A/N: I know that Savage Garden's first CD definitely did not come out until the mid 90's, but we can pretend can't we :). Besides, this IS fiction.
Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and I also do not own Savage Garden's song lyrics.
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Lily put the book down for the first time since Potter had approached her.
"What do you want Black?" she asked, annoyance and frustration piping up in her voice.
"I am here on behalf of a James Potter," he said proudly, sticking his chest out as if he was the most important man in the world.
"Oh this is just TOO great," she mumbled. Sirius didn't catch the sarcasm. "And just what does Potter want?" she snapped.
"Well, he wants you to forgive him, of course!" With that, he clutched Lily's hand with desperation. "Oh PLEASE Lillers! James is a great guy! And I've never seen him this upset over any sort of dealings with the female gender!"
"Firstly, never, EVER, call me Lillers. Secondly, why does he care so much what a nobody like me thinks?" she retorted.
"Are you going to hate him for trying to be your friend?" He echoed the words of her dream, sending a chill down her spine.
"Sirius Black, I do not hate Potter for trying to be a friend. I hate him because he's a selfish bloody bastard and a ridiculous, attention-seeking, high-class, PRAT."
Sirius sighed. "Alright Lily. At least I can say I tried."
"Oh how cliché," she said as he walked away from her.
Lily tried to pick up her book and continue reading, but found she had lost interest in the love woes of Juliet.
The girl was just a wench anyway.
The day was cold, dreary, and horribly boring. Lily did not have Christmas shopping to worry about since the only people she ever shopped for were her parents. An advantage to being a loner.
The library would be no use either since she wasn't in a reading mood.
It was times like that which made Lily wish SOMEONE would try to get to know her well enough to see who she really was, made her hope that maybe somebody would see through the barrier she had built and find the real Lily beneath it.
At her elementary school (a muggle school, of course) she had made friends with nearly everyone in her grade. Her classes were easy to pass without an attempt. The teachers loved her. Everything had been so…
Perfect?
The great feeling she had when she got her Hogwarts letter had disappeared after first term of her first year. Now, she believed it was all a mistake; maybe the letter belonged to another Lily Evans?
No one at this school found her amiable, she struggled to receive excellent in all her classes, half her teachers didn't even notice her…
And only one other student in the entire school had related to her in any way at all.
Though that era in his life passed after the first month at Hogwarts.
Of course, no one brought up James Potter's first month at Hogwarts. Hell, even he didn't remember one tiny little detail, so minor that sometimes even Lily forgot, and each time she forgot she'd let her barriers down, also forgetting just why she held such contempt for James Potter.
As estranged, demented even, as it seems, for one whole month, Lily Evans and James Potter had been, well, FRIENDS.
And there had been no one for her to tell this to after James took advantage of his newfound popularity. There had been no one for her to run to for comfort when her one and only friend had left her all alone.
She always asked no one in particular how it could be so easy to forget someone as quickly as James had forgotten her. A best friend, no matter how long of a time period they were in your life for, should never be forgotten after all.
Perhaps James had been struck with a mind erasing charm? Or maybe he WANTED to forget, badly enough that he did?
But Lily had not forgotten. Yeah, it slipped her mind sometimes in all the rush of everyday life, but she would never forget it completely as James had. She still felt the betrayal and hurt she had experienced when, one day, James left her to be with his new friends, when he stopped speaking to her all-together, stopped looking at her, remembering that she even existed.
She was a wraith to him, someone he did not see or care for unless intruded upon.
Such as today, Lily thought to herself. That was when he had been James, and now he's merely…Potter. She realized that this morning, things had felt…right. James and she had been communicating. It was almost as if they had never stopped being friends, until she snapped back to reality.
But Lily was not going to forgive him that easily. Her own flame had burned her, and it was time that Potter ignited the fire himself.
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James Potter was wealthy.
James Potter was intelligent.
James Potter was handsome.
James Potter was popular.
His life was perfect. He had everything he wanted and needed.
So why did he feel so empty? Why did he feel a void within him somewhere, buried so deep that he could not find it?
Talking to Lily that morning filled the void. For one brief moment, listening to her speak while sitting near her had made him feel as a whole again.
And his inability to keep his mouths hut had killed that.
And here I thought you were at least DECENT, she had said.
At least? Why just at least? And why simply decent? Why hadn't she said that she thought he was at least nice, at least sweet, at least funny? Why just decent?
Remus patted his friend, who sat moping at a table in the library with his head buried beneath a mountain of books, on the back.
"James, I have made a hobby out of studying people from a distance. Our little flower, by what I have gathered, is not one to let one minor argument or disagreement (your choice) get to her. There must be some other reason she hates you."
"Oh thank you Remus," James said sarcastically, his voice muffled from the pile of books above his head. "It makes me feel a whole lot better believing that someone hates me for something I don't even know I did."
Sirius, once again, didn't catch the sarcasm. "Well, it's good to know something made you feel better at last!" he beamed. Madam Pince, the librarian, hushed at them to quiet down.
"I don't understand," James said while bringing his head out from his shell. "I just don't get why I care so much. I didn't even know this girl existed before today!"
Peter sniffed as if he had something to say, but said nothing.
After an eternity long silence, Sirius finally spoke.
"Full moon's tonight. Feel like practicing our transfigurations?"
James and Peter threw a glance at the downcast Remus and nodded.
After all, life goes on. With or without Lily Evans.
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"She's taking her time making up the reasons
To justify all the hurt inside
Guess she knows
From the smiles and the look in their eyes
Everyone's got a theory about the bitter one
They're saying,
"Mama never loved her much"
And, "Daddy never keeps in touch.
That's why she shies away from human affection"
But somewhere in a private place
She packs her bags for outer space
And now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come
And she'll say to him.
I would fly to the moon and back if you'll be
If you'll be my baby
Got a ticket for a world where we belong
So would you be my baby?
She can't remember a time when she felt needed
If love was red then she was colorblind
All her friends they've been tried for treason
And crimes that were never defined
She's saying, "Love is like a barren place"
And reaching out for human faith
Is like a journey I just don't have a map for"
So baby's gonna take a dive and
Push the shift to overdrive
Send a signal that she's hanging
All her hopes on the stars
What a pleasant dream…
Lily sang along to the song while listening to a muggle device called a walkman. She was alone in her dorm with blinds on the windows and aromatic candles scenting the room.
Coincidence that Lily's favorite scent was that of a lily's.
Savage Garden had a history for Lily, a history of creating a song that had the perfect tune to it's lyrics, and those lyrics had a way of being EXACTLY how Lily felt.
The canopy was draped around her bed, so that the scent of the candles was concentrated in that one area. So, when Sirius Black suddenly tore the curtains open, he got a full blow of aromatherapy to the face, causing his eyes to water and a coughing fit exploding from his lungs.
"Lily!" he managed to croak. "What in bloody hell are you doing?"
Lily gave no reply except to pull her wand out and pointing it threateningly at Sirius, then gesturing towards the door.
He got the hint.
Once he was gone, she gave up regaining the sense of serenity she had before. Deciding that she should study, she blew out all the candles, opened the curtains, and left the room, not bothering to waste her thoughts on how Sirius had gotten into the girl's dormitories.
After all, he was Sirius Black, a mystery to all the world, and that was better left unsolved.