Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only Jane, Adea, Kayla and any other characters not in the book belong to me
A/n: Hey guys it's finally done. Sighs with relief. By the way thank you to little-angel123452000 for giving me my 50th review! Now I know that a lot of you will be angry but read the chapter first before you start pelting cyber tomatoes at me. If it isn't to your liking then pelt away!
This essence
February drew to an end. March began, bringing with it the chirping birds, the leaf bearing trees, the blooming flowers and that general aura of happiness that was Spring.
Lily and James had not progressed any further though that wasn't to remain for too long.
Lily had been looking over those beautiful parchments and being her analytical self she had dug underneath every word, read between every line and brought out just about every hidden emotion. Some of the underlying feelings in his (written) work made her blush (well he was a boy, a teenage one at that) but some of his earlier work made her coo. The fact was that Lily had just about everything she needed.
After a few contemplative sessions in her room alone Lily had finally worked out a way to let James know without having to endure a serious blow to her pride. Lily had devised a plan which comprised of James coming to her rather Lily going to James. Next time he flirted with her instead of protesting she'd play along something she knew would throw James off his guard.
NEWTs were in June and no matter how much the seventh years tried to convince themselves otherwise they really weren't that far away. Four months, though it might seem long to the average second year wasn't really that long when it was the distance between then and the arrival of tests whose results would determine your future. No, four moths definitely wasn't long, in fact it wasn't long enough.
Lily took her Transfiguration notes into the Lounge and started revising, it was after all one of the subjects she lost out to James on and though her feelings towards James himself had changed she wasn't about to leave Hogwarts without putting her sweat, blood and tears into a subject she hadn't always been best at. It just wasn't what Lily did.
She'd been revising for about half an hour when James walked out of his own room holding his Charms notes. He glanced at Lily and noticed she was revising Transfiguration and Lily after sneaking a quick glance at James noticed that he was revising her favoured subject.
'You test me in Transfiguration, I'll test you in Charms'
'Done'
Without looking at each other during their short conversation James sat in front of Lily took hold of her notes and preferred to look over them devising questions while feeling her gaze upon him.
As he asked questions concerning her notes and corrected her mistakes James successfully manage not to look at Lily for which she was grateful because he would've distracted her even more, watching his slightly long, stubborn hair fall in his face and resisting the urge to run her fingers through it was distraction enough.
He put down her notes and handed her his Charms notes. 'You did well, but I suggest giving Human Transfiguration one last look' he commented while looking at the ground, Lily nodded as she scanned through his Charms notes.
'Okay list three advantages of the Bubble Head Charm?' Lily asked, James racked his brains –Bubble Head, Bubbled Head. Oh come on I know this, I do- he glanced at Lily looking for a clue.
Lily was biting on her lip and twirling her hair round her index finger absentmindedly. Both of these were habits of hers that James loved, he watched for a second before shaking his head and focusing on the Bubble Head Charm.
'Come on James, you won't have this much time in the exam you know?' Lily admonished, making James look up at her and meet her deliberately (in this case) piercing emerald gaze. The gaze that James couldn't help but losing himself in.
He held her gaze for a second before finally giving up. 'I don't know, next question' he muttered as Lily sighed.
'Okay, the advantages are: a) they're a great way of keeping yourself from epidemics, b) very useful for secluding yourself from unpleasant smells and noises and c) they also help humans breathe underwater' she answered, James nodded.
'Okay, what is the most important factor for a successful summoning charm, see this is an easy one' Lily prompted. She picked up one of the parchments from her Transfiguration notes and scanned it. Lily then tilted her head to one side, furrowed her eyebrows slightly and set her lips in a confused pout. All things she did when she was puzzled about something but was trying to work it out on her own. Another one of James' favourites.
James observed her again. He shook his head when he realised he'd been staring again. This time he decided to take action against his distraction –Oh but what a distraction it is- 'Lily?' she looked up at him, her red lips were still set in that confused pout but her eyes had transformed into large, innocent emerald pools. His voice faltered a little.
'U-um do you need anything, you look stuck?' James asked sweetly. Lily looked back at the parchment, smiled and shook her head. 'Sorry my mind drifted, from now on you have my complete attention' she smiled at him, swivelled in her chair bringing her legs into view.
Except that she hadn't bothered to change out of her pyjamas that morning, it was a Saturday and she couldn't be arsed. So her slightly too small t-shirt and shorts were brought to James' notice.
'L-Lil-Lily? Um, why aren't you wearing your robe? You always wear your robe' he stuttered. Lily smiled again this time accompanied with a mischievous glint in her eye, she reached over and pulled his cheek and a line from one of his works ran through her head –and the day her luscious red lips utter a word of love for me…- 'aren't you a gentleman today? That's what I love about you James, you are so cute!' he was gaping at her now.
What she'd said was true she just hadn't had the guts to say before then. Lily was quite surprised at her daring –Would you look at that? I do possess Gryffindor qualities-
'Lily, y-you feeling okay today?' James asked incredulously, the redhead nodded brightly. 'You haven't give me the answer yet James. James shook his head again and thought but Lily decided just then to switch and cross her legs the other way. This simple action drew his eyes to her legs again.
He finally tore his eyes away again and looked at the fireplace –there you go, it's much easier when I'm not looking at her- 'to be able to create a successful summoning charm the most important factor is to focus the object that you wish to summon'
'Correct' Lily said and began to leaf through his notes again.
'Okay James. Let's try a harder one. What is it exactly that Protean Charm does?' Lily looked up and found James staring behind her in a very perfunctory way. Lily laughed and waved her hands in front of his eyes. 'James? I'm over here' she said. James shook his head and was forced to look back at her.
As he took Lily in for what seemed like the sixtieth time he released a cry of frustration. 'What is wrong with you?' James shouted. Lily was even more confused. 'What?' she said.
James abruptly stood up, grabbed his notes and marched out of the Head's Lounge. Once he was out of sight and sound. Lily jumped on the sofa and laughed triumphantly.
Remus was currently headed for Professor McGonagall's office to talk about this mysterious student. He had just been walking along the Transfiguration corridor when he bumped into someone.
'Professor Dumbledore! Sir, I'm so sorry' Remus apologised hurriedly. Dumbledore waved a hand 'Entirely my fault Mr. Lupin. One does tend to lose themselves in our wonderful halls don't they?' Dumbledore commented. Remus nodded and an idea struck him, who better to ask…
'Sir? I was going to ask Professor McGonagall, but maybe you could help me?' Remus asked hopefully. Dumbledore nodded 'within reason Mr. Lupin' he said quietly.
'Could you tell me about someone I've been searching for actually. Her name's Adea Qureshi?' Dumbledore sighed at the seventh year's question.
'Any particular reason you're searching Mr. Lupin?' the older man asked wisely but Remus just shrugged. –There's no reason, really…-
Albus Dumbledore sighed again. 'Mr. Lupin, even if I wanted to I would be unable to tell you anything you do not already know' he answered.
'Which would be…' Remus asked
'That Miss Qureshi is an excellent student' Dumbledore finished, knowing that Remus was disappointed at his reply. Remus nodded and looked thoughtful.
Dumbledore continued to look upon the boy and mulled over something. 'Mr. Lupin, there is one other thing, it won't help you though' he said warningly but Remus looked at him expectantly anyway. 'The only other thing I can say about Miss Qureshi is that she is very…powerful' he said quietly.
The old man did not regret divulging that useless piece of information even though he wasn't supposed to. He bowed his head 'Good day to you Remus' he said and continued walking onwards to his original destination.
Remus however thought hard about the Headmaster's comment.
-Powerful? What on Earth could he mean by powerful? Powerful how? In lessons powerful? Because I already know that, or powerful powerful? Like Dumbledore powerful, well I doubt a seventh year could be as powerful as Dumbledore but you get the gist of it. Speaking of seventh years, how powerful could a seventh year be? Who is she? -
By now Remus had subconsciously started walking back to the Gryffindor Common Room. As he turned the corner out of the Transfiguration corridor, he ran into someone else.
'Ow! Holy sh-oh it's you' Remus said in a surprised one. He faced Waqar Mohsin, who'd overheard Remus and Dumbledore's conversation.
'I need to talk to you' Waqar said solemnly, Remus looked confused but nodded all the same. 'Go ahead'
'I know her' Waqar said quietly yet knowing it had had an impact. Remus looked amazed 'What?' he asked incredulously.
'I know her. I know who Adea Qureshi is. I know what House she's in, what she looks like, who her parents are, what she likes, who her friends are…I know everything' he finished, Remus looked at him expectantly 'Well?'
'I can't tell you' he said quickly. Remus was angry now.
'What is it with everyone? What is it about this girl? Why can't anyone say anything? Honestly, it's like this girl wants to not exist' Remus ranted but at this he noticed that Waqar had hurriedly averted his glance and something struck him. 'So that's what it is' he said quietly.
'Stop looking' Waqar said
'What?'
'Stop looking for her'
'Why should I?' Remus said in a challenging tone.
'Adea means a lot to me and the last thing she needs is someone stalking her, just stop. Besides, if McGonagall find out, you'll have to stop on her orders. Not mine' Waqar said before briskly turning away and leaving.
Remus was completely and utterly perplexed. –I don't understand, is it really that serious? I'll tell you one thing mate, you have one temperamental girlfriend, if you don't stop now she will not be happy-
Remus sighed again and felt immensely tired. His thought reeled to the date and he realised tonight was full moon. –I should take a nap or something-
'Hey Sirius!' Jane said as she sat down next to her boyfriend. Sirius grinned and gave Jane a small kiss and said 'hey'.
'What are you doing this Easter?' Jane asked. Sirius looked at his girlfriend quizzically. 'Easter? That's like a month away, isn't it?' he laughed but Jane shook her head.
'No Sirius, have you forgotten. Two weeks!' she reminded. Sirius ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. 'Well I'll probably be at my place, I dunno maybe drop in at James' on Easter Sunday, help look after Allegra another day, nothing special' he listed, Jane however beamed at his lacklustre response.
'Why don't you spend Easter with me?' Jane squealed, Sirius' jaw dropped. 'Easter? With you? At your parents'?' Sirius said quietly.
'Yes, with me. Not at my parents, I have my own place but we'll be eating with them Easter Sunday' she said calmly as she placed a small portion of pasta salad onto her plate and took a bite. For Sirius however, the panic was not quite over.
'Your parents are hippies right?' he asked nervously, Jane looked thoughtful as she chewed. 'Yes though not the stereotype hippies, they used to be when they were younger but they've moved on a little bit. My dad's an executive at an eco-tourism company and my mum's head chef at this vegetarian restaurant in the city centre' she explained. Sirius nodded.
'Um-I mean…I mean sure. Sure, why not. I'll spend Easter with you, uh sure?' He said feverishly as Jane shook her head fondly. 'Now why do you sound so petrified?' she asked gently.
'Well you're asking me to meet your bloody parents for God's sake! That's pretty serious isn't it? I mean that's what girls want to do when they want to get engaged or something, you know make sure they have the parents' approval' Sirius said hysterically but saw that Jane was laughing.
'You didn't think I wanted to get engaged, did you?' she asked her eyes shining with hilarity. Sirius was shocked 'Y-you don't?'
'No! Are you crazy, I'm not even eighteen for Christ's sake! I just thought it'd be nice if you met them, is that a crime?' she giggled again. Sirius sighed in relief and ran another hand through his hair as he smiled as well.
'So you have your own place huh?' Sirius said devilishly. Jane rolled her eyes and turned to face him. 'Yes is that a problem?' she asked innocently. 'Well of course not' Sirius grinned but continued 'How many rooms, does this place have exactly?' he asked
'It's a flat, a two bedroom flat. So that's one room for you and one room for me' she said, Sirius's grin faded.
'Oh' he said
'You didn't honestly think I was just going to let you sleep in the same bed as me' Jane asked with a smile, Sirius thought about his answer. 'Of course not!' he lied.
'Has anyone seen Kayla Simmons?' Remus called throughout the Common Room. 'Kayla, where are you?' he called again. A second year girl came down he staircase, Remus stopped her.
'Have you seen Kayla Simmons?' Remus asked the girl frantically –damn it, where's your girlfriend when you need a snog? –
The girl threw a glance at the staircase. 'She's up in the first year's dormitories, but she's completely lost it' the girl said frightfully.
Remus was worried now. 'What do you mean?' he asked again the girl sighed dramatically 'she's being' and she looked to either side of her before whispering 'nice'. Remus stared at the young girl. 'Get back to your own business' he said coldly.
He rushed up to his own dormitory and grabbed his broom. In true Marauder fashion he flew up the staircase and walked into the first year dormitory.
There, Remus saw a sight he thought he'd never see.
Kayla was sitting on the floor of the dormitory with Gabrielle and Nerissa on either side of her. She was telling (as Remus realised when he actually listened) a story of one of the Marauders' early pranks when the first years obviously weren't in Hogwarts. Jaylin sat in front of Kayla having her strawberry blonde hair braided by the seventh year girl.
'Right so then, you know Lily? The Head Girl. You should've seen her blow. It was hilarious. She went bright red and started shouting and screaming at James –you know him- and her red hair was flying all over the place and if looks could kill James would've so been six feet under. Anyway so just as she finished calling him a self-centred, big headed, arrogant, conceited, pompous, spoiled prat he goes... "You're really beautiful" ' the girls all laughed and Remus chuckled slightly from the doorway as well.
'Her face froze for a second, and I swear-don't tell Lily, she'd kill me- but she almost blushed but no one saw –except me of course- and then she started yelling at him and accusing him of playing one of his uncaring, hurtful and embarrassing pranks on her' Kayla finished.
Remus decided to step into the room and finished what Kayla didn't know '…and ever since then James has sat in our dormitory devising ways to win Lily over because since that day it has been his sole mission to make Miss Lily Evans, Mrs. Lily Potter' he said. Gabrielle, Nerissa and Jaylin clapped as Remus bowed.
Kayla rolled her eyes 'you stole my thunder!' she cried. She grabbed a bobble and tied up Jaylin's hair and admired her handiwork. 'So what did you want?' she asked. Remus smiled 'I need to discuss things with my girlfriend' he said and winked at her, Kayla caught on.
'Well girls, I'll be leaving but I'll drop by another time okay? Next time we give Nerissa a makeover, bye' she called as she left the room. 'Show off' she muttered playfully.
'Your month is up you know' Remus reminded her. Kayla nodded and turned to Remus with a very sincere expression 'I do know but spending time with them is just so much fun. You know they want clothes advice, make up advice, boys advice, it's just…I don't know. It's like I haven't laughed like I do with them for I don't know how long' Kayla said in a small voice.
'What do you mean?' Remus asked.
'I don't know if you've noticed, God bless your innocent little soul if you haven't but things are changing. They started changing from our very first day. Its impact has been becoming heavier and heavier as we've progressed through the school. Times are becoming darker' Kayla stopped and inhaled the essence of Hogwarts.
'This is our last year at Hogwarts and we're damn near coming to the end of it. When we go out there we'll face terrible things. Things like Voldemort. I don't know if you know about him but I'll tell you, he's out to make this world a living hell. Old Millicent Bagnold's not helping too much is he? It's failure to failure everywhere he goes, I just, I don't know I wish sometimes I could forget about it and just… laugh' Kayla smiled fondly at the corridors.
'Gabby and Nerissa and Jaylin, they're so young. They don't know anything; they can't even feel it yet, their troubles are so trivial.
Sometimes being with them is my favourite place to be, when they're moaning about homework or how awful the boys are, it's just all this Voldemort business goes out the window and I start to concentrate on how to help them manage their homework or how to make them see how guys can actually be pretty cute and I'm getting there' Kayla laughed loudly.
Remus smiled, she was beautiful. He hadn't heard her laugh like that for four years. It was as if she was a third year again when Remus first started to crush on her. Her sapphire blue eyes lit up, her golden cheeks pinked and she generally sounded carefree. 'Lets terrorise somebody!' she cried, Remus laughed as well.
An unfortunate Ravenclaw second year walked through that very same corridor. 'You! What are you doing out so late, you should be in lessons!' Kayla yelled the second year looked scared as he started to stutter an excuse 'but I don't have…' he started but Remus cut him off. 'No buts, that'll be fifteen points off and I'll be having a word with your prefect' he admonished. The second year was truly scared now as he bolted down the corridor to get away from the two seventh years.
Remus and Kayla looked at each other and burst out laughing. 'Remus you can't t-take points' Kayla gasped through her laughs, Remus nodded 'I know but did you see the look on his face, God you would've thought fifteen points was the end of the world!' they laughed again and then stopped.
'Let me do all your worrying for you, long as you keep laughing like that' Remus said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. Kayla smiled 'I wish I could but we have to share the "weight of the world" between us' she said.
Kayla noticed something about her boyfriend. 'You look really pale, are you okay?' she asked as she put a hand to his forehead. Remus averted her gaze and his face darkened. Kayla realised what the cause of his sickly looking face was.
'Oh I see. My boyfriend going out to become the wolf tonight is he?' Kayla joked; Remus looked back at her and gave her a weak smile. He still wasn't used to her being okay with his lycanthropy. She gave him a small teasing kiss and stared at him when she pulled away.
'You know if I could I'd take away everything you have to go through?' Kayla asked.
'I know' Remus said as he took her hand and kissed her fingers.
'Come to my room tomorrow, I'll heal you' Kayla said slyly and winked at him. Remus smiled, he took hold of her chin and leaned down to kiss her. Kayla smiled against his mouth. When he broke away she sighed contently.
'Answer me something' Kayla said, Remus indicated for her to continue. 'Why me? Why do you want to go out with someone like me? I mean I'm not a very nice person; I know that, I'm brave enough to admit it. And I'm so blunt, you deserve to be with someone as compassionate and kind as Jane, not me' Kayla said and scrunched up her nose. Remus stared at her and searched her face for his answer.
'I want to be with you not Jane, wonderful as she is, you're ten times so. You're beautiful and you're a beautiful person too' he tapped at her chest, right where her heart was 'you have a good heart and you love whoever resides there, you just don't let them in very easily. You're afraid to get hurt, but you'd give your life to protect those you love, I know you Kayla Simmons, like the back of my hand' he said softly, she gasped.
–How does he know that? Even I've never admitted it to myself, how did he work that out? –
'Today when I saw you with Gabrielle and her friends, I stood there for a good five minutes just staring at you. When you're nice you radiate, your cheeks glow. You like being nice to people as long as you can be sure that their trustworthy, you don't really like terrorising little kids, funny though it is. You're scared of them' Remus finished as he ran his thumb across her cheek.
'Now why are you going out with me? Why don't you go out with Sirius, he could make you forget the outside world, with him it'd be all fun and games all the time. With me, you have to give up your boyfriend to the moon once a month; you have to live with the fear of being with a werewolf. I just depress you' Remus mumbled.
'Don't you dare say that! Remus, look at you, Sirius could never make me laugh half as much as I do when I'm with you. I'm not stupid Remus I can't forget what's going on out there. You're so kind and understanding and sensitive and perfect. How many times do I have to tell you I like your inner wolf! I'm not scared of you, I never will be.
And inside you're just like me. You're scared to let people get too close to you because you think they'll hurt you. And you're so brave; I don't know I feel really safe with you. I guess we just balance each other out just like Jane and Sirius do' Kayla whispered.
Remus laughed and hugged Kayla. 'Okay let's move away from that now. We have things to tend to' Remus said.
'Like?' Kayla prompted
'Like getting Lily and James together'
'Oh don't worry Lily's got that covered' Kayla said waving her hand, but this was news to Remus.
'She WHAT?' he asked laughingly
'Oh shit' Kayla said and smacked her forehead repeatedly. Remus burst out laughing 'you're kidding me! Lily Evans wants to get James Potter to go out with her'
'Remus, promise not to tell' Kayla pleaded but Remus shook his head. 'No way Kayla, James deserves this!' and he ran off in the opposite direction to tell James right away.
Kayla groaned and started banging her head on the nearest wall. 'Lily is going to kill me'.
'JAMES! James, mate open this door NOW!' Remus yelled as he pounded on the mahogany door. He waited for a minute before the door swung open. James looked confused 'Moony, what's up? You sound like you're having a heart attack' Remus laughed again.
'I'm not having a heart attack but you will when I tell you this, is Lily here?' he asked first, to be sure but James shook his head. 'Right, get this. Kayla just told me that Lily Evans is trying to get you to go out with her!' James froze as he heard what Remus had said but shrugged it off.
'Shut up Remus, that was only funny the first fifteen times I fell for it' James said calmly, not wanting to get his hopes up. 'No Prongs, I'm not kidding. Kayla just let it slip. I was talking about getting you two together and she said, "oh don't worry Lily's got that covered" 'Remus explained.
James grinned as he thought about it and then realised something. 'Got it covered, she said? So that's what she was doing this morning' James said.
'What do you mean?'
'Oh we were revising, she was testing me and she started doing all these really hot things like, twirling her hair around her finger and biting her lip, then she brought her legs out and they were in full view, she was wearing pyjama shorts. I just wanted to…' but Remus held up a hand 'don't wanna know James, don't wanna know' Remus said closing his eyes and shaking his head.
'So she likes me? She actually likes me? Remus you're a genius, I owe you one. Next time we're in Hogsmeade your lunch's on me, I'll pay for Kayla's as well but I need to go talk to someone' James said hurriedly as he and Remus made their way out of the Head's Chamber and up to Gryffindor Tower.
James reached the seventh year dormitory in a mad rush. 'Adea? Where are you? Adea, I need to talk to you!'
'I thought you might be coming to see me' Adea said as she sat, reading on her bed in the far corner of the room.
James went to her and sat down next to her. 'Is it true? She must've told you' James asked but Adea feigned confusion. 'James what are you talking about?' she said absentmindedly and went back to reading.
'Adea!' he whined and took her book away. Adea smiled and sighed resignedly 'Lily might have mentioned something' she said, James looked at her expectantly. 'Well?' he prompted but Adea's lips remained pursed. 'What's in it for me?' she said. James rolled his eyes.
'Flowers Adea, lots of flowers' she shook her head 'A galleon' he tried, she shook her head 'Sugar Quills?' she shook her head again 'Levitating Sherbets and Chocoballs?' Adea thought about it and then nodded. They shook hands.
'Okay. Lily likes you and she wants to go out with you but I know she won't just ask you out but basically, yeah…Lily likes you! My work is complete!' Adea squealed and hugged James, who stared at her dumbstruck.
'You are a genius! Adea Qureshi you have managed to do something the Marauders have been trying to do for seven years, seven years! And you manage to do it in six months. Lily said you were brilliant!' James cried as he ruffled Adea's hair. Adea grinned at his praise.
'So what are you going to do about it?' she asked. Now, James was stumped. 'Hm, there's a question' he said thoughtfully.
'Why don't you just kiss her?' Adea suggested, James looked at her in surprise. 'What?' he asked as though not having quite heard her. 'Just kiss her, why don't you? She wouldn't mind, I'm sure' James thought about it.
-Appealing though it sounds, I urge you to think about your past encounters with Lily when kisses have been involved. She did slap me every time. Exactly. What about that kiss at Christmas, she didn't slap me then. The situation was different-
'James? ' Adea said trying to get his attention. She waved her hand in front of his glasses. He shook his head and focused on his petite olive skinned friend. 'Sorry, what were you saying?' Adea shook her head and rolled her eyes.
'It's her birthday next week! You know March 21st?' Adea said hoping to jog his memory. James nodded and smiled 'of course I remember. I don't know what to get her though. It's got to be special this year; we're actually friends' he said as he fell in thought again.
'Well you're a Potter right?' Adea said, stating the obvious, James nodded in agreement. 'Well if it's not too much trouble then get her an owl. She's always wanted one'. James looked sceptical.
'An owl? It seems…it seems…'
'Simple?' Adea supplied
'Yeah' James said but found that Adea was laughing quietly.
'That's always what's held you back with Lily. Your need to impress her with something spectacular' Adea explained.
'Hey! Girls like it when we do spectacular things for them' James said defensively but he noticed that Adea was now shaking her head despairingly.
'Yes but this is Lily. While spectacular things do seem appealing they lose their charm after a while to her. She likes to be treated like a human being not a prize. The simplest things could put you in the highest esteem' Adea elucidated.
James raised his eyebrows. 'And I couldn't have been told before? Where was this piece of information, say…six years ago?' he asked.
Lily was panicking slightly now. And why shouldn't she? Petunia's wedding was three weeks away. That meant two weeks to get a date.
Most would think that two weeks is quite a period to find yourself a date (well boys would anyway) but it was slightly different when you hadn't had a boyfriend in nearly a year. Even worse when your last ex had broken it off by cheating on you with a Slytherin slut. So Lily's feelings on this whole finding a date issue? Not confident, no other way to put it.
It didn't help that her last date (not boyfriend), well if you could call him a date admitted to having found a reserve for you it the situation of cancelling arose (which in this case it did).
Lily would've liked to ask James. However, brave as she was when flirting with him, things were quite different when facing the task of actually going up to him and asking him to be her date. To a wedding of all things!
And last but not least when all things came down to it, Lily always brought out the fact (in her own opinion of course but she'd never realised it) she didn't exactly have a gifted face.
Yes though James Potter found her (for a reason Lily couldn't decipher) beautiful, most guys just didn't see it. Sure at Halloween she'd turned heads, but only because she'd been dolled up. Lily had a hidden beauty; of course to her own two eyes she had no beauty.
She didn't like her red hair, her tiny height, her abnormally pale skin (though she was glad that atleast Jane was in the same predicament), she just didn't like her physical appearance, and it wasn't appealing,
Lily envied her friends, mostly Kayla and Adea. Though, she felt less resentful in Adea's case since no one noticed her. Kayla was noticed however and she would've had dates left and right if she weren't so insistent on having everyone fear her. Jane wasn't so abnormally pretty, which Lily liked though felt awful for thinking.
Actually, now that she thought about it she pretty much envied Jane as well. Jane who underneath her violet dye was actually positively gorgeous, but ah well at Lily and Jane were in the same boat. Though, Jane took the term, hidden beauty to a new level.
Lily secretly wished that one day she would wake up with Kayla's hair, Adea's skin and Jane's body. She'd keep her eyes, she liked those.
-Wow my concentration span is off the mark today, back to the original problem, oh yeah the date… - What were her choices? Lily needed to ask someone, a boy preferably.
Usually when her parents threw parties and she was asked to bring a friend, she'd just invite Jane or Kayla but her mother's letter with it's oh-so-subtle hint made it quite clear that she expected her youngest daughter to bring a friend of a different sort, a male friend to be precise.
Who, oh, who was she to ask? Lily sighed out loud and made her way to her Potions lesson. Just as she was about to leave the solitude of her chamber and join the hustle and bustle of the Hogwarts corridors she remembered that she'd left her favourite quill in her letters drawer.
She rushed back to fetch the quill. Lily yanked open her letters drawer and gasped. –what a perfect, wonderful, flawless and utterly genius idea. At least my mind can be brilliant at times -
That was it. She got it. Lily grabbed the quill, scribbled a sentence down and left the chamber hurriedly for the dank dungeons of Hogwarts.
Professor Jabin's back was to the class and Lily was late. She sighed in relief, ran to her seat and thrust a note into James' hands.
'Miss Evans!' Professor Jabin's voice rang throughout the room, Lily winced. 'Yes Professor?' she asked innocently. The Potions Mistress sniffed disdainfully, obviously a habit of hers.
'You're uniform is a mess, fifteen points and you're late to my lesson a further twenty points. Sit down' she said, Lily was fuming –someone must've told her about the prank, no duh! - She noticed however, that Professor Jabin was red in the face with suppressed anger. Lily sniffed disdainfully, mocking her Potions teacher.
'Just so you know, red isn't a good colour on you. Neither is orange nor pink for that matter. Oh and I'd shave your legs if I were you' Lily said scathingly. And…yes, the desired effect had been achieved, Professor Jabin was now positively purple as the Gryffindors in the room burst into laughter and the Marauders applauded Lily for her unexpected audacity.
'Detention! Tonight! Out of my lesson, now take to this to Professor McGonagall!' the older woman barked and hurriedly wrote a note, gave it to Lily (who was smirking) and pointed at the door, indicating for her to leave.
Lily snatched the note contemptuously from Jabin's grasp and stormed out of the dungeon all the while giving the older woman a look that would make the devil run and hide.
Lily roamed the corridors in search of a particular one, congratulating herself on her successful escape from a torturous Potions lessons.
Finally. Professor McGonagall's room. Lily took a deep breath and went over a game plan –okay let's put those green eyes to work and those braces you had for 3 bloody years, so nice big smile now. And in we go-
'Good Morning Professor McGonagall!' Lily said brightly, making sure her eyes were nice and big and sparkly (which she ensured by checking in the plaque on the desk) and a large (hopefully) dazzling smile.
Professor McGonagall looked up from her papers and smiled very slightly at Lily. Well who wouldn't? When someone was being that nice…
'Good morning Miss Evans, how may I help you?' Professor McGonagall said as she pushed her glasses up slightly. 'I have a note from Professor Jabin' Lily said politely and her mouth twitched when seeing her Head of House's mouth thin at the sound of Professor Jabin's name.
Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose as she scanned through the note. She looked up and looked at Lily incredulously. 'Miss Evans? Is this true?' Lily nodded ashamedly, though not meaning it at all.
'Yes and I'm ashamed to say so. Though, in my defence I was provoked' Lily said meekly
'How so?'
'Well I was three minutes late to the lesson and wrong to be so, I know that. I walked in and she took off twenty points! Twenty points for being thee minutes late!' Lily huffed in outrage 'and I'd been running so my tie was a little crooked and she took fifteen points, for a crooked tie! Professor you can't tell me that's fair' Lily explained and Professor McGonagall nodded in agreement.
'Miss Evans I understand why you would be angry but you have to learn to control your temper, especially in front of teachers. It's not like you to be like this, even with Professor Jabin' the woman grimaced. Lily laughed silently.
'I'm really sorry Professor, I just have a lot of…other stuff going on' Lily lied, Professor McGonagall had her own theories, she looked at the redhead over her glasses. 'Worried about the NEWTs?'
Lily stared at her teacher for a minute, not quite understanding until it hit her. The NEWTs, of course! How could she have forgotten with all this James business, she'd completely forgotten about the most important tests of her life but for now it made a good cover.
'I suppose so' Lily laughed nervously, Professor McGonagall nodded knowingly. 'Miss Evans I've known you for going on seven years now. You are a conscientious, intelligent, bright student. I know these impending exams seem nerve-racking but I know you'll get through them without hassle and you should know too. You don't need to worry about them just revise well and things should go right for you' she said kindly.
Lily felt flattered. Sure, that wasn't the advice she needed right now but it was definitely nice to know that people thought that about her, in fact, it was wonderful to know and made her feel happier. She knew people thought she was clever, but no one had actually directly said that to her. It felt nice.
'Thank you Professor, I don't know why I was so horrible to Professor Jabin. I won't let nerves get the better of me in future' she said. Professor McGonagall nodded again.
'Now about this note…well I hate to say but points that have been taken have been taken and I can't get them back for you unless rewarded and the detention I can't do anything about that either. You'll have to serve it quietly. It's tonight at seven o'clock, you may leave'. Lily smiled at her professor and exited the office.
James stared at the note Lily had handed him, over and over again.
James,
Would you mind being my date to my sister's wedding? I'm a bridesmaid and my mother's expecting me to bring someone. A male someone so I'd really appreciate it
Lily
Lily Evans wanted him, James Potter to be her date to a wedding. Lily Evans wanted… James wanted to punch the air in triumph.
-Notice the word date. Yes, yes I'm not blind, so are you going to go? What the hell kind of question is that? Course, I'm gonna' go! For the first time I approve of your decision. Wait let me get this straight, my twisted, contradictory, completely fun-sucking conscience is agreeing with me? Oh good Lord, I've done something right! Don't you be smart with me. Ah well it's nice to know you haven't changed-
After the Potions lesson was over James rushed over to the Head's Chamber to see Lily. Once he entered the Lounge he saw Lily on the sofa with her legs curled up reading a book.
'You confuse me' James stated simply, running a hand through his hair. Lily looked up and bit her lip nervously –well you had to face him sometime-
'H-hey James, how are you? How was Potions, hope I didn't miss anything too big. Nice weather we're having, don't you think' Lily said feverishly. James cast a glance to the window, it was pouring, Lily seemed to have realised this too as she now looked as searching for a new topic.
'What would you say if…I did this' James hugged Lily who awkwardly patted him on the back. When he pulled away she said 'I'd say what was that for'.
'Hm, no reaction' James observed. He then brought his hand and caressed Lily's cheek. 'What about this'.
Lily kept herself as composed as possible and refrained a sharp intake of breath. 'I'd say are you feeling alright?' Lily said boldly.
'Still no reaction' James said to himself looking at her oddly. 'What about…this' he leaned over and gave Lily a soft kiss.
Lily was shocked but relented nevertheless and started to kiss back softly. The kiss became more passionate as James released everything he'd bottled up for just about seven years. Lily finally broke away breathless and staring.
'Hm, yes I think I got a reaction there' James said with a grin. Lily glared at him 'James!'
'Sorry' he apologised, he then looked back at Lily's red lips and grinned again.
'Do you know how long I've wanted that?' he said enjoying watching Lily blush at his comment.
Lily looked up from the ground 'so will you be my date to the wedding?' it seemed so much easier now to ask him than before, for some reason… James glanced at hr lips again and back at her eyes 'I don't know, I'll think about it' he left off, knowing that Lily fully understood the implications.
The redhead rolled her eyes and kissed him fiercely for a minute, leaving James slightly in a daze. 'Now?' she asked impatiently. James stared at Lily not quite believing what had just happened and nodded mutely.
'So what about this?' Lily asked again, not wanting to leave loose ends untied. James shrugged, obviously wanting her to decide, there was no hesitation on his part. 'Whatever you want' he said. Lily smiled at the sweetness.
'I guess we're going out, that is if you don't mind?' Lily said unsurely.
'Don't mind? Lily I've wanted to go out with you since first year! Course I don't mind!' James exclaimed, Lily laughed 'don't' sound too eager' she quipped, he stuck his tongue out.
Lily looked at her watch and jumped, they had five minutes to get to Ancient Runes. 'James, get up I don't want to be late again' she said as she picked up her bag.
James rose, slung his own bag over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around Lily's waist. Lily smile slightly at the feeling of safety she suddenly felt as they made their way to Professor Cummings' classroom.
The Gryffindor table erupted in applause as James and Lily entered the Great Hall hand in hand for dinner. They'd kept quiet about the whole business but word had seemed to spread (slower than usual but it spread all the same.
'Finally!' Sirius exclaimed as they sat down 'I was beginning to think; we'd be out of Hogwarts by the time you two cottoned on. Lily rolled her eyes and knew that Adea was smiling next to her. #
Once everyone had settle down and resumed their original activities, James and Lily turned towards each other.
'Anything I need to know about your family Lils?' James asked, Lily thought about it.
'Well dad likes to treat Petunia and me like princesses he can't stand it when we cry. Apart from he's a real, well you know into the whole…macho business. Doesn't like boys who are stupid but they have to be athletic and smart. Doesn't like boys who eat too little but then he doesn't expect you to be huge either because you won't be able to play sport properly. You'll be fine, you pretty much fit his perfect description' Lily said reassuringly.
James smiled 'long as I stay on your good side?' he said and Lily laughed 'yep so it'll be four weeks of sucking up I'm afraid otherwise I just might have to complain' she joked.
Lily continued 'Mum is an absolute sweetheart. She's obsessed with cooking; she's brilliant at it. Just remember to compliment her, she'll love you. Oh and she likes flowers' James nodded.
'What kind of flowers?' James asked. Lily stared at him as of to say "are you stupid?"
'Right lilies it is then' James muttered, Lily laughed and gave him a small kiss, which James needless to say enjoyed.
'What about your sister, Petunia?' James asked tentatively, Lily sighed.
'Petunia is in short a bitch. She's awful don't you worry about keeping her happy because she won't be, no matter what you do. Just ignore her' she said resignedly.
The week flew by and Lily became more and more excited until June 21st finally arrived.
Incidentally, June 21st happened to be a special day for not just Lily but Jane as well. Small world isn't it? Jane however, was not quite as excited. For no reason it was just who Jane was and they way she thought and looked upon things.
Of course, that didn't stop her from expecting people to remember and give her presents, she just didn't act all hyper and ecstatic, and she acted relatively normal and collected. Even if it was her eighteenth.
The girls always received their presents from each other in the mornings before Breakfast.
This year Lily had received a gorgeous set of satin silver robes from Adea that she'd been eyeing for a couple of weeks now. Kayla had gotten her a set of Crystal jewellery obviously chosen to match the robes. Jane had gotten her an incredible jewellery box, which she had slightly modified. It contained a mirror which decided which of your jewellery would look best with your outfit, very useful.
Jane had received a book from Adea called "Explosive Concoctions and their Properties", Kayla had given her a cat, she knew Jane wanted one and hey if best friends can't give the best presents then who can? Lily had given Jane a brand new set of the latest Empress Fate make-up line in very Jane-ish colours (so in other words odd colours), which Jane surprisingly loved.
The boys however had to wait to give Jane her presents.
'Kayla stop you from giving Jane her present as well?' James asked Remus in the Common Room. Remus nodded. 'Yep. Said Sirius was probably planning something huge and that I should wait just in case I accidentally upstaged him or what not' Remus explained.
'Same' James said.
'Girls are weird' Remus commented
'Yeah' James agreed
Lily came bounding downstairs to meet James; he'd understood the tradition between her friends. She hugged James and they shared a kiss.
'Right, okay. Close your eyes' James said, Lily raised her eyebrows but closed her eyes all the same.
James took the owl out of it's cage, located behind a sofa and perched it onto Lily's arm. 'Okay open them now' he said quietly, Lily opened her eyes and gasped as she looked towards her arm.
On her arm sat a short-bodied owl with a large head (in a cute way), it had fluffy reddish feathers streaked with white underneath and had spots on it's back. It also had large yellow eyes, which looked up at Lily almost enquiringly; they always said owls were intelligent.
Lily looked back James, speechless. He saw that he looked nervous. 'She's a Saw-Whet owl, she's small but the lady said she can carry anything you like and fly as long you like (a/n: not sure if real saw-whet owls can do that but hey it's the magical world of Harry Potter).
'She's, she's beautiful. How did you know?' Lily asked, James sighed in relief and grinned 'well I might have had a little help' he muttered.
'Thank you James! You don't know how much this means to me, I've always wanted an owl, thank you, thank you, thank you!' Lily cried, she gave Adea the owl gently, flung her arms around James and gave him a lingering kiss.
James grinned again in a more awed way, he still wasn't used to it. 'Well what are you going to call her?' he asked, Lily thought and thought very carefully.
'A special name, something to do with greatness, look at the size of her and the things she can do' Lily said thoughtfully. Adea thought about it and whispered something to Lily, Lily clicked her fingers.
'Dee, that's perfect' she whispered. 'Her name is Shaan' Lily proclaimed and then looking to the owl and knowing they had chosen the right name, it was already giving off a "greatness" vibe.
Remus clapped his hands 'Well! I'm sure mine isn't as good as James' but here you go'
Remus had gotten her a vial of Abyssinian elixir, rare stuff that wasn't easily found, he knew Lily liked collecting them. The topaz fluid, it smelled and tasted like spice as Lily had read. The taste and it's properties combined could get rid of throat infections in an instant. It was less commonly used nowadays as it was almost impossible to brew so Pepper-up potions were used instead.
When asked, Remus assured her it wasn't too expensive and that he had persuaded his aunt into giving him some since she worked for the Accidental Magical Reversal squad and had recently needed some to stop a muggle whose throat had started flashing different colours when a child was playing with his parents' wands in the street. Lily had laughed to hear that.
Peter had timidly handed Lily a massive box of sugar quills, which she was politely appreciative of.
'Good Morning! Happy Birthday Lily!' Sirius' voice boomed as he down the stairs of the boy's dormitory.
Jane looked expectantly at him but he just gave her a quick kiss and turned back to Lily. 'Well seeing as it's your eighteenth and since you were a muggle and it's all big for you…I got you something extra special' he said.
Sirius summoned her present and a set of bone china teacups set in an open lavish velvet box came hovering down the staircase, they had a lovely pattern.
Lily raised her eyebrows 'teacups? They're-They're really…lovely' she lied. In truth they were the sort of thing Petunia would've loved but Lily; not so much.
Sirius laughed his bark like laughter. 'You didn't think they were just teacups did you? Me give you teacups for your birthday? Course not. Look at the card'
Lily picked up the card and read it. Slowly, a smile started to creep up on her face. 'Nose biting teacups. Perfect. Petunia will simply love these. Thanks Sirius' Lily said deviously, suddenly the teacups seemed a lot more interesting.
Lily, Kayla and Adea cast a furtive glance between Sirius and Jane to see what he'd give her. Sirius however, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that it was his girlfriend's birthday.
Even the Marauders exchanged confused glances as they followed Sirius into the Great Hall.
Jane though surprised and hurt at first was now completely fine with the problem that seemed to be fast approaching her. Or so the boys thought. The girls knew better. Kayla was especially annoyed at Sirius' behaviour.
-What's he playing at? Can he not tell that Jane's upset that he's forgotten? Understandably so. No, no! He can't possibly have forgotten. He's crazy about Jane. He's probably planned a massive blowout surprise party for her. God knows he could pull it off. Yeah, that'll be it – Kayla thought and convinced herself.
Remus opened his mouth to tell Sirius but felt a hand on his arm stop him. He turned around to see Jane shake her head. He ceased and shrugged his shoulders, though he was pretty sure where this was heading. And frankly, he felt sorry for his friend.
James turned to Lily. 'Hey I want to take you out to dinner tonight at this restaurant in Hogsmeade, say yes?' he said hopefully, Lily's expression became stern.
'James we can't' she reminded him but her boyfriend just rolled his eyes. 'It's your birthday, live a little would you?' Lily sighed at this and became even more annoyed when James gazed at her with his puppy dog look.
'No, James come on, not the eyes' she sighed again 'oh alright! Just stop with eyes' Lily said, frustrated that she'd relented so easily.
James grinned at her, which made her mouth reluctantly twitch upwards in a smile, she couldn't help it. 'Wear something nice okay?' he said sweetly.
-Well, I already have some new dress robes so I could just wear them. And it'll going to be our first date, so there'll be the need to make a special effort. Great. -
Sirius noticed that Jane looked even more beautiful than normal –If that's possible- He leant in to kiss her but she turned her head so he got her cheek instead.
'Hey!' he protested. Jane turned around and looked at him in mock surprise. 'Oh I'm sorry! Did you want a kiss? Didn't realise' she said scathingly, not trying to keep her hostility towards him constrained.
Sirius noticed that Jane's eyes were glassy, just like when she was upset. He scowled.
'What's wrong? Someone's upset you; your eyes have gone weird. Who is it? I'll get them for you' he said protectively. Jane just gave him a dirty look.
'Sorry, if you don't like my weird eyes but I've just woken up. Forgive them for not being perfect' Jane snapped testily and in a way that was not like her. She gathered her things hastily and rose.
'Well I'm off, need to get to Divination early. Happy Birthday again Lils. See you at lunch yeah?' she said in her normal dreamy voice. As Jane left she didn't turn around once to glance at Sirius, who was left to stare open mouthed at her retreating form.
Now even the Marauders realised that she was upset.
'What's wrong with her?' Sirius asked in puzzled way not able to hide the hurt in his eyes. Everyone but him exchanged quick glances before shrugging. Sirius knew his girlfriend possessed a unique and confusing temperament and so let it pass.
As the day progressed, Sirius still made no indication of the significance of the day that related to Jane. Finally at lunch Kayla decided to approach about the birthday scene, just to confirm what exactly it was that he was planning.
'Hey' she said casually.
'Oh, hey' Sirius replied.
'So, I have to give you credit for your acting Sirius. Jane is thoroughly pissed; she thinks you've completely forgotten. There'll be lots of appreciation on her part when she sees what you've planned' Kayla said smilingly but Sirius just looked politely confused.
'Planned? Planned what? What he hell for?' he asked. Kayla stared at him blankly before shifting it to a more penetrating look for any sign of acting; all of a sudden it dawned on her.
'Oh. My. God. You have forgotten. You are in deep shit Sirius Back' Kayla whispered furiously.
'Huh? What are you on about?'
'Jane? March 21st? Ring any bell?' Kayla tried. Sirius put on a sarcastic look.
'Oh yes of course! Jane's favourite season is Sprin… How the hell am I supposed to know?' he demanded indignantly.
Kayla shook her head. 'Amazing. You have no idea, do you? 21st March is Jane's birthday, you moronic imbecile!' she said angrily.
Sirius looked at Kayla as if she'd gone mad. 'No, Kayla. March 21st is Lily's birthday not Jane's' he said patronisingly, the brunette rolled her eyes.
'Yes, I know darling, but it's Jane's birthday too' she said just as condescendingly.
Sirius laughed nervously and shook his head as if trying to convince himself more than he was Kayla.
'Are you trying to scare me? Because it's working' he said anxiously, hoping against hope that it was a joke but Kayla just bit her lip.
'I'm not trying to scare you. I'm scared for you' she said with an expression of great pity.
'Shit! I can't believe it! Right we'll have to set up a last minute party. You cane be in charge of…' but Kayla cut him off.
'No. Sirius, you and Jane aren't like normal couples. James and Remus –not that Remus would forget- would be able to do that but not you. You and Jane are at a place where you have to tell the truth in this sort of situation whether you like it or not' she explained carefully.
Sirius sighed dejectedly. 'You're right. You're absolutely right' he said.
Kayla pointed to the entrance Hall, where Jane had headed. 'Go' she said simply and gave him a reassuring smile.
Jane settled her self down underneath a tranquil looking willow tree and pulled the food she'd taken from the Great Hall out of her bag. As she chewed on the Cheese Salad sandwiches she thought about her feelings on the whole Sirius birthday thing.
-I can't believe he forgot! I can't believe it. I told him, I specifically told him last week. He remembered Lily's birthday yet he can't remember mine. You don't care about your birthday; you've always said it's a beautiful idea that has been colossally besmirched by the media. Well yes, but it's still special. I don't want a present or an infernal birthday card; I just wanted a "Happy Birthday Jane!" –
'Jane?' called an unsure voice, she knew who belonged to and frankly she was in no mood to be forgiving. Grudgingly she turned to face the apologetic face behind her.
'What do you want' Jane snapped. He brought out a cake, which had obviously been taken from the kitchens. Jane saw right through him and merely narrowed her eyes.
'Happy Birthday?' Sirius said nervously but she just snorted derisively. He took this as his cue to explain the reason for his forgetfulness.
'Jane, I am so sorry. I had no idea, truthfully, I didn't know. If I had, I most definitely wouldn't be in this muddle. I mean I just…in my defence you never told me' Sirius said hoping she was in a mood to see reason. 'I did' she replied stubbornly.
Sirius racked his brains.
Flashback
I'm trying to get to Quidditch practise, James is going to kill me, Jane's prattling on about something.
'-Birthday next week' Jane finished.
'Uh huh that's nice, Jane I have to go' I say quickly, she waves and I'm off
End Flashback
'Oh' Sirius said simply 'so you did remind me' he really couldn't say anything else. Jane looked at him in a disappointed fashion.
'Oh no, no, no. Please don't look at me like that. I can't stand it. What do you want me to do, I'll do anything. I'll do your homework, I'll take you to Hogsmeade, buy you whatever you want- '
'Ugh!' Jane screamed in anger, cutting him off mid-sentence.
She got up, forgot about her bag and started to head towards the castle. 'Wait Jane, what are you doing?' Sirius called and ran after her.
Being slightly more experienced in the art of running he soon caught up, grabbed her arm and turned her around and she immediately burst out in furious sentences.
'HOW DARE YOU! How dare you think you can buy me. That's just the sort of thing I hate about birthdays. You should know that…can't believe you even had the audacity to even think you could…Pathetic, good for nothing attempt to make me forget that you forgot my birthday!' it was moving away from being angry at the fact that he tried to buy her.
'I used to be a muggle too, you know! The eighteenth is important to me as well! You completely forgot and you don't listen to me. Then you turn up here with a cake no less to win me over! Well I have two words for you sir! AS IF! Then! Oh ho then, you try to buy me! Buy me! You don't know a thing about me! Not a single thing!' Tears of anger started to fall.
'All I wanted was for you to say Happy Birthday first thing in the morning, maybe even a kiss, but that didn't really matter. I hate you!' she cried and her silver eyes blinked to release the tears had started to sting her eyes.
Sirius ran to her side to hug her but she wrenched herself out of his hold. He sighed 'this isn't about your birthday' he whispered. He soon regretted his words.
'How stupid are you? OF COURSE this isn't about my birthday! Not anymore! This is about you not listening and being too fucking interested in your hobbies! Yes, I know you were itching to get away from me that day but would it have killed you? Would it Sirius? Just to have stayed from one more second and to listen? This is about you not knowing me! How can you say you love me! I'm not a hobby! And I don't intend to be treated like one!' Jane screamed and she fell down sobbing.
Sirius' heart broke. He couldn't bear to see her like this. He ran to her again and held her and this time she didn't even try to shake him off, she merely whispered her protests.
'No! Get away from me! Leave me alone! I don't need you! Don't you think I do!' she struggled but Sirius laughed softly. 'Don't laugh at me! Is everything a joke to you?' Sirius shook his head and cupped her face in his hands. He gently wiped away her tears with a finger.
'I'm laughing at your spirit. I love you; I do know things about you. I know that you love to read books upside down because they might one day reveal a secret to you. I know you would die for someone you love. I know you hate conformists and people who don't have individual personalities.
I know you're a firm believer of karma. I know you like to think of stars as your friends. I know that you prefer grass to flowers because it's so much more remarkable and beautiful especially when there are dewdrops on it in the winter. I know you love Spring because it's the season of rebirth. I know you, I do' Jane sniffed but refused to look at him in the eye, he didn't deserve that quite yet.
'I'm sorry, I didn't listen to you that day, I'm sorry I'm not the best listener, I'm sorry I thought Quidditch more important that day but it isn't. Of course it isn't right now, you are one of the most important people in my life, joint top with James. You're not a hobby Jane. I'm so sorry I made you feel like one, forgive me I'll make it up to you, I promise' he pleaded.
'I'm not going to forgive you' Jane muttered, Sirius' face fell. 'Yet' she finished, his spirit lifted.
'You can start making it up to me, but don't expect me to be all nice to you. Just because I'm talking rationally doesn't mean I'll let you get away with things' she thought for a minute and started again.
'I don't want to forgive you, you know. Annoyingly enough I love you too much to let my birthday get in the way' Jane said grudgingly. Sirius grinned.
'Can I kiss you?'
'No'
'Oh'
Jane got up and wiped her tears 'but you can walk me back up. And you can put your arm around me, I need your shoulder' Jane said. Sirius got up and put his arm around as she'd said, where she immediately buried her face into her shoulder. Slowly, he led her back up to the castle.
Once they reached the Entrance Hall, they saw Kayla who took over and hugged Jane. She and Jane then walked away leaving Sirius to look after them and think of ways to make it up to Jane.
'Where are they?' Lily cried frustratedly. She and Adea were in Lily's room desperately waiting for Kayla and Jane's arrival.
'Where have you been' Lily cried agitatedly. Kayla opened her mouth but Jane stepped on her foot. 'Dawdling, sorry. Completely forgot' she lied. Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to her armoire.
'Right, so I think I should wear the robes you gave me this morning Adea. What do you think?' Adea and Kayla looked thoughtful; Jane eyed Lily's hair.
'Well Lily personally I think you should wear the chiffon ones that I got you at Christmas. I mean you're birthday is on the 21st March, spring officially begins today. The lavender would be more appropriate' Adea advised, Kayla nodded in agreement. 'Exactly, I was going to say the same thing'.
Lily nodded and brought them out of her oak armoire. 'Right okay I have the shoes. Jane, hair please?' Lily commanded rather than asked and sat down at her vanity table.
Jane studied Lily's hair over and over again. The straight hair just wouldn't work no matter what you did. Soon she realised that the only way around it was to leave Lily's hair as it was naturally.
Jane waved her wand and Lily's hair returned to it's natural state, elegant waves. Jane opened Lily's drawer and pulled out an ornate slide and slid it into Lily's hair. Lily then changed into her robes.
'Perfect!' Jane said and clapped her hands. Lily's stood up and did a twirl for her other two friends.
'Gorgeous' Adea and Kayla chorused. 'Wait!' Jane called, rushed forwards and tied that necklace that James had given her at Christmas around her neck.
They pushed Lily towards the door as she was meeting James in the lounge.
James was sitting on the sofa, reading a Quidditch magazine with his back facing Lily's door so he didn't see her come out.
'Hey, I'm ready' Lily said timidly. –What if he thinks I look awful? – James of course wasn't thinking that at all.
'You look-you look beautiful' James stammered. Lily blushed and looked at her feet to hide it. James reached over and lifted her chin up. Voicing a thought he'd only ever let slip once.
'You look pretty when you blush' he said simply, with no intention of impressing her merely stating what he thought was obvious.
Lily gave him a small smile. James gave her a light kiss and offered her his arm as they walked out the mahogany doors of their chamber.
Three pairs of eyes had been spying through the space that was obtained when opening Lily's door a crack the whole time Thos eyes now looked away and their owners shut the door and start cooing.
'Oh my god! He is so sweet! He's perfect for her!' Adea squealed happily. 'Where do those Marauders get their charm from. I swear with the exception of Peter, it's like they have a spell or something' Kayla commented. Jane sniffed.
'Well only James and Remus must know how to cast it then' she said acrimoniously. Kayla looked at Jane sympathetically and turned to Adea to explain the situation but as she did so Adea shook her head and mouthed 'I already know' Kayla was confused but let it pass.
'Oh Jane…' but Jane held up a hand 'No don't even think about it, this is about Lily' Jane smiled. 'Let's get some food, lots of it and just gorge 'til Lils comes back?' Jane suggested and the other two girls agreed happily. 'Great! I'll get the food' Jane said happily and walked out towards the kitchens, luckily they weren't too far from the Head's chamber.
As Jane entered the kitchens she noticed that Sirius sat in a corner on a spare table eating some Shepherd's pie. She frowned as she recalled that he'd missed dinner and then smiled remembering that this was where they'd start to like each other. She wasn't going to let him see that she was happy to see him.
Jane composed herself and walked towards the elves with grace and poise, completely ignoring Sirius as best she could.
'Hello?' the elves turned to face her. 'Hi I was wondering if you could get me some stuff?' she asked politely. The elves looked delighted and were more than willing to serve their visitor.
'I'd like some ice cream in assorted flavours, sweet popcorn, all the sweets you have. Two jugs of pumpkin juice some nachos with cheese and salsa, oh and some red grapes' Jane ordered, Sirius' head snapped up at the sound of her beautiful voice.
'Jane?' He called, unsure of whether or not she'd answer. Jane turned and feigned surprise. 'Sirius! Didn't see you there' she said. Reluctantly she took a seat next to him.
Sirius stared at her intently before remembering that he could give her something for her birthday. He loved her and so even if it meant a lot to him he wouldn't mind. Besides Jane wouldn't care that he hadn't bought it.
'Jane? I have something for you. It's nothing much, I didn't buy it or anything. You probably won't like it but' he took off a leather strap tied around his wrist and handed it to her 'here'.
Jane looked at him oddly before taking the strap and examining it.
It was a plain piece of leather with a magically attached charm. It was the Black coat of arms, obviously removed from a signet ring. The crest had a massive cross engraved over it, the handiwork of a child. Jane knew exactly what it was. It was something Sirius had created when he was eight. He'd engraved the cross over it to show his hatred for his family and to annoy his mother. She knew how much this meant to him.
'I can't take this' she whispered. Jane tried to give it back but Sirius declined. 'No. Keep it. Please. It's all I can give you at the minute. You deserve more' he said guiltily.
Jane's anger lifted slightly, she still wasn't ready to forgive him but he had made his predicament slightly better. 'No. This means more than anything you could ever buy me' Jane whispered and placed her hand on his. Sirius smiled. Jane kissed his cheek, collected her food from the elves and rose to leave. On her way out (the food hovered behind her) she kissed the bracelet and placed it on her wrist, knowing that Sirius would be watching.
As he saw this Sirius' felt even better. Though he knew this didn't mean that things were peachy but they were definitely getting there.
'Oh finally…ice cream!' Kayla cried and she lunged for the ice cream. Adea took some popcorn.
'What took you so long?' Adea asked Jane who happened to be deep in thought. 'Hm? Oh met Sirius in there' Jane explained vaguely. Kayla looked up 'what is it with you two and the kitchens?' Jane thought it about and laughed inwardly at realising that the pair of them really did have a penchant for rendezvous' in the kitchens.
' I don't know. Fate I guess' the girls waited for Lily and ate discussing odd things.
James had taken Lily to a magical restaurant located deep in Hogsmeade called The Jade Pagoda. It was a wonderful Chinese restaurant by an old Chinese witch whose portrait hung in the entrance.
As they ate they talked and laughed just like they did before. At the minute they were fighting over who was cleverest.
'I'm the cleverest, it's so obvious why would the teachers be so nice to me' Lily bragged, James shook his head adamantly. 'They only love you because you're a suck-up. Now me, everyone knows I'm the cleverest' James said confidently.
'What proof do you have of that?' Lily challenged, James ran a hand through his hair. 'My fan club' he said simply, Lily frowned.
'Yes. I'd forgotten about them. They'll have to be disbanded' Lily said airily. James grinned 'jealous Evans?' Lily nodded.
'Well I like having my fan club around, you can't disband them' James said just to see how she would react. To his disappointment she merely shrugged and said 'fine, then I'll let Joseph Webster keep flirting with me and we'll be even' Lily definitely wasn't disappointed at James' expression.
'Webster? Webster flirts with you? Doesn't he know we're going out? I'll kill him' James said furiously, Lily laughed. 'Calm down James. Joseph's not flirting with me. No one ever flirts with me' Lily said quietly. James looked confused.
'Why wouldn't people flirt with you? Not that I want them to but why wouldn't they?' he enquired. Lily looked at him incredulously.
'Look at me. I know I'm not exactly the most attractive girl out there. I've only ever had three boyfriends. One went out with me for two weeks on a bet, one went out with me obviously because he thought I was a brunette and when the dye washed out he dumped me and my last boyfriend cheated on me with Krista Hartley' James winced. Lily smiled. 'Well I think you're gorgeous and I've always thought you were beautiful' James said matter-of-factly.
Lily's emerald eyes sparkled at his comment and she smiled brightly and continued to eat her food. James watched her with awe –she's amazing-
The pair made their way home but were rather delayed. James decided he wanted to carry Lily home as opposed to getting a carriage. They would've gotten home faster had James not insisted on kissing Lily every so often.
'James!' Lily protested feebly as he leant in for another kiss. Once they entered the Head's Chamber Lily jumped out of his arms and ran to her bedroom. She stuck her tongue out at home just before closing the door.
She sighed contently until she noticed three people 'Aaaagggghhh!' she screamed and whipped out her wand. Jane, Adea and Kayla looked up at her excitedly.
'Lily! Finally!' they cried, Lily clutched a hand to her chest 'don't ever do that again' she breathed and the other shrugged and immediately began hounding her with questions about her night.
'How'd it go?'
'Was he a gentleman?'
'What did you talk about?'
Lily held up her hands 'okay, okay, calm down. One at a time' she took of her shoes and put them away and turned back to her friends.
'Oh girlies he's perfect! I had such a good time none of that awful first date awkwardness, you know? And he was such a gentleman, he even carried me home! By the sounds of it we talked about everything' she gushed. For the next fifteen minutes they talked about Lily's date until the redhead realised how late it was.
'Oh my goodness! Look at the time! I'm sorry you guys but get out I need some sleep' Lily pointed at the door. 'That's nice' Kayla huffed as they headed for the door, Lily stopped them again.
'Oh no, no, no. I don't think so. It is way past curfew, you are being escorted by the Head Boy' she poked her head out of the door and called James.
'James! Guess who I found I my room? You're going to have to take them up to the tower for me' Lily said. Kayla, Adea and Jane filed out of the snow white room, Kayla was still sulking.
'We're not babies, you know' Kayla whined, Lily raised an eyebrow. 'Are you challenging the Head Girl, Miss Simmons?' Kayla grimaced and muttered 'no, your highness'
-All that power's going to her head-
A/n: There you go! Now I realise the wait was disgustingly awful but I had stuff going on. Now wonderful readers feel a little sympathy won't you? I tried to make up for it by delivering my longest chapter yet. 20 pages! In size ten! Please leave a review, even if it is to tell me off for not updating fast enough because I completely deserve it!
Review Responses:
Moonlit Mouse: I'm afraid I can't quite divulge that yet but thanks for reviewing!
Hpfreaklk: I absolutely agree but when I thought about it I decided that it was a more Kayla thing to do. Thanks a lot.
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CaptainOats+PrincessSparkle: Thank you so much for your review! I hope you don't hate me for what happened in this chapter
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little-angel123452000: Thank you so much for all your reviews, I do believe you were my 50th reviewer! Thank you so much for that. As for the sixth sense issue I totally believe in what I wrote
Ks: Thank you so much for being honest. Not sure you're reading this but I totally agree about that particularly chapter.
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