Authors Note: Hello my lovelies! Sorry again about the delay in updating,
I'm trying I really am. No major announcements from me. Though, throughout
April updating might be a problem for me as I'll be changing residences
sometime in the near future and I'm not sure how internet access will be.
So, please be patient with me around then, I know I'm a pain as an author.
O_o... so here are the thanks I give:
Don Raphiel- Thank you, and yes it is okay.
MarauderFan4ever- You're suspicious of Catherine? Well, you're not the only one, I am too sometimes. Thank you for your review.
Captain Oblivious- O_O I forgot the boggart. Crap. Okay, the boggart has dropped off the face of the planet... It will eventually return. I think. On behalf of Catherine, I will state, that she is heterosexual.
LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e- I'm sorry that you'd almost lost hope of another update. I will try to make them more frequent. I was getting used to my new school.
Kristatwen- Thank you.
ZzSheilahzZ- Thanks, this is when I can. ^_^
Dee Ann- I actually reread the chapter and saw that and saw your review again for the thank yous and thought it would be fun. It made yeh laugh so I smile ^_^
Lady Arwen Gryffindor- I am sorry. I cannot say whether Miss Catherine is a Death Eater or not. She might be. She might not be. It's rather crucial to the plot. It's like J.K. explaining why Voldie and Harry survived the curse out of a book, would make reading it pointless. Just let your imagination run with it. You'll see eventually. I promise.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- *hides from butcher knife* Er... is this soon? *runs*
Banny- Thanks, I'm glad you did.
Luvhp224- Yes, my lovely mysteries, aren't they grand? I may eventually explain them, I'm not sure. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Mel- Of course I knew that Arabella is a squib and couldn't possibly be good at Charms. I started this fic before I read OotP and so some things are not canon.
Tez- Sorry. I will be writing as canonically as possible, including their deaths. If that disappoints you, I'm sorry. I knew when I started this fic they would die. I will be just as sad as you when I have to kill them.
Lillia Evans- You didn't bore me. I'm glad to hear that my story was able to convince you it was good. I hope that when you're in Japan you'll be able to finish reading as well. Good luck in the Navy and you'll have to wait and see what faces Lily in the future.
Taniita- *sighs* I know about the time problem. It's rather horrible I know. I just kept writing and writing not realizing that I hadn't skipped weeks or anything, I'm bad at that. And you'll have to wait and see about Catherine.
Sissy-6- Okay. O_o. I'm confused. But that's okay. Thanks for reading.
Me- You inspired me to finish typing up this chapter. Be glad. And the next chapter sort of paves a way, but there is still a bit of a wait for togetherness.
Unperfection- You're dreading that are you? Well... O_o... I wouldn't know if friends of one person getting together with the friends of their significant other happen... It depends entirely on situations I would say, which are peculiar in my story, so you'll have to wait and see. I'm glad you think this story is "fantablulous" anyway.
MegHarts- I hate him too. And so do I.
Re- Thank you, I'm glad you think its original and I'm trying to keep it up.
Chapter Forty-Eight: An Accordance at Dinner
Upstairs Lily sat down on her bed and waited for Catherine to join her. "What was that comment about?" Lily asked curiously.
Catherine sighed wistfully. "I don't know, it just felt right to say I guess," she said quietly and hoped that it couldn't be told that she was lying through her teeth.
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're lying Catherine," she said quietly.
Catherine sighed again. "You'll think I'm crazy," she said quietly trying to stall.
"Catherine, I swear to you I won't," Lily said and placed a hand on Catherine's.
"Alright, but you've got to swear to me that you won't tell anyone. Not a single soul," Catherine said anxiously knowing what she was going to say was the only thing that she truly cherished.
"You have my word," Lily said slowly and watched Catherine intently.
Catherine nodded and resigned herself to what she had to do and began to speak. Slowly but surely the words came out and felt extremely relieved. Catherine sighed in her immense relief. The words were finally out after what felt like months of struggling to keep them to herself, she had finally cracked.
"I'm glad you believed me," Catherine said when Lily released her from a hug.
"I'm glad you told me. C'mon let's go and see what I can scrounge up for dinner," Lily said as the shock of Catherine's revelation wore off.
They climbed off the bed and clattered down the stairs to the kitchen where they found James, Remus and Sirius drinking tea and eating packaged cookies at the table.
(A/N: Sorry to bother you in the middle of a chapter, but I have to give this note before the next bit. When I wrote this, I had only seen the movie Don Juan DeMarco with Johnny Depp, since then I have found the book it was based upon, Don Juan by Lord Byron and I only managed to finish half of it. So, I am going to keep most of it, though it is extremely inaccurate from what SparkNotes.com says, and you can all pretend I'm not a moron alright? Lovely.)
In the kitchen James made tea and got out some cookies he knew existed in the pantry. "Who knows how long the girls' moment will take. You'll have to survive on cookies until they're done," James said and smiled at Sirius in a joking manner.
"Ha ha," Sirius said and seemed to be uninterested in the cookies until his stomach growled demandingly. "Oh hand 'em over," Sirius said and James tossed him the cookies and laughed with Remus about Sirius' predictable stomach.
"Oh bite me," Sirius said with his mouth full of cookie.
"Nah, I believe that's Bella's job," Remus said and batted his eyes at Sirius in a ladylike manner.
James laughed loudly for a moment before Sirius' glare took effect. "Anyways, what are you two planning to be for that costume ball?" James asked to change the subject.
"I know who I'm going to be but it's a secret," Sirius said after he swallowed and his eyes flashed mischievously.
James rolled his eyes. "Who? Don Juan?" James asked in a bored voice.
"Who?" Sirius asked confused.
"The world's greatest lover," James said in a seductive tone as Lily and Catherine came into the kitchen.
Lily raised an eyebrow at James. "Who are you talking about?" she asked curiously.
"Me!" Sirius cried out and everyone burst into hysterical laughter. "What?" he questioned looking wounded.
"You don't exactly fit the criteria," Lily replied trying to stop laughing.
"What's the supposed criteria?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Well, the worlds greatest lover is Don Juan, he made love to over one thousand women before the age of twenty-one," Lily replied in an amused voice.
"Oh," Sirius said.
"He also, I believe, seduced many of them and anyone he chose fell under his 'spell'," James said sounding amused as well.
"Oh," Sirius said again and refrained from looking directly at Catherine who was still chuckling to herself.
"How about I make dinner and you go show Sirius the book James," Lily said quietly with an amused look on her face.
James stood up and brought Sirius towards the door throwing an arm over his shoulders. "C'mon mate," James said and their footsteps gradually died away.
"Now why did Don Juan become the topic of conversation?" Lily asked Remus who was still at the table smiling broadly.
"The costume ball," Remus replied with a smile. "James asked what we're going as. Sirius was trying to get us to guess what his idea was but James said something about Don Juan and Sirius asked who he was and you two came in to hear James' response," Remus said and glanced at Catherine.
"One would think James had sex on the brain," Catherine replied in a bored tone.
Remus shook his head. "I think you'll have to read the book as well," he replied with a smirk.
"Maybe," Catherine said and smirked back. Lily smiled to herself as she began to plan a meal in her head as she looked in the pantry.
There was a loud thunk in the entrance hall and James cried out, "Peter! Are you alright?"
Lily, Catherine and Remus dashed out of the kitchen to the entrance hall where James and Sirius were crouched over Peter's semiconscious body. "Oh my!" Lily gasped and her hand covered her wide open mouth.
"Peter, what happened?" James asked quickly checking Peter for wounds.
"I-I'm fine," Peter managed to choke out. "I-I think it's stress," he said as he tried to steady his breathing. He'd apparated to Godric's Hollow and promptly collapsed, all of his energy sapped.
"We'd better get him into bed, he needs rest," Lily said and James and Sirius helped Peter up the stairs. "I'll go make him some soup," she said and rushed back into the kitchen to do so.
Catherine and Remus exchanged glances quickly before Catherine followed Lily and Remus headed up the stairs after James, Sirius and Peter.
Upstairs Peter was trying to get James and Sirius off him saying, "I can do it myself."
James and Sirius exchanged looks. "Peter you're not well, you need our help," James said quietly as Peter struggled against their hands and Remus came along the hallway.
"I'm fine!" Peter cried out before his legs collapsed beneath him and James and Sirius grunted with the effort to pull him back up.
"You're not fine! Just let us get you into your room and then you can gripe about it," Sirius said angrily as they finished getting Peter down the hall and into his room.
They sat Peter down on his bed and James said, "Alright, you're in bed. Now will you tell us what happened?" James asked looking rather concerned. Sirius looked frustrated and Remus just looked curious.
"Nothing! I had funeral things to check on and my parents aren't going to be there. I have to talk to all these people my Gran knew and listen to them all tell me how great and wonderful she was and feel sick to my stomach because its my fault she's dead!" Peter raged his voice taking on a high pitched edge.
James, Sirius and Remus watched as Peter raged, his cheeks flushed and his eyes too bright in their sockets. He looked fanatical, like a muggle televangelist trying to convince the non-believers of the 'truth'.
"Peter, its not your fault she's dead. It's Voldemort's and his sick, twisted schemes," Sirius said and Peter winced at the use of the name. Sirius sighed. "Lily is making you soup, you can get some rest and you'll be fine tomorrow," he said gently and Peter just nodded.
Lily and Catherine came into the room. Lily was carrying a tray table with a bowl of soup and a tea kettle on it. "Lie down and get settled Peter," Lily said gently as she set the tray on the bedside table to wait for Peter to lie back.
"Lily you don't have to do this," Peter said meekly as she looked at the soup and felt guilty.
"Don't be silly. You need someone to look after you and I'm happy to do it. So get comfortable and then you can eat and rest to get your strength back," Lily said kindly and pat Peter gently on the shoulder.
Peter sighed and said, "Alright, thank you Lily." He sighed again as he kicked off his shoes and got comfortable.
"You're welcome," Lily said and smiled as she picked up the tray and placed it carefully over Peter's lap. "I'll come check on you when we're done with dinner downstairs Peter. You just rest and try not to worry about anything," Lily said and smiled again before turning to leave the room after James, Sirius, Remus and Catherine.
"That was odd," Catherine said as they walked down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Extremely," Remus said quietly as Lily rushed ahead of the group to the kitchen.
"What are you planning for dinner?" Sirius asked eagerly as Lily edged past him.
Lily smiled sweetly and said, "You'll see," before walking into the kitchen and beginning to prepare dinner. James, Sirius, Remus and Catherine sat down at the table and held idle conversation while watching Lily work.
"So, what are you planning to go as for the costume ball?" Catherine asked of the table.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "We've only found out this morning, aren't we allowed some time to think on it?" he asked blandly.
"Of course you are, I was just looking for something to talk about dear Remy," Catherine responded lightheartedly.
"Alright then, who are you planning to go as?" Sirius asked interested in Catherine's response.
"I don't know, maybe a Gryffindor," Catherine said and laughed at the shocked looks on their faces. "Just kidding! I would have thought you'd recognize a joke when you saw one," she said and noted Lily shaking her head smiling.
Sirius smirked and said, "You know, the maroon and gold would bring out the highlights in your hair."
James, Remus, Lily and Catherine all looked at him with something between amusement and horror. "Are you changing sides on us Padfoot?" James asked and fluttered his eye lashes in a womanly manner.
Sirius laughed loudly. "Oh yes Jamie-poo! I thought it was time we made our affair public," she said and made a smooching noise at James.
Lily snorted with laughter at this proclamation and sunk on to the floor her laughter turning to hiccups while the quartet sitting at the table just stared at her. Soon her laughter turned to giggles and she stopped hiccupping looking over at them. "That was interesting," Catherine stated trying to keep herself from laughing out right. She failed and soon the whole table was laughing about Lily laughing.
"I seem to be interrupting," a voice called out from the door and all eyes turned to see Arabella standing there looking thoroughly unamused.
"Hey Bella," Sirius called out jovially and walked over to her kissing her on the cheek.
Arabella just glared at Catherine. "How long have you been here Mcgeogehegan?" she asked blandly even though her eyes and body language betrayed her annoyance.
"Since about seven this morning," Catherine replied with a smirk.
"Really? And why is that?" Arabella asked impatience coming through in the tone of her voice.
"To talk to Lily, why else would I come here? To ravish Sirius perhaps?" Catherine said and smiled in what could be taken as an evil way.
Lily growled audibly. "Do I have to make up a bloody visitation schedule or are you two going to be civilized?" she asked her eyes glowing making Catherine shift in her seat and Arabella cross her arms over her chest. "I'm sick of you both fighting and sniping at each other!" Lily exclaimed and whipped around to finish cooking.
Catherine smiled as if struck with an idea. "How about James' house is neutral ground? If we're both here we ignore each other unless absolutely necessary and we can 'snipe' at each other in other venues," Catherine said in a bored voice watching Arabella carefully.
Arabella's thoughts were conflicting and she wanted to say, 'How about you just leave?' but knew Lily would probably turn around and shout at her to do the same. "Fine," Arabella said and her eyes shifted to look at Sirius and then back to Catherine who was now smiling broadly.
"Wonderful," Catherine said in a far too chipper voice before she turned away from Arabella and looked at Remus who was sitting across the table from her.
"Good, now you can either sit down and have dinner with us or go," Lily said her annoyance still prevalent in her voice and her body language.
"I actually just came here to check on Peter's arm. Is he here?" Arabella asked, quickly lying to cover up the fact that she had come to see Sirius.
"He's upstairs resting," Lily said her voice loosing its edge and her shoulders loosening in a release of tension.
"Resting?" Arabella asked wondering if Peter's cut had worsened.
"Stress," Lily said simply and shrugged her shoulders repetitively to release her nerves.
"Oh well, I'll go have a look at him and head home," Arabella said and turned to go.
Sirius looked at Arabella's retreating back and the kitchen full of people watching. "I'll be right back," he said and hurried after Arabella whose footsteps could be heard on the stairs.
Catherine let out a breath. "I really dislike fighting with that girl," she said aloud.
"Then why do you?" Remus asked quietly looking at her.
"Because she seems to think I'm trying to seduce Sirius when I have no feelings of that sort toward him. If she would get over her insecurities about me and him she wouldn't have such a problem with my being friends with Lily," Catherine replied honestly and sighed. "Sirius and I are friends and only friends. I don't see what's wrong with that," she said quietly and looked into Remus' eyes as if he knew the answer.
"There's nothing wrong with you and Sirius being friends, just as there nothing wrong with you and Lily being friends," James spoke up for the first time since Arabella arrived.
Lily looked over her shoulder at James and smiled warmly mouthing to him, "Thank you," to which he nodded and smiled back.
"Dinner is almost ready, someone should tell Sirius," Lily said before she started getting dishes down from the cupboards.
"Let me help you with that," Catherine said standing up and carrying dishes to the table and setting them out.
"Thanks," Lily said and went back to tending the meal cooking on the stove.
"I'll go tell Sirius," James said and stood up walking from the kitchen upstairs to find Sirius.
"Arabella, wait a second," Sirius called out as he climbed the stairs after her. She'd stopped just outside Peter's room. "What is the real reason you came here tonight?" he asked quietly.
"To see you," Arabella said calmly as she took a deep breath.
"Why did you lie downstairs then?" Sirius asked quietly.
"I didn't want to give her anymore ammunition against me," Arabella said simply. "I just can't believe Lily took her side," she said angrily.
Sirius stared at Arabella with eyebrows raised in astonishment. "Lily wasn't on Catherine's side or your own. She was neutral to the argument and is just annoyed because all you two ever do is fight. It does get rather annoying and redundant after a while," he said quickly and hoped that Arabella wouldn't shout at him too.
Arabella closed her eyes and tired to keep from shouting at Sirius and possibly waking Peter. Just then James came up the stairs. "Dinner is almost ready, Lily sent me up to tell you," he said quickly before turning and going back downstairs.
The interruption gave Arabella time to compose herself. "I'm going to check on Peter, you can go down and eat," she said and watched Sirius carefully.
Sirius sighed. "Alright, just think about what I said. I'll see you tomorrow at Wilhelmina's funeral," he said and turned back down the hall and disappeared down the stairs a moment later.
Arabella knocked on Peter's door. "Come in," Peter's voiced called out and she opened the door. "Bella? I thought you were Lily," he said when he saw Arabella enter.
"I came over to take a look at your arm. I just want to make sure it's healing correctly," Arabella said and smiled sitting on the bed next to Peter as he rolled up his right sleeve for Arabella to examine. She undid the bandage and looked at the cut which had scabbed almost completely over. Peter winced. "Sorry," Arabella said kingly. "It seems to be just fine, I'll check it again tomorrow,' she said and resecured the bandage with a spell.
"Thank you," Peter said quietly.
"No problem. You just feel better and get some rest. Goodnight Peter," Arabella said and smiled before walking out of the room and downstairs before apparating back to her home.
A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter is confusing. *smiles innocently* I shall eventually reveal such things as they are needed, but you can ask away and you will not get a clue of it. I'm being cryptic! Love you all, keep reading, reviewing and waiting for my updates as they will come. ~Frankie~
Don Raphiel- Thank you, and yes it is okay.
MarauderFan4ever- You're suspicious of Catherine? Well, you're not the only one, I am too sometimes. Thank you for your review.
Captain Oblivious- O_O I forgot the boggart. Crap. Okay, the boggart has dropped off the face of the planet... It will eventually return. I think. On behalf of Catherine, I will state, that she is heterosexual.
LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e- I'm sorry that you'd almost lost hope of another update. I will try to make them more frequent. I was getting used to my new school.
Kristatwen- Thank you.
ZzSheilahzZ- Thanks, this is when I can. ^_^
Dee Ann- I actually reread the chapter and saw that and saw your review again for the thank yous and thought it would be fun. It made yeh laugh so I smile ^_^
Lady Arwen Gryffindor- I am sorry. I cannot say whether Miss Catherine is a Death Eater or not. She might be. She might not be. It's rather crucial to the plot. It's like J.K. explaining why Voldie and Harry survived the curse out of a book, would make reading it pointless. Just let your imagination run with it. You'll see eventually. I promise.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- *hides from butcher knife* Er... is this soon? *runs*
Banny- Thanks, I'm glad you did.
Luvhp224- Yes, my lovely mysteries, aren't they grand? I may eventually explain them, I'm not sure. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Mel- Of course I knew that Arabella is a squib and couldn't possibly be good at Charms. I started this fic before I read OotP and so some things are not canon.
Tez- Sorry. I will be writing as canonically as possible, including their deaths. If that disappoints you, I'm sorry. I knew when I started this fic they would die. I will be just as sad as you when I have to kill them.
Lillia Evans- You didn't bore me. I'm glad to hear that my story was able to convince you it was good. I hope that when you're in Japan you'll be able to finish reading as well. Good luck in the Navy and you'll have to wait and see what faces Lily in the future.
Taniita- *sighs* I know about the time problem. It's rather horrible I know. I just kept writing and writing not realizing that I hadn't skipped weeks or anything, I'm bad at that. And you'll have to wait and see about Catherine.
Sissy-6- Okay. O_o. I'm confused. But that's okay. Thanks for reading.
Me- You inspired me to finish typing up this chapter. Be glad. And the next chapter sort of paves a way, but there is still a bit of a wait for togetherness.
Unperfection- You're dreading that are you? Well... O_o... I wouldn't know if friends of one person getting together with the friends of their significant other happen... It depends entirely on situations I would say, which are peculiar in my story, so you'll have to wait and see. I'm glad you think this story is "fantablulous" anyway.
MegHarts- I hate him too. And so do I.
Re- Thank you, I'm glad you think its original and I'm trying to keep it up.
Chapter Forty-Eight: An Accordance at Dinner
Upstairs Lily sat down on her bed and waited for Catherine to join her. "What was that comment about?" Lily asked curiously.
Catherine sighed wistfully. "I don't know, it just felt right to say I guess," she said quietly and hoped that it couldn't be told that she was lying through her teeth.
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're lying Catherine," she said quietly.
Catherine sighed again. "You'll think I'm crazy," she said quietly trying to stall.
"Catherine, I swear to you I won't," Lily said and placed a hand on Catherine's.
"Alright, but you've got to swear to me that you won't tell anyone. Not a single soul," Catherine said anxiously knowing what she was going to say was the only thing that she truly cherished.
"You have my word," Lily said slowly and watched Catherine intently.
Catherine nodded and resigned herself to what she had to do and began to speak. Slowly but surely the words came out and felt extremely relieved. Catherine sighed in her immense relief. The words were finally out after what felt like months of struggling to keep them to herself, she had finally cracked.
"I'm glad you believed me," Catherine said when Lily released her from a hug.
"I'm glad you told me. C'mon let's go and see what I can scrounge up for dinner," Lily said as the shock of Catherine's revelation wore off.
They climbed off the bed and clattered down the stairs to the kitchen where they found James, Remus and Sirius drinking tea and eating packaged cookies at the table.
(A/N: Sorry to bother you in the middle of a chapter, but I have to give this note before the next bit. When I wrote this, I had only seen the movie Don Juan DeMarco with Johnny Depp, since then I have found the book it was based upon, Don Juan by Lord Byron and I only managed to finish half of it. So, I am going to keep most of it, though it is extremely inaccurate from what SparkNotes.com says, and you can all pretend I'm not a moron alright? Lovely.)
In the kitchen James made tea and got out some cookies he knew existed in the pantry. "Who knows how long the girls' moment will take. You'll have to survive on cookies until they're done," James said and smiled at Sirius in a joking manner.
"Ha ha," Sirius said and seemed to be uninterested in the cookies until his stomach growled demandingly. "Oh hand 'em over," Sirius said and James tossed him the cookies and laughed with Remus about Sirius' predictable stomach.
"Oh bite me," Sirius said with his mouth full of cookie.
"Nah, I believe that's Bella's job," Remus said and batted his eyes at Sirius in a ladylike manner.
James laughed loudly for a moment before Sirius' glare took effect. "Anyways, what are you two planning to be for that costume ball?" James asked to change the subject.
"I know who I'm going to be but it's a secret," Sirius said after he swallowed and his eyes flashed mischievously.
James rolled his eyes. "Who? Don Juan?" James asked in a bored voice.
"Who?" Sirius asked confused.
"The world's greatest lover," James said in a seductive tone as Lily and Catherine came into the kitchen.
Lily raised an eyebrow at James. "Who are you talking about?" she asked curiously.
"Me!" Sirius cried out and everyone burst into hysterical laughter. "What?" he questioned looking wounded.
"You don't exactly fit the criteria," Lily replied trying to stop laughing.
"What's the supposed criteria?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Well, the worlds greatest lover is Don Juan, he made love to over one thousand women before the age of twenty-one," Lily replied in an amused voice.
"Oh," Sirius said.
"He also, I believe, seduced many of them and anyone he chose fell under his 'spell'," James said sounding amused as well.
"Oh," Sirius said again and refrained from looking directly at Catherine who was still chuckling to herself.
"How about I make dinner and you go show Sirius the book James," Lily said quietly with an amused look on her face.
James stood up and brought Sirius towards the door throwing an arm over his shoulders. "C'mon mate," James said and their footsteps gradually died away.
"Now why did Don Juan become the topic of conversation?" Lily asked Remus who was still at the table smiling broadly.
"The costume ball," Remus replied with a smile. "James asked what we're going as. Sirius was trying to get us to guess what his idea was but James said something about Don Juan and Sirius asked who he was and you two came in to hear James' response," Remus said and glanced at Catherine.
"One would think James had sex on the brain," Catherine replied in a bored tone.
Remus shook his head. "I think you'll have to read the book as well," he replied with a smirk.
"Maybe," Catherine said and smirked back. Lily smiled to herself as she began to plan a meal in her head as she looked in the pantry.
There was a loud thunk in the entrance hall and James cried out, "Peter! Are you alright?"
Lily, Catherine and Remus dashed out of the kitchen to the entrance hall where James and Sirius were crouched over Peter's semiconscious body. "Oh my!" Lily gasped and her hand covered her wide open mouth.
"Peter, what happened?" James asked quickly checking Peter for wounds.
"I-I'm fine," Peter managed to choke out. "I-I think it's stress," he said as he tried to steady his breathing. He'd apparated to Godric's Hollow and promptly collapsed, all of his energy sapped.
"We'd better get him into bed, he needs rest," Lily said and James and Sirius helped Peter up the stairs. "I'll go make him some soup," she said and rushed back into the kitchen to do so.
Catherine and Remus exchanged glances quickly before Catherine followed Lily and Remus headed up the stairs after James, Sirius and Peter.
Upstairs Peter was trying to get James and Sirius off him saying, "I can do it myself."
James and Sirius exchanged looks. "Peter you're not well, you need our help," James said quietly as Peter struggled against their hands and Remus came along the hallway.
"I'm fine!" Peter cried out before his legs collapsed beneath him and James and Sirius grunted with the effort to pull him back up.
"You're not fine! Just let us get you into your room and then you can gripe about it," Sirius said angrily as they finished getting Peter down the hall and into his room.
They sat Peter down on his bed and James said, "Alright, you're in bed. Now will you tell us what happened?" James asked looking rather concerned. Sirius looked frustrated and Remus just looked curious.
"Nothing! I had funeral things to check on and my parents aren't going to be there. I have to talk to all these people my Gran knew and listen to them all tell me how great and wonderful she was and feel sick to my stomach because its my fault she's dead!" Peter raged his voice taking on a high pitched edge.
James, Sirius and Remus watched as Peter raged, his cheeks flushed and his eyes too bright in their sockets. He looked fanatical, like a muggle televangelist trying to convince the non-believers of the 'truth'.
"Peter, its not your fault she's dead. It's Voldemort's and his sick, twisted schemes," Sirius said and Peter winced at the use of the name. Sirius sighed. "Lily is making you soup, you can get some rest and you'll be fine tomorrow," he said gently and Peter just nodded.
Lily and Catherine came into the room. Lily was carrying a tray table with a bowl of soup and a tea kettle on it. "Lie down and get settled Peter," Lily said gently as she set the tray on the bedside table to wait for Peter to lie back.
"Lily you don't have to do this," Peter said meekly as she looked at the soup and felt guilty.
"Don't be silly. You need someone to look after you and I'm happy to do it. So get comfortable and then you can eat and rest to get your strength back," Lily said kindly and pat Peter gently on the shoulder.
Peter sighed and said, "Alright, thank you Lily." He sighed again as he kicked off his shoes and got comfortable.
"You're welcome," Lily said and smiled as she picked up the tray and placed it carefully over Peter's lap. "I'll come check on you when we're done with dinner downstairs Peter. You just rest and try not to worry about anything," Lily said and smiled again before turning to leave the room after James, Sirius, Remus and Catherine.
"That was odd," Catherine said as they walked down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Extremely," Remus said quietly as Lily rushed ahead of the group to the kitchen.
"What are you planning for dinner?" Sirius asked eagerly as Lily edged past him.
Lily smiled sweetly and said, "You'll see," before walking into the kitchen and beginning to prepare dinner. James, Sirius, Remus and Catherine sat down at the table and held idle conversation while watching Lily work.
"So, what are you planning to go as for the costume ball?" Catherine asked of the table.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "We've only found out this morning, aren't we allowed some time to think on it?" he asked blandly.
"Of course you are, I was just looking for something to talk about dear Remy," Catherine responded lightheartedly.
"Alright then, who are you planning to go as?" Sirius asked interested in Catherine's response.
"I don't know, maybe a Gryffindor," Catherine said and laughed at the shocked looks on their faces. "Just kidding! I would have thought you'd recognize a joke when you saw one," she said and noted Lily shaking her head smiling.
Sirius smirked and said, "You know, the maroon and gold would bring out the highlights in your hair."
James, Remus, Lily and Catherine all looked at him with something between amusement and horror. "Are you changing sides on us Padfoot?" James asked and fluttered his eye lashes in a womanly manner.
Sirius laughed loudly. "Oh yes Jamie-poo! I thought it was time we made our affair public," she said and made a smooching noise at James.
Lily snorted with laughter at this proclamation and sunk on to the floor her laughter turning to hiccups while the quartet sitting at the table just stared at her. Soon her laughter turned to giggles and she stopped hiccupping looking over at them. "That was interesting," Catherine stated trying to keep herself from laughing out right. She failed and soon the whole table was laughing about Lily laughing.
"I seem to be interrupting," a voice called out from the door and all eyes turned to see Arabella standing there looking thoroughly unamused.
"Hey Bella," Sirius called out jovially and walked over to her kissing her on the cheek.
Arabella just glared at Catherine. "How long have you been here Mcgeogehegan?" she asked blandly even though her eyes and body language betrayed her annoyance.
"Since about seven this morning," Catherine replied with a smirk.
"Really? And why is that?" Arabella asked impatience coming through in the tone of her voice.
"To talk to Lily, why else would I come here? To ravish Sirius perhaps?" Catherine said and smiled in what could be taken as an evil way.
Lily growled audibly. "Do I have to make up a bloody visitation schedule or are you two going to be civilized?" she asked her eyes glowing making Catherine shift in her seat and Arabella cross her arms over her chest. "I'm sick of you both fighting and sniping at each other!" Lily exclaimed and whipped around to finish cooking.
Catherine smiled as if struck with an idea. "How about James' house is neutral ground? If we're both here we ignore each other unless absolutely necessary and we can 'snipe' at each other in other venues," Catherine said in a bored voice watching Arabella carefully.
Arabella's thoughts were conflicting and she wanted to say, 'How about you just leave?' but knew Lily would probably turn around and shout at her to do the same. "Fine," Arabella said and her eyes shifted to look at Sirius and then back to Catherine who was now smiling broadly.
"Wonderful," Catherine said in a far too chipper voice before she turned away from Arabella and looked at Remus who was sitting across the table from her.
"Good, now you can either sit down and have dinner with us or go," Lily said her annoyance still prevalent in her voice and her body language.
"I actually just came here to check on Peter's arm. Is he here?" Arabella asked, quickly lying to cover up the fact that she had come to see Sirius.
"He's upstairs resting," Lily said her voice loosing its edge and her shoulders loosening in a release of tension.
"Resting?" Arabella asked wondering if Peter's cut had worsened.
"Stress," Lily said simply and shrugged her shoulders repetitively to release her nerves.
"Oh well, I'll go have a look at him and head home," Arabella said and turned to go.
Sirius looked at Arabella's retreating back and the kitchen full of people watching. "I'll be right back," he said and hurried after Arabella whose footsteps could be heard on the stairs.
Catherine let out a breath. "I really dislike fighting with that girl," she said aloud.
"Then why do you?" Remus asked quietly looking at her.
"Because she seems to think I'm trying to seduce Sirius when I have no feelings of that sort toward him. If she would get over her insecurities about me and him she wouldn't have such a problem with my being friends with Lily," Catherine replied honestly and sighed. "Sirius and I are friends and only friends. I don't see what's wrong with that," she said quietly and looked into Remus' eyes as if he knew the answer.
"There's nothing wrong with you and Sirius being friends, just as there nothing wrong with you and Lily being friends," James spoke up for the first time since Arabella arrived.
Lily looked over her shoulder at James and smiled warmly mouthing to him, "Thank you," to which he nodded and smiled back.
"Dinner is almost ready, someone should tell Sirius," Lily said before she started getting dishes down from the cupboards.
"Let me help you with that," Catherine said standing up and carrying dishes to the table and setting them out.
"Thanks," Lily said and went back to tending the meal cooking on the stove.
"I'll go tell Sirius," James said and stood up walking from the kitchen upstairs to find Sirius.
"Arabella, wait a second," Sirius called out as he climbed the stairs after her. She'd stopped just outside Peter's room. "What is the real reason you came here tonight?" he asked quietly.
"To see you," Arabella said calmly as she took a deep breath.
"Why did you lie downstairs then?" Sirius asked quietly.
"I didn't want to give her anymore ammunition against me," Arabella said simply. "I just can't believe Lily took her side," she said angrily.
Sirius stared at Arabella with eyebrows raised in astonishment. "Lily wasn't on Catherine's side or your own. She was neutral to the argument and is just annoyed because all you two ever do is fight. It does get rather annoying and redundant after a while," he said quickly and hoped that Arabella wouldn't shout at him too.
Arabella closed her eyes and tired to keep from shouting at Sirius and possibly waking Peter. Just then James came up the stairs. "Dinner is almost ready, Lily sent me up to tell you," he said quickly before turning and going back downstairs.
The interruption gave Arabella time to compose herself. "I'm going to check on Peter, you can go down and eat," she said and watched Sirius carefully.
Sirius sighed. "Alright, just think about what I said. I'll see you tomorrow at Wilhelmina's funeral," he said and turned back down the hall and disappeared down the stairs a moment later.
Arabella knocked on Peter's door. "Come in," Peter's voiced called out and she opened the door. "Bella? I thought you were Lily," he said when he saw Arabella enter.
"I came over to take a look at your arm. I just want to make sure it's healing correctly," Arabella said and smiled sitting on the bed next to Peter as he rolled up his right sleeve for Arabella to examine. She undid the bandage and looked at the cut which had scabbed almost completely over. Peter winced. "Sorry," Arabella said kingly. "It seems to be just fine, I'll check it again tomorrow,' she said and resecured the bandage with a spell.
"Thank you," Peter said quietly.
"No problem. You just feel better and get some rest. Goodnight Peter," Arabella said and smiled before walking out of the room and downstairs before apparating back to her home.
A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter is confusing. *smiles innocently* I shall eventually reveal such things as they are needed, but you can ask away and you will not get a clue of it. I'm being cryptic! Love you all, keep reading, reviewing and waiting for my updates as they will come. ~Frankie~