I see my bribery cookies did the trick. Mwa ha. I'll store that away for future reference.
And, as usual, THANK YOU ENDLESSLY for the reviews. They make me want to dance. -dances with joy-
"Among Secretive Business"
And so the days slipped on by. December continued through to January, which eventually gave way to February. The grounds of Hogwarts were white and pristine as ever, the frost of winter still presiding over all. Relations among the eight friends were wonderful. The girls had taken to mingling with the four boys so constantly that they were often included in any reference to "the Marauders".
Lily, especially, had taken to occupying the company of Sirius and James quite frequently, even more often than when romantic feelings had been involved. Though Lily could never be exactly sure what either boy was thinking, or feeling rather, she knew that she, herself, considered each of them almost like a brother. She found herself completely at ease when around them, despite the rocky events of the past. There was just something about their smiles -- a warm underlying of understanding and affection. Then there was the fact that Lily never escaped a good laugh when in the room with them. Amusement was just plain inevitable.
Though the amiable atmosphere was slightly thrown off by mysterious disappearances on the boys' part. Most obviously was Remus, who was absent several days in a row each month, it seemed. The girls had noticed this even in previous years, but had never given it thought until now. It was just too scheduled to be normal. The most upsetting aspect was the fact that he always came back looking terribly worn, try as he might to hide it. This especially irked Marilyn, who could not stand being away from him for as much time as it took to go to the bathroom, let alone having him vanish for days without so much as a reasonable excuse. The best Remus could ever offer was, "Family emergency." As expected, this vagueness did not do much to appease her, or anyone else's, apprehensions.
Next was the matter of James. His scarcity was not as conspicuous, but it was definitely noticed. Every so often after dinner he would slip out of the group's reach and wander off to who-knows-where. When questioned about his whereabouts, he supplied a lame, "I had something to do," then veer the subject to something - anything - else.
Similarly, Peter seemed to have found something to occupy his time away from the Gryffindor common room, and away from his friends. He had been sighted talking with some shady Slytherin students, which was surprising considering his tendency to shy away from people of intimidating character unless he had the protection of a higher power (i.e. Sirius and James).
Sirius was perhaps the only one not taking sketchy visits to nowhere, and for that Lily was grateful. She hated feeling so detached from the other boys because of their secrecy. What could they possibly be doing that was so urgent to cover up? And was it all related? Were they disappearing for a common purpose? Or did each boy harbor a secret known only to themselves?
Lily shared these same unsettling suspicions with the other girls, but not even with their combined intelligence could they put together a reasonable explanation to ease their minds. They would simply have to live with the fact that the Marauders were one devious group of guys.
Lily, Sirius, and Cherise were on the floor crowded around a coffee table in the common room, attempting, and mostly failing, to complete a bit of homework in their free time after dinner. Remus and Marilyn, also in the common room, were...er...busy in the corner. Cough.
"You know that's disgusting, don't you?" Lily informed Sirius as he was munching on stray, stale pastry crumbs found in his pocket.
"To you, maybe," he shrugged as he continued ferreting around for more. "To me - it's a lucky star shining down."
Lily and Cherise exchanged looks, then decided to pull a 'smile and nod' and move on.
"Okay," Lily sighed as she moved back into down-to-work mode. "So what's the second step to this boulder transfiguration thing?"
"Erm...it'll probably say in the book," Cherise suggested and slid the massive book over to her.
Lily raised her eyebrows at the unfriendly looking thing.
"Here Lil, just copy mine," Sirius said casually as he tossed her his scribble-covered parchment. Lily gawked at the impressively filled paper, then turned her head to direct the stun towards Sirius, who was licking his crumby fingers. Cherise snatched the paper to take a look herself, her eyes widening as she did so.
"Sirius...this essay is amazing. How did you--?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Sirius shrugged. "I, uh, wrote it?"
"A two-foot essay on transfigurations of boulders in the 15 minutes we've been sitting here?" Lily asked with disbelief.
Sirius clearly did not share the feeling of amazement. "Yes?"
Lily paused. "...Okay," she stated, resigning to the fact that it didn't make sense. "Gimme that." She snatched it back from Cherise and promptly began using it to her advantage.
A while later, James entered through the portrait hole. He plopped down on an armchair near to where the group was working (or, rather, debating who took the most time to prepare in the morning - so far, Sirius was winning) and let out a distinctly satisfied sigh. This caught some attention.
"And to what do we owe this show of content, mm?" Cherise asked.
James smirked to himself and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing..."
"Nothing, my boot, Prongs," Sirius joined. "You have the definite look of a guy that just got some."
"Sirius!" Lily shrieked, smacking him on the arm.
"What?" he defended. "Am I not right?" He looked around for support, of which he got several glares in return.
"For your information, Black," James started. "I went down to the kitchens for a while, that's all."
"Right after dinner?" Cherise questioned.
"And walking off in the opposite direction from them when you left us?" Sirius added.
"...Ye--"
"Liar," Sirius interrupted firmly.
James looked incredulous. "Your trust is overwhelming, really," he said sardonically.
"So are your lying skills," Sirius smiled. "So come on, talk. Who's this new bedfellow of yours?"
"Oh, God, shove it, Padfoot," he said, laughing in spite of himself.
"You have the most randy mind, Sirius, really," Lily reprimanded.
"Hey, I can't help it. With animal magnetism like mine, it's all I can do to face the inevitable."
"Such modesty," Cherise cooed.
"Yet another one of my endless endearing qualities," he grinned.
"Where's Remus?" James asked randomly.
"With the girl. Where else?" Sirius answered.
James leaned forward a bit to get a better view of the window. He turned his head to give Sirius a quizzical look.
"Next week," Sirius muttered.
James nodded quickly.
Lily and Cherise didn't even try to understand. They knew better.
"So! Who's completely sick of doing homework?" Sirius asked happily, immediately grabbing Lily and Cherise's wrists and raising their hands in the air. "Good, good! Me too. Let's get to some Exploding Snap."
On the end of the stick regarding Samantha - relations had been rather quiet. Conversation was limited, if offered at all, as both she and Lily were still too obviously embarrassed by what had been said that one day. As far as they both were concerned, it would have been all too convenient to just let the subject slip away into nothingness, never to be thought of, let alone discussed, again. Yet deep down, neither of them truly wished for that. The words continued to hang in the air, hovering somewhere just out of reach, the risk of personal danger present if one grasped beyond the mutual understanding of staying quiet.
Personally, Lily could not stand it. Every glimpse of the blonde haired beauty was like lacing just one more notch tighter on a corset - it knawed at her stomach. What if Samantha's plea was true? What if...what if Lily really had stolen away the one happiness in her life? Or were her words simply a lie? Another venomous strike at Lily's victory? But, no, Sirius had said...
Well, he hadn't really said anything, come to think of it. But he had mentioned that something was wrong. That had to count for something. And whatever that something was, Lily intended on finding it out.
Ah, Valentine's Day. Visions of pink and red blind the senses, letters of adoration zip through the air by way of chubby little cupids, and in the end not a hand is left without its respective partner to warm it. Generally, this brought coos from the female population -- gritted teeth from the males. Thankfully, the men participated in all the ridiculous rituals regardless of their distaste for it all, for they were all very much aware of the consequences if they did not cooperate. Remember John and Margaret back in '65 (A/N: Psht, I don't know the dates...L/J were in school in 70s right? Let's just pretend...)? Ooh, that wasn't pretty. A slap earned is a lesson learned -- remember that, boys.
The Marauders and etcetera weaved their way through the castle l'amour early that morning, reaching the festooned Great Hall just as the mail was arriving. As soon as Lily sat down, a batch of mail dropped in front of her - included two roses tied together with twine.
"Ooh! Lily!" Scarlett squealed. "You got it again!"
"He never misses a year," Lily smiled slyly, picking up the roses and inspecting them thoughtfully. She twisted around the small attached card and read it.
' Lillian,
A woman so loving and soft to the touch;
A smile that is tender and a pleasure to watch.
She lay in a garden amongst fragrant field flowers'
I spy from afar her beauty for hours...
Yours, Tyler '
Lily smiled fancifully to herself. Every year since third year she had received this same token of adoration - one white rose, one lavender one, tied together with twine - from "Tyler" on Valentine's Day. Only problem was... she had no idea who "Tyler" was. There was not a single one she had come across in all her years at Hogwarts - and she had looked, you can bet on that.
"That is so sweet," Cherise cooed. "If only we knew who he was."
"I dunno, maybe it's better this way..." Lily shrugged.
"What? Why?" Scarlett questioned.
"Well, what if this Tyler guy is a complete wanker or something? I mean, just because he's sweet enough to send roses to me, that doesn't say anything about the person he really is. Maybe it's better to leave it a romantic mystery."
Scarlett raised her eyebrows. "That's the stupidest reasoning I have ever heard."
Lily laughed. "Well it works for me."
"Is that really the reason, Lils?" Cherise asked keenly. "Or is it because you don't want this guy interfering with your pursuit of another certain person?"
"What's that supposed to me?"
"Oh, I think you know." She looked over at Scarlett and they shared secretive smiles.
"Oy James, what d'you got there?" Lily heard Sirius ask. She turned to find James reading a pink card, a small smile on the corner of his lips. He closed it immediately upon hearing Sirius's holler.
"A card," he answered.
"Whoa, never would've guessed that. Thanks, bud," Sirius replied sardonically. "But now that we've gotten that out of the way - who's it from?"
"How should I know?" James answered a little too quickly.
"Hmm, maybe by the signature?"
"It doesn't have one."
"Oh, doesn't it?" he said before snatching the card from under James's nose. He turned around on the bench and began reading it out loud, all the while James was flailing at him to try and get it back.
"Dear James --ouch! James, geroff me-- your raven hair, your hazel stare, send my heartbeat fly--oof!--ing. Your smiling face, your warm embrace--ooh la la, Potter-- stifle all my crying. All my wishes have come true, to have a valentine like you--awww, ain't that sweet?--Fondly, Catherine."
Finally, James snatched the card back, but it was too late. Sirius grinned wildly at him, reveling in the opportunity to tease his best mate about a girl. James stuffed the card at the bottom his pile and scowled at the flippant Sirius.
"So, hunny, who's this Catherine and why haven't we met the blushing bride yet?"
"She's a girl," James answered dully.
"Mmmmhmmm," Sirius purred as he leaned forward with interest.
"Oh lay off, Padfoot," Remus joined in. "So he has an admirer? Big deal. Look at your pile of love letters."
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" James followed Remus's defense.
"The big deal is this Catherine is not merely an admirer. If she was, why would Jamesy get so catty about it, hm? Plus there's the matter of the lines 'all my wisheshave come true tohave a valentine like you' -- meaning either this woman randomly fancies herself your valentine or it's a mutual deal. I pick the latter," Sirius explained smoothly.
"You've thought this all through in the last minute?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, this is my area," Sirius justified.
"Just forget about it, okay?" James pleaded. His eyes went to Lily's where they met for less than an instant, for they both looked away as immediately as possible -- neither wanting to face what the other might be thinking.
Once again, Lily and Sirius found themselves stranded in the common room while the rest of their friends went out and about to...wherever they were out-and-abouting to. Their company was limited as it seemed the rest of Gryffindor had Valentine's Day plans as well. This left the couple to their own devices -- consisting of Sirius laying on the couch reading through the Valentines he had received throughout the day, his feet resting upon Lily's lap, who was seated at the other end inspecting her nails for lack of anything better to do.
"Sirius, you are aware that your feet are on top of me, correct?" she asked without taking her eyes off her hands.
"Yep."
"Will you remove them?"
"Nope."
"Do I have to remove them for you?"
"Yep."
With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed her wand and muttered, "Rictusempra." Sirius immediately jumped up, hooting and hollering. Lily laughed at this spectacle, finally bringing him relief from the tickling after his pathetic moan of, "Liiiillllyyyyyy!"
Once relieved of his burden, Sirius plopped back down onto the couch with a sigh. "You're such a little cow, Evans."
Lily smiled smugly in return.
"So!" she started, dropping her hands to her lap heavily, no longer interested in examining them. "Why ever is the Sirius Black sitting here, with only me, on the most romantic evening of the year, when you have crowds of screaming fans willing to cut off their right arm to be in your company?"
Sirius shrugged. "A'dunno."
Lily arched an eyebrow. "A well thought out answer, I'm sure."
"Why do you ask? Did you want to go out with me?" he asked, a familiar narcissistic glow to his eyes.
"Not particularly," Lily replied casually. "I was just wondering why you aren't out with any of them." She pointed to the spew of letters and assorted shows of affection covering the floor.
Sirius shrugged once again. "Cuz I'd rather sit here with you discussing why I'm not out there, than actually be out there." He paused a moment as if to think. He propped his feet back on her lap. "Plus you make a bloody good footrest."
"Well don't I feel used," she smirked.
"You should, doll."
"So what d'you suppose the others are up to?"
Sirius pondered a second. "Weeelll...Remus and Marilyn are snogging in a dark corner, Scarlett and Cherise are using their dates' money to buy out Hogsmeade, James is fighting the undead, and Peter is being eaten up by the undead."
"Sounds good to me," Lily responded. Then with a laugh, she said, "Get your feet off me, you prat."
After shoving his feet off, she scooched over and leaned up against his side comfortably.
"And what exactly are you doing?" Sirius inquired.
"If I could be your footrest, then you can be my backrest," she explained as she shifted around to find the perfect position.
"What's wrong with the back of the couch?"
"Nothing. It's the principle of the matter. Besides, you're quite cozy," she grinned.
"Glad to be of service," he grinned back.
After a moment of silence, Sirius asked, "Why do you always wear that ring?"
Surprised by the randomness, Lily simply answered, "Huh?"
"The ring on your right hand."
"Oh! This one," she said, lifting her right hand to look at it. "It was a present...from my father. He gave it to me when I was 11, right after I discovered I was a witch. All of my family are muggles, so of course it came as a shock. And so the day before I went off to Hogwarts, he gave it to me...and...I suppose it was the one thing that helped me through the first couple of months. I was so scared coming here...I didn't know anything about being a witch or..or if anyone liked me...so...I just never took it off. It was my one comfort."
She slowly twisted it around her finger mindlessly, memories flooding her mind. She turned her head to steal a glance at Sirius, half-expecting to see a satirical grin on his face. What she found was downcast eyes and a contemplative expression.
"It...has an engraving on it, too," she added softly. "'My love is with you always -- Your father," she echoed in a silken voice, like a soft memory put into spoken word.
Sirius put forth a forced smile. "That's really nice..."
Lily's eyes scanned his face, searching for an answer to his sudden melancholy. "You...never really told me about your family. What're they like?" she asked softly, hoping this would swerve into a friendly conversation.
It didn't.
"I don't have a family," Sirius answered like stone, his face drastically darkened.
Lily was taken aback. "Oh... I'm so sor--"
"Don't be."
"No, really, I--"
"Lily, stop. It's fine. I live with the Potters. It's fine."
Only it wasn't. And never would be.
There you have it. Nothing too, too special, eh? But plenty of new roads have opened up. Wherever do they lead? Only one way to find out, grasshoppers. ...BECOME PSYCHIC! Ha! Okay, j/k, I meant to say stay tuned. Hee.
Btw, I planned to put this in there but couldn't find the opportunity, so instead I'll just take the lame escape and tell you here: The tutoring thing was only for first term ... which has ended. Cough.
Hope you enjoyed! See ya on the flip side, dahlings