Chapter 9
A/N: Okay, so I'm glad you guys liked the last part. I got a lot of responses about it. Thank you so much for the reviews everyone. I'm really hoping this part is okay. You guys have to let me know if you're not satisfied with it.
They looked at each other for a while until they heard a clutter from where Madam Pomfrey had taken Remus.
"I'm FINE!" they heard Remus say angrily at Madam Pomfrey. They heard the words 'nonsense' being muttered and they smiled.
"Looks like she's being rough on him," James said with a small chuckle.
"She can overreact sometimes. I came for a cold last week and she had me drink two really yucky potions and had me lay down for an hour," Lily said smiling back at him.
"When I came in because of the fur spell during the feast she had me in for half the next day. Took me an hour to convince her to let me leave," he said offhandedly.
He regretted making the comment. Her smile faded and she turned serious within moments. She handed him the cotton and looked at him regrettably.
"I should go talk to professor McGonagall, I think Sirius might need my help convincing her. You should keep pressure on your wound until Madam Pomfrey remembers she's supposed to tend to you," she said trying to smile. "Bye James."
"Bye," he said sadly.
***
Lily was greeted at the Great Hall by the commotion of the students gathered in a circle around Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Sirius, and a very awake and angry Snape; all in heated discussion, almost. Professor Dumbledore just stood there listening, to another person he was serious, but as Lily examined him, he had a glint in his eyes that seemed he was laughing internally.
"Ah! Miss Evans, I believe we are in need of your assistance," Professor Dumbledore said acknowledging her presence. People started moving out of her way to let her move towards the group. "Now, perhaps we should move towards a. less crowded area."
He looked amused as he said it, but he led the other four to the antechamber at the end of the Great Hall. When they arrived there, he summoned up chairs for them to sit.
"Will you all explain yourselves!?" Professor McGonagall said outraged.
At once the voices of Sirius and Snape could be heard retelling the events in angry frustrated voices.
"He jinxed us!"
"Only because you tried jinxing us!"
"You had nothing to do with the fight Black!"
"Sni- Snape launched my friends out of the Great Hall! Tell me how it didn't involve me?"
"You got in the fight on your own!"
"I wasn't going to let you jinx them!"
"It's your own fault something happened to you!"
"STOP! Would you two please stop arguing! Now, since either of you won't let each other talk, I will ask Miss Evans to explain what happened," Professor McGonagall said frustrated. She gave the boys a pointed look and turned to look at Lily. "Well Miss Evans, explain."
"Sirius and I were talking outside of the Great Hall when we saw James Potter falling down the stairs from the main oak door. We rushed to see if he was okay, when Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin came flying out of the castle too. They fell down the stairs and landed right before us. Sirius and I got closer to see if they were okay when Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Snape came out at the top of the stairs. Snape threw a jinx at Remus--" she said looking directly at both professors until she was interrupted by Snape's objections.
"I assure you-" he started shooting daggers at Lily.
"I think Severus, that it would be best for you to allow Lily to continue before you make any corrections," Professor Dumbledore said calmly.
"But Professor-" Snape started again.
"Mr. Snape, if you do not stay quiet then I will make you," Professor McGonagall said pointedly. "Go on Miss Evans."
"Well, as I was saying, Severus hit Remus with a jinx that made him grow a snout-" she said being disrupted again.
"I did no-" before Snape could finish his sentence Professor McGonagall pointed her wand angrily at him and before he could say another word said, "silencio!"
His voice died out, although he was still moving his lips. Sirius almost burst out laughing until he saw Professor McGonagall. She was just looking for an excuse to punish. He just sat still and avoided looking at her. Instead he fixed his eyes on Lily, who had now again resumed the tale. She made Remus' snout sound like a horrible crime. She explained calmly how she had knocked out Snape, how James and Sirius had disarmed Crabbe and Zabini and how she had taken Remus to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey was taking care of him now. She told them how James had arrived to the infirmary short there after she and Remus had arrived. Professor McGonagall just sat in her chair thoughtfully. Professor Dumbledore seemed sort of distracted.
Finally, Professor Dumbledore spoke, "Well, it seems to me that you were only protecting yourself. We have still no account what happened before Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew flew out of the castle, but as far as I'm concerned Miss Evans, you and Mr. Black are free to go."
Professor McGonagall nodded in approval. Snape waved madly to get the teacher's attention, only to receive an angry look.
"Mr. Snape, I think I'd believe a prior prefect (I don't think she's considered prefect after she turns head girl) and Head Girl more than I'd trust the word of a student who just got detention two weeks ago for jinxing another student's quill to spill all over their clothes," she said looking at Snape annoyed. She turned to Lily and Sirius who were still seated in their respective chairs with smiles as Snape got told off. "Go on you two, unless you want detentions as well."
They got up quickly and made their way to the door as Dumbledore turned to look at Professor McGonagall, "I believe, Minerva, that we should call Professor Hydra to come in and tell Severus what his punishment will be. I will have Mr. Filch look around for the other three boys."
***
Sirius and Lily stepped out of the room, only to be greeted by a group of excited students who were eager to hear the recount of the events that had happened nearly an hour ago. Sarah and Hannah approached Lily with amazed faces, telling their friend what they had heard.
"A couple of Hufflepuffs told me they saw you and Sirius run towards the entrance, where James was fighting off four Slytherins. That suddenly Peter and Remus came out of nowhere and all of you charged against the Slytherins." Hannah said excitedly.
"I heard that our sweet and innocent Lily knocked out two of them with a single spell!" Sarah said looking positively pleased.
"Oh now! Rumors fly like wild fire! It seems like I am an army all by myself!" Lily said wide-eyed. She turned to look at Sirius who was telling everyone he didn't know how the fight had started but it ended with the four Slytherins regretting ever having messed with the marauders. and Lily.
He glowered on Lily's actions, saying how it was one of the most impressive uses of the 'stupefy' spell he had ever seen performed. Someone piped in to say he probably hadn't seen many and Sirius just blushed. Lily nudged him slightly, smiling at him.
They were finally driven away from their crowd by the bell signaling the end of their lunch hour, which meant Lily and her friends needed to get to History of Magic. Sirius walked with them to class, sat next to Lily during lesson with the excuse that two of his friends were still in the infirmary and the other appeared to be missing. He had started talking in whispers with a hesitant Lily, but had then resorted to paper conversations with her after Professor Binns glared at them for talking.
*How was Remus?* he wrote on a blank parchment. He pushed the paper over to her and smiled.
*Okay, I know it seems unnecessary to you, but I do have to work to keep my grades. He already told us to be quiet. Besides, the Giant Wars are actually interesting,* she wrote underlining the word 'work'.
She pushed the paper towards him and listened for a while to Professor Binns while Sirius wrote on the parchment. She could feel her eyelids begin to droop as she unwillingly wrote down notes. She had almost dozed off when Sirius tapped her again.
*You're falling asleep anyhow and we are not talking. Come on Lily, please. I just want to know how my friend is doing. Snivellus didn't manage to make any lasting damage did he? I'll bust his face myself!* she read to herself. She noticed a little p.s. a line down. *By the way, you're going to have to tell me how you managed that spell. It's not exactly an easy one to do. I mean, we're not supposed to use it. As student I mean.*
She turned to give him a look. She mouthed the words 'not sleeping' and began to write on the parchment.
*He was fine. Actually, I think Madam Pomfrey changed him back before I came down but she insisted on making him rest. James and I-* she stopped midway through the sentence. Sirius, once aware that she had stopped writing, attempted to take the parchment. She shook her head and looked again at the sentence she was about to write.
'We had a moment,' a voice said in her mind. 'A moment where I thought he was nice and a good friend. Because the truth is that he is a good friend, a good person.'
She tried to shake the feeling off, but the way his eyes had looked so disappointed when she had said she had to leave haunted her for a moment. It hadn't been a moment where he had been taunting her; it hadn't been a trying-to-prove-that-he-could-get-the-girl-in-front-of-everyone moment, but a serious and disappointed I-don't-want-you-to-leave moment.
She felt Sirius nudge her again to finish the sentence. She had to re-read her own message twice to remember her tread of thought.
*James and I listened in to their little argument. She tried to give him check him over and he refused profoundly. I left before she could look into James' wound. I did help him clean it though. You should be proud, I finally had a decent conversation with your best friend.*
She passed it to him and propped her head on her hands, watching Sirius as he read her message. He was very handsome, even without attempting it. He didn't have to smile in her direction for her to see it. But he did and she found that rewarding. She liked him, there was no doubt about it in her mind. Yet, she could hear Hannah's words about love and hate resonating in her mind. She wasn't stupid; she just hadn't wanted to accept it. Hannah had been referring to James. She wanted to drive the idea out of her mind. She found herself just looking out of the window, still deep in thought, waiting for Sirius' reply.
He read her message, his gaze fixed intently on the last sentence. *I'm glad,* he wrote sincerely. 'But I kinda just want you for me.'
His mind was racing with potential jealousy. He feared that which he knew deep in his heart of hearts. Lily and James had a lot in common; he was surprised Lily didn't see that. Yet she might, and the thought of that was something he wasn't ready to handle. He knew Lily liked him. He liked her too, he would give up anything to be with her; almost anything. He wasn't ready to throw away 17 years of friendship for a fleeting crush. That's what he hoped Lily was to him. He wanted to ignore that every time he got near, he felt nervous and clumsy. He wanted to ignore that she made him feel like he could be a better person.
He thought about the possibilities. 'James would understand,' he said to himself. Or so he tried to convince himself. He argued in his mind that once James knew, once he saw how much he cared for Lily, he would be okay about it. He kept repeating it as he wrote the next lines on the parchment. He poked Lily slightly, pulling her from her thoughts and pushed the parchment towards her.
She read the paper and smiled brightly.
"I'd love to!" she said loudly.
A/N: Okay, so I'm glad you guys liked the last part. I got a lot of responses about it. Thank you so much for the reviews everyone. I'm really hoping this part is okay. You guys have to let me know if you're not satisfied with it.
They looked at each other for a while until they heard a clutter from where Madam Pomfrey had taken Remus.
"I'm FINE!" they heard Remus say angrily at Madam Pomfrey. They heard the words 'nonsense' being muttered and they smiled.
"Looks like she's being rough on him," James said with a small chuckle.
"She can overreact sometimes. I came for a cold last week and she had me drink two really yucky potions and had me lay down for an hour," Lily said smiling back at him.
"When I came in because of the fur spell during the feast she had me in for half the next day. Took me an hour to convince her to let me leave," he said offhandedly.
He regretted making the comment. Her smile faded and she turned serious within moments. She handed him the cotton and looked at him regrettably.
"I should go talk to professor McGonagall, I think Sirius might need my help convincing her. You should keep pressure on your wound until Madam Pomfrey remembers she's supposed to tend to you," she said trying to smile. "Bye James."
"Bye," he said sadly.
***
Lily was greeted at the Great Hall by the commotion of the students gathered in a circle around Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Sirius, and a very awake and angry Snape; all in heated discussion, almost. Professor Dumbledore just stood there listening, to another person he was serious, but as Lily examined him, he had a glint in his eyes that seemed he was laughing internally.
"Ah! Miss Evans, I believe we are in need of your assistance," Professor Dumbledore said acknowledging her presence. People started moving out of her way to let her move towards the group. "Now, perhaps we should move towards a. less crowded area."
He looked amused as he said it, but he led the other four to the antechamber at the end of the Great Hall. When they arrived there, he summoned up chairs for them to sit.
"Will you all explain yourselves!?" Professor McGonagall said outraged.
At once the voices of Sirius and Snape could be heard retelling the events in angry frustrated voices.
"He jinxed us!"
"Only because you tried jinxing us!"
"You had nothing to do with the fight Black!"
"Sni- Snape launched my friends out of the Great Hall! Tell me how it didn't involve me?"
"You got in the fight on your own!"
"I wasn't going to let you jinx them!"
"It's your own fault something happened to you!"
"STOP! Would you two please stop arguing! Now, since either of you won't let each other talk, I will ask Miss Evans to explain what happened," Professor McGonagall said frustrated. She gave the boys a pointed look and turned to look at Lily. "Well Miss Evans, explain."
"Sirius and I were talking outside of the Great Hall when we saw James Potter falling down the stairs from the main oak door. We rushed to see if he was okay, when Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin came flying out of the castle too. They fell down the stairs and landed right before us. Sirius and I got closer to see if they were okay when Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Snape came out at the top of the stairs. Snape threw a jinx at Remus--" she said looking directly at both professors until she was interrupted by Snape's objections.
"I assure you-" he started shooting daggers at Lily.
"I think Severus, that it would be best for you to allow Lily to continue before you make any corrections," Professor Dumbledore said calmly.
"But Professor-" Snape started again.
"Mr. Snape, if you do not stay quiet then I will make you," Professor McGonagall said pointedly. "Go on Miss Evans."
"Well, as I was saying, Severus hit Remus with a jinx that made him grow a snout-" she said being disrupted again.
"I did no-" before Snape could finish his sentence Professor McGonagall pointed her wand angrily at him and before he could say another word said, "silencio!"
His voice died out, although he was still moving his lips. Sirius almost burst out laughing until he saw Professor McGonagall. She was just looking for an excuse to punish. He just sat still and avoided looking at her. Instead he fixed his eyes on Lily, who had now again resumed the tale. She made Remus' snout sound like a horrible crime. She explained calmly how she had knocked out Snape, how James and Sirius had disarmed Crabbe and Zabini and how she had taken Remus to the infirmary where Madam Pomfrey was taking care of him now. She told them how James had arrived to the infirmary short there after she and Remus had arrived. Professor McGonagall just sat in her chair thoughtfully. Professor Dumbledore seemed sort of distracted.
Finally, Professor Dumbledore spoke, "Well, it seems to me that you were only protecting yourself. We have still no account what happened before Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew flew out of the castle, but as far as I'm concerned Miss Evans, you and Mr. Black are free to go."
Professor McGonagall nodded in approval. Snape waved madly to get the teacher's attention, only to receive an angry look.
"Mr. Snape, I think I'd believe a prior prefect (I don't think she's considered prefect after she turns head girl) and Head Girl more than I'd trust the word of a student who just got detention two weeks ago for jinxing another student's quill to spill all over their clothes," she said looking at Snape annoyed. She turned to Lily and Sirius who were still seated in their respective chairs with smiles as Snape got told off. "Go on you two, unless you want detentions as well."
They got up quickly and made their way to the door as Dumbledore turned to look at Professor McGonagall, "I believe, Minerva, that we should call Professor Hydra to come in and tell Severus what his punishment will be. I will have Mr. Filch look around for the other three boys."
***
Sirius and Lily stepped out of the room, only to be greeted by a group of excited students who were eager to hear the recount of the events that had happened nearly an hour ago. Sarah and Hannah approached Lily with amazed faces, telling their friend what they had heard.
"A couple of Hufflepuffs told me they saw you and Sirius run towards the entrance, where James was fighting off four Slytherins. That suddenly Peter and Remus came out of nowhere and all of you charged against the Slytherins." Hannah said excitedly.
"I heard that our sweet and innocent Lily knocked out two of them with a single spell!" Sarah said looking positively pleased.
"Oh now! Rumors fly like wild fire! It seems like I am an army all by myself!" Lily said wide-eyed. She turned to look at Sirius who was telling everyone he didn't know how the fight had started but it ended with the four Slytherins regretting ever having messed with the marauders. and Lily.
He glowered on Lily's actions, saying how it was one of the most impressive uses of the 'stupefy' spell he had ever seen performed. Someone piped in to say he probably hadn't seen many and Sirius just blushed. Lily nudged him slightly, smiling at him.
They were finally driven away from their crowd by the bell signaling the end of their lunch hour, which meant Lily and her friends needed to get to History of Magic. Sirius walked with them to class, sat next to Lily during lesson with the excuse that two of his friends were still in the infirmary and the other appeared to be missing. He had started talking in whispers with a hesitant Lily, but had then resorted to paper conversations with her after Professor Binns glared at them for talking.
*How was Remus?* he wrote on a blank parchment. He pushed the paper over to her and smiled.
*Okay, I know it seems unnecessary to you, but I do have to work to keep my grades. He already told us to be quiet. Besides, the Giant Wars are actually interesting,* she wrote underlining the word 'work'.
She pushed the paper towards him and listened for a while to Professor Binns while Sirius wrote on the parchment. She could feel her eyelids begin to droop as she unwillingly wrote down notes. She had almost dozed off when Sirius tapped her again.
*You're falling asleep anyhow and we are not talking. Come on Lily, please. I just want to know how my friend is doing. Snivellus didn't manage to make any lasting damage did he? I'll bust his face myself!* she read to herself. She noticed a little p.s. a line down. *By the way, you're going to have to tell me how you managed that spell. It's not exactly an easy one to do. I mean, we're not supposed to use it. As student I mean.*
She turned to give him a look. She mouthed the words 'not sleeping' and began to write on the parchment.
*He was fine. Actually, I think Madam Pomfrey changed him back before I came down but she insisted on making him rest. James and I-* she stopped midway through the sentence. Sirius, once aware that she had stopped writing, attempted to take the parchment. She shook her head and looked again at the sentence she was about to write.
'We had a moment,' a voice said in her mind. 'A moment where I thought he was nice and a good friend. Because the truth is that he is a good friend, a good person.'
She tried to shake the feeling off, but the way his eyes had looked so disappointed when she had said she had to leave haunted her for a moment. It hadn't been a moment where he had been taunting her; it hadn't been a trying-to-prove-that-he-could-get-the-girl-in-front-of-everyone moment, but a serious and disappointed I-don't-want-you-to-leave moment.
She felt Sirius nudge her again to finish the sentence. She had to re-read her own message twice to remember her tread of thought.
*James and I listened in to their little argument. She tried to give him check him over and he refused profoundly. I left before she could look into James' wound. I did help him clean it though. You should be proud, I finally had a decent conversation with your best friend.*
She passed it to him and propped her head on her hands, watching Sirius as he read her message. He was very handsome, even without attempting it. He didn't have to smile in her direction for her to see it. But he did and she found that rewarding. She liked him, there was no doubt about it in her mind. Yet, she could hear Hannah's words about love and hate resonating in her mind. She wasn't stupid; she just hadn't wanted to accept it. Hannah had been referring to James. She wanted to drive the idea out of her mind. She found herself just looking out of the window, still deep in thought, waiting for Sirius' reply.
He read her message, his gaze fixed intently on the last sentence. *I'm glad,* he wrote sincerely. 'But I kinda just want you for me.'
His mind was racing with potential jealousy. He feared that which he knew deep in his heart of hearts. Lily and James had a lot in common; he was surprised Lily didn't see that. Yet she might, and the thought of that was something he wasn't ready to handle. He knew Lily liked him. He liked her too, he would give up anything to be with her; almost anything. He wasn't ready to throw away 17 years of friendship for a fleeting crush. That's what he hoped Lily was to him. He wanted to ignore that every time he got near, he felt nervous and clumsy. He wanted to ignore that she made him feel like he could be a better person.
He thought about the possibilities. 'James would understand,' he said to himself. Or so he tried to convince himself. He argued in his mind that once James knew, once he saw how much he cared for Lily, he would be okay about it. He kept repeating it as he wrote the next lines on the parchment. He poked Lily slightly, pulling her from her thoughts and pushed the parchment towards her.
She read the paper and smiled brightly.
"I'd love to!" she said loudly.