Disclaimer: Harry Potter and co., all related works and enterprises sadly do NOT belong to me. Do I really have to say who they DO belong to? ( It's J.K Rowling. Just in case you weren't certain.)
Love is a Funny Thing, Chapter 12
"You have to apologize to her, James." Said a pink-cheeked Amanda matter-of-factly.
She and James had paused on their way to their respective locker rooms after a particularly strenuous quidditch practice. James looked kind of frightened at the daunting prospect of apologizing to a real, live girl.
"But, erm, didn't you just say that Hazel has told her the truth and they've made up?" James asked rather hopefully.
"No, James, you are NOT getting out of this." Said Amanda, shaking a finger at him jokingly. "She deserves an apology from YOU alone. She'll take it well." Amanda said. She was not letting him off the hook.
It was becoming dusk. James noticed her pale blonde hair shining in the dark. It was morphing ever so slowly from winter to the very beginning of spring. A hard, sharp chill still was caught in the breeze, though. He wrapped his cloak a little tighter around him. He was sweaty. He wanted to take a nice long shower…then maybe, possibly, apologize to Lily. Maybe the next day…or the day after that would be fine as well. He needed adequate time to figure out what to actually say.
"What do I say to her?" asked James. Amanda noted with surprise that she could detect an edge of apprehension in his voice.
"James…you don't have to plan it. You know, let it come from your heart." Amanda said sincerely. It might have sounded cheesy in a soap opera type of way, but James was too wrapped up in his own obstacles to care much about word choice.
James slowly nodded, thinking.
"James. You like her. She likes you." Amanda said as though it were obvious.
"She DOES?" asked a surprised James, feeling as if his heart was zooming around in his chest. He felt ridiculously happy. He tried (and failed) to quell the bubbling joy that was steadily rising in his chest. James couldn't help the big, happy smile that was spreading itself on his features. He tried to make the emotion go away. "No, she just thinks of me as a friend." James said quietly.
"James. Listen." Said Amanda, leaning up and shaking his shoulders so he would look at her. "Are you blind?"
"What? How can I be a top Gryffindor chaser if I'm blind? " James asked bemusedly.
Amanda sighed.
"How stupid can boys be?" she muttered under her breath.
"James. It's not about Qudditch or eyesight!" Amanda exclaimed.
"Then what is it?" asked James, still obviously confused.
"Ever noticed how you're the only one she flirts with? You're the only one she shares those secret smiles with in class, and you know how Lily's a freak about paying attention during class. You're the one she likes to talk to in the common room instead of doing her homework. She hasn't dated anybody since last year, and it's not like nobody's asked her. When you enter a room, I swear her smile is bigger than I've ever seen it. And, James. If she didn't like you, why would she get so upset about you just hugging Hazel?" Amanda asked.
James just stared at her, dumbfound.
"I know you'll figure it out." Amanda exclaimed cheerfully, slapping him on the back. "You know what you have to do."
And she went off to the locker room, leaving James standing alone. On the quidditch field. With his mouth wide open.
Because finally, things were processing themselves in his head. And he really needed to figure them out.
Lily was sitting with quite a headache in the common room. It felt as if a mountain troll had slammed a mallet into her head. Not a pleasant sensation, she thought grimly, wincing slightly at the pain. She didn't feel like going all the way to visit Madam Pomfrey.
Michelle and Sirius were snogging passionately in a far corner of the common room. As a prefect, of course, she should have reprimanded them for their "inappropriate" behavior. She couldn't really bring herself to, though. Michelle was possibly happier than Lily had ever seen her.
Hazel was charming some magical signs for their kissing booth. There wasn't much preparation for the booth, actually; they just needed to figure out their pay scale and other details-like if there was going to be a limit for the time. Lily was supposed to join her in a minute, but didn't feel like it. Her charms wouldn't be as effective when she had a supreme headache.
Amanda hadn't returned from Quidditch practice, yet—and neither had—
James.
He walked into the busy common room. His hair was slightly wet and sticking all over the place, presumably because he'd just taken a shower. His hazel eyes scanned the room. Lily would have deemed it rather cute if she'd not been avoiding him.
James's eyes finally set on Lily, and immediately began walking over, a (was it—could it be—shy?) smile on his face. Lily didn't make a move to get up. How could she, with her hammering headache?
She felt a few butterflies escape into her stomach as he walked over. But that's stupid, Lily thought. We're just friends, and we always will be…
"Lily!" James said brightly, finally reaching the empty couch she was currently lying on. "Can I, erm, talk to you for a minute?"
He looked so hopeful that she didn't have the heart to resist. She followed him to a more secluded corner of the common room. They sat down on a rather small pouf. Their knees were touching slightly, Lily noted. Not that she cared or anything.
"Listen, um, Lily, I'm…sorry. I didn't…mean to upset you, but I wasn't having a secret affair with Hazel or anything…I'm…sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, or anything." James said brilliantly.
Lily slowly nodded. "I forgive you. I was probably overreacting anyway."
"Wait, Lily." James was rather surprised to hear the words coming out of his mouth. He hadn't meant them to. She looked at him curiously.
"What?"
"Will you…I mean, d'you…will…" James trailed off, cheeks flushing. He silently berated himself for being so nervous.
"Will you…"
"Yes?"
"Will you…d'you…erm…d'you think you could explain to me what televisions really, erm, are? You know, for my muggle studies essay…" He finished lamely. Why didn't I just ask her already?
"Why was that such a difficult question, then? Lily asked, a playful smile flittering about her lips.
"Oh, erm…dunno."
And as she bent closer and began to explain the television to James, they both felt the heavy weight of guarded disappointment sinking in their stomachs.
It was a girly night in the girl's dormitory. Any self-respecting, non-gay boy would have shot themselves rather than partake in the utterly giggly, girly conversation that was taking place. Well, Sirius might not have minded to see his beloved girlfriend in a skimpy tank top and loose flannel plants. But anyway.
The cause of this chat? Self explanatory: it was Valentine's day in two weeks and one day, to be exact. Coincidentally, there had been a Hogsmeade excursion planned for the very day. Girls could be seen all around Hogwarts, giggling mercilessly as boys uncomfortably asked them to accompany them to Hogsmeade. Lily was inclined to think the whole process rather silly and unnecessary, but she still had a tiny spark of romance in her. Maybe she was just against the holiday because she didn't have a boyfriend as of yet.
"Sooo, Michelly," Amanda was saying mischievously, a joking sparkle in her blue eyes, "has dear Boyfriend Sirius asked you to Hogsmeade yet?"
"Why of course." Michelle responded dreamily. It was a quality that crept over her whenever she thought of Sirius.
"So, how did he ask you? The famous Sirius Black can't just ASK a girl, he has to make it special." Lily joined in, grinning at Michelle's face, which was undeniably blushing.
"It was rather romantic, actually." Michelle mused, looking at the ceiling.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Tell us about it!" Hazel urged from her place, sprawled across Amanda's bed.
"Well, we were just talking in the common room" (Lily snorted a little at this—Sirius and Michelle couldn't keep their lips off each other, she highly doubted they had been "just talking"—but she kept her mouth shut) "and he told me to wait for a moment, and he went up to his dormitory. He came back with this…invisibility cloak, it's amazing, really, it makes you—totally invisible…"
"Like we couldn't guess." Amanda said jokingly.
"Aren't those against the school rules?" Lily asked.
"Rules, schmules." Amanda remarked, dispelling Lily's concern. "Let the girl and her boyfriend have a bit of fun! Keep going, Michelle."
"Anyway, he slipped it over us. He led me outside…it was so pretty! The stars were all twinkly and it was kind of cold so he gave me his cloak. Then we sat by the lake. He conjured up some hot chocolate, you know how much I love it…and we just kind of sat and talked about nothing in particular. Then we were—snogging, and when we pulled away, he asked me." Michelle recounted her tale. The dreamy look was on her face once again.
"How romantic!" Hazel squealed. "You guys are perfect together."
"Thanks. He's also giving me a "surprise" at night. No idea what it is, though." Michelle said happily.
"Why am I just guessing that this involves the Astronomy Tower?" Hazel asked, grinning.
"I advise wearing your lavender lace bra! It's the prettiest one." Amanda said teasingly.
"Har de har." Michelle said dryly, but she was grinning too.
There was a slight pause. Everybody relapsed into their silent individual thoughts and concerns for the moment.
"You know…" Hazel began thoughtfully. "Now, don't take this the wrong way, Michelle. But, oh, I don't know, when I pictured out of us four who'd get a boyfriend this year…I didn't picture you. The thing is, you can't really predict things like that. It doesn't work out that way."
"Unless you're a Divination teacher." Lily said sarcastically. She had little respect for the hazy, fuzzy-edged subject that seemed to have to do with making things up and wearing ridiculous shawls more than anything else.
"Yeah. I didn't think I would fall in love with Sirius either. But love, it's not like the weather forecast. It just kind of hits you between the eyes out of the blue and knocks you out when you least expect it."
"It's better that way, I think." Amanda commented. "You never see it coming because it just…comes."
The girls nodded in unison.
Suddenly, Lily felt like bursting into tears. Here they were, everybody all mushy-gushy talking about love and how great it was, and she couldn't have it. It was right in front of her—within touching and kissing's distance—and she couldn't have it. Forbidden fruit.
"Lily, what's wrong?" asked Amanda, looking at Lily's downcast face.
"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all, really." She said, attempting to throw on a cheery smile and pull herself together.
"It is NOT nothing." Michelle asserted. "We know you, remember? We can tell when you're upset and when you don't want to tell us something. But, c'mon, Lils, we're you're best friends. If you can't tell us, who can you tell?
Lily shook her head slightly. The tears wobbled behind her eyes, threatening to spill over at any second.
"It's James." Amanda said simply.
"What? N-no, of course not—"Lily began.
"Lily. You LIKE him, and you want him to ask you to the Hogsmeade weekend. You're sad because he hasn't asked you yet. And you feel like you like him more than friends, but he hasn't asked you out yet. Am I right?" Amanda asked.
"I give up." Lily sighed, putting her head in her hands. "What can I do?"
"You will have to wait. You will, and it might hurt. But in the end we know he'll admit it, finally. He likes you but he's too afraid to admit it."
"Gosh." Lily said theatrically, throwing up her hands in mock-despair. "What would I do without you guys to spell these things out for me?"
Lily was sitting in History of Magic class, attempting to concentrate on the horribly boring subject. Sadly, she wasn't very well succeeding. It was Hazel's day for note-taking, after all.
James was writing something on a piece of parchment. Strange, really—the boy never took notes (Remus did and all three other copied), so what was he doing starting now? Sirius looked equally bored sitting beside him.
Just as Binns had his back turned for a brief moment, James quickly threw a note (THAT is what he had been writing, now why am I not surprised, Lily asked herself) on each of Sirius's, Peter's, Lily's, Amanda's and Michelle's desk. Lily unfolded the crumpled piece of parchment. Instantly it smoothed itself out and grew to a sizeable sheaf. Lily stared at it in wonder. This was some pretty advanced note-passing strategy.
Words were appearing at the top—in messy, scrawled handwriting.
(A/N: Bold is Sirius, normal type is Lily, italics is Michelle, bold italics is Amanda, underlined italics is Peter, and underlined is James.)
Lily, Michelle, Amanda—you guys don't know, but this is a sheet of special note paper. You write a message on yours, and it appears on everybody elses's. Now, what we are going to discuss is: Operation Getting Remus and Hazel Together Once and For All. –J
Otherwise known as OGRAHTOAFA, for short. –S
Lovely name.
I should think so…after all, I'm the one who made it up!
Alright, you guys! Back to mission….er, what was it again, Sirius?
OGRAHTOAFA, Pete! Focus!
It sounds like a name of some spicy Asian food dish.
My love! My darling! We haven't talked in…(when did History of Magic start? Seems decades ago…)
It was an hour ago, Sirus.
That's awfully long not to talk to the love of my life!
I quite agree.
Alright, you two, cut the mushy stuff…we must progress with the plan. Guys…explain the whole idea?
Well, it was brilliant Sirius here's plan to get Remus and Hazel together.
Do you guys have…a plan?
Er, no, but…
Yes, a plan might be of use.
Well, has anyone got any ideas?
Lock them in a cupboard together and we'll take it from there…
Ew! Do all boys' minds work like this?
Yes.
Sirius!
I mean, of COURSE our minds don't work like that…erm, at all!
Well, I have an idea. You guys get Remus to go up to Lily and Hazel's booth. And then he'll kiss Hazel and they'll know, through the passion of the moment, that they were meant to be together…that it was fate! And he'll have no choice but to ask her out because of their undeniably passionate connection. And they'll live happily ever after in one of those cute little Muggle coutryside homes and…
Do all girls' minds work like that?
Like what?
All…all sickeningly mushy and romantic!
Better than a sex-obsessed boy.
Much better!
Not really…
Sirius!
Just joking, love.
Anyway, you two lovebirds and everybody else…we really DO have to get them together.
And quickly, too.
I still vote on the shutting-them in the cupboard plan…it's the most effective.
Ew! That sounded really, really WRONG.
Sorry. But it's true. Who's for shutting them in a cupboard till they…er, "work out" their issues?
I!
I!
I!
Well, it's split down the middle now. What do we do?
C'mon, let's shut them in a cupboard! They'll HAVE to talk, because we won't let them out till they do.
Yeah, but it's still…wrong. Ethically. Morally.
Why?
It's like that annoying muggle song that's on Lily's radio 24/7!
Which one is that, again?
I don't like it, it's just always ON….
Oh, you know, it's the one that goes: You can't hurry love OOOOHHHH you just have to wait! Cuz a-love don't come eassyy...lalalalalalaaaaa!
Oh, yeah, that one.
Now I remind myself why I don't listen to muggle music.
Be quiet.
Well, guys, it's a tie. C'mon, it'll work! Give it a try…
Plus, we'll have loads of blackmailing material in the future and…oh, whoops! I mean, it's for the good of their relationship, and er…their happiness?
Close enough.
Oh, fine! I vote it. It'll certainly get something accomplished…!
Yes, darling! Ha! Now we get to lock them in a cupboard together.
Fine. But how will we set it up? I mean, just shove them in there and be all, "you can't come out till you snog and make up?"
Sounds about right to me.
James!
Just kidding. But I know just the place to do it.
Where?
Two words: room of requirement.
Pete, that's three words. You know, not two?
Well, if you count the of, then I suppose…
Can you two quit arguing about grammar for a moment? What IS the room of requirement?
It's this room that fits to your needs, for whatever you need at the moment. Like, if you were looking for a library, you would find the shelves all full with books there. All you have to do is concentrate on what it is that you need.
Okay. So, where IS this "room of requirement?"
It's in the hall that we'll walk down when we get out of this horrendously boring class.
Well, how will we get them in there?
Since one of our needs is to get them in there easily and keep them in there, it'll probably appear door-less (so we can shove them in really quickly) and then once they're in it, the door will swing shut.
Or that's the plan, really.
Yeah. We all just have to be casually walking down the hall, concentrating and then…oy. Why do I feel like a terrible friend?
No, really, it's for the greater good of mankind. World peace and all.
Yes, yes. It'll all work out perfectly. Now, James, would you be so kind as to perform the "Harerum" spell the enables us to hear them, as well as record their voices?
I would be glad to.
Why am I sensing a breaking of school rules somewhere in this "flawless" plan?
Why, why would you suspect a thing like that?
A/N: Hmmm. I can't really determine weather I liked it or not. Ach, well. The note part was hilariously fun to write, not sure how much fun it was to read. Hope it was! I'm posting this a touch earlier than usual, but I hope that's a good thing! Hmmm…what else?
As always…ANYTHING you want to say at all, please review! Comments, suggestions, ideas, rambles, whatevers are all appreciated! Even flames are fine. I update MUCH quicker when I get a lot of reviews (wink wink) and long ones are nice too. G-d, aren't I subtle?
Oh yeah, and (as always) my lovely imaginary cupcakes (they come in chocolate or vanilla frosting!) with sprinkles.
Anyway, here's to my lovely reviewers! I couldn't write this without you guys. (Sob!)
Ashley (I'm glad you liked it!), Obbsesive (long reviews are my love! Lol), Siriusly Sirius Lily Black (Thanks!), beyonce-85, veiled dreamer (sorry, not Valentine's day…but I'm thinking the festival will be fairly soon. Maybe Marchish something? Who knows.), SweetSouthernGal (Aww, I'm glad you liked it! I hope this chapter is also mistake-free…I'll proofread it again.), Lily Jane, fish30 (Thanks!), charmingly-holly (Yeah, I know what you mean…when everything's going perfect and all of a sudden there's a huge fight or something. I wanted to have a little conflict but not a huge one…you know? Oh, and I'm glad that you liked the chapter!), lilypad007, Laylana-fairyweather (I know, isn't Remus being sooo annoying? Haha…boys. Hopefully he will come to his senses after the "cupboard" plan...!), Miss Lady Padfoot (Aww, thank you so much! And yeah, I'm really excited for the kissing booth chapter too, I hope it lives up to your expectations!) funnygirl (that WAS random—and I'm in 8th grade), DobbyGrl