Chapter Eight Lily

James stared at her, "Do I know you?" He stared at her closely. She looked familiar...

"Um, I don't think so." She said quickly. Her face burned. "I just guessed. I've heard a lot about you from them. Sorry you had to walk in on that." She felt her face blush again.

James stared at her closely, "Is brown your natural hair color?"

Flower stopped and stared at him, "No. I dye it. Excuse me." She left feeling very foolish. She knew him...she knew him..but from where? She had to find out.

James placed his hands in his pockets and stood there feeling awkward. He watched her go back upstairs. She's cute, he thought to himself. Familiar cute.
Sirius came out flushed, "You should see him in there. Rambling on and on. He's fallen off the rocker, that one. Anyways, have you met Flower?"

"That was Flower, I'm going to assume." James said, hands still in his pocket.

"Yup," Sirius said awkwardly, several moments of uncomfortable silence past as they both stood in the middle of the living room waiting for the other to say something and trying to think of something to say,with no avail.

Finally, Flower came down from upstairs sparing them from silently standing there any longer.

"Soo, I hear you live in France?" She asked James sheepishly. She grabbed a piece of her hair.

James looked at her while his elbow rested on the shelf, "Yeah, I do. I was there in bliss only moments ago, to tell you the truth." He shot Sirius a look.

"How is it?" Flower felt her eyes gloss over. She could just hear birds chirping in her ear. "Beautiful?"

James shrugged and ran another hand through his hair, "It used to be."

"What's that s'pose to mean?" Flower felt her head grow feverishly warm. She strained her eyes, his image was starting to look fuzzy. Images kept popping in her head, music blaring in her ear... Broomsticks, music boxes... "Never mind... It's been nice meeting you but, I think I better go upstairs. I feel a little tired."

Sirius gave her a funny look and stuck an eyebrow up, but she either ignored it or didn't see it,as she continued walking up the stairs.

After a few more moments of silence between the two James finally spoke up, " Well, erm," he cleared his throat, " I'm gunna go over to the Leaky Cauldron for a bit. You, eh, want to go?"

"No," Sirius shook his head, " go on, I need to get around to doing something I've been putting off for a while. Besides, Remus is still in the kitchen half drunk and your mum is sick."

James then remembered why he had come in the first place, "Right, well I need to do something else anyways. I'll owl you. Okay?" He didn't even wait for Sirius' answer he just left. Sirius leaned agaisnt the counter and ran a hand through his hair, the whole situation felt sort of surreal to him. Why would Remus get pissed drunk in the middle of the day? He rubbed his neck and sighed.

He walked over to the room and found Remus on the couch, his lips were crusty and white. He face looked weak and he looked thin and fragile. Sirius shook his head and walked over to make him more comfortable so he wouldn't wake up with a bad kink in his neck. He stumbled over the table and saw a gold glint in Remus' hand. He smirked and reached for it. A blue square hung on it, it read: 'Together In Paris.'

He dropped it, he backed away remembering only too well where that had came from.

"You're going to ask your best friend, pardon, one of your best friends who happens to be a girl to go with you to France non-romantically?" Sirius said, mocking James with an analizing voice.
James gave him a look from under his unkept hair, "Are you that bloody slow that you can't understand a simple statement?"
Sirius scoffed, "You're calling me slow? Have you heard your idea?"
James shot him another look, "Okay well, what color should I get it? Green to match her eyes? That's getting pretty old though...she has so many things to match her eyes. Even the sparks of her wand match her eyes. Its ridiculous."
"Yes, scandelous." Mocked Sirius, benting his hand like a woman. He sniggered as he avoided a swing from James. "Hmm, on a serious level now, I do agree with your observation. Getting her a green gift is a bit cliched. What? I read... a little."
"I once heard her say she liked sapphires." James suggested, ignoring any irrelevant useless information Sirius told him. Remus popped his head over and gave his nod of approvement. James looked at Sirius. "Okay here goes nothing."
He waved his arm around and his galleons dispeared and a necklace appeared, a glittery gold chain with the blue square at the end.
"Together In Paris? You should have made it say Paree or someting like that. Sounds sophisticate-er." Sirius nodded. Remus shook his head behind his book. "It's a word."
"Do you think she'll like it?" James mouth tensed up and Sirius imagined his palms sweating.
"No." James looked at him. "She'll love it." Sirius laughed. "Why did you make that face? You looked freaked out."

Sirius stared at it with disbeleif, it still looked the same except the shine was rustier. He backed away and tripped over the rug. He finally got to his senses and edged towards Remus, his voice croaked.

"Moony--Remus--where d-did you get-t this?" Sirius asked forefully. Remus groaned, drool falling out of his mouth. Sirius sneered at him. "Answer me. Where did you get this?"
Remus moaned again and pointed upstairs where a cluster of noise was coming from.
Sirius grabbed the necklace and raced upstairs, he heard noises and squeaks and paces. It felt like his stomach had dropped five feet.

He heard rumbles and things dropping behind the door in the left. He edged towards it, not knowing what to do or what to expect.

He opened it to find Flower on the ground, pounding it. His eyes widened and he dropped down to her. She looked at him, her eyes sparkled with tears and her cheeks were rosy red, but there was something different. Her eyes weren't sparkling brown...they were big round emerald almond shaped eyes.

"What are you doing Lil-Flower?"

She grabbed her hair and looked at him, her face was streaked with tears, "I can't do this anymore. It hurts! It hurts so damn much."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius said, edging away from her.

"I have to leave, I can't stand this anymore." She put her hair in a pony tail. "Sirius, I am going to sound like such an idiot when I say this but I'm leaving anyway so fuck it.

I feel like I know you guys."

Sirius swallowed and felt his adams apple rise and fall. He shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"I see James...and my heart pounds, like I'm s'pose to be doing something... I feel like I know him. I'm stupid, I know but don't you think it's a coincidence that I said my name was Flower Potter? I have to know him!"

"Flower, calm down--"

"No! You have no idea how it is for me, waking up each day knowing that I have no past, no parents--Do you know how I felt that day when I woke up at the hospital with nothing?"

Sirius stared at her, she was pacing and all he could stare at were her eyes.

"I was confused, alone, empty--I had nothing left. I didn't even know who the bloody hell I was, all I had was that stupid locket, that I don't even know what it's for---"

Sirius grabbed her shoulders, "Shut up."

She stared at him, hurt, "Why?"

"Because I can help you."

A/N-I know, I know. That was a long time and this is a short chapter but I think it has everything you want. And just to let you people know, James does recognize her in the next chapter. So stay tuned.

Drew.