being James.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Why did she have to open her mouth? Was there some way she could tape it shut permanently?
Lily was past the "oh my god!" stage. She was now head-long into the stage after: insulting oneself and others. She grumbled something inaudibly and tried to sink deeper into her bed. How long could she stay in this bed? Forever, if that meant avoiding James. That idea, though, was forcefully discarded when Jessica and Heather entered the room. Lily wasn't sure where they had been and what they'd been doing, but she didn't think she wanted to know.
Jessica's eyes flickered when she saw the red-head spread out on her bed; one hand's fingers weaved into her hair and tugging at the strands.
"Yes!" she jumped onto the end of Lily's bed, causing her to bounce slightly and grumble something else. "Hey- you promised me that you'd tell me everything."
"Oh of course I did." Lily replied, sarcastically agreeable. She added quickly, in a quite different tone, "but that was over 24 hours ago. Can you possibly expect me to keep promises for that long?" Actually, she was surprised she had avoided them for this long.
Jessica was scratching her head in slight confusion, but Heather only seated herself on the other end of Lily's bed and gave her an exasperated look. "I don't know what you're trying to do now, but we want to know the gossip."
"Dear God." Lily said to the ceiling. "I pray she didn't just say gossip."
"What? Just because you don't like the word, doesn't mean you have to be snide."
"Snide? I didn't realize I was being snide."
"Come off it." Jessica jumped in again. "Why won't you just tell us?"
"Because there's nothing to tell!" Lily practically yelled at them, rolling over onto her side, her head leaning into one of her palms, flat against the pillow.
Her two friends watched her closely for a moment, before Jessica replied, "Indeed." She turned to Heather. "I think she's been snogging James, what do you think?"
"Oh," Heather waved a hand dynamically, "perhaps they've been doing more than snogging…"
"Bloody Hell!" Lily exclaimed, wide-eyed. "Fine, I'll tell you!" She clamped her mouth shut furiously. A pause ensued.
"Well?" Jessica tapped her chin and Heather waved another hand for her to get on with it.
"I…" Lily looked down at her hands and squirmed. She couldn't possibly tell them. What would they say, what would they do? She would never live it down, with their sense of humor. And they called her snide. She huffed, earning her a couple of strange looks. "I've just been…uneasy about Luke." She started off in a hurry. "I mean, you see the way he walks around looking murderous, about ready to strangle any guy I even look at. He said he'd kill the person who stole me from him."
Wrong, wrong thing to say. She realized it just after the words streamed out of her mouth. Jessica smiled innocently. "Oh, I see. So this is about James' safety." It wasn't a question.
"Absolutely not!"
"You're so predictable Lily."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I thought it was rather concrete."
"Don't get smart with me. I was only trying to explain to you why I'm-"
"Good. Then stop lying to us."
"I was not lying…" It was no use. They always managed to break her down, one way or another. Damn them, they were clever! Either that, or Lily was blind…or both. She glared at the two of them, with their uncharacteristically guiltless faces. "With the way you treat me, it's a wonder we even call each other friends."
Without warning, Heather and Jessica nodded to each other and leaned forehead, embracing Lily in a tight hug. The red-head began to cough. "Wha- what?" she asked, and they pulled back, grinning. Her expression softened. As disagreeable as she was, she couldn't resist that. She raised a suspecting eyebrow. "Are you trying to butter me up?"
"Why would you ever think that?" Heather smiled at her.
Jessica blurted out, "It's okay, Lily. We know you well enough. If you don't want to say anything yet, we aren't going to make you."
"Yet." Heather added, her smiling mounting in amusement.
"But like I said- we know you. Don't think we don't know what you're thinking about."
Lily blushed and tried to conceal it with her pillow.
"See! I told you!" the blonde-haired girl pointed a lightly accusing finger.
@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~@
Later on that night, Lily rolled over restlessly. Jessica and Heather were asleep, but she couldn't seem to find the will to close her eyes. Her mum had always said that you couldn't fall asleep unless you let go of a considerable amount of your thoughts, and that was impossible, now. She sighed quietly and rose to a sitting position, staring at the walls across from her.
I'll just go into the common room so I don't wake anyone up, she decided. Then she realized that was a dumb idea- she would most likely find James there. He was always up late. And then she was surprised to learn- she wanted to run into James- in a way. Oh, blast it. I'm gonna have to talk to him sometime or another. It might as well be when I'm expecting it.
She nodded to herself and slipped out of her bed as quietly as she could, tip-toeing to the door and rushing out, hoping she made no noise. She wasn't in the mood to answer any questions.
She descended the stairs and the common room came into her line of view quickly. Sure enough, she was right. James, always the last one up, was sitting in front of the fire, staring and running both hands through his hair, which stood up on its own as usual. She almost smiled at him, before she realized her current position and bit her lip instead.
She was making noise as she approached, she was sure of it; James quickly spun around. His eyes widened when he realized who was standing in front of him.
"Um, Lily? What are you d-doing out here?"
Lily smiled weakly to herself. And I'm supposed to be the awkward one. I must be handling this quite well. "I'm allowed."
"Yeah- of, of course." He spluttered, turning back around to face the fire without hesitation.
Lily sighed again and dropped onto the couch next to him. She didn't know how to start, and he seemed to be trying to forget that she was there at all. Was that a good sign? "James?"
"Yeah?" he squeaked.
"I- I wanted to talk about what I had said, er, yesterday."
"What about it?"
She grunted. "What do you mean- what
about it? Are you really that dense?"
He grinned at her suddenly. "Most of the time, I'm told."
"By who? Your idiot friends?" they were both grinning now. But, when she remembered, amusement was erased from her expression. "I- what have you been doing since- since I talked to you last?" she asked. It was too painful to say, 'since I confessed my senselessness to you'; she didn't want to give up what little pride she still retained.
It was his turn to sigh and blush slightly. "Nothing." He paused. "Although- Sirius did end up slapping Filch in the nose and then Professor Aster grabbed him by the shoulders, so we escaped…"
Lily shook her head and held up a hand. "I don't even want to know." She smiled slightly, but tried to hide it behind a cough.
"What about Luke?" he abruptly asked.
Oh right…he didn't know. "What about him?" She asked, implying everything. He got the picture, it seemed.
"That's all I need to hear."
She scrunched up her face and blurted out, "I thought this would be so much more awkward."
James replied softly, "Me too."
"You must not have been listening to me back in the library, then." It was said with regret, surprisingly enough.
"I was…" he looked into her eyes, not withdrawing at all this time. "This is the first time you've actually opened up to me. I'm sorry, I don't know what to say."
She was the one to avert her gaze, looking down at the dark red floor of the common room. "I have my reasons."
He grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers in hers without really noticing it, or he might have been embarrassed. "Then tell me."
"I can't-" She stared at their hands, clasped together, her eyes practically bugging out. And then she seemed to internally decide something, and nodded to herself. She squeezed his hand and looked back up at him. He grinned at her, feeling like he had finally won.
She couldn't help but smile back. Patting him on the head with amusement, she said, "I'm so confused." And her smile faded again. Her lips constricted, before she announced in a suddenly strained and quiet voice, "Don't tell anyone."
He pulled back. "What do you mean?" He stared at her, confused and a little angry.
"I- shouldn't be here." She seemed to suddenly realize. She scooted away from him, wanting at the same time to kiss him senseless. She stared at her legs and hands in her lap.
He licked his dry lips. "You- you said you needed it."
She crossed her arms. "I don't need anything."
"I think you do."
Oh, here we go again. So much for him being the awkward one. Damn. She uttered, "Don't be smart with me."
"Hypocrite." He said, causing her head to snap up angrily. He was smiling carefully at her. She was about to retaliate when he leaned over and gave her a forceful kiss, leaving her breathless.
"Well- well maybe we could keep it secret." She said, pulling him back over so that she could initiate the kiss this time, and more fiercely. He didn't protest, kissing her back with the same warmth. Lily felt like she was sinking…into something she had never been in before. Whatever it was, it certainly felt nice…
He pulled back and she made a noise of protest. He said, "What do you mean, secret?"
She closed her eyes and groaned. "I'm sorry- I don't know any other way…" She answered, thinking of her friends and her past; but mostly her friends. Not to mention her reputation for hating guys. What was this? Such a confusing situation that she was tempted to laugh.
He threw his hands up in the air. "Fine." He muttered, not really angrily, but bothered a little.
She rose from the couch, her jaw clenched, wiping the side of her mouth. James rose with her. He pulled her back around and started another kiss- and then a noise startled the silence. Two sets of eyes popped open, and through the kiss, they watched the stairs. Soon, both spotted a certain well-known blonde-haired idiot descending. James glanced at Lily, and seeing her disturbed expression, quickly grabbed his invisibility cloak and draped it over them, then leaned down to kiss her again.
Luke pranced down the steps, his eyes venomous. Lily regretfully broke off the kiss, watching him a moment. He had definitely heard them; he was scanning the room with interest; but thank the lord, the invisibility cloak concealed everything. She smiled surreptitiously and abruptly buried her face in James' chest so that she could stifle a laugh.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: A lot of pointless dialogue, some sappy moments- any chance of a review? =) I'll love you forever, as long as I don't fall asleep first…lol, can you tell that I'm tired?
Caz- Yes, but it seems that she won't ever fully wake up. At least, not quite yet. Dara finVidya- Thanks for coming back again! Lol, and no worries, I think James is just as embarrassed. KeeperOfTheMoon- I agree, I'd be so mortified I'm not sure if I'd ever come out of my room. But that's just me. Yep, I like the term ego-boosting. Maybe I'll use it more often…MysticPixie- Thanks for taking the time to review, I of course really appreciate it ;) Lamina Court- Lol, actually, one of my friends did something similar to the "they're sexy" line. It was pretty amusing, let me tell you. Thanks for reviewing, again! Libberacious- that was rather mean, wasn't it? I just don't notice these things when I write *coughs*. And Lily doesn't want to be in an, um, formal relationship just yet. But what they have is whatever you make of it lol. Thanks for another review, as usual. Golden.Slumbers- Yes, if I had total control of my life I think I'd be a very happy person. You really make me very happy, reading all of my stories and reviewing ;) Makes me feel as if someone cares (hehe). So thanks a bunch, as always! Does it matter?- Heh, you made me laugh. I'm glad you found the story enjoyable, I hope you continue to, of course! Destiny's Phoenix- well at least I know that some people can spell phoenix properly. I'm from Arizona, you see, so it bothers me sometimes. Lol, thanks for taking the time to leave me a rather nice review! Daman- Thanks a lot! Why are you apologizing? I'm supposed to be thanking you!…hehe, I confuse myself sometimes. Sayo- Why am I so forgetful? I promise, I'll read your friend's story now. I completely forgot. Anyways, thanks a bunch for leaving me a review. Blueskywillow555- I'm glad you like it this way; I think I've confused far too many people…but yes, I think James is finished playing games. That doesn't mean we're finished with the confusion though! Hpfan1750- Thanks =) I hope you continue to like it. Amber- Ha! Luke still doesn't know! As for when he finds out…oh, we'll see. And thanks! Everblue3- Thanks so much, you make me happy. Glad you like the description; it's always been one of my faults. Christabell- Lol, yeah. My friend did something similar not too long ago, so I picture it perfectly…Holly- well, I hope it's at least a little different. I don't like to be incredibly cliché. Thanks for reviewing!
I was thinking about how annoying it must be to say this every single chapter, but then, I realized that it's a tradition now- it would just be wrong not to. So- I have one word left (after all of this garble)- review!