Author's Note: Wow, I am so sorry that it has been so long since my last
update. The trimester ended yesterday and tomorrow is Thanksgiving so I
thought I would give an update today and try to get at least one more
chapter out by Sunday night. So I will give my long delayed thanks and you
can get to the chapter.
Me- Sorry if it seemed like I forgot this story but trust me I wrote a bunch in my notebook and this story will not end until you see the words "The End" on the last chapter. I promise.
Anarane- Thank you.
MarauderFan4ever- You can always ask me to read something you've written. I will get to it as soon as I can, so do not worry about asking.
Captain Oblivious- I'm very glad I threw you off. I didn't want to say yes in case others were reading and I didn't want to spoil the "surprise". So yay!
Manny2003- Thanks.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- I actually have no idea. I still haven't written it. I'm not sure where I'll write it in, but it will happen when it fits.
LJstagflower4e- Well, non romantic scenes? Er. I'm so far ahead of where I'm typing that I'm not even sure when James comes back from work. O_o
Zebragurl- I'm glad you liked my attempt as Siriusness, er I mean seriousness. or is it humor. "Hello my name is Snape and I'm a caveoholic."
I o u a name- I'm trying to make people feel bad for Peter, while at the same time wanting to stab him repeatedly. maybe I'll have him have a dream of Sirius stabbing him. *smiles broadly*
Mademoiselle Morte- Er. maybe I'm just slow, but I don't get it.
Sissy-6- I'm really trying to get them together but trust me, its going to be at least until after a certain costume ball that I'm throwing in and with the scene I wrote for it I'm not even sure when that will happen. All very confusing. So much to try and stick in my story.
Celine- I wanted Sirius and Remus to have a sort of bonding moment, but it's brotherly, if you're getting any sort of thoughts otherwise. What did I think of OotP? Well, I thought a great many things about it, but I gained appreciation for it after I'd read it a few times. It now takes 2nd place in my standings for favorite; PoA has yet to be beat.
Laina3- Sirius and Remus are both heterosexual in this story. I'm not a slash writer. I refuse to write it and I barely read it. I find out its slash I go find something else. They might have liked each other, or they might not have. either way, they'd be the ONLY ones who would have known. Besides, Sirius has Bella and Remus has. er. right.
MegHarts- I might make that his birthday gift to her, but I'm not sure.
Don Raphiel- Violence will come later, but it might not be in ways you are familiar with, or it might. I'm mainly focusing on the relationships of all the people involved as of yet. Violence will disrupt their lives soon enough.
Goldensnitch3- Thanks for your support!
Luvhp224- You forgot? *gasp* Oh well, I don't pretend to be memorable, but I guess you enjoyed it. Thank you for your review.
Now on to the Chapter!!!
Chapter Forty-Two: Suspicious Circumstances
Downstairs everyone was finishing their meal and Lily was inexplicably worried. "I'll meet you all in the library in a little bit after I finish with the dishes," Lily said as everyone filed out of the kitchen.
"You want some company?" Remus asked quietly.
"No, that's okay, go finish your game with Sirius," Lily said with a smile.
"Alright," Remus said though he was suspicious of her for a moment.
"Yes, let's finish! Bella can cheer me on," Sirius said and threw an arm over Remus' shoulder and the other around Arabella's waist leading them away from the kitchen.
When Sirius, Remus and Arabella were out of sight Lily tiptoed up to her room and out into the hallway upstairs. She waited until she was sure the others were in the library before she knocked quietly on Peter's door. "Peter, may I come in?" Lily asked a moment later and she heard footsteps coming toward the door and the lock click before the door opened slowly and Peter's face appeared.
"What is it?" Peter asked quietly but Lily could see in his eyes that he was rather annoyed.
"Are you busy? I thought we could talk," Lily said quietly with a frail looking smile.
Peter was tempted to lie and say he was busy but he decided against it and opened the door wider so that Lily could step inside. "What did you want to talk about?" Peter asked blandly.
Lily walked inside the room and sighed. "How you're feeling," Lily said and sat on the bed lightly.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked confused.
"Well, just that you seem, ah, what's the word.. troubled, that's it. You seem troubled and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help," Lily said with a smile.
Two distinct thoughts ran through his head. 'Die' and 'Defeat He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named,' but neither were appropriate for the situation. "Nothing really," Peter said lightly.
Lily looked a little hurt but she covered it easily. "Are you sure? I'm here if you want to talk about what you're going through," she said quietly and hoped that Peter might open up to her.
Peter fought the desperate urge to laugh hysterically and thought, 'Yeah, I'm supposed to tell you that I'm a spy working for the Dark Lord and expect you to be sympathetic! Right!' Peter sighed and wondered what he was supposed to say in situations like this. Guys never asked questions about what was wrong and expected heartfelt answers.
Lily, sensing Peter's withdrawal said, "I know that it's hard, losing someone you cared for but it helps to talk about it," and she wished Peter would sit down or something.
Peter looked at her scathingly. "What would you know about it?" he snapped angrily. 'You can't possibly understand,' he thought as his eyes narrowed.
Lily's eyes widened and she was shocked to find that she was slightly scared. "I lost my parents when I was fifteen and had to live with my sister," Lily said quietly and she watched Peter's jaw drop dramatically.
"What?" Peter managed to choke out when he regained his senses.
"They died in a car accident," Lily said quietly and her curious fear of Peter dissolved but it wasn't something she would soon forget.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that you." Peter trailed off and sat on the bed looking down at the floor.
"You didn't think I would understand," Lily said quietly and Peter nodded slowly. "I know how that feels too, and it helps to talk about it at first so that you don't battle everything up to the point where you forget about everything except the pain," Lily said quietly and Peter's shoulders slumped and he covered his face.
"The funeral is in two days and I don't know how I'm going to cope with all her friend who will show up; most of them I won't even know and my parents won't even be there. They're off somewhere in Asia doing something for the Ministry," Peter said as tears dripped down his face and Lily put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Everything will be okay Peter. Just trust your friends to help you through this," Lily said quietly and Peter nodded before he jerked his left arm convulsively and sobbed loudly. "Peter?" Lily questioned quietly.
"I'm fine; could you give me some time alone?" Peter asked and Lily had the distinct impression that he was in some kind of pain.
"Sure, I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Lily said gently and stood up quickly crossing the room and closing the door behind her.
Peter flung himself backwards and tried to suppress a scream of pain. A meeting was being called and he couldn't go strict orders from the Dark Lord that while he was staying with James Potter that he would do nothing to jeopardize his position or bring suspicion onto himself. Spontaneous disappearances weren't easily explained to an up and coming Auror who was under the tutelage of Alastor Moody the best Auror the Ministry employed. So Peter was pacing now wondering what exactly was taking place.
In the library Remus couldn't shake the feeling that Lily was up to something and decided to finished his and Sirius' game of check quickly; which meant that four moves later Remus was placing the chess pieces back on the board while Sirius moped. "I'll be right back," Remus said and walked quietly out of the library and down the hall to the kitchen. He was surprised to find that the dishes hadn't even moved since they'd left Lily in the kitchen and heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He absently thought about pulling his wand from his pocket before he recognized Lily's feet descending the stairs.
"Remus?" Lily said trying to suppress any surprise at seeing him standing in the kitchen looking curiously up at her.
"I thought you were doing the dishes?" Remus said casually.
"I thought I would go up and see if Peter was alright," Lily said quietly and immediately began to clear the table.
"And why did you feel the need to not tell anyone?" Remus asked quietly.
"A number of reasons," Lily said as she started to fill the sink with water.
"And what would they be?" Remus asked and leaned against the table.
"The way Peter left when he was finished eating and that he seems to always bear the brunt of the jokes around here," Lily said lightly as she started to scrub a plate clean.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "I thought he was still down about his Gran, and everyone gets joked about, especially if Sirius is in the room," he said simply.
"So you don't notice if the jokes being throw Peter's way are having an adverse effect on him?" Lily asked and looked back at Remus' over her shoulder.
"Not really since we've always been pranksters, it comes as second nature to disregard the jokes, offensive or otherwise, especially the ones Sirius spouts out daily," Remus said and scratched his head suddenly wondering how Peter really did take all the jokes and playful ridicule that were thrown his way.
"Well it seems that he's been taking it all to heart," Lily said quietly, she really had no proof or anything Peter had said as evidence to back up her thoughts; just a hunch and the moment upstairs when she'd been almost afraid of Peter.
"What? Are you serious?" Remus asked as his eyes widened. "If that was true he would probably hate us," Remus said and he suddenly began to wonder about him.
Lily sighed and wondered if she should tell Remus about the conversation she'd had with Peter. She decided against it, at least for the moment. "I'm probably just paranoid about it and that it is really just grief," she said quietly and finished the plates and bowls moving on to the silver wear.
Remus nodded quietly but Lily had given him something to think about. Lily's thoughts could explain Peter's behavior in the past few years and why Peter always seemed to be the odd one out.
There was a noise at the kitchen door as Sirius came in. "What did you die in here or something?" he asked with a bouncy sort of voice.
"No, just talking to Remus. He keeps distracting me," Lily said and smiled at them both as Arabella came into the kitchen with a curious expression on her face.
Sirius laughed. "I see, well hurry up. Bella and I can't entertain ourselves for long," he said and smiled at Arabella cheekily.
"I bet you could if you really wanted to," Lily said and winked over her shoulder and them before laughing hysterically at the way Sirius and Arabella had blushed simultaneously. Even Remus laughed at them.
"That was a good one Lily," Remus said and watched as Sirius scowled at him. "But be advised, he will manage to get you back," he said quietly and coughed.
Lily smiled. "I'm not worried," she said as she finished the dishes and drained the sink.
"You're not?" Sirius asked feigning shock and Arabella laughed.
"Not really," Lily said and dried off her hands before turning to look at them.
Sirius smirked and Arabella wondered what he was planning, if anything. She sighed, "Why don't we go back to the library, its more interesting there and we can get Lily started on learning again," she said quietly.
"Oh joy," Sirius said and skipped gaily out of the kitchen.
"Maybe you should have banished him out of the window instead of Peter," Arabella said with a grin and Lily sighed.
"Let's go," Lily said and walked out of the kitchen with a sad look knowing that if Peter had heard he would have again retreated to his room.
A/N: Hello. Okay, I figure this is the place where I should give updates of my situation. The trimester ended but I don't expect the reprieve to be long. So, after this holiday you might not get another chapter until Christmas. That's my warning to you all; I don't want to get reviews that are just complaining that I don't post, especially after this weekend. I'm not meaning to be rude or anything, but I have to concentrate on school work. Trust me; the writing is better when I'm not worrying about school stuff. So. please Review! You guys are the reason I haven't dropped this story completely until summer!
Me- Sorry if it seemed like I forgot this story but trust me I wrote a bunch in my notebook and this story will not end until you see the words "The End" on the last chapter. I promise.
Anarane- Thank you.
MarauderFan4ever- You can always ask me to read something you've written. I will get to it as soon as I can, so do not worry about asking.
Captain Oblivious- I'm very glad I threw you off. I didn't want to say yes in case others were reading and I didn't want to spoil the "surprise". So yay!
Manny2003- Thanks.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- I actually have no idea. I still haven't written it. I'm not sure where I'll write it in, but it will happen when it fits.
LJstagflower4e- Well, non romantic scenes? Er. I'm so far ahead of where I'm typing that I'm not even sure when James comes back from work. O_o
Zebragurl- I'm glad you liked my attempt as Siriusness, er I mean seriousness. or is it humor. "Hello my name is Snape and I'm a caveoholic."
I o u a name- I'm trying to make people feel bad for Peter, while at the same time wanting to stab him repeatedly. maybe I'll have him have a dream of Sirius stabbing him. *smiles broadly*
Mademoiselle Morte- Er. maybe I'm just slow, but I don't get it.
Sissy-6- I'm really trying to get them together but trust me, its going to be at least until after a certain costume ball that I'm throwing in and with the scene I wrote for it I'm not even sure when that will happen. All very confusing. So much to try and stick in my story.
Celine- I wanted Sirius and Remus to have a sort of bonding moment, but it's brotherly, if you're getting any sort of thoughts otherwise. What did I think of OotP? Well, I thought a great many things about it, but I gained appreciation for it after I'd read it a few times. It now takes 2nd place in my standings for favorite; PoA has yet to be beat.
Laina3- Sirius and Remus are both heterosexual in this story. I'm not a slash writer. I refuse to write it and I barely read it. I find out its slash I go find something else. They might have liked each other, or they might not have. either way, they'd be the ONLY ones who would have known. Besides, Sirius has Bella and Remus has. er. right.
MegHarts- I might make that his birthday gift to her, but I'm not sure.
Don Raphiel- Violence will come later, but it might not be in ways you are familiar with, or it might. I'm mainly focusing on the relationships of all the people involved as of yet. Violence will disrupt their lives soon enough.
Goldensnitch3- Thanks for your support!
Luvhp224- You forgot? *gasp* Oh well, I don't pretend to be memorable, but I guess you enjoyed it. Thank you for your review.
Now on to the Chapter!!!
Chapter Forty-Two: Suspicious Circumstances
Downstairs everyone was finishing their meal and Lily was inexplicably worried. "I'll meet you all in the library in a little bit after I finish with the dishes," Lily said as everyone filed out of the kitchen.
"You want some company?" Remus asked quietly.
"No, that's okay, go finish your game with Sirius," Lily said with a smile.
"Alright," Remus said though he was suspicious of her for a moment.
"Yes, let's finish! Bella can cheer me on," Sirius said and threw an arm over Remus' shoulder and the other around Arabella's waist leading them away from the kitchen.
When Sirius, Remus and Arabella were out of sight Lily tiptoed up to her room and out into the hallway upstairs. She waited until she was sure the others were in the library before she knocked quietly on Peter's door. "Peter, may I come in?" Lily asked a moment later and she heard footsteps coming toward the door and the lock click before the door opened slowly and Peter's face appeared.
"What is it?" Peter asked quietly but Lily could see in his eyes that he was rather annoyed.
"Are you busy? I thought we could talk," Lily said quietly with a frail looking smile.
Peter was tempted to lie and say he was busy but he decided against it and opened the door wider so that Lily could step inside. "What did you want to talk about?" Peter asked blandly.
Lily walked inside the room and sighed. "How you're feeling," Lily said and sat on the bed lightly.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked confused.
"Well, just that you seem, ah, what's the word.. troubled, that's it. You seem troubled and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help," Lily said with a smile.
Two distinct thoughts ran through his head. 'Die' and 'Defeat He-Who-Must- Not-Be-Named,' but neither were appropriate for the situation. "Nothing really," Peter said lightly.
Lily looked a little hurt but she covered it easily. "Are you sure? I'm here if you want to talk about what you're going through," she said quietly and hoped that Peter might open up to her.
Peter fought the desperate urge to laugh hysterically and thought, 'Yeah, I'm supposed to tell you that I'm a spy working for the Dark Lord and expect you to be sympathetic! Right!' Peter sighed and wondered what he was supposed to say in situations like this. Guys never asked questions about what was wrong and expected heartfelt answers.
Lily, sensing Peter's withdrawal said, "I know that it's hard, losing someone you cared for but it helps to talk about it," and she wished Peter would sit down or something.
Peter looked at her scathingly. "What would you know about it?" he snapped angrily. 'You can't possibly understand,' he thought as his eyes narrowed.
Lily's eyes widened and she was shocked to find that she was slightly scared. "I lost my parents when I was fifteen and had to live with my sister," Lily said quietly and she watched Peter's jaw drop dramatically.
"What?" Peter managed to choke out when he regained his senses.
"They died in a car accident," Lily said quietly and her curious fear of Peter dissolved but it wasn't something she would soon forget.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that you." Peter trailed off and sat on the bed looking down at the floor.
"You didn't think I would understand," Lily said quietly and Peter nodded slowly. "I know how that feels too, and it helps to talk about it at first so that you don't battle everything up to the point where you forget about everything except the pain," Lily said quietly and Peter's shoulders slumped and he covered his face.
"The funeral is in two days and I don't know how I'm going to cope with all her friend who will show up; most of them I won't even know and my parents won't even be there. They're off somewhere in Asia doing something for the Ministry," Peter said as tears dripped down his face and Lily put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Everything will be okay Peter. Just trust your friends to help you through this," Lily said quietly and Peter nodded before he jerked his left arm convulsively and sobbed loudly. "Peter?" Lily questioned quietly.
"I'm fine; could you give me some time alone?" Peter asked and Lily had the distinct impression that he was in some kind of pain.
"Sure, I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Lily said gently and stood up quickly crossing the room and closing the door behind her.
Peter flung himself backwards and tried to suppress a scream of pain. A meeting was being called and he couldn't go strict orders from the Dark Lord that while he was staying with James Potter that he would do nothing to jeopardize his position or bring suspicion onto himself. Spontaneous disappearances weren't easily explained to an up and coming Auror who was under the tutelage of Alastor Moody the best Auror the Ministry employed. So Peter was pacing now wondering what exactly was taking place.
In the library Remus couldn't shake the feeling that Lily was up to something and decided to finished his and Sirius' game of check quickly; which meant that four moves later Remus was placing the chess pieces back on the board while Sirius moped. "I'll be right back," Remus said and walked quietly out of the library and down the hall to the kitchen. He was surprised to find that the dishes hadn't even moved since they'd left Lily in the kitchen and heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He absently thought about pulling his wand from his pocket before he recognized Lily's feet descending the stairs.
"Remus?" Lily said trying to suppress any surprise at seeing him standing in the kitchen looking curiously up at her.
"I thought you were doing the dishes?" Remus said casually.
"I thought I would go up and see if Peter was alright," Lily said quietly and immediately began to clear the table.
"And why did you feel the need to not tell anyone?" Remus asked quietly.
"A number of reasons," Lily said as she started to fill the sink with water.
"And what would they be?" Remus asked and leaned against the table.
"The way Peter left when he was finished eating and that he seems to always bear the brunt of the jokes around here," Lily said lightly as she started to scrub a plate clean.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "I thought he was still down about his Gran, and everyone gets joked about, especially if Sirius is in the room," he said simply.
"So you don't notice if the jokes being throw Peter's way are having an adverse effect on him?" Lily asked and looked back at Remus' over her shoulder.
"Not really since we've always been pranksters, it comes as second nature to disregard the jokes, offensive or otherwise, especially the ones Sirius spouts out daily," Remus said and scratched his head suddenly wondering how Peter really did take all the jokes and playful ridicule that were thrown his way.
"Well it seems that he's been taking it all to heart," Lily said quietly, she really had no proof or anything Peter had said as evidence to back up her thoughts; just a hunch and the moment upstairs when she'd been almost afraid of Peter.
"What? Are you serious?" Remus asked as his eyes widened. "If that was true he would probably hate us," Remus said and he suddenly began to wonder about him.
Lily sighed and wondered if she should tell Remus about the conversation she'd had with Peter. She decided against it, at least for the moment. "I'm probably just paranoid about it and that it is really just grief," she said quietly and finished the plates and bowls moving on to the silver wear.
Remus nodded quietly but Lily had given him something to think about. Lily's thoughts could explain Peter's behavior in the past few years and why Peter always seemed to be the odd one out.
There was a noise at the kitchen door as Sirius came in. "What did you die in here or something?" he asked with a bouncy sort of voice.
"No, just talking to Remus. He keeps distracting me," Lily said and smiled at them both as Arabella came into the kitchen with a curious expression on her face.
Sirius laughed. "I see, well hurry up. Bella and I can't entertain ourselves for long," he said and smiled at Arabella cheekily.
"I bet you could if you really wanted to," Lily said and winked over her shoulder and them before laughing hysterically at the way Sirius and Arabella had blushed simultaneously. Even Remus laughed at them.
"That was a good one Lily," Remus said and watched as Sirius scowled at him. "But be advised, he will manage to get you back," he said quietly and coughed.
Lily smiled. "I'm not worried," she said as she finished the dishes and drained the sink.
"You're not?" Sirius asked feigning shock and Arabella laughed.
"Not really," Lily said and dried off her hands before turning to look at them.
Sirius smirked and Arabella wondered what he was planning, if anything. She sighed, "Why don't we go back to the library, its more interesting there and we can get Lily started on learning again," she said quietly.
"Oh joy," Sirius said and skipped gaily out of the kitchen.
"Maybe you should have banished him out of the window instead of Peter," Arabella said with a grin and Lily sighed.
"Let's go," Lily said and walked out of the kitchen with a sad look knowing that if Peter had heard he would have again retreated to his room.
A/N: Hello. Okay, I figure this is the place where I should give updates of my situation. The trimester ended but I don't expect the reprieve to be long. So, after this holiday you might not get another chapter until Christmas. That's my warning to you all; I don't want to get reviews that are just complaining that I don't post, especially after this weekend. I'm not meaning to be rude or anything, but I have to concentrate on school work. Trust me; the writing is better when I'm not worrying about school stuff. So. please Review! You guys are the reason I haven't dropped this story completely until summer!