Disclaimer: see previous chapters. SORRY SORRY SORRY for the really really long wait…..love you all though, and I'm almost at 300….wow! Oh, and kudos to Tay for getting the Linda Richmond thing, however vague. It was in my head at the time, yes, and was so surprised someone got it :):)
~~~~~~*~*~*~*~*~~~~~~~~~~~~*~*~~*~*~*~~~~~~~~~~April 14th……..
"AAAANNNDDD WELCOME, TO THE THIRD QUIDDITCH MATCH OF THE SEASON………GRYFFINDOR VERSUS RAVENCLAW!!!!!" Thaddeus Jordan boomed, causing a giant uproar among the zealous crowd.
The sound was muffled, but explicable from the changing rooms, where the Gryffindor House team awaited the announcement of the players, with five minutes to go until the Quaffle was actually released. They changed in silence, feeling nervous and excited. It had seemed ages since they had played their last game, over six months ago.
James was stretching and concentrating on breathing, cracking his neck and examining his broom, while carelessly throwing his red and gold robes over his head.
"Lily, crack my back." Diana said, tying her hair back because it was a windy April day. Lily did so without a word, and twisted it in such a way that she yelped in pain, immediately followed by a sigh of comfort. "Thanks, babe." She said.
"No problem." Lily answered.
"Where's my broom?" Sirius asked, searching everywhere. "I just had it—"
"Don't tell me you've lost it. I have no sympathy for you." James said, stretching one arm over his head.
"You left it here." Frank answered, pointing to the left of his changing space.
"How'd it get there?" Sirius asked.
"It's been there since yesterday." Lily answered. "Since practice." She clarified, when he gave her an uninterested, not-understanding look.
"Right." He answered, and started scooping it out for nicks or damages.
"Evans, Spinnet, come here for a second." James commanded, emotionlessly. They shuffled forward, both of them crossing their arms at being addressed like cattle. "You both know what you're doing?" he asked, looking at a piece of parchment that seemed to be outlining all of the plays.
"Yes." They both answered grimly.
"Explain." He ordered, cracking his knuckles.
"Parkin's, Porskoff, Reverse, Hawkshead, Shimmy……" Spinnet started.
"Then whatever the fuck else we can come up with." Lily finished.
"Excellent. Kat!"
"What?" she answered, brushing her hair.
"What's your plan?" James asked.
"Don't even try until over 50." She replied. It had been clear to everyone that James would not shut up about the game for weeks. True, he needed to distract himself, and Quidditch was the easiest way, but no one appreciated his Captain's techniques.
"Frank?"
"Even if it's a girl, beat the crap out of anyone who gets in my way." He said, although not agreeing at all to it.
"Fine. Padf—"
"Don't even try it." Sirius said, silencing him, still examining his broom.
"Fine." He said, dismissing him. "Ok……now I know we haven't played in forever, but you know the drill. If we win it'll put us second in line, since we've only played once. Now, Ravenclaw won the last against Hufflepuff, which excludes Hufflepuff completely since they lost to Slytherin in January. Ravenclaw also lost to Slytherin, which puts them on the same level as us, since our game with Hufflepuff is undecided, but lets be reasonable, we'd win. We already beat Slytherin which means……" he sighed and paused. "That whether we win today determines whether Slytherin wins the Cup or not, which can't happen. Got it?"
"Yep." They answered at odd times.
"Don't be lazy." He said.
"Uh huh." They answered, not even listening anymore.
"Keep your eyes open." No response.
"Smile." He joked, hoping they'd noticed. They just glared.
"Ok, now seriously, are you guys ready?" he said, rubbing his hands together.
"Potter?" Katrina asked.
"Yes?"
"I think I speak for all of us when I say, shut up, we've got it." she said, bluntly.
"Right." He said, smiling. "But lets kick Ravenclaw good and hard—"
"AND NOOOWWWW THE RAVENCLAW PLAYERS…….., BEATERS: KATHERINE BELLANDO AND ANTHONY PEREZ……." Jordan announced.
"Shit! They're announcing the players." Sirius said.
"Damn it." James muttered. "But we're ready. We just have to get on the pitch, like now."
"Listen, whatever happens, lets just do our best, alright?" Lily said, looking at the entire team. They nodded, agreeing with her.
" CHASERS: JOSEPH MATTHEWS, REBECCA WINTERS, TRACY RODRIGUEZ………."
"Now hands in." she said.
"Hands in?" Frank asked.
"Muggles do it, it's like a team coming together thing, to liven us up." She explained.
"Ok then, works for me." Sirius said. "Now what do we do?"
"Hurry this up." Kat said, looking at her watch.
"Just stick your hand out." Diana said, doing the movement.
"Then?" Sirius asked.
"SEEKER: MIRANDA SHAW……."
"We put our hands on top of each other, like this." Diana said, yanking his hand. They all shrugged and joined in.
"Now what?" James chuckled, because most of them looked around stupidly.
"Now we say something cool like, Gryffindor kicks ass." Lily said. "And throw your hands back up in the air."
"Ok then. There is no point to this." James said.
"Yea I just realized. The fun dies when one is forced to explain it." Lily said.
"CAPTAIN AND KEEPER: ROJER DAVIES…….."
"One….." Diana started, cutting her off.
"Two….three…." Lily said.
"GRYFFINDOR KICKS ASS!" they yelled.
"Wooooooo!!!" Kat cheered and clapped her hands.
"NOWWWWWW, THE GRYFFINDOR PLAYERS………….."
"Let's go." James said as they all walked out onto the pitch.
"BEATERS: SIRIUS BLACK AND FRANK LONGBOTTOM……….."
"Potter?" Diana whispered, stopping him.
"What?" he answered, slowing his step.
"Thanks." She sighed.
"For what?" he answered, not listening.
"For letting me play." She said, through clenched teeth. That morning Lily had to remind her. It was only respectful, she said.
"Oh…." He paused. "Well, you know, there were no replacements." He said, trying to sound uncaring.
"Still." She said, forced. "I appreciate it."
"That means a lot, especially coming from you." He said, and when he realized it, tried to save himself. "And Lily was right, you are the best we've got." He said, giving her a somewhat sincere smile. She smiled back, and punched him on the shoulder, not quite playfully. She walked ahead and started taking to Andrew Spinnet. "But if it were up to me…."
"James, don't spoil it. That was nice." Lily said to James, hooking her arm with his.
"Yes, I knew you'd like that." He said.
"You might get to thank the Academy on that one." She said. "Diana too. Excellent performances."
"The Academy?"
"Of arts and sciences…..never mind." She said, shaking her head. He would know nothing of the Oscars, and trying to explain them would be an impossible task, so she avoided it.
"I still can't stand her."
"Deal with it. She's only human."
"Barely." He said, and Lily chuckled. "So……do I get a good luck kiss?" he asked.
"You don't need luck." She answered.
"Everyone needs luck." He said.
"CHASERS: LILY EVANS, ANDREW SPINNET, AND CAPTAIN JAMES POTTER!" Jordan announced and the crowd roared even louder.
"Oh, alright." Lily said, and jumped up and kissed him quickly on the mouth, before flying up with Andrew, closely followed by James.
"SEEKER: KATRINA MILES AND KEEPER: DIANA RENTON………."
"Good luck Kat." Diana said.
"You too." She answered.
Once everyone was in his or her positions, Madame Hooch approached the field and made James and Rojer Davies shake hands, which neither of them minded, but did not exactly welcome.
"On the sound of my whistle…..three…….two….one!"
Quicker than anything James and Rojer raced up into the air, their fellow teammates close behind. This game was less ruthless than the one they had played with the Slytherins, and their strategies were different, along with their flying style. Jordan started with the commentary strait away.
"And the Quaffle is released—Ravenclaw in possession—Tracey Rodriguez has got it—and she passes it quickly to Chaser Rebecca Winters—she speeds towards the Gryffindor goal posts—Renton can take this—OO YES! Blocked by Renton, great job Diana!"
The Ravenclaws moaned, and James gave Diana a pleased nod of approval. She shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"Gryffindor now in possession—Lily Evans has the Quaffle—she is speeding fast, joining with Chasers Andrew Spinnet and James Potter on either side of her—she passes the Quaffle to Spinnet—Oh! Rodriguez rams him hard—that had to hurt mate, she came out of nowhere—Ravenclaw now in possession—Spinnet is chasing her and, yes! Cuts her off—but not before she passes it to Matthews—Matthews heads left, dodging Spinnet but—yes! Evans distracts him, well how could she not, redheads are distracting—"
"Jordan." Mcgonagal scolded lazily, her arms folded.
"It was just an observation Professor—Evans has the Quaffle—she's zipping out of the way—closer, closer—Potter's close to her now, guarding her it seems—ooo look out Evans! Yeah! Brilliant Bludger work by Sirius Black—that was close—Matthews on Evans tail, he's speeding up, Potter's lagging behind—Ouch! —Potter seems to be sandwiched now by Winters and Matthews—Lily's still got it—faster, faster—No! Damn it!"
"Jordan! Language!"
"Sorry Professor—Saved by Davies—Ravenclaw now in possession…." He muttered, lazily. "Rodriguez has it again—Spinnet on her tail, again—OOOOO Damn Spinnet! He gets hit hard by a Bludger! Didn't see it coming—maybe because he was goggling at her—"
"Keep your eyes on the Quaffle Spinnet!" James yelled. Spinnet started spinning on his broom and became dizzy. James had no compassion for him.
"Rodriguez is speeding passed them, and she's getting close-Come on Gryffindor! —Yes! Frank Longbottom exercising superb Beater techniques, and, uh, looking incredibly apologetic—but now Gryffindor in possession—Potter has the Quaffle—he passes it to Evans—all three are speeding towards Davies—Oo that was close Potter! —Potter almost gets rammed by Winters—but he's back—he's going—back to Evans' side, Spinnet is close behind them—they seem to be, wait what? —YESSSSSS!!!! —TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor side cheered with excitement and waved their red and gold flags into the air, congratulating them. James slapped Lily's hand and Spinnet cheered her on.
"Nice one Lily!" Kat yelled from about twenty feet away. She was looking for the Snitch, but wouldn't go near it until they were over fifty, like James had told her.
About a half an hour into the game forty more points were scored: 10 by Gryffindor and 30 by Ravenclaw, which angered James and the rest of the fans. Now Gryffindor was down by ten points. Everyone was growing a bit tired, and Lily felt sweat form under her arms and on her brow. She was not alone. Kat had almost fallen asleep, and now she had to wait even longer to catch the Snitch. The Ravenclaw seeker, Miranda Shaw, seemed to have similar instructions, but was more awake than Kat. Diana was growing frustrated by the fact that she had let three goals past her. That had never happened before. Her coordination seemed to be down.
"Ravenclaw's got the Quaffle, yet again (damn it) *ahem, but, uh, Gryffindor hasn't given up yet (let's hope), Potter is flying like, uh, the wind I guess towards Matthews and, ugh! He dodges him! —He's going, going—No! How did that happen?!—40 to 10 Ravenclaw……" he muttered into the microphone.
"RENTON!" James bellowed, so loud that Lily figured the whole stadium heard.
"I'M DOING THE BEST I CAN!" she shot back.
"IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! GET IT TOGETHER!"
"I WILL IF YOU STOP YELLING AT ME!"
"TIME!" James called. He flew over to Diana's post while the rest of the team exhaustedly followed. They settled behind him, hoping his rage would not suddenly avert to any of them. He motions Matthews towards him and silently asked for the Quaffle. Matthews looked at his Captain, who nodded, knowing James was about to use it to teach his team. Matthews threw James the Quaffle, who caught it effortlessly.
"Renton?" he said, condescendingly.
"Yes, Potter." She sneered through clenched teeth.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked, looking at the Quaffle.
"It's a Quaffle." She said.
"And what am I doing with it?" he said, passing it quickly between his hands.
"I don't know, making an ass out of yourself?" she said.
"The point, Renton, is that never, at any time, should your eyes be off this ball here. Do you understand?"
"Yes Potter I do."
"Good. Now I'm curious as to why you aren't doing that. It's not very difficult, and your seeing ability seems to be in tact so—
"Prongs, stop it." Sirius said. "Even I have a headache."
"Do you want to reason with her? Because, by all means, if you can get her broom out of her ass and onto the pitch, then go ahead."
"James!" Lily shouted, her arms crossed in antagonism. "Enough!"
"But—"
"Apologize." Lily said.
James sighed. "Sorry Renton, but can you please, please, try to get it together out there. We need this, ok? I don't want to be a bitch, but you are not exactly making my life easier out there. You want to win, don't you?"
"Yeah." She said. "But yelling at me isn't going to solve anything."
"I said I was sorry."
"Mm Hmm. Just leave it to me. I'll fix it, ok? We'll get it back."
"Thank you." James answered. "Alright, let's get back out there. And Spinnet, try to focus a little more. I know Rodriguez is a piece of ass, but we're in the middle of a game here."
Spinnet blushed and the game started up again. Gryffindor went on to score thirty more points in the next ten minutes, tying them with Ravenclaw. The game was growing longer than any of the players would have liked, and after another twenty minutes without anyone scoring, even James wanted it to end as quickly as possible. He motioned to Kat in a way that said, never mind the plan, just catch the goddamn snitch. At least that was the message she got.
Without drawing too much attention to herself she scanned the pitch for the little tiny object. While she was looking Lily managed to score another goal, which put Gryffindor to fifty and in the lead. Then she saw it. The little, tiny, golden snitch, all the way on the other side of the field, close to Shaw. Damn it, she thought, but Shaw didn't seem to see it at all.
"Gryffindor in the lead now, 50-40 and—there's Miles speeding towards Shaw—she sees the Snitch!—she's going—Oo, Shaw smacks right into her—that much hurt like a—uh, anyway, she's going, faster, come on Kat, come on—go-Go-GO-GO! YESSSSSSS WOO HOOO GRYFFINDOR WINS!!! 200 TO 30!!!!"
Lily looked over to James to find him very relieved indeed. He flew over to Kat and hugged her, and the entire team joined in. The Ravenclaws accepted their defeat with sportsmanship, and shook hands with the Gryffindors before heading to the changing rooms.
Sweating and relieved the House team hit the showers, so to speak. James was definitely pleased, which was a very good thing in the eyes of his team.
"Party in the Common Room!" he cheered as he entered. Lily laughed at him. "We won, we won…" he chanted under his breath. "I have the best team. You all sucked today, but you're still the best."
"Was that a compliment? Because I didn't catch it." Spinnet whispered to Kat.
"Thanks four eyes." Kat said to James, smirking.
"Your welcome fat ass." He answered smiling.
"I like it thank you." She said.
"Didn't say it was bad." James said, throwing off his robes.
"Do you wear those everywhere, the glasses I mean? How come they don't fall off when you're in the air? Do you sleep with them Jimmy—"
"Kat, leave him alone." Lily said. "Besides, Potter likes his glasses. Without them, he wouldn't be able to do that dramatic removal to make people think he's thinking really hard."
"Hmmm." James said, mimicking what Lily had just said. "By God…..this….tastes like wax, to be honest." He said, taking his glasses out of his mouth.
"Let's get out of here." Sirius said. "We haven't had a party all year, come to think of it." he said, getting back to topic.
"Ugh, a party." Diana said. "Thank god!" she cheered, clasping her hands together and looking at the ceiling. "Wait, do we have any previsions?"
"Relax Renton. There's enough coke and sex to go around." Sirius said casually.
"Oh I'm not worried about the supply." She said, smiling at him. "Will you be providing both?"
"Do you want both?" he said, flirtatiously.
"Well that depends. Is there a package, or perhaps a deal we can work with?"
"How bout this." He said. "I give you the coke in exchange for the sex."
"Hmm. I'd have to think about that. But, I think I might have a few guy friends who might be interested." She said. Lily and James laughed to each other.
"Very cute, Renton." Sirius said. "You know how to reach me."
"Indeed I do." She laughed.
The party in the common room started at around seven, after dinner. There was music and some dancing; even the first years were invited to join. James and Peter brought up food from the kitchen immediately after the game, to stock up for the whole tower. The sofas and the tables were moved to the side of the room, creating a large space in the centre, where people talked, danced, drank, laughed. Lily had a muggle stereo, which provided the music, which was loud, but not too loud. They didn't want McGonagal running in.
Lily, Diana and Nicole were in the far corner, sitting on the stairs to the girls' dorm. After a while the boys joined them, James still elated over the game.
"You know, Renton, you really pissed me off today." he said, in his overly honest mood.
"I have that affect on people." She said, chuckling.
"Good game though, stressful, but good." He said. "You didn't let me down."
"I never do." She said.
"Well, unless there's nothing in it for you." Sirius said.
"If I cared that might have hurt." She said back, with a sardonic grin.
"Anyway, Lily, what's the deal for tomorrow morning?" James asked
"We'll meet you down here and then we'll all go together. Your parents are meeting us?" she asked.
"My mother is, yes." He said. "Then we'll drive to the house."
"Sounds good." She said. "Where do you live?"
"Not far." He said, basically.
"So what's the deal Potter? Do you live in this ridiculously big mansion?" Nicole asked, taking a sip of her drink.
James grew slightly embarrassed. "It's not that big." He said, glancing at the floor.
"I bet you have house elves too." She said.
"Not many."
"Wow." Lily said. "Is that—is that modestly I hear?" she asked, putting her hand up to her ear.
"Aww, Jamie's being shy." Sirius said. "She wants to hear that you have servants and chandeliers and bedrooms as big as a small house. Go ahead, tell her Prongs." Sirius laughed.
"Did you just call me Jamie?" James asked, with a disgusted look on his face.
"I'm guessing it bothers you." Sirius said.
"A teensy weensy bit." James said.
"Did you just say, teensy weensy?" Remus asked.
"Oh shut up, all of you." James said.
"So, what's the deal with sleeping arrangements? Are you all sharing a room?" Remus asked.
"God no." Sirius said. "I spend too much time with this git as it is."
"I'll share a room with you Black." Diana said devilishly.
"Hmm, no, well, I don't know. Tell me, can you catch STD's by sleeping in the same room with someone?" he asked, turning to James.
"Don't look at me." He said.
"I think you ought to know the answer to that one, Black." Diana said. "Besides, I don't have coodies. You might, but I don't."
"We'll get separate bedrooms." James said. "Or in your case, separate floors."
"You have floors?" Nicole asked. "As in, plural?"
"Time to be quiet now Nic." Lily said.
"Nicky what do you say we dance?" Remus asked, taking her hand and leaning her out onto the floor.
"Sure." She said, excitedly.
There weren't many people dancing, but no one seemed to care. The others had an uncomfortable silence as they sat on the stairs, each person thinking about what to say.
"They're cute, aren't they?" Lily asked, referring to Remus and Nicole.
"Oh sure." Diana said. "If I didn't like the both of them, they would make me vomit though."
"You mean you don't have that kind of relationship?" Sirius asked in over exaggerated surprise.
"And rudeness too. This is getting fabulous." She said. "I hope you're not like this all week."
"Don't be snippy." Lily advised.
"Oh, Lil, hush. He likes it. Don't you Black?" Diana said, crossing her legs.
"Are you flirting with me, Renton?" he asked in astonishment.
"Do you want me to?" she asked coyly, and then started laughing. "Oh Black, you should see your face. You're priceless. But, uh, no Black, I'm not." She chuckled.
"What a relief." James said. "And you think they're disgusting."
"Is this you trying to be funny?" Diana asked, and he looked at her crudely. "Well, this was lovely, but I'm going up. Lots to do, lots to do." She said, and turned around. She trotted up the stairs and quickly into her room.
"Yesh." James said. "And I wasn't even trying to be mean."
"Oh it wasn't you. She's bored. Sirius, go help her pack." Lily said.
"Uh, why?" he asked her, baffled.
"Because she wants to bitch, and you'll actually hang around to listen." Lily said, reaching for James' hand. "And three's a crowd, so scram."
"Prongs—"
"You heard the lady." He chuckled, helping her up. "Who knows, she might be feeling generous. And she is bored—" Lily nudged him in the ribs. "Ouch!"
"Oh alright." He said reluctantly. "But if I'm not back soon--"
"We'll send a search party." Lily said, wrapping James' arms around her.
"Unless the door's locked." James said.
Sirius went up the stairs to Lily and Diana's dorm. The door was open and she was throwing a couple of things lazily into her bag. She was humming a tune that he didn't recognize. She didn't notice him right away.
"Packing?" He asked, leaning against the door, yawning.
"I haven't yet. Have you?" she asked, not looking up. She acted neither shocked nor surprised, just indifferent.
"Yea. This morning." He said.
"You're good. Nope, me, I'm a last minute gal." She said
"Do you need help?" he asked, pointing to her suitcase.
"Nah, I'm just killing time. I'm a bit bored to be honest. Oh, and, um, sorry I snapped at you. I'm always kidding." She said, quickly.
"It's fine." He said. "I'm used to you. After five years I should be."
"Shit. I can't believe it's been that long." She said, stopping her packing. "Seems like yesterday we were on that train, you know, you boys all cocky and warning us about Malfoy, and Lily's face was all disfigured." She laughed. "And then there was you hitting on me—"
"I did not hit on you." He said. "You were repulsive to me."
"Did you call all the ugly girls bright angels?" she asked, acting offended.
"Most of them. I was eleven after all." He said, walking in.
"Yeah, and that's another thing. We were eleven. What did you think was going to happen? I'd let you hold my hand?" she said, opening her dresser drawer for more clothes.
"I can't believe you remember that." He said. "I didn't have the perfect game I do now. All I had were the old Bond flicks."
Diana broke out laughing. "Oh my god, that's right." She clutched her stomach. "Black, Sirius Black." She said, mocking his tone of voice. "I forgot how funny that was."
He joined in with her. "No, funny is you cursing me out on French. Never have I seen such randomness." He chuckled.
"Well, you just get me so angry sometimes, that's all. But yeah, I was feeling European." She said.
"We are already in Europe." He clarified.
"Whatever. But you did understand it, which surprised me. Your IQ may be higher than I thought."
"My parents, you know. They made me learn it. All the Blacks speak it." he said, plopping down on her bed. " What about you? Your mum's from Argentina, no?"
"My dad taught me young." She said, shrugging. "He, uh, used to call me his petite chéri, and I have this great-grandmother who lives on the outskirts of Paris. My dad was born in Italy and his parents are Italian, but she's lived in France her whole life. So basically, I have no nationality. That and, she never spoke to me in English, ever, even though she speaks it."
"Is she still alive?" he asked.
"As far as I know." She said, shrugging.
"Does she know about your parents?" he asked, wondering if it was appropriate.
"I don't know, maybe. She wasn't at the funeral. But, she's all I've got left. I saw her last summer. Lily met her too. I don't even think Dumbledore knows about her." She said. "But she's a Renton, so why would he right? She's not affiliated with this world, although she knows about it."
"So why don't you live with her?"
"I don't want to live in France." She said, bluntly, zipping her bag. "Simple as that."
"Renton, you are by far, the most interesting, yet royally screwed up woman I have ever met." He said, crossing one leg over the other.
"Wow, mixing a compliment and an insult in the same sentence." She said, taking her bag off of the bed and throwing it onto the floor.
"Impressive, huh?"
"Clever." She corrected, and sat down beside him. She noticed how comfortable he seemed to be sitting on her bed. "How's that working out for you?"
"What?"
"Being clever." She said.
"Great." He answered, smiling at her.
She nodded her head. "Keep it up then."
"I will." He said.
She looked at him with a peculiar disposition and narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. "I—um, I'm going to go for a walk." She said, unsurely, but not moving from her seating place. A strange thought had just hit her, and she felt the need to leave immediately.
"Why?" he asked strangely. "It's dark."
She got up off the bed and walked towards the door. "Yea, um, I know." She said, childishly.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.
"No." she said. "Really. I, have to think for a couple of minutes, and um….." she walked out without saying goodbye, leaving him incredibly confused. When she was outside she leaned against the wall and muttered ."Because of what might happen…."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Three's a crowd, so scram?" James asked, chuckling.
"What? It worked didn't it?" Lily said, leading him to a secluded corner of the common room, behind the stairs of the boys' dorms.
"Ugh, acts of desperation to get me alone, huh Lily?" he said.
"Desperation? Oh no, James. I just wanted to speak with you." She said, finding a place on the floor and sitting on it, pulling him down there with her. In this part of the room the music was muffled and so were the voices. They were completely and totally alone.
"So I'm guessing we can't talk, I don't know, in front of people?" he said, pointing around, indicating the lack of crowd.
"It's too noisy." She said, matter-of-factly. " I am in no mood to shout."
"Very well. What do you want to talk about?" he asked, shifting his position to get more comfortable.
"Us." She blurted, and James felt a knot form in his stomach. He just nodded at her, and then took of his glasses to clean them.
"Ok. What about us?" he asked, rubbing his glasses furiously with his shirt.
"Well, it's you really." She said.
Oh God, he thought. She's breaking up with me, and she's doing the 'it's not me. It's you.' Fantastic.
"Me?" he asked, swallowing. This was the one time, the one and only time in his entire life where the break-up was not mutual on his part. He was scaring himself. That, and they were going to live together for the next week. She could have at least had the decency to wait until then, he thought.
"I think…that we…..how do I put this……" she started.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…..he thought
"…..Need to spend a little more time together." She said.
"Huh?" he asked, thinking he was hearing things.
"I think we need to spend a bit more time together. Is that bad?" she asked, annoyed that she had to repeat herself.
"You're not breaking up with me?" he asked, astonished.
"Well, that wasn't my original intention." She said, surveying him. "Why? Do you want to break up?" she asked.
"Do you?"
"No." she said, before she could think of anything else.
"Neither do I." He said. "So….."
"I'm very confused." Lily said.
"That's a first." He said.
"You thought I was breaking up with you?" she asked.
"Well….."
"Why would I break up with you?" She found this fascinating.
"I…….don't know. You were talking first, so go on." He said, not wanting attention on him at all.
"Oh no, you're not avoiding this. Spit it. Why do you think I would do that?" she asked, crossing her arms in an amused fashion. "Is—is this insecurity I am detecting from you?" she asked, putting her hand over her mouth. Then she started to laugh. "You can't be serious?"
"Laugh it up, Lily, go ahead." He joked. "This is fun, pointing out all of my flaws."
"James, they're not flaws. You are just so full of surprises lately."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you have been showing—uh—emotions, normal ones. Your head got smaller, well, except for the game today."
"So, hold on. Let me get this strait. You've just noticed my emotions now? So what the hell have you been doing with me the past….." he started counting on his fingers. "Four months?"
"James, I like you. I really do, and I don't even know why. Well, I have an idea. You can be very charming when you want to be, and that night…..before Christmas was—"
"Amazing." He said.
She smiled. "Yeah. It really was."
"Lily…."
"Yeah."
"I, um, I want to try this, with you. I want to make it work. Now I know I'm an asshole sometimes and I'm intolerable, but I really like spending time with you. I like that you're my girlfriend, and you're so pretty and smart, and you're funny. You're smarter than me, yeah, but I don't care."
"You've never had a girl who was smarter than you are? You might see want to see someone about that." She said. "So you thought I was tired of you? Is that what you thought?"
"Kind of."
"You have no need to be. A little while ago I questioned us, yeah." She said.
"Did I bore you?"
"Oh no. I think what happened, and this is going to sound strange. I think I got too comfortable around you."
"Yeah, you're right. That is weird. You should see someone about that." He joked.
"Shut up. But I want to try us too, and for real this time." She said, taking his hand.
"Because I'm deep?" he asked, smiling.
"Because you're a good kisser." She said, and leaned in.
"Oh, well that too. You don't hear me complaining." He said, and they kissed. They spent the remainder of the night behind those stairs, not listening to the music or dancing. At around 2 a.m. Lily awoke to find him still next to her, perched up against the wall. It was pitch black in the common room and Lily could hardly find her way out. She only had to go to the bathroom.
When she returned James had moved onto one of the couches in the common room. Everything was now back in its original spot, and Lily wondered where her radio was. He was half asleep when she sat down next to him. It was strange, she thought. As he put his arm back around her, she wondered why she felt so comfortable in his arms, despite then being technically "together". And why a boyfriend like James Potter might be exactly what she needed.
(again, sorry, love you all for waiting…..)