Author's Note: Finally, an update from me, right? Thank goodness it's spring break for me. I plan on cranking out another chapter within the week, but no promises there. :) I hope you enjoy this one!

Lusting the Loathed

Chapter Six - Unsolvable Mysteries

Chapter Song: Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head

"You shagged him, didn't you?" Andromeda asked as soon as Lily quietly crept into her room. She took a long drag on her cigarette. Andromeda was settled on Lily's couch, looking refreshed and radiant, with her long limbs hanging over the side. She raised an eyebrow dramatically. "That's why you were gone all of last night. And most of this morning." She exhaled and a trail of smoke blew out from her lips.

Lily shut the door behind her firmly. Obviously, Andromeda had gotten some good use of her bathroom.

"About time you woke up," Lily replied. "It's been around a day."

Andromeda sighed. "Lily, Lily, Lily. Don't change the subject. I just happen to be a heavy sleeper..."

Lily sighed. "If you must know, no, I didn't. Why does everybody think we're going to shag or have some sort of affair?"

"Oh," Andromeda responded with a surprised look on her face. "So let me get this straight, you didn't shag."

Lily bit her lip as she walked over to the couch. "Worse."

Andromeda sat up. "Oh, really? What?"

She sat down opposite Andromeda on the couch. "We kissed."

"That is so adorable," Andromeda remarked as she took another long drag on her cigarette as she smiled. "The Head Boy and Head Girl dating. So cute, it kind of makes me want to throw up." She grinned at Lily pleasantly.

Lily threw a pillow at her. "Oh, shut up. We're not dating... not even close."

"Thank goodness or else I would have been forced to eliminate you." Andromeda grinned.

Lily laughed. "Doubtful, dear... or have you just forgotten? You adore me."

Andromeda chuckled. "True, true. I do love my Lily Evans."

Lily smiled.

"So, what did you do besides snog your brains out? You look too bloody happy for just a long snog."

"Oh, ha-ha, Andromeda. We didn't snog our brains out, mine is perfectly in tact, thank you very much."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I can see that, of course."

"But something even worse did happen."

"Worse than kissing James Potter? Oh, do tell!"

"He found my book," Lily answered gravely. "The book."

"No..." Andromeda replied in disbelief as her eyes grew big and lowered her hand. "What'd he say?"

Lily grimaced. "That's the worst part. He said it was a saucy book and that he'd keep it between us."

"Do you think he will?"

"No idea." Lily sighed. "I sure hope he doesn't or he's pretty much dead. You know, he probably won't."

"Probably. Isn't he terrified of you?" Andromeda asked.

Lily smirked. "Of course."

"There you go, he'll keep his mouth shut then."

"Well, it's really that I'm worrying about," Lily answered.

She took a quick puff on her cigarette as she squinted her eyes in curiosity and confusion. "Really? Then what are you worried about, Lily?"

"I don't know," Lily confessed, looking down. "The kiss... it was, well, it was great. Beyond great."

"So the rumors are true--he is a great kisser," Andromeda concluded.

Lily buried her face in her hands. "Andromeda, what am I going to do? This is horrible... I can't get involved with him! What if we broke up or something? We're the fucking Head students and we have so many god damn things to plan this year, I just... I just can't get involved with him."

Andromeda leaned forward to put out her cigarette, forcing the butt of the cigarette onto the ashtray. "Well, Lily--you've got to decide. Is the apple really worth the bite?"

Lily twirled a lock of hair and stared deeply into it. The majority were auburn strands but there were also some yellow and brown stuck in there too. Natural highlights from being out in the sun too much, she supposed. "I don't know. Damn, last night was so confusing."

"Agreed," Andromeda nodded. "Remind me to never go out with Louis Posen again or listen to Samantha." She shut her eyes and slowly rubbed her temple. "Worst headache in the history of headaches."

Lily laughed a little, despite her friend being in pain. "Will do, dear. Speaking of Samantha, where is she?"

Andromeda shrugged. "Who knows where that little dear ran off to."

"Agreed... anyways, whatever told you it was okay to go out with Louis Posen and listen to Samantha all in the same night?"

"Because it's that time of the month which makes me a big idiot due to the stomach pains?" Andromeda asked.

Lily chuckled.

She rubbed her stomach and stared at the ceiling. "In all seriousness, I have no idea, really. Maybe because I was just bored."

Lily shot her a look.

Andromeda put her hands up in surrender. "And next time, when I am bored, I will just have to read a book or something."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it's what the rest of us do."

"And the rest of us would like to thank you for letting us crash," a voice said from the door. The door shut and Lily looked up and saw that it was Marlene.

"Where were you last night?" Lily asked, crossing her arms. "We were worried sick."

"Last night? I was recovering from my hangover, along with Andromeda and Sam. I woke up an hour ago and I just finished breakfast," Marlene replied, grinning. "But I do know you didn't spend last night here but with James instead."

Lily blushed. "Shut up. Andromeda just examined me."

"And quite thoroughly, might I add," Andromeda said, lighting up another cigarette.

Marlene's eyes lit up. "And, the verdict is...?"

Andromeda took a puff. "They kissed last night, Lily apparently likes James, and it seems James may be interested in Lily, but Lily doesn't want to start anything up because the Head Students fucking wouldn't exactly be good news to the staff of Hogwarts."

"Ah. That puts us in quite a pickle," Marlene mused.

Lily nodded. "Agreed."

"Well," Marlene began, "what do you want to do?"

"I'm not sure," Lily responded, "but, for now, I think I'm just going to see where things are going to go."

"There's not much else you really can do." Andromeda took another puff and exhaled luxuriously. "I love these things."

"They're cancer on a stick," Marlene scolded. "You'll die of lung cancer."

Andromeda chuckled. "At least I'll die happy with my cancersticks."

Lily laughed and so did Marlene, despite herself.

Andromeda suddenly sat up and exhaled again. "You know, we should go out and do something. Just the three of us."

"Why?" Lily asked, lying down. "It's such a beautiful day to lounge around and stay inside."

"Come on, Lily, don't be lazy," Andromeda admonished. "Get up. We're going to go out and forget about James entirely. It's a Sunday and we deserve a break, dammit!"

"Alright, let's go," Lily said, giving in. "I finished my homework, anyways."

Marlene laughed. "Then there's no excuse to not go, am I right?"

"I guess so," Lily replied, shooting Marlene a hesitant smile.

"Don't worry, Lily," Marlene answered, coming over and giving Lily's hand a friend squeeze. "It'll be fun, I promise."

"As do I," Andromeda added.

Maybe a day out was what Lily needed. Yes or no, she was bound to find out.

- - -

It was a bright, beautiful Sunday afternoon and James had no intention of wasting it. He strolled down to the Quidditch Pitch, with a quaffle in one hand and his treasured broomstick in the other. He stared up into the sky and saw his favorite weather--large, fluffy white clouds rolling around lazily whilst surrounding a bright, eye-prickling orb of blinding white. He could feel a light breeze, despite wearing all of his Quidditch robes. But, if it got hotter, he could always de-robe. After all, he did have clothes on underneath.

James reckoned playing a nice game of Quidditch would make him forget about the unforgettable events that had occurred so quickly the past few nights. He knew that when he played Quidditch, he was focused on the game and nothing else. He needed something to make him forget. Quidditch was it.

"Sirius! Remus! Left!" James cried. "Frank! Kingsley! Right! Mundungus! Center! Up and at 'em!"

James could immediately see four blurs of people up in the sky, racing about. He rounded up as many boys as he could from the Gryffindor Common Room, but he only ended up with five in the end--himself, Remus, Sirius, Kingsley, Mundungus Fletcher, and Frank Longbottom. Everybody else seemed to have something better to do than play Quidditch on a Sunday afternoon.

"Aren't we going to get out the Snitch?" Kingsley yelled. "It's no fun without it!"

"Yeah!" Frank agreed. "Let out the snitch, James!"

James swung a leg over a broomstick and kicked off the ground. In no time at all he was soaring through the sky.

"Sorry, lads!" James shouted back. "It'd be too hard to find the snitch on such a bright day, plus we only have six people! Not even enough for a team!"

"Fine!" Sirius shouted.

It had been divided; Sirius, Remus, and Frank were on one team and Mundungus, James, and Kingsley on another. James, Sirius, Frank, and Kingsley were the only ones on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, so the teams were evenly divided into two team players and one non-team player. (Sirius was a Beater along with Kingsley while Frank was Seeker).

It was still hard to play, having six players total. Before entering the pitch, the group decided just to throw around the quaffle and practice their keeper and chaser skills.

"I'll be keeper!" James yelled. He usually excelled at the role of Chaser, but today, he needed a challenge. A challenge would make him pay extra close attention to the game, therefore requiring more concentration. He would immerse himself in Quidditch for the remainder of the afternoon, then dinner, then some homework, and then sleep. James was trying as hard as possible to squeeze any thought of Lily out of his mind. Besides, having a little practice as keeper was always good, too, just in case.

"I won't!" Remus yelled.

Everybody laughed. Remus was the smallest in build out of the six and would probably have a hard time keeping the Quaffle out of the goalpost.

"I'll be," Sirius offered, pounding his fists on his chest. "I'm taking it like a man!"

Everyone laughed again.

"The first time ever, too!" James quipped. He felt at ease. Quidditch was his sanctuary, his safe zone. Nothing could distract him from Quidditch... nothing. He jerked his broomstick handle up until he was quite high and looked down. Heights didn't scare James, not one little bit. He couldn't understand what was so daunting about them--just a lot of distance, that's what it really was.

"SCORE!" Remus yelled.

James hadn't noticed he had strayed so far away from the hoops. He quickly flew back.

"Sorry, boys," James replied. "Got a little distracted."

Kingsley shrugged. "Who cares? It's just a little game... now, if this was a game against one of the other houses, then you'd be in trouble."

"If this was a game against one of the other houses, I would be guarding those goalposts like a mother guarding her newborn babies."

Kingsley grinned. "I know."

"JAMES, YOU SUCK!" Sirius yelled.

"SOD OFF, WANKER!" James yelled back.

"You are a pretty lousy keeper," Mundungus commented, raising an eyebrow. "Where's that competitive spirit, Potter?"

"Oh, shut up, Gus," James replied irritably. "I'll start trying now. Happy?"

"Very."

Kingsley got ahold of the Quaffle and flew up, trying to somehow pass it to Mundungus who was fighting off Remus. Kingsley couldn't find a nice spot to pass it to Mundungus, so he had no choice but to fly around Frank, who was poor at keeping up with him due to his adapted skill of only looking for the Snitch, so it was easy. He threw the ball as hard as he could throw toward the goalpost.

SMACK.

Kingsley didn't exactly do a great job as it had hit Sirius Black square in the face, right on the schnoz. Blood from Sirius's nose poured out like a dam that just burst open while laughter from everybody else also poured out.

Sirius hated the smell, sight, and taste of blood and immediately flew down. "Damn. Quidditch isn't exactly Quidditch without the fucking Beaters."

"SIRIUS, I'M SORRY!" Kingsley yelled. "I'M A LOUSY CHASER."

"I KNOW. I'M A LOUSY KEEPER!" Sirius shouted back. He pinched his nose and held it back as he left the Quidditch Pitch.

"Well, he's never being Keeper," James remarked. "I'm not either."

Kingsley laughed. "And I'm never being Chaser."

"As well as I," Frank added.

James sighed. "We really should all stick to our strengths, shouldn't we?"

"You guys should," Mundungus replied from below. "That was pretty hilarious, though."

"I'm not really in the mood for Quidditch," Remus said, flying down. "I should really finish my essay for Potions. I'm five inches away from being finished."

"Yeah, me too."

"Me three."

"Me four."

Suddenly, nobody really wanted to play Quidditch anymore. One by one, they all flew down and left the pitch.

James, however, decided to fly around. It was still bright out, plus he really had nothing else to do. He soared higher and higher until he was practically in a cloud and looked over Hogwarts. He could see students rushing about, scurrying from here and there. He could see couples walking and third-years being immature. He also saw something interesting... a girl with flaming red hair who had linked arms with two brunettes, making their way to the Three Broomsticks, for drinks most likely.

James just sat there, on his broom, with his arms crossed and a perplexed look on his face.

How was it that no matter where he escaped to... Lily Evans always managed to find a way to squeeze into his mind?

It was one of those mysteries that would remain unsolvable... well, at least to James... for now.