I'd like to point out this line from Aidenfire: "I wanted to give him a hug and a bowl of soup!" That is SO cute. LoL.
Speaking of sayings, I know that a certain some of you will have noticed my word "lidacious" in the last chapter. TeeHee. Well this story is actually how it came into being. I started this a while back, but recently converted it into L/J, so I've been using my word ever since then. And now ALL OF YOU can use it too! Yay! Spread it around, yo. Nudge, nudge.
"Shaky Ground"
Morning came, bringing obscure emotions with it. Upon waking, all Lily wanted to do was disappear into her dreams again.
"Lily dearest...time to rise and shine," Cherise sang.
Lily grumbled indistinctly and shoved her head under the pillow. Cherise rolled her eyes.
"I know yesterday wasn't the highlight of your life, but it's not as bad as you're making it out to seem!"
"Wanna bet..." Lily mumbled under the pillow to herself. She had explained the kiss fiasco to her friends since they were in the library during it all, but there was no way she was going to reveal James's confession - the one thing that was going to mess up...well, everything.
"Come on, Lily," Cherise whined.
After a bit more prodding and poking, Lily finally caved and resigned to prepping herself for the coming day.
As Lily descended the stairs from the girls dormitories, she found Sirius waiting for her at the bottom. He smiled when he saw her, but she found it difficult to reciprocate.
"I'm sorry," she said the moment before Sirius leaned down to kiss her.
"What?" he stopped and stood up straight again.
"About last night - I didn't know my kissing you would result in...that," she said awkwardly.
Sirius smirked. "I'd say it was more than worth it."
"But didn't you get punished?"
"Oh yeah," he said casually. "Detention. Just the usual."
"Oh is that all..." she remarked sarcastically.
"I'd serve detention for the rest of the year just to have one more kiss like that one last night..." he purred into her ear.
"Er..." was all she could get out as he began nibbling on her ear. She began giggling when he moved down to her neck. She was just beginning to really enjoy it when James appeared across the way at the bottom of the boys staircase.
Lily shrieked and pushed Sirius off of her.
"Wha-?" was all Sirius could muster. James's eyes grew wide and he furiously gestured for her to engage him again.
Lily looked at James frantically for a second then, just before Sirius could turn his head, she gave him just what he wanted - a repeat of the previous night.
Lily peeped open one eye to make sure James was out of the room, then broke away from Sirius, breathing heavily.
"Detention anyone?"
Sirius seemed to gaze at Lily with wonder that day. Her newfound fiestiness was more than welcome on his account. Though she had adopted an obvious feeling of perplexity throughout the day, all Sirius really cared about was that rather friendly 'good morning'.
All of the Marauders joined the girls at dinner that night, as they had been doing quite frequently.
"Hey James," Marilyn purred in the voice she tended to use for James only. "Fancy showing off some of your quidditch moves for me tonight? I'd love to see all of what you've been saying in action."
James never turned down an opportunity to show off.
"You know I'd love to, but I really have to finish my Transfiguration essay."
...Unless it interfered with another certain -unknown- passion of his.
Marilyn looked completely put out but refused to be halted.
"Remus!" she switched her gaze. "Care to play some wizard's chess with me tonight?"
"Sure," he shrugged with a mouthful of potatoe. Marilyn smiled victoriously.
James stood up from the table. "See you guys later. I have to go to the library. Have fun with Professor Binns tonight, Siri," he winked.
Sirius pulled a face at him in response.
Lily eagerly watched James go, waiting until he was long gone. "Um, I have to go talk with Professor Dumbledore," she said to the remaining party.
Cherise looked worried. "Why? Something wrong?"
"No, no," Lily replied offhandedly. "Just...questions about the Head Girl position. I'll see you all later."
Then, standing up as well, she kissed Sirius once on the cheek and walked casually out of the Great Hall. Once out of earshot, she took a deep breath and headed for her destination - passing right on by Professor Dumbledore's office.
"Lily? Why ar--"
"James, we have to talk," she said straight-forwardly, sitting down next to him at a table in the middle of the library.
James looked nervously around. "Right here?"
Lily looked around at the other students as well, then made up her mind and pulled James to the bookshelves in the back.
"Better?"
"Yeah..." James whispered, still not completely comfortable.
Lily took a deep breath. "James--"
"Why did you stop him?"
Lily was thrown completely off course. "What?"
"When you saw me this morning. Why did you stop Sirius?" James repeated.
"Because yo-- ...I don't know!" Lily whined. "Why did you tell me to start again?"
"Because if you pushed Sirius away abruptly then he turned around and saw me, do you really think he would be all that happy with me?" James spoke in a frantic whisper.
"No?" she voiced the obvious. "But it wasn't because of you!"
"It wasn't?"
"No! ...Well yes. No!...Okay maybe..." Lily was wringing her hands nervously. "But not because of what you think!"
"Well...what then?"
Lily looked at him hopelessly. She leaned back on a bookshelf and slid down to the ground slowly, landing with a soft thud. James kneeled down beside her. Lily looked into his eyes and sighed.
"I...didn't feel right...kissing him in front of you," she said softly.
James sighed as well and ran a hand through this hair. "Listen...Lily...I know what I said last night wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear, and it sure as hell wasn't what I wanted to say - not that at time anyway - so just...forget about it, okay? I don't want my, er, feelings to get in the way of your relationship with Sirius. So can't we just pretend this never happened?"
He gave her one last pleading look before standing up and walking back to his table. Lily sat for a moment in silence, drinking in what he said.
As she walked out of the library, avoiding James's eyes, she felt strangely empty.
Who said that wasn't what I wanted to hear...
Lily did not at all feel up to going back to the common room where all her friends most likely were. Instead, she wandered dejectedly around the castle, no destination in mind.
After who-knows-how-much time elapsed, she found herself in the deserted astronomy tower. She sat down on the cold, stone ground and craned her head back to look up into the heavens. Stars had always had a strange effect on her. Whenever she looked into that endless pool of diamonds she could almost palpably feel their calm beauty washing over her. Even the smallest glance felt refreshing. Yes, this was exactly what she needed about now.
By habitual instinct she began naming the constellations she observed in her head.
Canis Major...Sirius...
...The brightest star in the sky. Forever outshining the other stars...stealing their glory just because it is a bit more radiant. ...Ironic?
...Gemini...Orion...
"...Andromeda..." she whispered. She knew the myth behind this one by heart. She harbored a secret fetish with astronomy, thus memorizing many constellations and the stories behind them. Not even Cherise knew of this part of Lily. There was no significant reason why Lily decided to leave everyone in the dark about it. It was simply something she could call her own - something that no one else in the world knew.
The myth of Andromeda finds beautiful Andromeda tied to a rock out at sea to await her death by sea monster. The hero Perseus, who was watching from above, intervenes and saves her from the sea monster. In exchange for his heroics, he and Andromeda are married - only to be killed at their wedding.
"Whatever happened to happily ever after..." Her words slipped softly into the air, their contents received by only the sky above.
Lily never found out how long she had spent in the astronomy tower, but she definitely felt the effects of it the next morning.
"For the love, Lily!" Cherise huffed as her fifth attempt at waking up Lily had failed.
"Mmmrrggg..."
"Well at least you're awake," Cherise said, glaring at the lump of blankets ending in a mess of red hair before her.
"Wha' year is'a?" Lily mumbled as she lifted her head off the pillow - not without apparent difficulty.
Cherise rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you wanker. Just get up already!"
Lily groaned and rolled out of her bed, staggering drunkenly to the bathroom.
Cherise waited until Lily was showered and dressed to attempt any communication.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Cherise questioned. "It sure doesn't seem like it."
Now Marilyn jumped into the picture. "Oh my gosh! That reminds me!" she squealed and practically danced over to the bathroom where Lily was brushing her hair. "So what did you two do?" she gushed giddily.
Lily set down her brush and turned and eyed her friend. "What are you on about?"
Marilyn rolled her eyes in impatience. "You and Sirius! Come on, you don't have to be shy. I want to know all," she squealed, making Lily dizzy with all her bouncing.
"No, seriously, what are you wittering on about? I didn't see Sirius at all last night from the time I left dinner."
Marilyn's bouncing came to an abrupt halt, as did her ecstatic expression. "Well...then...where was he? Wait - where were you?"
Lily's hand slipped off the counter on which she was leaning. "Er...with Professor Dumbledore! Like I told you."
Marilyn raised an eyebrow. "All night?"
"NO! Ew no..." Lily spluttered quickly. "Okay fine - after the meeting with Dumbledore...I...took to exploring the castle. I guess I took longer than expected," she explained, only half lying.
"If you say so..." Marilyn muttered, completely unconvinced.
"But wait!" Lily said before Marilyn walked away. "You said Sirius wasn't seen either?"
"He had detention didn't he?" Scarlett voiced from her bed where she was evidently following the conversation.
"Not all night!" Marilyn argued.
"Maybe it just lasted really late and you guys didn't see him come in," Lily suggested hopefully.
"Sirius wasn't in detention all that time," Cherise stated rather solemnly from where she was standing in the middle of the room.
"Where was he then?" Lily demanded as she walked out of the bathroom.
Cherise's face had turned unnaturally cold. "Samantha Creevy might know."
Lily's body stiffened. "What?"
Cherise sighed and swallowed hard, apparently dreading her following words. "I... saw her and Sirius kissing in the Charms classroom," she responded with a hint of guilt in her voice, as if it was her committing the crime.
Lily felt her chest tighten. She shook her head back and forth and stared deeply into the floor. "No..."
Cherise began to walk towards her. "I know it's hard Li--"
Lily backed away. "No! You're lying!"
"Excuse me?" Cherise gasped.
"It's not true!" Lily snapped. "I know him better than you. He doesn't even like Samantha--"
"Oh, so does that explain their little show on the train?"
"That was months ago!"
"Well I guess the encore was just a bit delayed."
"God, just stop it, Cherise! I don't know what your problem is, but-- "
"My problem?" Cherise scoffed. "I'm not the one being cheated on!"
"Sirius wouldn't do that!" Lily shouted furiously.
"Do you really believe that?" Cherise shouted back. "Wake up Lily. This is Sirius Black we're talking about. Do you really think he's going to lose sleep at night from kissing two different girls? This is all he wanted in the first place! Why do you think he's never made your relationship official? Huh? All he wants is a toy with no strings attatched! If you two aren't a couple then he can feel free to mess around with other girls at the same time. I mean, come on, he's never given you a second glance for five ruddy years, but now that you're all grown up and a pretty little princess he decides to throw himself at you! OPEN YOUR BLOODY EYES LILY."
Lily glared at Cherise with a murderous anger in her eyes. Her chest was heaving slowly with ragged breaths.
"I guess I was wrong when I thought you'd never succumb to jealously," Lily whispered acidly. She left the room with a slam of the door, leaving Cherise fuming and Scarlett and Marilyn scared to breathe.
Seething, Lily leaned against the closed door, concentrating on breathing in and out. How could Cherise, whom Lily had considered her closest friend, accuse Sirius of such a thing? She couldn't believe it...shewouldn't believe it...
Running a shaky hand through her hair, Lily removed her weight from the door and marched down to the common room intent on finding Sirius. Her attention was instantly taken by a rather large group huddled around the bulletin board.
Curiosity slightly easing her state, she wandered over to see what all the fuss was about. Her blood regained its chill, however, upon catching sight of Sirius...and Samantha next to him.
"Lily!" Sirius chirped when Lily tapped him on the shoulder. "Be my date?" he asked hopefully, taking both her hands in his.
Lily furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at the bulletin board.
-----
Dated 12/01
--Attention all students--
Due to popular request, Hogwarts will be hosting a Winter Festival on the Friday of December 17th in celebration of the start of the winter holidays. All classes of the day are cancelled, as the festival will consume the entire day. Activities include the following:
Sleigh rides around the countryside
Ice skating on the lake
Organized snowball fights
Game booths hosted by the professors
A grand themed feast
Dancing under the stars on an outdoor dancefloor
Hot drinks & treats delivered by house elves upon
request
All activities will be available all day (8am-midnight) with the exception of the feast, which will take place at 6pm, and the dancefloor, which will open after the feast (also to note: dancefloor will be heated so as to prevent any unwanted cases of frostbite from the chilly winter air).
Participation is not mandatory, for any students who do not possess the yuletide spirit.
Cheers
Headmaster Dumbledore & Staff
-----
As Lily read the notice, a smile slowly formed on her face. Turning back to Sirius, she threw Samantha a particularly nasty glare - to which Samantha merely reflected with a look of superiority.
"I'd love to," Lily answered to Sirius with relish.
"Have your fun now, Evans," Samantha spoke up, her arms folded across her chest. "Because it's always going to be me at the after-party." She gave a final smirk and strutted off importantly.
"Cow..." Lily seethed under her breath.
"Pay no attention to her, sweet thang," Sirius consoled. "She fancies herself the bloody queen of England. Come on, let's do breakfast."
"Er, Sirius?"
"Yes'm?"
"Mind if we sort of...hang solo today? My so-called friends are being complete wankers, and I wish to never, ever see nor talk to them again. Ever," she stated in a disturbingly sweet voice, considering the harsh words used.
"Uh...sure," Sirius shrugged.
"Lovely," Lily smiled.
What a tangled web we weave, eh? Yeah... hope you enjoyed. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of chapters...they should prove to be interesting. I hope. Hah.
And I would like to recommend the L/J fic "Captivated" by MorningRain. It's a new fic by my girl Amanda, and it is LIDACIOUS. Seriously. It's definitely worth your time. Check out my profile thingy for the link.