Sorry I kept you waiting so long (one week...), but I gave fair warning, no? I won't make you wait any longer than a week though. But, see, I have oodles of homework already (first week of school - what is up with THAT?) and I'm really slow at getting the chapters ready. LoL. I always find myself writing these really juicy scenes that come later on, then find I need all the stuff that comes before it first. Oops. I'm so hopeless, jeez. But anywho...what was my point?
I don't think I had one.
So...um, go on and read then. -shrugs-
"Fraternizing With the Enemy"
The following two weeks played out in a sordid manner. Lily avoided her friends at all costs, frequently exchanging dirty looks with Cherise from across the room. The only words Lily ever spoke with them were sparse and strained. Although Scarlett and Marilyn were technically guilt-free, Lily found suit to sneer at them too, as their frequent interaction with Cherise, the enemy, dictated.
The complications between the girls was not the sole awkwardness in the air, however. It was plain to see that James was making an effort to elude Lily and Sirius by way of shadowing Cherise, Marilyn, and Scarlett - not that the girls had any objections to this. Marilyn had taken to claiming James as her pet, proving so by acting accordingly. All of her conversation seemed to be directed at him, and she made sure that he was with her at all times by dragging and forcing him to her strategically chosen positions for him - most often being the one next to herself.
It was a snowy December evening and Lily was found sitting in front of the happily roaring fire reading a book. Sirius was off at detention for setting off a dungbomb in Severus Snape's pants. How it got there...well, no one really wanted to know.
"Lily - we need to talk."
Lily looked up to see Marilyn and Scarlett standing in front of her with determination written in their eyes.
"No we don't," Lily replied simply and dropped her focus back down to her book.
"Cut the shiz Lily," Marilyn rolled her eyes. "How long do you expect this to go on?"
"Until thatcow can admit she's a jealous, lying prat," Lily sneered.
"Come on, Lily. You never even gave her a chance. Can't you two just talk?" Scarlett pleaded.
Lily set her book aside and looked up to their faces. "And why isn't she down here begging for mercy? She couldn't even get up the nerve to talk to me herself?"
"No, she's just a stubborn git like you!" Marilyn huffed.
"Well I have no interest in using you two as the little peacemakers you fancy yourselves as," Lily said stiffly.
"FINE!" Marilyn shouted and made to stalk off, but Scarlett grabbed her arm.
"Marilyn!" she chided. "You're as horrible as they are!"
Marilyn rolled eyes and crossed her arms to sulk.
"Lily," Scarlett began again. "Justtalk -to - Cherise. Okay? I know I speak for all of us when I say this fight is completely ridiculous and needs to be ended. If Cherise is too little to initiate the conversation, thenyou do it." She placed her hands on her hips and stared at Lily expectantly.
Rather than be accused of being cowardly, Lily stood up and walked defiantly to the girls dorm where Cherise would be found. Scarlett watched her walk off with a triumphant smirk.
"Cherise!" Lily shouted upon entering the dorm.
Cherise looked up from her bed. As she spotted Lily , her features turned dark.
"Yes?" she hissed.
"I want to know why you made up that story about Sirius," Lily said matter-of-factly.
Cherise didn't answer, but merely shook her head and smirked coldly.
"Well?" Lily persisted.
"Well I want to know why you're so insistent on thinking it's just a story."
"Because it is!"
Cherise sighed with exasperation. "I am going to say this one, final time, Lily: Sirius - and - Samantha - kissed. Kissed. Snogged. Made out. Whatever you want to call it - they did it."
Finally it occured to Lily that Cherise just might be telling the truth...as much as she didn't want to admit it to herself. The anger that had been flowing through her veins a minute ago instead found itself welling up in her eyes and down her cheeks. Try as she might to keep it inside, there was no fighting it. It was as if the weight she had been holding over her head for the past two weeks finally crashed down on her.
With a shudder, Lily dropped herself onto her bed and sobbed into her hands.
"Oh Lily," Cherise said with a sympathetic tone. She sat down next to her friend and wrapped her arms around her, rocking slowly back and forth. Minutes passed like this with Lily crying and Cherise trying her best not to do the same.
"I'm so s-sorry..." Lily stuttered through her remaining tears.
"No, no, no! I'm the one who should be sorry!" Cherise cried. "I should've known how hard this would be for you. I just wish this whole thing hadn't happened..." she finished softly.
"I just didn't want to think he would...do that to me..." Lily said sadly, her tears finally subduing.
"I know, Lil. I know," Cherise soothed.
"What am I supposed to do, Rise?" Lily whined hopelessly.
"Did you confront Sirius about any of this?"
"No..." Lily replied quietly. "I didn't want to give you the satisfaction."
They smiled weakly at each other.
"Well maybe you should. You never know...I mean, it could've just been a...misunderstanding on my part," Cherise suggested meekly, not convincing even herself that that could be the case.
"Yeah," Lily agreed, desperate for anything to hold onto that could plead Sirus's innocence, no matter how weak. "I'll, uh...a-ask him tomorrow." Though how that would be accomplished, Lily wasn't sure. The prospect of coming right out and asking Sirius if he had kissed another girl was quite intimidating.
"Friends?" Cherise smiled hopefully.
"Friends," Lily smiled back.
Cherise sighed audibly. "Good. If I have to sit and listen to Marilyn chat up poor James one more time, I swear I'm breaking out the Unforgiveable Curses."
She and Lily giggled loudly, falling back onto the bed and clutching their stomachs.
All was well in the land of friendship.
"There's my sweet thang," greeted Sirius when Lily finally graced the common room with her presence.
"Hey," she replied with a sweet smile. "Sirius-" she took a deep breath. "Did you- ..." she started with a serious demeanor, fully intent on inquiring about the Samantha situation, but made the dire mistake of looking into his eyes before she could continue. Those sea shattering eyes. So blue...so sparkling...so...so...perfect...oh...my... "Did you eat breakfast yet?" she stammered breathlessly.
Sirius looked at her oddly. "No... I always wait for you," he said obviously.
Lily gave a nervous laugh. "Of course. I was just--... let's go to breakfast!" she blurted in want of a better - or believable - excuse.
Smooth, Lily. Really smooth.
"So what did he say?" Cherise questioned Lily as the four girls wandered the snowy grounds after the last class of the day. The Marauders were off and about on "confidential business", as they put it, thus leaving the girls some alone time to bask in their rekindled friendship.
"I wouldn't know...I never worked up the nerve to ask," Lily responded dejectedly.
"Lils!" Cherise scolded. "You really can't leave something like this up in the air."
"Why not?" she said in a small voice.
Cherise merely gave her a "look" in return. That seemed to be enough for Lily.
"Okay! I know, I know... it's just... I'm scared to hear his answer..."
Not wanting Lily to fall into a depressed state, Marilyn found fit to change the subject. "So! Who's totally excited about tomorrow?" she practically squealed.
"Obviously you!" Cherise giggled.
"Well of course! Who wouldn't be if they were the date of one Remus Lupin?" she said lusciously, loving the words as they left her lips.
"No way!" Lily said girlishly. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Maybe because of that pointless fight we were in?" Scarlett supplied.
"Oh..yeah..." Lily said sheepishly. "Well anyway, that isso wicked! But...I thought you fancied James? I mean, it sure looked that way from where I was standing."
"That's because I do," Marilyn said, a pout forming on her lips. "I tried to get him to be my date, but everytime I brought the subject of the Festival up, he'd make it perfectly clear that he's not planning on going."
"Oh...I'm so sorry Marilyn. I wonder why he's not going?" Lily pondered out loud.
"Who knows," Marilyn rolled her eyes. "But whatever. I instead turned my attention-"
"More like tentacles," Scarlett interrupted.
"AHEM!" Marilyn glared. "But yeah, I went to Remus instead, subtly mentioning the Festival every now and then until... he asked me!" she chirped the last part.
"So what about you Cherise? Scarlett? Do you guys have dates?" Lily inquired.
"Nah," Cherise answered nonchalantly. "Not like it matters. I mean, besides the dance part, what's the point of having a date?"
"Because you can!" Marilyn spouted as if it were obvious.
"Well I don't care if I have a boy hanging off my arm the whole day or not," Cherise stated. "I can have a perfectly good time, regardless."
Marilyn rolled her eyes and whispered into Lily's ear, "That just means she can't get a guy to be her date."
Cherise gasped and smacked Marilyn on the arm. "I heard that, you prat!"
Marilyn smirked tauntingly in return while Lily covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her laughter.
"Well what about you, Scarlett?" Cherise turned the attention to the other date-less one among them. "What's your excuse?"
Scarlett shrugged. "I don't want one. I'd much rather play the field...you know, get a taste of everything," she smiled rather mischieviously.
"You scarlet woman!" Lily giggled.
"That's my name," Scarlett winked.
The girls continued to chatter and giggle in the midst of the winter wonderland that was the grounds of Hogwarts, blissfully unaware that they were not as alone as they thought.
"Moony, Prongs - you two take the pair of cats," a deep voice whispered from behind a frosty tree. "Wormtail - you get Adams. Leave the redhead to me."
A head peeked itself around the wide trunk to check that the girls were still rabbiting on obliviously.
"'Kay, on the count of three...two...--"
"ATTAAAACK!"
Shrill screams pierced the crisp air as the girls were pelted mercilessly with expertly designed snowballs. Try as they might to block the impending snow with their arms, it was to no avail. These boys had snowballing down to an art.
Figuring it was every girl for her herself, Lily stumbled backward and made to run for it. Her attempt was halted when she felt strong arms grab her around the waist.
"There's no running from Sirius Black, honey," a voice growled in her ear. Lily shrieked and howled with laughter as he picked her up into his arms and started carrying her away. She swatted at him and kicked her legs to get him to put her down, but he merely grinned at her cheekily.
Lily broke into laughter once more when she saw the sorry state her friends were in. Remus had collapsed onto Marilyn in an attempt to chase her down, and the two were wrestling in the snow - though Lily highly doubted Marilyn wasn't enjoying every second of it. Scarlett was chasing James, who had stolen her scarf and kept brandishing it just over her head. Cherise was involved in a snowball fight with Peter, though Peter had made sure, by way of his wand, that for every one that Cherise threw at him, two would be pelted in return - assuring his dominance in the war.
"Eeek!" Lily shrieked as Sirus dropped her down into the snow behind the tree whence they had originally emerged.
"You bloody wanker!" Lily squawked at him as he plopped down beside her.
"Ay! Just a little harmless marauding," he replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Now I have seized the spoils and returned her to my castle far away."
Lily eyed their surroundings skeptically. "And, uh, this is your...'castle far away'?"
"It does its job fair enough," he replied simply.
Lily grinned. "And what does that mean, exactly?"
Sirius merely leaned over and chose to answer in the inviting form of a kiss. Lily smiled against his lips and replied in a similar manner.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the tree, the battle of the sexes was still raging. Scarlett had snatched her scarf from James and promptly went to save Marilyn by way of immobilizing Remus by tying the scarf around him. Finally free, Marilyn seized the opportunity to grab James, who had hurried to save Remus, by the cloak, causing him to tumble forward into the snow. Cherise, who had taken care of Peter with a simple leg-locker curse, joined Marilyn in the assailment of James.
Ignorant of the screams and yells coming from their friends, Lily and Sirius were occupying themselves quite thoroughly with each other - more specifically, with each other's lips. Lily's hands were tangled in Sirius's deep brown hair, while Sirius's hands were better suited farther south.
A silence soon replaced the cursing in the air, but the kissing couple took no notice. Heck, they probably wouldn't have noticed if the ground beneath them disappeared. Moments of passion can do that to you.
--SPLUT--
The impact of an icy snowball broke apart Lily and Sirius immediately.
"What the f--" Sirius whipped his head around to see James standing there, smirking triumphantly...the others behind him in a row, each wielding a snowball dangerously.
"Fraternizing with the enemy, Padfoot?" James mused. "Or shall I say - snogging?"
Lily eyed the ready snowballs warily. "You wouldn't dare..."
They dared.
Walking into the common room on the morning of December 17th brought the scent of pine and cinnamon swirling around Lily's senses. Streams of garland and holly were hanging from every nook and cranny; there was even the faint hum of carols dancing in the air.
"Oh, isn't it cute!" Marilyn cooed. Lily laughed but nodded in agreement nonetheless. It really was a sight to see, and this was just the common room.
"So where's our men, Lils?" Marilyn mused as she scanned the room. "Imagine making us wait on a day like this. Really." She didn't have to wait long, however, as the Marauders appeared from the boys staircase moments later. "Remmy!" she squealed as she ran off to greet her date.
Lily and Cherise gave each other amused looks. Remmy? they questioned wordlessly.
"Oy Evans!" Sirius called as he made his way over to her. "Don't tell me Remus is gonna get the best greeting around here," he said with a pout. Lily giggled when she saw the way Marilyn was fawning over Remus.
"Oh, you poor thing! Here, mommy will make it all better," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a short kiss. Sirius didn't seem satisfied, however, as his pout only intensified when she pulled away. Lily rolled her eyes and was about to berate him when she spotted James over his shoulder. He was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, looking quite forlorn as he completely ignored whatever it was Peter was saying to him.
Remembering what Marilyn had said the day before, Lily asked Sirius, "Why isn't James going to the Festival?"
Sirius looked a bit irritated at the subject. "He's been acting real shippy (a/n: I don't believe that's a word, but let's pretend it means 'odd') lately. Dunno what's with him. I mean, the git could have any girl in this whole place, yet he'd rather sit alone in the common room all day. But he's coming along anyway, I convinced him. Afterall, dear old Petey needs an escort, don't he?"
Lily smiled weakly in response.
"So let's go! Breakfast awaits," Marilyn announced. "We need our strength. It's going to be a long day," she said while smiling suggestively at Remus.
Lily untangled herself from Sirius and made to follow the happy couple of Remus and Marilyn when she heard Cherise hiss her name, "Lily!"
"What?" she said as she turned around. Cherise simply gave her a very meaningful look with a motion towards Sirius, who was beckoning James and Peter forward.
This was answer enough for Lily.
Taking a deep breath, she nodded grimly. "Today. I promise."
Cherise raised one skeptical eyebrow and dropped the subject, to Lily's relief. Sirius returned to Lily's side and linked arms as they headed out.
It definitely was going to be a long day...
Sorry that this chapter is a tweak shorter than usual, but I needed to stop here so I could save the actual festival for the next chapter. I'm really looking forward to the end of the festival because-- er, um...reasons.
Look at me almost giving away everything.
I told you I was hopeless.
((Guess who's going to see Michael Vartan at Disneyland this weekend? ...HEE HEE HEE! I'm so tickled orange about it. Mwa ha))
-Ciao.