A/N: Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! This story would
cease to exist without the reviews of people, so I'm glad you're all
enjoying my story, it makes it worth writing. Now I'm sure you all want
to read more of the story, so onwards through the fog! – so to speak
anyway. Enjoy.
Lily stormed up the stairs to the Girl's Dormitory in Gryffindor Tower, anxious to see her friends, anxious to cry on their shoulders and spend the whole night dissing James Potter, as if he was nothing but slimy pond scum.
When she reached the top step, she paused.
'Do I really want to do this?' she asked herself. 'Do I really want to bitch and moan? You bet I do. But I can't.'
With that, Lily turned on heel and walked slowly down the stairs, back into Gryffindor Common Room, a morose look on her face as one tear slid down her cheek and she swiped at it with the back of her hand. She was nearly at the portrait hole when she ran into someone.
'I'm sorry,' she mumbled and tried to side step them, not looking up to see whom it was she had run into. The only problem was that the person stepped into her path, seemingly by accident, so Lily stepped to the side again, only to have them follow her.
She frowned slightly in frustration and decided she would have to look into the eyes of the person who was barring her path to leave Gryffindor Tower, and what she really wanted was to get back to the Head's Dormitory and take a scalding shower and wash away any memories of James Potter from her system.
She glanced up, meeting a pair of stormy grey eyes, and only noticed then that the person in front of her was flanked by two others.
The one in front of her was tall, lean, had piercing grey eyes that always felt like they were staring at your deepest, darkest secrets, and shaggy black hair that fell around his face. He was fairly built and slightly tanned from spending the summer playing Quidditch and numerous other strenuous encounters that proved to be exhausting, and yet gave him good overall muscle tone.
The one on his left was slightly shorter, and had the pinched look about his cheeks of someone who was tired, and was ill. His face took on that pale, papery thin quality of one not having the best of days. His sandy hair was in need of a trim and hung limp, much like the rest of him. He was thin and bedraggled, as if he had been out all night and pulled around by a dog. His face had tiny scars, and the few times any other part of his body was shown, proved that the scars ran likewise, over his body.
The last boy was short and squat. He had thinning mousy brown hair, watery blue eyes, that were currently crinkled as he was trying - and failing - to look like he was equal to the two others next to him. He was round and bouncy and always quiet. When he did speak his voice was high and squeaky as though - even though he was seventeen - he hadn't quite reached puberty yet. Next to his two companions he looked even shorter, and was quite unmentionable, no outstanding qualities to make him notable.
As soon as Lily realized who it was in front of her, her eyes hardened and she stared them down.
Despite the fact that even the shortest of them was still taller than Lily herself, they all shrank slightly under the glare of the girl in front of them.
The one in front of her suddenly gained back the confident air of one who knew he was good looking and wasn't afraid to use it to his advantage.
'Lily,' he said shortly. 'We have to talk.'
'Oh really?' Lily asked, disbelief etched in every square centimeter of her skin. 'What about, Sirius? My summer vacation? Yours? Remus'? Peter's? Doubtful. So what would three of the Marauder's want with 'ickle Lilikins'?' she asked sarcastically.
'Evans, stop being a bitch for two minutes and get off that high horse you're always riding around on and have a normal conversation for once.' Sirius said flatly.
Lily glared at him. 'Fine.' Her lips were pressed together in perfect imitation of Professor McGonagall. She held up two fingers at them. 'Two minutes!'
Sirius rolled his eyes. 'You can time me.'
He walked over to a group of timid looking first years, cleared his throat and watched them scatter. He smirked slightly and sat down in the single armchair, opposite the three-person sofa. Lily wrinkled her nose at the thought of sitting next to any of the Marauders after her fights with their fourth and last member, James Potter.
'Sit!' Sirius barked.
Lily shot him a withering glare and sat down on the far end of the sofa, the side away from where Peter was sitting. She couldn't explain it, but he'd always given her an uneasy feeling, and if she was forced to sit next to him, after tonight's events, she felt she might literally be ill.
Remus took the seat in the middle, next to Lily and placed a hand on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Lily glanced down at the hand and then looked into Remus's eyes. His eyes crinkled into a soothing smile and she smiled back weakly, turning her gaze back to Sirius, who was slightly slouched, resting his chin on his linked fingers and had a dark, brooding expression clouding his otherwise handsome face.
Lily gave him a look that quite plainly said 'Well?'
'Patience is a virtue, Evans.'
'Not when you only have two – sorry, one and a half – minutes left.'
This time, Sirius gave her the withering look.
'Okay, Miss Pedantic-about-the-time. I wanted to talk to you about James.'
'Well, duh!' Lily rolled her eyes and waited for Sirius to continue. When he didn't she stood. 'We done now?'
Remus placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly applied pressure to let her know she should sit back down.
'No, we aren't done,' he said, coldly. 'Lily, why didn't you reply to any of James' owls? I was with him all summer, I know he sent them, and I know that all he got back was his owl, each and every time. He must have sent hundreds of owls before he gave up and thought you didn't want to be with him.'
'Your concern is touching, Sirius, but you need not cover for that irritable git, even though he is your best friend. I received zero owls from Potter's lazy arse. He's the one who didn't reply to my owls. And I did send owls, atleast once a day. See, but unlike him, I didn't start fooling around with bunches of floozies –' Lily failed to notice Sirius' jaw drop and his eyes grow wide. '- just because I hadn't heard from him for a few weeks. I am what you call, a loyal girlfriend. Now if you'll excuse me, your time is up.'
She stood up and walked away quickly, hearing the three Marauder's protest weakly as she walked quickly out of the common room, not stopping to look back.
Lily stormed up the stairs to the Girl's Dormitory in Gryffindor Tower, anxious to see her friends, anxious to cry on their shoulders and spend the whole night dissing James Potter, as if he was nothing but slimy pond scum.
When she reached the top step, she paused.
'Do I really want to do this?' she asked herself. 'Do I really want to bitch and moan? You bet I do. But I can't.'
With that, Lily turned on heel and walked slowly down the stairs, back into Gryffindor Common Room, a morose look on her face as one tear slid down her cheek and she swiped at it with the back of her hand. She was nearly at the portrait hole when she ran into someone.
'I'm sorry,' she mumbled and tried to side step them, not looking up to see whom it was she had run into. The only problem was that the person stepped into her path, seemingly by accident, so Lily stepped to the side again, only to have them follow her.
She frowned slightly in frustration and decided she would have to look into the eyes of the person who was barring her path to leave Gryffindor Tower, and what she really wanted was to get back to the Head's Dormitory and take a scalding shower and wash away any memories of James Potter from her system.
She glanced up, meeting a pair of stormy grey eyes, and only noticed then that the person in front of her was flanked by two others.
The one in front of her was tall, lean, had piercing grey eyes that always felt like they were staring at your deepest, darkest secrets, and shaggy black hair that fell around his face. He was fairly built and slightly tanned from spending the summer playing Quidditch and numerous other strenuous encounters that proved to be exhausting, and yet gave him good overall muscle tone.
The one on his left was slightly shorter, and had the pinched look about his cheeks of someone who was tired, and was ill. His face took on that pale, papery thin quality of one not having the best of days. His sandy hair was in need of a trim and hung limp, much like the rest of him. He was thin and bedraggled, as if he had been out all night and pulled around by a dog. His face had tiny scars, and the few times any other part of his body was shown, proved that the scars ran likewise, over his body.
The last boy was short and squat. He had thinning mousy brown hair, watery blue eyes, that were currently crinkled as he was trying - and failing - to look like he was equal to the two others next to him. He was round and bouncy and always quiet. When he did speak his voice was high and squeaky as though - even though he was seventeen - he hadn't quite reached puberty yet. Next to his two companions he looked even shorter, and was quite unmentionable, no outstanding qualities to make him notable.
As soon as Lily realized who it was in front of her, her eyes hardened and she stared them down.
Despite the fact that even the shortest of them was still taller than Lily herself, they all shrank slightly under the glare of the girl in front of them.
The one in front of her suddenly gained back the confident air of one who knew he was good looking and wasn't afraid to use it to his advantage.
'Lily,' he said shortly. 'We have to talk.'
'Oh really?' Lily asked, disbelief etched in every square centimeter of her skin. 'What about, Sirius? My summer vacation? Yours? Remus'? Peter's? Doubtful. So what would three of the Marauder's want with 'ickle Lilikins'?' she asked sarcastically.
'Evans, stop being a bitch for two minutes and get off that high horse you're always riding around on and have a normal conversation for once.' Sirius said flatly.
Lily glared at him. 'Fine.' Her lips were pressed together in perfect imitation of Professor McGonagall. She held up two fingers at them. 'Two minutes!'
Sirius rolled his eyes. 'You can time me.'
He walked over to a group of timid looking first years, cleared his throat and watched them scatter. He smirked slightly and sat down in the single armchair, opposite the three-person sofa. Lily wrinkled her nose at the thought of sitting next to any of the Marauders after her fights with their fourth and last member, James Potter.
'Sit!' Sirius barked.
Lily shot him a withering glare and sat down on the far end of the sofa, the side away from where Peter was sitting. She couldn't explain it, but he'd always given her an uneasy feeling, and if she was forced to sit next to him, after tonight's events, she felt she might literally be ill.
Remus took the seat in the middle, next to Lily and placed a hand on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Lily glanced down at the hand and then looked into Remus's eyes. His eyes crinkled into a soothing smile and she smiled back weakly, turning her gaze back to Sirius, who was slightly slouched, resting his chin on his linked fingers and had a dark, brooding expression clouding his otherwise handsome face.
Lily gave him a look that quite plainly said 'Well?'
'Patience is a virtue, Evans.'
'Not when you only have two – sorry, one and a half – minutes left.'
This time, Sirius gave her the withering look.
'Okay, Miss Pedantic-about-the-time. I wanted to talk to you about James.'
'Well, duh!' Lily rolled her eyes and waited for Sirius to continue. When he didn't she stood. 'We done now?'
Remus placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly applied pressure to let her know she should sit back down.
'No, we aren't done,' he said, coldly. 'Lily, why didn't you reply to any of James' owls? I was with him all summer, I know he sent them, and I know that all he got back was his owl, each and every time. He must have sent hundreds of owls before he gave up and thought you didn't want to be with him.'
'Your concern is touching, Sirius, but you need not cover for that irritable git, even though he is your best friend. I received zero owls from Potter's lazy arse. He's the one who didn't reply to my owls. And I did send owls, atleast once a day. See, but unlike him, I didn't start fooling around with bunches of floozies –' Lily failed to notice Sirius' jaw drop and his eyes grow wide. '- just because I hadn't heard from him for a few weeks. I am what you call, a loyal girlfriend. Now if you'll excuse me, your time is up.'
She stood up and walked away quickly, hearing the three Marauder's protest weakly as she walked quickly out of the common room, not stopping to look back.