A/N: Iris cream, sorry for the mix-up! J And thanks for all the lovely reviews. It would really help me though if you told me exactly what you enjoyed about the chapter or didn't like. Constructive criticism is welcome, and all flames will be deleted.
James closed the door firmly behind him. "We probably should keep our voices down though," he advised. "I'm guessing that everyone's ears are plastered to the door by now," he added, smiling apologetically.
Lily shook her head in disbelief. "I didn't think my not playing would be such a big deal," she muttered.
"What did you expect?" James asked. "You're a brilliant Chaser and you won't play. To top it all off, you won't even explain why." He leapt up to sit on a desk and regarded her curiously. "So what gives?"
She flopped into a seat and looked sulky. "No offense, Potter, but-"
"James," he interjected.
"James-but I don't think you could understand."
"Try me."
She bit her lip. Taking a deep breath, she listed all her reasons for not trying out- expect the fact that she fancied Sirius.
"-I'm sure you just think it's cowardly, but there it is," she finished softly, her eyes on her lap.
"No, I don't think it's cowardly," was the unexpected reply. "Absolutely ridiculous, yeah, but not cowardly."
He stood and walked over to the desk. Leaning over the desk so they were at eye level, he said sincerely, "Lily…you are an amazing Chaser. Without you, we'll be fine…but with you…we'll be sensational."
She smiled at him. "Thanks."
He straightened. "That's it. That's my pep talk. So, what'll it be?"
She bit her lower lip, sighed, and tucked her hair behind one ear. "I do love to play," she admitted, looking up at him.
"Then play," he replied softly, his eyes boring into hers.
"Bella's going to throw a fit," she murmured.
James cocked his head. "Do my ears deceive me, or was that a yes?"
She looked down, then smiled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they came out of the room, the team and Lily's friends were waiting impatiently.
"Well?" Rebecca asked.
Lily smiled. "I'm in…that is, if you still want me," she added shyly.
"Of course we still want you!" Melissa shrieked.
Sirius let out a breath of relief. "Thank God you've seen the light, Evans," he remarked, grinning.
She smiled-and sadly, blushed-but thankfully no one noticed…well, except for possibly James.
Finally the team left, celebrating loudly, and Lily was alone with her not-so-pleased friends. Arabella was wearing a peeved look on her face and Frank looked concerned.
"So," Arabella said grimly, "you've let them hound you into playing."
"They didn't hound me into anything," Lily said. "In fact, James was really nice."
"Lily, are you sure you want to do this?" Frank asked worriedly.
She smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm sure, Frank," she said. Then Lily turned to Bella, who still looked annoyed. "Honestly, Bella, aren't you the one who's always complaining that I do too much homework and not enough fun?"
Arabella's stony expression softened a bit. Taking advantage, Lily coaxed, (pulling out the puppy-dog eyes) "Can't you just be happy for me, Bella?'
With a sigh, Arabella relented. "I s'pose." Then she grinned wickedly. "It will be fun watching you trounce Slytherin."
Lily grinned back. "It'll be even more fun actually doing it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily furrowed her forehead, thinking about something that had been nagging her for a while. Turning in her chair, she looked at Arabella, who was brushing her long dark hair in front of the mirror.
"Bella," she started slowly, "why d'you hate Sirius Black so much?"
Bella paused, then continued brushing her hair, never taking her gaze away from her reflection.
"I don't hate him…I just despise him," she replied matter-of-factly.
"And that's so much better," Lily said sarcastically. "Seriously, though…why?" Then she had an unsettling thought. "Bella…did-did something-happen between you two last year? Because that's when it all started…"
Bella turned in her chair towards Lily. "Of course not!" she insisted vehmently, but Lily couldn't help but notice that her gaze didn't quite meet Lily's and that her grip on the hairbrush was just a little too tight.
"Are you sure?" Lily asked doubtfully. "Because you can talk to me-you know-if anything did happen."
Arabella looked down for a moment, then looked into Lily's eyes resolutely. "Lily, nothing happened," she said firmly. "I just happen to think that he's a complete prat," she added carelessly.
Lily smiled, relieved. "Alright, then. If you two want to despise each other, then it's no skin off my nose."
Arabella smiled back and returned to the task of brushing her hair.
But as Lily tried to read her book (Advanced Charms Made Easy) she couldn't shake the troublesome thought that Bella was-well, lying.
But that was ridiculous, Lily told herself firmly as she put down the book and got ready for bed. Arabella was the most honest and frank person Lily knew. She just wasn't the type to go and keep secrets from her best friend…or lie.
And yet, somehow she couldn't shake the image of Arabella refusing to meet Lily's eyes.
