Part 4: Ah, love...
Sighing, Lily Evans rubbed tired eyes as she peered over old manuscripts, letters, books, everything, hoping to find it. It had to be here, she knew it.... "LILEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Jumping four feet into the air, she whirled to look out her window, only to be confronted by a very cocky Sirius Black, on his broomstick and laughing. Shaking her head and looking furious, she stalked over to open the window and let her friend in. Just as Sirius was about to climb in, she thought better of her graciousness and slammed the shutter in his face. Sputtering, Sirius could be heard cursing- "Bloody hell, Lily, I could have DIED!" Lily rolled her eyes, and pulled the window open again. Sirius gave her a pained look, and if Lily hadn't been so tired- and therefore grumpy- she would have never been able to keep her laughter down. Sirius had this very special gift of making people laugh, regardless of whether or not it was at his expense. Still, just seeing her friend brightened Lily's mood a little, even though she was still frustrated. Where on earth could it be? But she was forced to leave that train of thought again as Sirius was pushing her out of the way so he had room to fall spectacularly with an 'umpf!' onto her bedroom floor. Sometimes she wondered why she'd ever become friends with him....
It hadn't even been very long. At the end of the previous year-fourth year- she and Sirius had come to a truce, and he had decided never to deprive her of her daily dose of 'Sirius' ever again. Well, at least her summer wouldn't be boring. He needed her help, after all, with their animagi project, to help Remus. Thinking of Remus, Lily sighed again.
Remus, one of her best friends, next to the girls of course, although she could foresee herself and Sirius getting very close as well. Remus was by far the sweetest of the 'marauders' as he and his friends had come to call themselves, always kind, always helpful, and still, he had the worst fate of them all, destined to suffer the life of a werewolf, shunned by the wizard world. Oh, how it made Lily's blood boil! But he seemed to always try to make up for the monster he was once a month by...well...just being Remus. Lily smiled fondly as she thought of her friend, now HE was a gentleman! Nothing like that prick James Potter.
James put her right back into her bad mood. Of all the nerve....Suddenly, she spun around to face Sirius, who was still babbling about how she had almost marred his perfection, or some nonsense like that. Sirius wasn't REALLY as self-centered as he sometimes came across to be...at least, she didn't think he was. Seeing her less than happy face, however, shut him up, as he looked meekly up at her from the floor. Almost growling, she asked suspiciously, "Where's Potter? You and that numbskull are never farther than 2 feet from one another."
Seemingly relieved that that was all, Sirius grinned and informed Lily of James's yearly 2 week trip to France. She sighed, relieved that at least she wouldn't have to deal with HIM for a while. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know WHY Sirius was here, since he knew that she didn't have any books on animagi. When she asked, he simply shrugged. "I dunno...I was just bored, and I decided to visit my lovely Lily...D'you have any food around here?"
Lily laughed a little and led him to the kitchen, her previous project forgotten for the time being. There would be plenty of time, after all, to figure it out later, and she should probably talk to Mandy and Kate anyway.
* * * *
Lily laughed as she swatted Sirius away, and then shrieked as someone lifted her from behind. Turning, she found Remus standing there, mischief gleaming in his eyes, and she laughed some more. She had seen Sirius a lot over the summer holidays, so she hadn't had time to miss the rest of her friends. Now, though, it flooded back to her how much she longed for everyone. But, no worries now, for she was on Platform 9 ¾, ready to start fifth year. As she asked Remus about his summer, and listened as he told her about the wizards of Ancient Egypt, she spotted someone who looked familiar- ew, Potter. How nice of him to ruin her day already. She knew, logically, he hadn't really done anything yet. But he would, no question there, so she decided she was perfectly within bounds to give him her signature glare that she reserved for him and Lucius Malfoy, a Slytherin a year ahead of them.
Sure enough, James spotted his friends- and the red head- and sauntered over, even cockier than he had been before. Lily grew even angrier, not really knowing why- How did he have a reason to already look like he owned the world? Well, she was sure he'd be ready to inform them as soon as they were within earshot. Lily had to save her scathing remarks, however, because all James said to her was a polite hello, and then he proceeded to ignore her. Huffing, Lily stalked off to find her other friends, certain they'd be better company. "Lily Evans, WHERE do you think you're going?!" Grinning, Lily whirled around to hug Kate Young tightly. They immediately started to chatter nonstop about everything, as if they hadn't just seen each other a week ago in Diagon Alley and done the exact same thing. Presently, Lily asked, "Have you seen Mandy yet?" "Last I saw her, she was rambling about finding her owl or something...or maybe it was a pen...."
Lily shook her head, smiling, She should have known better than to ask Kate, but she was so happy to be back with her friends. Just then, she saw Mandy looking around for someone...and then saw her running at a breakneck speed towards her. The two girls hugged, and shrieked, and jabbered, and the three of them found a compartment on the train, waiting to discuss what they had all been researching.
They didn't get a chance to begin, even, however. Just as Lily was pulling something out of her bag, the Marauders barged in, causing her to quickly stuff the paper back in. Remus smiled sheepishly, and said, "Hey, everywhere else is full...can we sit here?"
The girls sighed, and nodded- it might be hard to say no without a legit excuse, and as the masters of the art, the boys spotted lies very easily. So as they settled down amongst the girls, mini conversations began to break out. Lily turned to Sirius, about to ask him something, when she noticed him staring at something- but why were Kate and Remus so interesting? Suddenly, Lily saw Kate in a very different light- she had changed over the summer. While not skinny, she was petite and slim, and had gotten more-er- curvaceous over the summer. She was by far the beauty of the group, probably of the enter 5th year, and she was smart and funny to top it off, although her temper was usually even worse than Lily's own red headed temper. And Sirius was staring at her...Lily grinned almost maliciously, and whispered into Sirius's ear, "You know Sirius, if she looks over here right now, you're going to have fun explaining why you were looking at her like she was a piece of cake or something."
Sirius tore his eyes away from Lily's beautiful friend who was trying to beat Remus up at the moment, and looked at Lily with a half guilt, half nervous look. "Er, Lily my sweet, what would you mean by that?"
Lily's grin widened, and she dragged Sirius out of the compartment, which no one noticed because they were watching Kate and Remus. Making Sirius face her, Lily asked, "So Sirius, how long have you liked her? And I DARE you to say something perverted."
Something in Lily's protectively suspicious face told him that he shouldn't dare, and so, flushed, he told her about his little crush...which had last about 3 years. Lily clapped her hands together happily, what fun, matchmaking! Sirius caught a hold of her though, and, for once in his life, was truly serious about what he was saying. "Lily, you CANNOT tell her...we've just gotten to be good friends, and I don't want to ruin that...please?" Sighing, Lily agreed, even though she told herself she WOULD pry into Kate's love life that night, see if there wasn't anything she could do...Just then a very disheveled Kate, who had, apparently from Remus's scowl, won their fight, came out, looking for Sirius and Lily. Lily pushed Sirius into Kate, and said she was going to go find the snack cart...maybe Sirius could get farther on his own.
* *
* *
That night, Lily, Mandy and Kate lay in their dorm, not really talking about anything, but everything at the same time. Lily, however, remembered her conversation with Sirius and neatly steered the conversation in that direction- boys. Immediately, Kate was off, rattling about this 7th year and that 5th year, and Mandy got her two cents in as well. Lily sighed- she had no time for boys, what with- well, everything that was going on. Still, a boyfriend might be nice...but there wasn't anyone who she really saw her self with. She just simply wouldn't admit that every time she thought 'boyfriend', James Potter was also in her mind.
A/N: wow, I'm really sorry about this chapter... I started out with a point, really I did...and then it just kind of went...and while all of this was supposed to work in somewhere, I didn't really want to devote a chapter to nothing....but it will be important later...r/r, por favor!
Sighing, Lily Evans rubbed tired eyes as she peered over old manuscripts, letters, books, everything, hoping to find it. It had to be here, she knew it.... "LILEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Jumping four feet into the air, she whirled to look out her window, only to be confronted by a very cocky Sirius Black, on his broomstick and laughing. Shaking her head and looking furious, she stalked over to open the window and let her friend in. Just as Sirius was about to climb in, she thought better of her graciousness and slammed the shutter in his face. Sputtering, Sirius could be heard cursing- "Bloody hell, Lily, I could have DIED!" Lily rolled her eyes, and pulled the window open again. Sirius gave her a pained look, and if Lily hadn't been so tired- and therefore grumpy- she would have never been able to keep her laughter down. Sirius had this very special gift of making people laugh, regardless of whether or not it was at his expense. Still, just seeing her friend brightened Lily's mood a little, even though she was still frustrated. Where on earth could it be? But she was forced to leave that train of thought again as Sirius was pushing her out of the way so he had room to fall spectacularly with an 'umpf!' onto her bedroom floor. Sometimes she wondered why she'd ever become friends with him....
It hadn't even been very long. At the end of the previous year-fourth year- she and Sirius had come to a truce, and he had decided never to deprive her of her daily dose of 'Sirius' ever again. Well, at least her summer wouldn't be boring. He needed her help, after all, with their animagi project, to help Remus. Thinking of Remus, Lily sighed again.
Remus, one of her best friends, next to the girls of course, although she could foresee herself and Sirius getting very close as well. Remus was by far the sweetest of the 'marauders' as he and his friends had come to call themselves, always kind, always helpful, and still, he had the worst fate of them all, destined to suffer the life of a werewolf, shunned by the wizard world. Oh, how it made Lily's blood boil! But he seemed to always try to make up for the monster he was once a month by...well...just being Remus. Lily smiled fondly as she thought of her friend, now HE was a gentleman! Nothing like that prick James Potter.
James put her right back into her bad mood. Of all the nerve....Suddenly, she spun around to face Sirius, who was still babbling about how she had almost marred his perfection, or some nonsense like that. Sirius wasn't REALLY as self-centered as he sometimes came across to be...at least, she didn't think he was. Seeing her less than happy face, however, shut him up, as he looked meekly up at her from the floor. Almost growling, she asked suspiciously, "Where's Potter? You and that numbskull are never farther than 2 feet from one another."
Seemingly relieved that that was all, Sirius grinned and informed Lily of James's yearly 2 week trip to France. She sighed, relieved that at least she wouldn't have to deal with HIM for a while. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know WHY Sirius was here, since he knew that she didn't have any books on animagi. When she asked, he simply shrugged. "I dunno...I was just bored, and I decided to visit my lovely Lily...D'you have any food around here?"
Lily laughed a little and led him to the kitchen, her previous project forgotten for the time being. There would be plenty of time, after all, to figure it out later, and she should probably talk to Mandy and Kate anyway.
* * * *
Lily laughed as she swatted Sirius away, and then shrieked as someone lifted her from behind. Turning, she found Remus standing there, mischief gleaming in his eyes, and she laughed some more. She had seen Sirius a lot over the summer holidays, so she hadn't had time to miss the rest of her friends. Now, though, it flooded back to her how much she longed for everyone. But, no worries now, for she was on Platform 9 ¾, ready to start fifth year. As she asked Remus about his summer, and listened as he told her about the wizards of Ancient Egypt, she spotted someone who looked familiar- ew, Potter. How nice of him to ruin her day already. She knew, logically, he hadn't really done anything yet. But he would, no question there, so she decided she was perfectly within bounds to give him her signature glare that she reserved for him and Lucius Malfoy, a Slytherin a year ahead of them.
Sure enough, James spotted his friends- and the red head- and sauntered over, even cockier than he had been before. Lily grew even angrier, not really knowing why- How did he have a reason to already look like he owned the world? Well, she was sure he'd be ready to inform them as soon as they were within earshot. Lily had to save her scathing remarks, however, because all James said to her was a polite hello, and then he proceeded to ignore her. Huffing, Lily stalked off to find her other friends, certain they'd be better company. "Lily Evans, WHERE do you think you're going?!" Grinning, Lily whirled around to hug Kate Young tightly. They immediately started to chatter nonstop about everything, as if they hadn't just seen each other a week ago in Diagon Alley and done the exact same thing. Presently, Lily asked, "Have you seen Mandy yet?" "Last I saw her, she was rambling about finding her owl or something...or maybe it was a pen...."
Lily shook her head, smiling, She should have known better than to ask Kate, but she was so happy to be back with her friends. Just then, she saw Mandy looking around for someone...and then saw her running at a breakneck speed towards her. The two girls hugged, and shrieked, and jabbered, and the three of them found a compartment on the train, waiting to discuss what they had all been researching.
They didn't get a chance to begin, even, however. Just as Lily was pulling something out of her bag, the Marauders barged in, causing her to quickly stuff the paper back in. Remus smiled sheepishly, and said, "Hey, everywhere else is full...can we sit here?"
The girls sighed, and nodded- it might be hard to say no without a legit excuse, and as the masters of the art, the boys spotted lies very easily. So as they settled down amongst the girls, mini conversations began to break out. Lily turned to Sirius, about to ask him something, when she noticed him staring at something- but why were Kate and Remus so interesting? Suddenly, Lily saw Kate in a very different light- she had changed over the summer. While not skinny, she was petite and slim, and had gotten more-er- curvaceous over the summer. She was by far the beauty of the group, probably of the enter 5th year, and she was smart and funny to top it off, although her temper was usually even worse than Lily's own red headed temper. And Sirius was staring at her...Lily grinned almost maliciously, and whispered into Sirius's ear, "You know Sirius, if she looks over here right now, you're going to have fun explaining why you were looking at her like she was a piece of cake or something."
Sirius tore his eyes away from Lily's beautiful friend who was trying to beat Remus up at the moment, and looked at Lily with a half guilt, half nervous look. "Er, Lily my sweet, what would you mean by that?"
Lily's grin widened, and she dragged Sirius out of the compartment, which no one noticed because they were watching Kate and Remus. Making Sirius face her, Lily asked, "So Sirius, how long have you liked her? And I DARE you to say something perverted."
Something in Lily's protectively suspicious face told him that he shouldn't dare, and so, flushed, he told her about his little crush...which had last about 3 years. Lily clapped her hands together happily, what fun, matchmaking! Sirius caught a hold of her though, and, for once in his life, was truly serious about what he was saying. "Lily, you CANNOT tell her...we've just gotten to be good friends, and I don't want to ruin that...please?" Sighing, Lily agreed, even though she told herself she WOULD pry into Kate's love life that night, see if there wasn't anything she could do...Just then a very disheveled Kate, who had, apparently from Remus's scowl, won their fight, came out, looking for Sirius and Lily. Lily pushed Sirius into Kate, and said she was going to go find the snack cart...maybe Sirius could get farther on his own.
* *
* *
That night, Lily, Mandy and Kate lay in their dorm, not really talking about anything, but everything at the same time. Lily, however, remembered her conversation with Sirius and neatly steered the conversation in that direction- boys. Immediately, Kate was off, rattling about this 7th year and that 5th year, and Mandy got her two cents in as well. Lily sighed- she had no time for boys, what with- well, everything that was going on. Still, a boyfriend might be nice...but there wasn't anyone who she really saw her self with. She just simply wouldn't admit that every time she thought 'boyfriend', James Potter was also in her mind.
A/N: wow, I'm really sorry about this chapter... I started out with a point, really I did...and then it just kind of went...and while all of this was supposed to work in somewhere, I didn't really want to devote a chapter to nothing....but it will be important later...r/r, por favor!