Opposites by Nethwen
Summary: When Lily and James have to work together as Head Boy and Girl and DADA lessons, how will they cope? Meanwhile, Alice makes a shocking confession. Marauder era with L/J.
A/N: Sorry it took me AGES to update!
Thanks to my reviewers:
Aspiring Shieldmaiden- Hiya! Hope you like this chapter. Oh…and update ENC soon!
Angel of Justice- I'm not offended! I really appreciate constructive criticism as it helps improve my writing. Thanks for pointing out my mistake :)
Animerocksjapanrocks- Cool pen-name! Thanks, I love new reviewers:P
Danz- Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Demented Hamster-You will find out why Alice is annoyed at Remus in this chapter!
Lady Taliesin- I love long reviews! Thanks for being a dedicated reviewer.
Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot- Bonjour! Merci beaucoup. Thanks for the review!
Prongs 4 Lily- Keep reading! :)
The Best witch of all- Thanks! Keep reading and sorry for the long update!
You guys ROCK! I love reviews and they really make my day and help improve my writing so R/R!
Please?
"Alice, please just tell me," Lily said softly to her friend.
"Lily," said Alice, "Remus loves me."
Chapter 4 – Angst In Plenty
Lily looked at her friend for a few moments, perplexed. Was this really her best friend Alice who she knew was calm and collected in every situation? Instead, Alice's face was tear-streaked, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
"But that's good isn't it?" Lily asked, handing Alice a tissue.
"What do you mean?" replied the girl helplessly, "Of course not."
"I thought you've fancied Remus since third year, you told me."
"I did…and still do."
"Then what's the problem? He feels the same way."
"His curse," whispered Alice quickly.
"His curse?" repeated Lily frowning.
"I cannot love a werewolf," Alice said simply, drying her face.
"Alice. Remus can't help it. He's a very nice guy if you just give him a chance," Lily said, disgusted Alice was saying this.
"Lils, it's my decision," remarked her friend impatiently, "I just don't like the concept of having a boyfriend with a curse."
"Listen to yourself. I can understand you feel this way but Remus deserves some respect," defended Lily, "Why don't you talk to him?"
Alice wiped her eyes and slowly a tinge of red appeared on her cheeks.
"I don't think I should talk to him now," Alice explained, "I hurried away without saying a word after he had told me."
"So you're going to give him the cold shoulder until something happens?" asked Lily.
"I really don't know Lils," replied Alice, "But I wish you could be a more supportive friend."
Before Lily could reply, her friend quickly grabbed her bag and strode out the Hall.
& & & & &
Remus Lupin sat hunched in his chair, dismally staring at the table. His mousy brown hair was ruffled and his dark brown eyes blank. His mind was full of questions and emotion that he didn't know what to do.
"Moony!"
As if woken from a deep dream, he wearily looked up and saw Sirius sitting on the desk next to his, grinning.
"So did you tell her?" Sirius inquired, "What did she say?"
"Nothing," muttered Remus.
"Nothing," repeated Sirius, looking at his friend's downcast face.
"Look Padfoot, I don't really want to talk about it."
"You can tell me mate," Sirius' face had lost its boyish grin and was replaced with a more serious expression, "What happened?"
"Nothing. She turned red and muttered something about having to go and left."
"Just like that?"
"Yep."
"Do you think she felt embarrassed or insecure?" asked Sirius, "And that's why she left in a hurry?"
"I don't know Padfoot," Remus said, "But I hope she feels the same way."
"Come on," Sirius beckoned standing up.
"What?"
"You can't stay moping in the library all day. Its fifth period soon," smiled Sirius, "Let's grab a snack from the kitchens."
Remus smiled for the first time that lunch and followed Sirius out of the quiet library. He may be very upset but appreciated his friend's kindness.
& & & & &
The next couple of weeks brought tension between Alice and Remus. Trying to solve the problem, the tall boy tried at every opportunity to speak to Alice but she kept avoiding him, darting down a different corridor or having a sudden loud conversation with her best friend.
Lily found her friends behavior annoying and felt sorry for Remus who had become white in the face with faint circles under his eyes from lack of sleep.
She didn't know what to say to Alice; afraid it might spark an argument and didn't speak often. Feeling she should talk to Alice soon, she continued bearing the long lessons during the day and the plans for the New Year Party were going well since it was now mid-October.
On Friday afternoon during History of Magic class, Lily noticed a small piece of ripped parchment land on her desk.
Quietly unfolding it she read:
Dear Lily,
Do you want to meet me in the Heads Room at 8pm so we can practice our DADA routine? Remus is wondering if you can tell Alice he needs to talk to her.
Write Back,
James
Three minutes later two notes landed on James' desk.
Good idea, we need more practice! See you at 8.
Lily
To James,
Please tell Remus that:
I will not speak to him and
Why does he need you as his mediator?
Alice
Alice received a note two minutes later.
Dear Alice,
Please don't ignore me any longer. We need to talk.
See you in the common room. Love Remus x
The irritated girl read the note and frowned.
Why does he keep insisting I have to see him?
Turning to her left, she saw Remus with his head down, casually pretending to listen to the old ghost Professor Binns and copy down notes.
She noticed his shirt was crumpled, his hair messy and his anxious looks towards her and her face softened slightly. Maybe I should give Remus a chance.
Alice passed one last note to the waiting boy and slowly as he read it his mouth curled into a smile.
OK, meet you in the common room. Alice x
After a long lesson of exchanging messages and Mr. Binns constant drone of 'Famous Witches and Wizards of the Ages', relieved Gryffindors escaped the classroom.
Lily and Alice filed out into the corridor and headed down the Grand Staircase to the Dining Hall.
"Poor Remus looks relieved now you're on speaking terms again," Lily smiled.
"Well I couldn't ignore him forever," replied Alice thoughtfully.
"What are you going to say to him?" asked the red-head, "He'll want to know how you feel."
"I…I don't know," said Alice hesitantly.
"Alice, he'll be gutted if you tell him," advised Lily.
"I have to tell the truth," Alice said firmly, "Anyway what were you and James doing?"
"He asked me if I wanted to practice our DADA routine tonight," explained Lily, sitting down at the Gryffindor table.
"So you weren't flirting," teased Alice, "Everyone knows he only has eyes for you Lils."
"We're just friends that's all," Lily replied starting to eat her dinner.
"Even that's unusual for the sworn enemies; Evans and Potter," Alice said, "You two have gotten really close now your Heads."
"I suppose that's because James is more mature and responsible, he's a very nice guy," replied Lily.
"So you agree he has changed?" Alice asked.
"Yes," replied Lily after a pause, knowing inside Alice had been right all along.
& & & & &
After dinner, Alice entered the common-room nervously and sat down on the settee waiting for Remus. Lily was in the library catching up with her pile of ever-growing homework, thinking Alice and Remus needed to be alone.
Ten minutes later, Remus descended the Boys Dorm stairs. Alice noticed he had put on a clean blue t-shirt and had combed his hair.
He sat down next to her, apprehensively.
"Hi," said Alice quietly.
"Alice," Remus started, getting right to the point, "I've been meaning to talk to you for ages. I really need to know how you feel and why you've been ignoring me."
"I… whispered Alice.
"It wasn't easy to summon up the courage to say I love you but I thought you liked me," Remus said desperately, "Please just tell me what the matter is."
The boy gazed at her, his eyes eager and willing for her to say something. Alice blushed and avoided his gaze.
"It's…," she muttered.
"It's what?" Remus asked patiently. He took her hand and gently held it in his warm hand.
She looked at him, his soft brown eyes, and her hand in his. Taking a deep breath she managed to whisper, "Your curse."
& & & & &
Lily was working on a tricky Transfiguration essay in the quiet alcove in the library. As she wrote, she was interrupted by a tall dark haired boy.
"Hi Lily."
She looked up and smiled, "Hi James. What are you doing here?"
"I thought you might want to escape from all that homework and start practicing," James replied, looking at the stack of books on her desk.
"Sure, any excuse will do," she said packing up, "I was wondering. Where are we going to practice? We haven't booked an appointment and there is no room in the Heads Room."
"You'll see," James said in a low, mysterious tone, "Follow me."
The pair left the library and Lily followed James up the stairs until they got to the seventh floor. They turned left down the corridor next to a blank wall with a statue opposite.
James pulled out a large, square piece of blank parchment. With a flourish he produced his wand, enjoying Lily's bewildered reaction. He touched the parchment lightly with his wand and uttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Thin ink lines began to spread across the parchment like a complicated spider's web forming shapes and words across the top.
A minute later, Lily realized it was a detailed map of Hogwarts castle.
"Where did you get this?" Lily asked amazed.
"Just a little project by the Marauders," James said secretly, "Right. No teachers are patrolling this floor so we're OK."
He rolled the parchment up and examined the stone wall opposite him.
"James Potter is now officially mad!" Lily announced, watching the boy close his eyes, "What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"
James looked at the confused girl and began to explain.
"You might not believe me when I tell you this but few people know. I'm looking for the Room of Requirement. I was in the kitchens and one house-elf told me about it. You can only enter the room if you have real need of it and it's always equipped with the person's needs."
"So you're telling me its going to pop out of this wall!" Lily laughed.
"No," James replied seriously, "You have to walk past this wall 3 times thinking hard on what we want and the door should appear."
Lily looked uncertain and finally agreed, "We might as well give it a try."
The pair walked past the wall. Lily closed her eyes and James whispered to himself, "We need a room to practice DADA where no-one else will find us."
After 3 they turned around and saw a large oak door in front of them to their amazement.
"I was right!" cheered James triumphantly.
"Wow…" Lily whispered.
& & & & &
"My curse," Remus exclaimed, letting go of Alice's hand.
"Remus I like you but…" began Alice, upset by his reaction.
"But I'm a monster, a beast, an animal," continued Remus, hurt lingering in his voice, "Go on."
"I just feel a little insecure because you know…" Alice whispered, "You're a lovely guy."
"But a werewolf," concluded Remus, getting up, "I didn't know you thought of me that way, Alice. I really thought better of you."
Remus quickly ran up the Boys Dorm stairs and slammed the door leaving Alice distraught, as a tear rolled down her cheeks.
& & & & &
"Your patronus is not strong enough," criticized James examining Lily's faint swan glide across the room.
"Well sorry Mr. Perfect," retorted Lily, losing patience.
It had been two hours since Lily and James had been in the amazing room practicing. It was a long rectangular room with four huge bookcases crammed with thick novels like 'Dark Arts Perfected' and 'Collection of Counter Curses' which Lily eyed in awe. There was also a spacious desk with two comfy chairs and even two full silver goblets which kept re-filling for refreshment.
"Lily, we need to get this right. The assessment is due in a few weeks and this is really important," James urged, "Let's go over it one more time."
"We've already been over it seven times," Lily said wearily, "Why is it I do all the work?"
"Because you need practice," replied James firmly.
"And you don't?" fired back Lily, "I'm sick of your arrogance Potter!"
"It's your temper Evans that's the problem," James said impatiently, "And as a matter of fact, I don't need practice because I've been able to perfect a Patronus since fifth year!"
"Why is it always you telling me what to do?" asked Lily, her temper boiling, "I know DADA isn't my specialty but you don't need to order me about."
"I'm sick of this," James said, throwing a book onto the ground, "Lets call it a day."
Lily was still waiting for a response, "Well? Why do you like ordering me about?"
"Shut up Evans," muttered James angrily, "I don't order you about. If it wasn't for me, this assignment would be a mess."
"So you're trying to say I'm crap at all this?" Lily asked darkly.
"No…you're brilliant," James said sarcastically.
"I'm glad you're good at Defense against the Dark Arts because you can do it all by yourself, Potter," Lily finished.
Lily stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut furiously. Still in the room, James cursed and kicked the book on the floor violently.
A/N:
Hope you enjoyed that chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it :) I'll try to update as quick as I can, I'll be updating The Diaries of Prongs and Evans next.
Let me know what you think, review! Constructive criticism and suggestions welcome :P