Chapter Eight: Relationships
Lily had snuck out of James' room during the night and crawled into her own bed. Her mind was swimming with emotions. Had she really just slept with James? She didn't know if she believed herself or not. She had just met him this year! How did that happen anyways? Lily's eyebrows furrowed in thought. It didn't make much sense to her that she hadn't met James before. Granted, these thoughts had occurred to her, but as her relationship with James grew it seemed more important to her to found out why she didn't know who he was before this year.
Lily yawned and decided to leave the mystery for the morning. Lily blushed deeply recalling she hadn't slept much once James had gone to sleep, her mind had been spinning then too.
James grumbled and rolled over on his bed. Immediately his eyes flew open and his hands groped around his bed. Where was Lily? He was pretty sure that they had slept together last night so why wasn't she still there? He looked around the room and found no trace of her. James was about to go search for her when he heard the shower running in the bathroom. James grinned at this. Maybe she wanted company? No, James, don't be presumptuous, she's probably confused.
James shrugged off his conscious and grabbed a towel before heading to the bathroom. "Lily?" He called out. He could see her shadow against the shower curtain. He didn't move to open, it though, waiting for her response.
Lily poked her head out of the shower, water dripping down her face. She looked gorgeous. "Yes?" She tried to speak nonchalantly.
"I was just wondering what happened to you this morning." James smiled at her and moved closer.
Lily involuntarily moved back, causing apprehension in James. "Oh, well..." Lily bit her lower lip. "I got up to shower and think about some things, James. I hope you didn't mind." Lily slipped back behind the curtain and finished rinsing herself off before turning off the water.
"Not at all." James pouted a little, noticing she was done with her shower. "What are your plans for the day?"
"We have classes, James." Lily giggled, reaching her hand out to grab a towel. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get out of the shower."
"No one is stopping you, my dear." James grinned mischeviously.
"James! I'm only wearing a towel!" Lily blushed casting her eyes to the floor.
"Now, now, Lily," James grinned wickedly at her, advancing. "You know that didn't stop you last night.
"James, that was different, it was last night, and…" Lily raised her eyes to see James right in front of her. "James!" She gasped as her opened the shower curtain and vainly tried to cover herself up properly. "What are you doing?" She slapped his shoulder and walked out of the shower, pretending it didn't bother her that she was wearing the shortest towel ever.
"Just admiring the view."
"You're incorrigible." Lily started walking towards her room to get changed, trying not to look at James, lest her face turn completely red. "Oh, James." She accidentally turned around to look at him before noticing that he wasn't wearing anything. "Oh, oh…" Lily lowered her head.
"What, Lily?" James smirked. He loved torturing this girl. He wasn't going to pretend like last night didn't happen, and he wasn't going to let her either.
"Nothing, I'll just see you at breakfast, yeah?" Lily rushed out. James had definitely noticed the skimpiness of her outfit.
Remus cracked an eye open. Ugh. Contrary to popular belief, mornings were not his thing. It didn't really help matters to see Sirius hovering over his bed grinning down at him.
"What is it, Padfoot?" Remus tried to snuggle back into his covers, pretending it was still night.
"Wakey, wakey!" Sirius grinned and pulled the covers off Remus, exposing his boxer clad body.
"Sirius!" Remus yelped.
"Yes?" Sirius whispered huskily in his friends ear.
Remus shivered. "Don't do that," he whispered quietly.
"Alright." Sirius sat down on Remus' bed while Remus got up and began looking for clothes. Sirius shameless admired the view. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"Guess!"
"Umm," Remus looked at his grinning friend. "I don't know."
"You're a party pooper, Moony." Sirius pouted. "But, I just wanted to tell you that I have date tonight."
Remus rolled his eyes. "That's your big news? Thanks for sharing, Padfoot. So do I."
"You do?" Sirius looked thoughtful. "We should double date!"
"Ugh, no. That would have to be your worst idea ever." Remus yawned and pulled his robes on, finally dressed for the day.
"What makes you say that?" Sirius grinned at Remus. He was so much fun to mess with.
Remus growled and launched himself at Sirius. "You know why." Remus nipped at Sirius lips.
Sirius just laughed and returned the favor by nibbling on Remus' earlobe. "It might be fun, you know."
"You'd just get jealous, Padfoot. I know you would." Remus pulled back looking at his friend seriously.
"I would not! You'd be the jealous one!" Sirius proclaimed indignantly.
"What if I were?" Remus pressed his lips hard against Sirius', his tongue gaining entrance quickly.
After several long moments the two boys separated. "Think about it?" Sirius asked, nuzzling his head against Remus' neck.
"Yeah, yeah." Remus sighed and pulled Sirius up off his bed. "Let's go before the whole dorm knows we're shagging each other."
"We are not shagging." Sirius smirked. "Yet."
Lily chose to sit with Alice during breakfast. She wanted to sit as far away from James as she could without being too obvious. The two girls were talking animatedly when James and the other Marauders come into the Great Hall. Lily looked up and smiled she met James' eyes.
"How is the precious Potter these days, Lily?" Alice asked, grinning.
"Oh!" Lily recalled what she wanted to talk about. "Do you think I could talk to you in private? I have some questions regarding James."
Alice blinked, a little nervous. "Oh?" She choked out. "What about?"
"I was just wondering what I was doing these past six years to have never seen him." Lily bit her lip and looked at Alice meaningfully. "I think something strange is going on."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Lily." Alice tried to shrug her off. "You were more of a loner before this year. Honestly, we were all shocked when you got on so well with us. You had never expressed interest in being our friend before."
"I don't think so." Lily would not be swayed. "I think something else is going on." Lily lowered her voice. "Do you think someone could have tampered with my mind?"
Alice choked on her food. "Lily! Whatever would make you say that?" She said a bit too loudly.
The four boys who were sitting a little bit apart from them looked at the two girls strangely. "You okay there, Alice?" Sirius asked.
"Yes, Black, I'm just peachy." Alice grumbled. Alice shoved Lily at James. "Go talk to your boyfriend. Maybe he knows."
Lily gave Alice a death glare as James wrapped his arms around Lily. He had felt a little put out at Lily's treatment of him this morning. "What might I know?"
"It's nothing." Lily muttered.
"No, tell me."
"Leave it alone, James." Lily tried to shrug his arms off of her and stand up to leave for the library.
"No." James pulled her against him and started tickling her. Lily immediately began squirming while laughing her head off. "Now, now, my dear, if you want to be let you, you should probably fess up."
"Alright, alright," Lily gasped out when James finally let her go. "I was just talking to Alice about how I think it's strange we've never met before this year."
The four boys immediately stiffened and looked at Lily nervously. "What makes you think about that, love?" James tried to distract her by kissing down her neck.
Lily slapped him away and stood up. "I don't know, James. I just want to take some time and think. I'll see you during classes." Lily strode out of the Great Hall, curious at her cold behavior towards her boyfriend.
The four boys looked at each other after Lily's departure.
Remus sighed, "I hate to say I told you so…"
"So don't, Moony." Sirius growled as he stood up.
"Sirius!" James called after him. "Where are you going?"
"Don't you think it's obvious?" Sirius spun around and stared at his best mate. "I have to give her her memory back."
James face fell drastically. If Sirius did that, Lily was going to hate him even more than before. "Please, Padfoot. No, not yet. Just give me more time."
Sirius sighed, looking at his distressed friend. "James, I know you want to keep her like this, but it's not good. She's getting confused. What if she decides to leave you because she thinks you're keeping secrets from her?"
James shook his head. "She won't! I know she loves me, Padfoot. I know she does. I can make her forget. She'll only want to be with me. I know she will. I know it." James repeated.
Sirius pulled his friend into a hug. "It's okay, James. Everything will turn out alright."
Remus walked up to the two. "Neither of you have to worry about it right now, classes are staring." Remus pulled his friends after him, Peter trailing behind.
Neither James nor Sirius got a chance to speak with Lily again that day. She had gone off to the library to work on homework and refuse to look at them during classes. They assumed she had a lot on her mind and would talk to her tomorrow when they had more time. Tomorrow was Saturday after all.
But tonight was Friday, and Sirius and Remus were up in the Seventh year boys dormitory getting ready for their dates that night.
"Why are we double dating again?" Remus sighed.
"Because, coincidentally, our dates are both from Hufflepuff and naturally they get along with each other." Sirius grinned.
"You set this up didn't you?" Remus shrugged his shirt off and started looking for a new one.
"What makes you think that?" Sirius walked up to Remus from behind.
Remus gasped as he felt Sirius' hands trail down his back. He turned around, a lopsided smile on his face. "I have this hunch."
"Do you?" Sirius leaned in and started kissing Remus.
Remus pulled back after a minute. He looked at his friend crossly before returning to the search for a shirt. "How do you expect to get through a date with someone else when you can't keep your hands off of me?"
Sirius pouted and pulled Remus to him from behind and started kissing his back. "I think I might manage if I have something to get me through."
Remus groaned and pulled out of Sirius' arms. "You are such a hormonally driven boy, you know that?"
"And you aren't?"
James stretched out on the couch in his and Lily's common room. He was hoping to catch her as soon as she walked through the portrait whole so they could talk. He wasn't disappointed when ten minutes later Lily walked through looking upset with herself.
"Lily?" James called out to her.
Lily spun around and looked at James. "Yes?"
"Come here." James patted the area of the couch next to him. "I think we need to talk."
"I think we need to too." Lily moved towards him cautiously, sitting on the opposite end of the couch as him.
James sighed, noticing her distance. "Lily, what's going on with you? I mean, last night, we…" Lily blushed profusely and looked away. "And now you're acting like you hate me!"
"I don't know, James. I'm really confused." Lily whispered and threw herself at him, clinging to his neck desperately. "I think someone has been messing with my mind." Lily started sobbing into his shoulder. She had spent the day looking up the Hogwart's history for the past six years and found numerous mentions of her name, but she could barely remember anything she was supposed to have done. What scared her the most was the mention of her name alongside James' several times.
"Shh, Lily. It's okay." James stroked her hair and tried to calm her down.
Lily's frayed nerves snapped. She pulled away from him. "No it won't, James! Someone has been keeping something from me." She backed away from him and stumbled into a chair. "And I think it's you." She whispered almost inaudibly.
James sighed. "I know."
Lily blinked at him several times before choking out, "You know?"
"I do." James gestured for her to sit next to him again. "Come here and I'll explain everything to you. We can fix this all in the morning, I promise."
Remus grumbled as he sat next to his date, watching Sirius make out with his. The bloody git.
His date, Daphne, just giggled at them before turning to Remus suggestively. Sure, why not, Remus thought. He leaned down and pressed his lips against the girl, wrapping his arms around her. He did notice the look he got from Sirius for doing so, almost like he was cheering him on.
They definitely had an odd relationship, those two.
A/N: So, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! HBP came out and I read that, and spent a lot of time theorizing, and I am in love with my graphics program which ends up taking up a lot of my time. It really just takes someone to motivate me into writing. It's never hard once I start, but it's a bitch getting me too. I am so sorry! IMPORTANT, I shall be including the one tidbit we learned about the Marauder era from HBP, namely the Potions Professor. No more guessing and creating our own characters. YaY! Excited, anyone?
I hope I don't get lynched for taking so long. I think it was kind of funny that just as I was finishing this up someone reviewed and told me to update. Hehe, so this one is for you! I love when you review, and I promise to update quicker. I think this story might continue on for a couple more chapters. Obviously Lily has to get her memory back and eventually forgive James... And the naughty part of my brain really wanted Sirius and Remus to have a threesome with a random girl.. Lol, but I don't think it'll happen, never fear! I'd have to create my own character, bah. No one likes that! Lol.
/end insanely long author's note