Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Chapter 11

James took Lily back to Herbology, but it seemed that whatever happened with the other Marauders in the Astronomy Tower had affected her deeply, because she it an all time low. It was Thursday, and James was still procrastinating about what to do about the Quidditch match coming up on Saturday (A/N: Remember that, guys? That was quite a few chapters ago.).

It would be Gryffindor's first game with James as captain, and not to show up would reflect very badly on him and the team. It wasn't fair to them either, as James had conducted the last practice from the grandstands side by side with Lily, not actually doing anything himself but yell at his team mates. But it wasn't like he could take Lily on his broom and play chaser position like that, could he?

He swore inwardly with frustration; he was going around in circles. Next to him, Lily was just sitting there. Not even pretending to draw a sketch of her Fig-Willow, a magical cross between the two muggle trees, she had her head in her hands, face hidden from view.

"Lily?" James asked. "Are you all right?"

Predictably, Lily said nothing.

She just ignored James. In the little time James had been acquainted with Lily, she had put all of her trust and hope in him, like a very young child. He supposed that was what she was, mentally, but she somehow seemed more mature than that, not just in body, but in mind.

Even when she would not even look at anyone else, she had always responded in some way, shape or form to James, but all of a sudden, she wasn't. And he wanted to kill the Marauders for it.

~*~

For the crown you've placed upon my head

Feels to heavy now.

And I don't know what to say to you

But I'll smile anyhow

~*~

As soon as class was over, meaning that it was lunch time, James made sure that Lily made it to the Great Hall, sat her down, unsuccessfully tried to convince her to eat, all the while with her blatantly ignoring him. Waiting for the Marauders to arrive so that he could grill their butts, James looked around.

In this short period of time, he had become so completely different. He had lost many of his friends due to Lily, who no longer felt comfortable speaking to him, hadn't kissed a girl in ages, although he still had the female population of Hogwarts admiring him from afar, had seemingly lost his egotistical manner and become serious.

What for, though?

For Lily. Why did he, James, always feel the need to play the hero and help people in need? 

~*~

For the crown you've placed upon my head feels too heavy now

And I don't know what to say to you but I'll smile anyhow

And all the time I'm thinking, thinking

I want to be a hunter again, want to see the world alone again

To take a chance on life again, so let me go.

~*~

But James knew he couldn't give up. He knew that he was bound to Lily, and there was nothing he could do. With one big sigh, he realized he would just have to grin and bear it, because there was no going back now.

He saw Sirius, Remus and Peter swagger through the open doors to the Hall, and couldn't believe they'd changed so much in his absence. So up themselves. So proud. Proud for being popular. Well, it looked like James had lost his popularity now. And looking at the Marauders approach the Gryffindor table as if they owned the place, he realized that he'd probably lost his name on the Marauder's Map as well.

But surely, they knew he was going through a rough time, with his mother dying and Lily around didn't they?

Surely they would stick by him?

Or would they find another leader? Someone else to fill the gap in the group? Because four was company, but with the addition of Lily, five was a crowd.

James clenched his fists as he got up. Why did that goddamn girl have to come in and make everything so difficult?

Walking over to where his "best friends" were about to sit down, James tapped Sirius on the shoulder, and, with all the self-control he could muster, asked for "a word".

"Sure, Prongsie," yelled Sirius jovially, swinging an arm around James' shoulder that the latter wasted no time shaking off. Once outside the hall, after making sure he could see Lily, he hissed

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Bringing you back to earth, mate. What happened to the James we used to know?" shot back Sirius.

"What happened to you guys is the real question! You've become so different!" retorted James.

"No we haven't! What the hell are you doing with Lily in the first place? She's just a random muggleborn! You don't even know her! We're losing a Marauder, just because of Lily Evans!" said Remus, angrily.

"Get out of my sight," hissed James, and turned to go back into the Great Hall. For the first time it occurred to him. Maybe it wasn't them that changed. Maybe it was him. The thought of that made him recoil with fear.

James pushed all of these thoughts to the back of his mind and went back to trying to convince Lily to eat again.

~*~ Back at the entrance to the Hall ~*~

"Shit!" squeaked Peter. "It wasn't supposed to go like that!"

"You reckon?" Sirius snapped sarcastically, messing up his hair not unlike what James used to do.

"What do we do now?" they asked together. James may have had doubts, but they were definitely going to stick by our favorite Marauder. They were fickle people, but one of their qualities was that they knew the true value of friendship, something that would last through Hogwarts and beyond.

Sirius and Peter began suggesting ways to get James back to his old self, each more stupid than the last (think drugging his food to make him boisterous, or stealing a voice box from a banshee for Lily and you'll have a pretty good idea of what they were discussing.).

Remus, on the other hand, stared at James through the doors of the Great Hall and looked at James. He saw patience, kindness, and a love for others that he knew Sirius and Peter didn't have. Although all four Marauders looked to be on the same side, two were fighting to push Lily out, and one was fighting to keep her. Remus wasn't so sure anymore of where he stood. He had always known that he'd have to grow up someday, but was happy to wait until after Hogwarts. But he was starting to think. Maybe he was better off supporting James. It seemed there was more to him than just an infatuation for Lily. James hadn't told anyone his mother had died, so it was quite a shock to the potions class. Remus was sure James needed support, and was trying to save Lily in order to make himself feel better, because he knew the Marauders wouldn't.

Remus, thinking this through, knew that James was right on this account. Sirius and Peter just couldn't see it yet. What Remus did, or didn't do, could make or break the already fragile relationship between the once inseparable four. He could support Lily and make her included in their "activities", or he could follow Sirius. He knew he had to support James, just as James had supported him in first year when he found out about Remus' lycanthropy.

But did Remus really have the courage to do that?

~*~

James awkwardly sat down in front of Dumbledore. Lily was to the left of him, looking at the phoenix, Fawkes. It was Thursday night and she hadn't eaten anything all day (she wasn't a fan of breakfast). She already had a slim figure to start with, and would rapidly lose weight if she stopped eating.

Dumbledore surveyed James (not Harry!) over his half-moon glasses. (A/N: Sorry, couldn't resist!)

"You're finding it a lot harder than you first thought, aren't you James?" he said quietly. Lily, still looking at Fawkes, appeared to be still ignoring them both, but if the past few days were anything to go by, James knew she would be listening intently.

"Yes, Headmaster. She appears to be ignoring me and not eating," replied James.

Lily's face, as per usual, was expressionless.

"Very well. If you would like to step outside or a moment, James, I would like to speak with Miss. Evans.

James obligingly waited outside until Lily joined him. For the first time ever, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Want to go down to the kitchens?" he grinned.

Lily nodded, and the two began to make their way to the portrait of the bowl of fruit, their problems forgotten for the moment.

~*~

Remus took a deep breath and faced Sirius and Peter. A million thoughts were rushing through his head, but he swallowed and forced himself to speak calmly.

"Guys?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I have a new plan C. One that will work,"

"Well," said Sirius impatiently. "C'mon, spit it out, we don't have all night!"

"Okay. Here's the plan,"

Once again, they huddled around, and at the end, for once, instead of following the crowd, Peter voiced his own opinion.

"You know what? It might just be crazy enough to work …"

Sirius was a little harder to convince, but after Remus listed all the advantages Lily could provide by being in the group (like covering for them, helping them do last minute exam cramming, having a pretty girl on the scene – save the face) a grin spread over Sirius' face.

"I like it."

~*~

"Okay, let's go over this one more time," said Remus, obviously in his element. "Sirius, can you recap for us?"

"Okay. We start to include Lily in our escapades - her and James. We be nice to her. We make everyone else be nice to her. And Lily gets happier. So happy that she can talk again, date James, they marry and have a gazillion kids. That way, James saves his reputation, makes Lily happy and we can all be together again!"

"I doubt Lily's problems are going to magically disappear, but it's worth a try," grinned Remus. His plan had gone along much better than he imagined, and if it kept going as well, he could gradually lead the Marauders to change. Even if Lily never recovered, hopefully by then they would have changed enough to accept

~*~

How did you like that? There were about twenty scene changes in that chapter, but heaps happened. I hope it was worth the wait. Let me know how you think it's going.

A big thankyou to all of my reviewers (I've found a new system now – mention everyone, respond to those who ask questions, and everyone's happy!)

poppysmith

Elessar - OMG! You just gave me the best idea! Thanks SO much! Do mind if I use that idea? I'd dedicate the chapter to you if you like …

ManiacPlea

hypersmileg

ZombieGurl98

BaDmInToN fReAk

ChildofMidnight – Kind of – Lily's very sensitive. She won't talk because Sirius told her to, but in this chapter you see definite changes to her behavior.

Kris-tina4

Summerkins

MegHarts

alaskaiscold

Larka

Selina Marie Souza

pokie4389

MonkeyGurl1

JamesNLily4Ever

Hyper Fairy Queen

ElizabethMM

Blueberrie

Sugoi-Girl

kat6528

Black_Rose1212

LittleEar BigEar's sis

Shinning Crystal – I tried to make this one longer …

shortnsassy

i o u a name

Fresh-AngelBabe

JerseyGirl03

JCtigerwolf4e

vamperfly

Hermione246

Angel Street

kevin luver – That's not something I can really explain … the Marauders don't exactly realize they're being so mean, they're just caught up in their own world … does that make sense to you?

shadowed.phoenix

Demeter, Goddess of Protection – Uh, sorry, but I didn't mean to offend you. You didn't show up on the list when I wrote the chapter. I made extra special care to thank you in this one. Sorry!

Katie

Drone 233248 – I don't think you're bitchy at all – you help me to understand my story better by asking logical questions that people like me can't even dream of thinking! Please tell me your opinions, I love to read them, good or bad.

Ruth3

The Evil Cup of Tea

ShortStuff10

And thanks to these people for adding me to their favorite author's list:

JCtigerwolf4e

Demeter, Goddess of Protection

pokie4389

Summerkins

MarauderFan4ever

I'm trying to keep this A/N short so I only have three more things to say:

1) Thanks to all the people who wished me luck in my dance competition. I WON! And I'm going to nationals in November.

2) If you want to be e-mailed when I update this, please either email me at snowflakelatte@hotmail.com or so say in your review.

3) Something to look forward to in the next chapter – James sees a healer – the magical replica of a plastic surgeon. Wonder how that will turn out, hmm?

That's all folks! Until next chapter! (which you won't have to wait so long for!)

Snowflakey