When James came out from his dormitory the next morning, yawning, he first spotted Remus Lupin, a very close friend. Remus looked tired, and when James thought of it, it was soon going to be full moon, and then his friend would transform into a werewolf. And he, James, would be a stag. His usual form when he transformed. He was an unregistered Animagus. Without him getting a chance to talk, Remus got out of his chair and walked across the room and out through the portrait hole.
"Remus, wait!" Jams called after him. He ran after him, and suddenly Sirius Black, another of his closest friends, ran into him.
"Wow", he said and reached out an arm to prevent his friend from falling. "What's so important that you almost have to run me down?"
"I wanted to talk to you", Sirius said. He breathed hastily. "I saw the school owl you used to send a letter to your parent last time land a couple of minutes ago outside the common room. It had a letter for you." James looked up, his brown eyes were suddenly worried and he grabbed Sirius's arm.
"Is it something with my parents?" he asked, his voice had a tone of intenseness.
"I have the letter here", Sirius answered and took an envelope from his pocket. "Quick, open it." James walked fast down the stair and stood near the fire in the common room. He tore the envelope open, and with shaking hands he read the letter.
Lily Evans just walked in through the portrait hole, and spotted the two of them immediately. She saw how James sank down in an armchair, tears streaming down his face. Sirius, his friend and fellow partner when it came to mocking Severus Snape, bend down to say something to him. Lily hurried across the common room and tried to listen to what Sirius said.
"James, what's the matter?" Sirius wondered, he was frowning and his eyes seemed darker than ever. "Jamie, man, what's happened? Are your parents alright?" James looked up and saw Sirius straight in the eyes.
"Don't you dare call me Jamie!" he said, as though trying to be funny. Then he spotted Lily, and he automatically ran a hand through his untidy black hair. Sirius turned around, and smiled a bit.
"I see", he said. "But are you parents alright, Potter?" James nodded silently. Sirius nodded back.
"Well, I must go. I haven't had breakfast yet. But I want to hear every detail of that letter later, do you hear me? They're mine too, James." James nodded again and Sirius walked away with a wry smile on his face, but a worried glance in his eyes. James stayed in his armchair. He was trembling, pale, and a few tears still trickled down his cheek. Lily came up to him and sat down next to him.
"Are you alright, James?" she asked. He looked up and smiled weakly.
"Well, I have felt better", he said. He lifted a hand and touched one of her red curls that fell over her shoulder. She didn't move. She looked at him with a kindly smile, and saw his dark eyes fill up with tears. He hastily turned away.
"I'm sorry, Lil", he said. "I… I should probably go. I have to find Remus." He scrambled to his feet, almost knocking her over. She grabbed his arm to stay upright. They found themselves standing and looking into each others eyes. With a blushing face, Lily let go of his arm.
"I hope everything's fine with your parents", she said, avoiding his glances. He cleared his throat. His voice sounded thick when he said:
"I hope so too. Good bye, Lily. See you later." She leaned towards him and hugged him quickly, whispering:
"See you later in class, James." They split, and James hurried across the room and out through the portrait hole. He almost ran into the statue of Lachlan the Lanky which stood between the stairs leading down to the sixth floor and the portrait of the Fat Lady. He cursed but continued downstairs, eager to find both Remus and Sirius immediately. Lily walked after him slowly, walking towards the library on the fourth floor. Walking along the bookshelves, looking for an interesting book to read, someone suddenly said with a nasty voice:
"How's everything going, Evans? You looked as though you lost everything you own on Wizarding Chess." Lily hurled around and bumped into one of the bookshelves.
"Ouch!" she cried out and rubbed her arm. The other girl laughed, it was a very shrill sound.
"Shut up, Black", Lily said. "You have nothing to do with me."
"Are you sure?" Bellatrix Black leaned forward, whispering:
"I thought you laid eyes on my cousin."
"Sirius?" Lily almost laughed with relief. "Merlin's Beard, no!" Bellatrix snorted.
"What? Isn't the Black family good enough for you? You're Muggle born, Evans." Lily felt uneasy when she saw the mad glimpse in Bellatrix's eyes, she wanted to get away from Sirius's cousin, but Bellatrix had caught her inside one of the aisles between the bookshelves, and Lily had two options: walking into the stone wall behind her, or walking past Bellatrix. She would rather have climbed the stone wall then walking past Bellatrix.
"Leave me alone, Bellatrix", Lily said coolly. "I haven't done anything." Bellatrix came nearer.
"Are you sure about that, Evans?" Lily could feel her breath and she almost started to shiver.
"Look, tell me what you want, or just leave me alone", Lily said angrily to hide her fear. Bellatrix opened her mouth to reply, when a sharp voice interrupted her.
"Leave Evans alone, Bellatrix." Lily almost fainted with relief when she saw Sirius lean against one of the bookshelves. He looked tired, but his dark eyes glimmered with a strange lustre. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that he actually enjoyed it. Bellatrix flung around at the sound of his voice.
"My dear cousin", she said, with scorn at every syllable.
"That would be me, yes", Sirius answered, without his eyes leaving her for a second. "What are you up to now then, cousin? Want to conquer the world?" Bellatrix's lips curved in a scornful smile.
"It would be better then serving the Head master as his little puppy."
"What to you mean by that!" Sirius said, and he raised his voice slightly. Suddenly Madam Pince turned up around a corner. She looked very angry.
"Please leave, now, the three of you. It is very noisy", she said with pursed lips. Sirius grabbed Lily's arm and basically dragged her out of the library.
In the corridor, he turned around to face her, his lips pursed with disgust.
"What the hell were you doing with her!" he bellowed. She noticed that he looked even more tired now than before.
"I wasn't doing anything", she protested. He sighed deeply.
"Yeah, Lil, I know. It's just… naw, never mind." He turned around, walked a few steps down the corridor, and then turned around to face her.
"Eh… Lil. Is James okay?" Lily found herself smiling broadly.
"Yes, I think so." Sirius nodded silently, turned around and walked away. Just before he turned around the corner, he said:
"Thanks, Lily."
