Disclaimer: everything belongs to JK Rowling, except for characters and
events unrecognizable as being part of the Harry Potter series.
A/N: heya! Thanks for the reviews, much much appreciated. Tell me, do you ppl like this one more or less than Changing Rooms? I'm interested to know! Someone said that they would have expected that Lily would dump James before James would dump Lily. But I guess time changes people, and James had to choose between his career and his girl. Tough decision, though I think it was even tougher on Lily! And I know that getting Sirius and Remus with two of Lily's close friends is lame, so we'll see what happens there...no promises! : P Ok, well, here goes with the next chapter. This fic isn't as easy to write as Changing Rooms...I wonder why?
Chapter Three
Memories
"Why are we playing soccer?" a petulant, child voice asked.
Remus Lupin sighed wearily.
"Because it's fun. And you wanted to," he said. "We took a vote, remember?"
"Yeah, but I wanted to play basketball, not soccer," the child insisted.
"Well, I'm sorry, but we're playing soccer," Remus said firmly. "Go join a team, and then we can get started."
It was a crisp morning, and mist still frosted the soccer field on which Remus was conducting his work experience. The worst thing about choosing to become a professor was that they made you try to teach in all sorts of circumstances. Muggles was one of them. And so were children. Remus had been lucky enough to score both in just one teaching job. He had been put to task teaching a group of twenty or so muggle boys, of the age of about nine, a sport each week. Today, he was attempting to make them play soccer.
"Hey!" he called as one boy grabbed the ball and danced out of reach of his fellows. "Come back- we haven't started playing yet!"
The boy wiggled his tongue at Remus and then ran towards the other end of the field, with the rest of the clan chasing.
Remus watched for a second and then slumped down in the grass in defeat. He drew his knees up to his face and rested his head on them resignedly. This was so, so stupid. He was never going to have children.
"Looking little glum today, Mr Lupin," came a teasing voice.
He looked up to see Andrea Black standing over him.
"Kids giving you a hard time?" she asked sympathetically.
"You could say that," he said, smiling wearily. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I was jogging," she said, indicating her running clothes and drink bottle. "I always come around this way. Where have you been lately? I haven't seen you around at all!"
"Oh, I've been pretty busy with his teaching thing," Remus said airily. "You don't come to the Young Teacher workshops anymore!"
"Nah, I got put into a different class," Andrea grimaced. She sat down on the grass next to him, and for a moment they were silent, watching the kids chasing each other around, and throwing the soccer ball at passer-bys.
"I heard you're teaching James and Sirius how to cook," Remus remarked, turning to grin at her. "That should be fun."
"Disastrous is more to the point," Andrea said, rolling her eyes. "James and Sirius in a kitchen! And the worst thing is, lily's there too. She didn't look James in the face once!"
"Yeah," Remus sighed. "Sirius was telling me. I hope those two work things out soon, it'd be a shame if they fell apart when they've got a chance to patch things up."
"Yeah," Andrea agreed. "Hey, why didn't you come along? I could have taught you a thing or two about cooking!"
Remus grinned.
"Sorry, I have a class that evening. All about teaching kids," he looked over to where his class were running riot. "Not that it seems to have worked much for me, hey."
Andrea smiled at him. Remus had grown to be a handsome young man, and today, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, wearing a small smile at the corner of his lips, he looked...beautiful.
"Come on," she said, getting up and offering him a hand. "Let's get these kids of your under control."
Lily pushed a trolley around the supermarket, trudging along with no enthusiasm. She hated grocery shopping. Stopping at a stand of bread, she dumped two loaves into the trolley and the trudged on, not even bothering to check the price.
The fact was, her mind was still dwelling on her meeting with James Potter the other night. Why did this have to happen? She was fine pretending that he didn't exist, and then he came along and reminded her just how much she loved him. What was she meant to do? She couldn't back out of the classes after promising to do them, but how could she go every second night, knowing that he would be there?
She would just have to grit her teeth and do it, she decided firmly, squaring her shoulders. She would show him and that she didn't need him anyway!
"Yeah!" she said out loud. "I'll show him!"
And, ignoring the several strange looks she received, she hurried to finish her shopping. She had cooking to teach!
"Come on," Sirius said, standing over James' bed. "Sarah said that we could go to her house today."
James groaned and turned over. It was only 11:00 in the morning, and Sirius was already energetic enough for the both of them.
"Leave me alone," he mumbled. "Go see your girlfriend alone."
"She's not my girlfriend," Sirius corrected, rolling his eyes. "And if you're not ready to go in the next five minutes, I won't come to any more cooking classes with you.
Ten minutes later, they both stood outside Sarah's apartment, James looking a little disgruntled. How did Sirius always manage to get him to do exactly as he was told?
The door suddenly swung pen, to reveal a tired looking girl, her dark brown hair hanging loose around her face, and her green eyes regarding them suspiciously.
"Age hasn't done much for you," she remarked, turning and striding away.
"Morning, Grace," Sirius smiled back disarmingly. "Is Sarah in?"
"Yeah," came her call. Sirius strode in, followed by a more cautious James.
The girls' apartment was immaculately clean, as compared to the Marauders den. There was not a sock lying around, and the closest thing to mess was the stack of magazines that towered on the coffee table, threatening to fall at any moment.
It even smelled good.
Sarah was in the kitchen, dressed in a pair of tracksuit pants and a top. Her black hair was tied back with a band. Sirius grinned his greeting, seating himself at the tiny table comfortably.
"That'll be one coffee with two sugar and cream...actually, no cream. I'm on a diet," he ordered, receiving a raised eyebrow and a 'you-wish' look from Sarah.
"Hi James," she said, smiling at him where he stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Come and sit down. Would you like tea or coffee?"
"Uh, I'm ok," James said uncertainly, but Sarah made him coffee anyway.
And so they sat, with Sirius and Sarah chatting amiably, James rather uncomfortably sipping his coffee and Grace ignoring the boys completely.
Just when Sarah was starting to talk about lunch, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, uh, will you get that please James?" Sarah asked, trying to hold several pans and plates at once.
"Yeah, sure," James said, glad to get away from the air of comfortable friendship. It didn't seem right.
He stumbled to the door and managed to open it- only to see a ruffled looking Lily Evans standing there, clutching at several bags of groceries.
Her eyes went wide, and she gaped at him for a couple of seconds before pulling herself together.
"Uh-"she started.
"Let me help," he said quickly, grabbing some of the bags and practically fleeing back to the kitchen with them.
"Th-thanks,' Lily managed. She stumbled behind him, entering the kitchen with her face flaming and the bags almost slipping out of her grip.
James had placed the bags on the ground and was standing, ready to leave, waiting as Sirius said his goodbyes.
He was carefully avoiding everyone's eyes, and Lily took his examples. Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever imagined that she and James would be awkward around each other.
Finally, after kissing Sarah on both cheeks, which she took with a roll of her eyes, Sirius grinned at Lily and strode towards the door, James almost running in front of him.
The sound of the door slamming behind them was the most welcome sound Lily had ever heard.
She slumped into a chair and sighed, lowering her head into her hands. Sarah was busy making lunch, and grace had returned to her book.
"He's still pretty good looking, isn't he," Grace remarked, flicking a page. "James I mean. And Sirius is too, but that's obvious."
"Yeah..." Lily said faintly.
It seemed as if James Potter had returned to her life full swing, and Sirius and Sarah were going to make sure it stayed that way.
That was it, Lily decided. If he had to be there, she was going to face up to him once and for all.
The only thing now, was how?
A/N: yes, yes, I know it's a crap ending to a crap chapter, but I wanted to get this out soon. This fic is impossible to write! But I'm trying, so please review and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Long reviews would be the most welcome, so indulge and let me know exactly what you think. And I know I have heaps of typos, but you'll have to excuse me on that. You all know I can't type! : P
Luv, Jaizar
A/N: heya! Thanks for the reviews, much much appreciated. Tell me, do you ppl like this one more or less than Changing Rooms? I'm interested to know! Someone said that they would have expected that Lily would dump James before James would dump Lily. But I guess time changes people, and James had to choose between his career and his girl. Tough decision, though I think it was even tougher on Lily! And I know that getting Sirius and Remus with two of Lily's close friends is lame, so we'll see what happens there...no promises! : P Ok, well, here goes with the next chapter. This fic isn't as easy to write as Changing Rooms...I wonder why?
Chapter Three
Memories
"Why are we playing soccer?" a petulant, child voice asked.
Remus Lupin sighed wearily.
"Because it's fun. And you wanted to," he said. "We took a vote, remember?"
"Yeah, but I wanted to play basketball, not soccer," the child insisted.
"Well, I'm sorry, but we're playing soccer," Remus said firmly. "Go join a team, and then we can get started."
It was a crisp morning, and mist still frosted the soccer field on which Remus was conducting his work experience. The worst thing about choosing to become a professor was that they made you try to teach in all sorts of circumstances. Muggles was one of them. And so were children. Remus had been lucky enough to score both in just one teaching job. He had been put to task teaching a group of twenty or so muggle boys, of the age of about nine, a sport each week. Today, he was attempting to make them play soccer.
"Hey!" he called as one boy grabbed the ball and danced out of reach of his fellows. "Come back- we haven't started playing yet!"
The boy wiggled his tongue at Remus and then ran towards the other end of the field, with the rest of the clan chasing.
Remus watched for a second and then slumped down in the grass in defeat. He drew his knees up to his face and rested his head on them resignedly. This was so, so stupid. He was never going to have children.
"Looking little glum today, Mr Lupin," came a teasing voice.
He looked up to see Andrea Black standing over him.
"Kids giving you a hard time?" she asked sympathetically.
"You could say that," he said, smiling wearily. "What are you doing up so early?"
"I was jogging," she said, indicating her running clothes and drink bottle. "I always come around this way. Where have you been lately? I haven't seen you around at all!"
"Oh, I've been pretty busy with his teaching thing," Remus said airily. "You don't come to the Young Teacher workshops anymore!"
"Nah, I got put into a different class," Andrea grimaced. She sat down on the grass next to him, and for a moment they were silent, watching the kids chasing each other around, and throwing the soccer ball at passer-bys.
"I heard you're teaching James and Sirius how to cook," Remus remarked, turning to grin at her. "That should be fun."
"Disastrous is more to the point," Andrea said, rolling her eyes. "James and Sirius in a kitchen! And the worst thing is, lily's there too. She didn't look James in the face once!"
"Yeah," Remus sighed. "Sirius was telling me. I hope those two work things out soon, it'd be a shame if they fell apart when they've got a chance to patch things up."
"Yeah," Andrea agreed. "Hey, why didn't you come along? I could have taught you a thing or two about cooking!"
Remus grinned.
"Sorry, I have a class that evening. All about teaching kids," he looked over to where his class were running riot. "Not that it seems to have worked much for me, hey."
Andrea smiled at him. Remus had grown to be a handsome young man, and today, clad in jeans and a t-shirt, wearing a small smile at the corner of his lips, he looked...beautiful.
"Come on," she said, getting up and offering him a hand. "Let's get these kids of your under control."
Lily pushed a trolley around the supermarket, trudging along with no enthusiasm. She hated grocery shopping. Stopping at a stand of bread, she dumped two loaves into the trolley and the trudged on, not even bothering to check the price.
The fact was, her mind was still dwelling on her meeting with James Potter the other night. Why did this have to happen? She was fine pretending that he didn't exist, and then he came along and reminded her just how much she loved him. What was she meant to do? She couldn't back out of the classes after promising to do them, but how could she go every second night, knowing that he would be there?
She would just have to grit her teeth and do it, she decided firmly, squaring her shoulders. She would show him and that she didn't need him anyway!
"Yeah!" she said out loud. "I'll show him!"
And, ignoring the several strange looks she received, she hurried to finish her shopping. She had cooking to teach!
"Come on," Sirius said, standing over James' bed. "Sarah said that we could go to her house today."
James groaned and turned over. It was only 11:00 in the morning, and Sirius was already energetic enough for the both of them.
"Leave me alone," he mumbled. "Go see your girlfriend alone."
"She's not my girlfriend," Sirius corrected, rolling his eyes. "And if you're not ready to go in the next five minutes, I won't come to any more cooking classes with you.
Ten minutes later, they both stood outside Sarah's apartment, James looking a little disgruntled. How did Sirius always manage to get him to do exactly as he was told?
The door suddenly swung pen, to reveal a tired looking girl, her dark brown hair hanging loose around her face, and her green eyes regarding them suspiciously.
"Age hasn't done much for you," she remarked, turning and striding away.
"Morning, Grace," Sirius smiled back disarmingly. "Is Sarah in?"
"Yeah," came her call. Sirius strode in, followed by a more cautious James.
The girls' apartment was immaculately clean, as compared to the Marauders den. There was not a sock lying around, and the closest thing to mess was the stack of magazines that towered on the coffee table, threatening to fall at any moment.
It even smelled good.
Sarah was in the kitchen, dressed in a pair of tracksuit pants and a top. Her black hair was tied back with a band. Sirius grinned his greeting, seating himself at the tiny table comfortably.
"That'll be one coffee with two sugar and cream...actually, no cream. I'm on a diet," he ordered, receiving a raised eyebrow and a 'you-wish' look from Sarah.
"Hi James," she said, smiling at him where he stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Come and sit down. Would you like tea or coffee?"
"Uh, I'm ok," James said uncertainly, but Sarah made him coffee anyway.
And so they sat, with Sirius and Sarah chatting amiably, James rather uncomfortably sipping his coffee and Grace ignoring the boys completely.
Just when Sarah was starting to talk about lunch, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, uh, will you get that please James?" Sarah asked, trying to hold several pans and plates at once.
"Yeah, sure," James said, glad to get away from the air of comfortable friendship. It didn't seem right.
He stumbled to the door and managed to open it- only to see a ruffled looking Lily Evans standing there, clutching at several bags of groceries.
Her eyes went wide, and she gaped at him for a couple of seconds before pulling herself together.
"Uh-"she started.
"Let me help," he said quickly, grabbing some of the bags and practically fleeing back to the kitchen with them.
"Th-thanks,' Lily managed. She stumbled behind him, entering the kitchen with her face flaming and the bags almost slipping out of her grip.
James had placed the bags on the ground and was standing, ready to leave, waiting as Sirius said his goodbyes.
He was carefully avoiding everyone's eyes, and Lily took his examples. Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever imagined that she and James would be awkward around each other.
Finally, after kissing Sarah on both cheeks, which she took with a roll of her eyes, Sirius grinned at Lily and strode towards the door, James almost running in front of him.
The sound of the door slamming behind them was the most welcome sound Lily had ever heard.
She slumped into a chair and sighed, lowering her head into her hands. Sarah was busy making lunch, and grace had returned to her book.
"He's still pretty good looking, isn't he," Grace remarked, flicking a page. "James I mean. And Sirius is too, but that's obvious."
"Yeah..." Lily said faintly.
It seemed as if James Potter had returned to her life full swing, and Sirius and Sarah were going to make sure it stayed that way.
That was it, Lily decided. If he had to be there, she was going to face up to him once and for all.
The only thing now, was how?
A/N: yes, yes, I know it's a crap ending to a crap chapter, but I wanted to get this out soon. This fic is impossible to write! But I'm trying, so please review and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Long reviews would be the most welcome, so indulge and let me know exactly what you think. And I know I have heaps of typos, but you'll have to excuse me on that. You all know I can't type! : P
Luv, Jaizar