Suspicions

When things are supposed to be secret; that is when they spread the most. So by breakfast the next morning, everyone knew what had happened to Snape. James thought Sirius had spread the story, Lily thought that James had done it, and Sirius had no idea who had spread it. But however it spread, everyone knew. They were coming up to Lily to; in case of Slytherins try to curse her, James always seemed to be present to block the curses and send back his own, or, in fellow Gryffindor cases, to ask her details and if she got away alright. Jen and Katy felt bad that they hadn't been there. Jen never told them what had happened between her and Sirius that night until several years later. For his part, Snape wouldn't even look at her. For the next several months every time she walked into a room, he walked out. Life went on but Lily could not forget what Snape had vowed. She began to do research in the library on protection spells. Her friends mocked her but she remembered everything she read.

That Wednesday Sirius began to fulfill his promise to Jen. After dinner he took her to a clearing in the Forbidden Forest. Jen had repeatedly refused to practice where people might see her. So between them they carried a chest with the four balls and a broomstick apiece.

"So what position did you want to play?" Sirius asked, while setting the chest down on the grass. He opened it up and steeped back.

"I wanted to be beater." Jen replied.

"So you wanted to play the same position as me." Sirius teased. He grabbed the two wooden bats and threw one at Jen. She grabbed it out of the air. "Well at least you have quick reflexes. Why did you want to be a beater anyway?"

"'Cause my father was a beater." Jen answered. "And I always wanted to be like him. And since the old beater just graduated this year I figured that this was my chance." She leapt onto her broom and hovered about twenty feet up. Sirius followed. "So what's your reasoning for wanting to play this position?"

"I like to hit things." Sirius said simply.

"Good reason." Jen mocked.

"Hey no making fun or your teacher." Sirius defended.

"Well to be my teacher first you have to teach me something." Jen argued.

"OK. The first thing we are going to do is a simple exercise. I'm going to release the bludger and we'll hit it back and forth." Sirius instructed. He drew his wand and released the strap. The bludger flew straight up at a speed of 50 m/hr. It came back down heading straight at Sirius's head. He aimed his bat and the course changed so it was headed at Jen. She tried to return it but her aim was a little bit off. It flew past Sirius and then did an abrupt 180 and came back at him.

They practiced for over two hours. Jen was a quick study so by the end she was almost as good as Sirius. She could now avoid the bludger, hit them perfectly, and once she even knocked Sirius off his broom. But at nine-thirty it was to dark for them to practice anymore. So they flew down to the ground and Sirius captured the bludger. They started walking out of the forest. "You learn well." Sirius complimented Jen. "I can almost guarantee that you will make the team."

"And I couldn't have done it without you." Jen half teased, half thanked him.

"Don't forget that you have to go to Hogsmede with me in return." Sirius reminded her.

"You don't mind if I bring Lily and Katy, do you?"

"And how are you planning to explain to them why you want to hang out with me?" Sirius asked. He had been hoping that it would be just the two of them. Jen, of course, wanted no such thing.

"Simple. It will be a celebration of me making the team. And since you, Katy, and James are on the team." Jen trailed off, smiling.

"Fine. But somehow I doubt that Lily is going to be happy with that arrangement. She might leave the two of you."

"I doubt it." Jen answered.

"So you'll have to go with me alone." Sirius said.

"No. How did you reach that conclusion?" Jen asked.

"Wishful thinking." Sirius answered. They reached the team lockers. "You can store your broom in here." Sirius offered. They both set their brooms down and started walking towards Hogwarts. "Would it hurt you to go on one real date with me?"

"Yes." Jen answered. "Or Lily would. So on a different topic, what do you want to do when you graduate Hogwarts?"

"An auror." Sirius answered instantly. "You?"

"I have to go." Jen said instead of answering. Lily was coming down the stairs and Jen didn't want her to see her with Sirius. "Bye." Jen ran off.

"Bye." Sirius called after her. He climbed the steps watching Jen run after Lily. Women were a mystery.

Jen caught up to Lily just as she was on the last step. "Hey." She greeted her.

"Hey." Lily replied. "Have you seen Katy?"

"I think she was going to work on astronomy homework. So you won't be able to talk to her tonight. Why?" Jen responded.

Lily turned around and headed back up the stairs. "I wanted to ask her something. Did I just see you with Sirius?"

"Yeah." Jen answered.

"Why were you with him?" Lily asked suspiciously.

Jen had to think quickly. "I needed some help on some homework..?"

"What homework? Why didn't you just ask me? Was he actually any help?" Lily asked.

"Transfiguration. 'Cause you aren't good at it. And, surprisingly, yes." Jen rattled off. "What did you want to ask Katy?" Jen asked, trying to get the attention off her.

"It was nothing. I'll just ask her tomorrow." Lily answered vaguely.

"Can't you ask me?" It was Jen's turn to be suspicious.

"All I was going to ask was if I could borrow her cell phone. It's a muggle form of communication." Lily explained.

"OK. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Jen said. They had reached the part where there paths were different. Lily went on to the Head's room while Jen had to go to the dormitory.

"Bye." Lily said.

Lily reached her room and said the password. She walked in and saw James sitting on the couch. He was leaning over a bunch of papers. "Done." He announced, leaning back.

"Done with what?" Lily inquired instinctively.

"Homework and new strategies for quidditch." James responded.

"All that in two hours?" Lily asked.

"Homework was easy. The quidditch plans took the most time." James replied. "Have you done your homework yet?"

"Not yet."

"Do you need help?" James offered.

"From you. No." Lily answered. She walked into her room and shut the door. James walked into his and did the same. He went to his dresser and pulled out a mirror.

"Sirius Black." He clearly pronounced. A second later Sirius's head appeared in his mirror. "Where were you all night?" James asked.

"Nowhere." Sirius answered.

"And who exactly is nowhere?" James questioned.

"I can't tell you." Sirius avoided the question.

"So nowhere is a girl then." James guessed correctly.

"So is that why you wanted to talk to me?" Sirius asked.

"No." James answered. "I was just really bored."

"So go talk to Lily." Sirius suggested.

"Like she'll talk to me." James scoffed. "So anyway I have a new quidditch strategy."

"Yeah. What is it?" Sirius asked. James went on to describe so Sirius made a few suggestions. In the end they had devised a completely different one. By that time it was almost time to patrol so James set down and went to go get Lily.

The next morning Lily met up with Katy and Jen on the way down to breakfast. They sat down and started to eat. A minute later Sirius bounded up and sat on the other side of Jen. "Hi." He greeted them, like his sitting there was an usual occurrence.

"Hey." Jen and Katy returned the greeting. Lily just glared.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something." Sirius said looking at Lily.

"No." Katy answered. "Why are you sitting here anyway?"

"Do I need a reason to sit by three beautiful girls?" Sirius countered. Jen blushed. A nanosecond later James, Remus, and Peter came up and sat down.

"This is different." James commented.

"We needed someplace new to sit." Sirius said. "Besides the scenery is better here."

"OK." Remus said. He shoveled a huge pile of food on his plate, and the other three Marauders followed suit.

"Hey Lily. Katy. Jen." James greeted them. Remus and Peter echoed the greeting through mouthfuls of food.

"Hi." Katy said. Jen and Lily just mumbled greetings. No one said anything for a while. The three girls ate a little and then stopped when they saw the amount of food that the Marauders were consuming.

"How can you eat like that?" Jen inquired amazed.

"Years of practice." Sirius replied.

"It's a hard learned skill." James added.

"Oh, Katy. I meant to ask you last night, can I borrow your cell phone?" Lily asked.

"Sure." Katy answered, pulling it out of her pocket. "Who do you need to call?"

"My mom. I don't know if I'm going back for summer break and she has a thing about owls." Lily replied. She stood up and walked away to make the call.

"Two questions." James said. "And how does a Muggle thing work at Hogwarts? What is a cell phone?"

"Convenient charm and didn't you take Muggle Studies?" Jen answered.

"So?" Sirius answered.

"So didn't you pay attention." Katy jumped in.

"No." The four of them answered at once, like that should be obvious.

"It's something that allows you to talk to someone as though they're right next to you." Katy explained.

At that moment Lily came back. "My mom says I have to stay here. She's going on a vacation with Dad and Petunia." Lily told them. She handed the phone back to Katy.

"Petunia?" Remus asked.

"Evil sister." Lily explained. "You guys done?" She asked, turning to Katy and Jen.

"Yeah. Let's go." Katy replied for the both of them.

"What class do you have next?" Sirius asked.

"Divination." Jen and Katy answered.

"Ancient Runes." Lily said.

"I'll walk you." Sirius offered to Jen and Katy. He then turned to Lily. "Sadly James is the only one in your class."

"Divination is for crackpots. You can't really see the future. Especially not the way Veska says. Shall we?" James asked, indicating the way to Ancient Runes.

"Fine." Lily answered reluctantly. She turned around and walked in the direction of her class, James following at her side.

"So do you believe in Divination?" James asked.

"No." Lily scoffed. "I wouldn't think that Sirius would either."

"He doesn't even have that class." James answered. "He has free period this hour. I'm actually the only one that has a class this hour out of the four of us."

"Oh." Lily said feeling like an idiot. Her face turned crimson, it almost matched her hair. "So why did he offer to walk the two of them?"

"And I thought girls were supposed to be the observant ones." James said, rolling his eyes. Lily didn't catch the gesture because of his glasses. "He likes Jen." He said it slowly and clearly, like he was saying it to a three year old.

"How do you know?" Lily asked.

"Because I can read his mind." James replied. "I'm a natural at doing that, even better then Voldermort." He observed Lily's reaction to the name. She didn't flinch.

"No seriously." Lily insisted.

"I took one look at him. He's my best friend. I can read him like an open book. Besides they were together last night and he sat by her this morning. It was obvious. She likes him too."

"No way." Lily denied that. She would know if Jen liked someone.

"Well not yet. But she will."

"And why are you so confident on that." Lily asked.

"Because, with the exception of Peter, a Marauder will always eventually get the girl he wants." James said confidently.

"Somehow I don't see that coming true."

"Why?" James questioned.

"Because you will never get me." Lily answered as she walked through the door into the classroom.

"And how wrong you were." James mocked Lily.

"And for once I was glad I was wrong." She told him. "And for once you were actually right."

"Jen and Sirius did make a cute couple though," James commented.


"Yeah," Lily agreed. "To bad." She said sadly.


"To bad." James echoed. He turned back and picked up the quill.

Harry laughed at how confident his father was. At least he was right, Harry thought. "What are you laughing at?" Ron asked from the other side of the room.

"Nothing." Harry answered. Ron looked at him suspiciously and then turned back to talking to Hermione. Harry turned back to the journal with a smile on his face. He couldn't wait until his mom figured out exactly how wrong she was.