Title: Warm Despite The Chill
Rating: M
Date Started: 11/18/05
Date Finished: 11/24/05
Date Posted: 11/24/05
Summary: See ch. 1
Chapter: Three
Chapter Title: Of Shocking News & Trying To Feel Better
Quote: "Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love,"
- Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey, 1818
XXX
Sirius smiled at he girl in his arms, not in a kind way, and bent his head down again to place little bites along her neck.
He almost laughed when she let out a breathy sigh as he set to work on kissing her pulse point with an open mouth.
"Sirius…we should…quit. Before this…goes…further," Lily choked out.
His hands were already at the base of her shirt, caressing the pale bare skin on her toned tummy.
Slowly, without her even realizing it, he began to drag her shirt up and over her head.
It was then that Lily finally snapped out of her lusty daze and firmly pulled her shirt back down.
"Sirius- I think you should go now. Owl me?" she asked, putting a good meter or so of space between them.
He followed her out onto the platform, leaving behind their snug, secluded corner.
"Only if you owl me back Lily," he replied leaning down to kiss her cheek goodbye.
'This is going to be a bit harder than I'd planned on. Because in order for her to really be hurt in the end, I need to shag her a couple times first. Then when I break things off and tell her it all meant nothing, she'll just die,' Sirius sneered, marring his face, a mask of beautiful perfection.
And as he ran to catch up to James, he didn't feel the least bit remorseful for what he was about to pull.
---
Lily watched her boyfriend, who also moved very fast when it came to the physical aspect of a relationship, scamper off to meet his friends.
And though she was kind of annoyed with Sirius, she found herself grinning anyways.
A couple minutes later found her outside the barrier, in the Muggle world once again, searching for a familiar face. Hogwarts students ran around giving family members missed- you kisses and friends I-can't-wait-until-next-year hugs.
Finally, after another good two hours of waiting, she'd determined that her parents weren't coming to pick her up.
She had no money for a cab, and she lived to far away from London to walk home- what was she going to do?
Finally an idea struck. She'd floo home. Finding the trolley witch, a kindly looking woman in her early 40's, she had her shrink her trunk and other luggage until it was small enough to fit into her denims pockets.
The short red head set out at a brisk pace, eager to make it to the Leaky Cauldron before dinner. All day she'd been looking forward to her moms traditional Toad-in-the-Hole "welcome back" evening meal. And she certainly didn't want to miss it now.
She was just about to threw her fistful of floo powder into the small, traveling fireplace, when somebody caught her arm.
"Excuse me! You don't go around touc-" she began to but stopped mid sentence when she saw who the hand belonged to.
It wasn't some stranger who'd grabbed her hand abruptly, it was Maetthew Fletcher, a 7th year who'd just graduated at the end of the present school year. He had dark brown hair and clear gray eyes. He was probably about 6 feet tall, and oozed hotness.
"Sorry!" he said, letting go of her hand, putting his up in surrender.
They looked at each other before bursting out in hysterics.
"It's okay, I just don't usually get grabbed so quickly. But- why did you grab my hand again?" Lily smiled.
He straightened, stopped laughing, then turned towards her, quite serious.
"Well, with the rise of this new dark wizard-"
"Voldemort?"
"Shhh! Don't say his name, someone could overhear. But, yes, because of him, the Ministry has placed floo- regulation laws on muggle houses. This way, his followers can't get through while they're sleeping. If you tried, you'd die. Is there anyone magical you could floo to?"
Lily tried to digest the information she'd just attained. It made no sense to her, why just protect muggles? And all of them, it seemed a tad irrational to believe he'd only go after non- magic folks.
"Hey, Matt?"
"Yeah," he replied, although lost in thought.
"What about non-prejudiced families in the magical world?"
"We, being able to live in the magical world, have spells and wards around our properties to help prevent his followers from destroying or breaking into our houses. They're a requirement set by the Ministry nowadays," he explained.
She let a little "Oh," escape her, as she turned back to the floo fireplace, dejected.
'How am I ever going to get home?' she thought, wanting to cry, but knowing she was strong enough not to.
After a couple minutes of contemplation, Matt finally snapped his fingers.
"I've got it!" My aunts best friends', daughters', cousins', nephews', friends' sister lives in your neighborhood I believe. Does Annabelle Kingly ring any bells?" he explained.
"Actually…yes! She lived a couple of roads across from me, I was never friends with her, but I think Petty was," Lily gushed, happy to finally be able to go home.
"Great- because she's about to receive a visit from you- Annabelle Kinglys' house!" he shouted as he pulled her against him, tossed the floo powder into the fireplace, and spun off.
---
"Who's there!" a quivering voice demanded.
Matt stood up, brushed soot off his clothes, then helped lily up to.
"Annie- it's Matt, your friends', nephews', cousins' daughters', best friends', aunts', nephew. We met at your coming- of- age party a couple years ago," he explained putting his hands in the air so she would know he meant no harm.
"Maetthew Fletcher? Merlin, you gave me such a scare…I thought- well it doesn't matter what I thought because it's you and not him," she said breathlessly.
Lily peeked out behind Matt and saw a girl with straight blond hair, standing in an oversize black cashmere sweater, worn over what looked like a satin tan night dress.
"Who's that behind you Matt?"
"Oh, this here's Lily Evans, she had a little trouble getting home- because of the new floo regulation placed on Muggle households.
"Ahh, no worries then- I'll be getting back to my book," Annie smiled warmly at them and then disappeared back into a room Lily assumed was her bedroom.
Matt steered Lily towards the front door then, and then walked her out.
---
They'd been walking on the curb for a couple minutes when Lily finally asked the question that'd been nagging her.
"Matt?" she voiced.
"Yeah Lily?" he answered, giving her a curious glance.
"If there are spells on houses now to keep him out, why could we floo to her place?"
"Because houses are still open to those that pose no threat or harm in the occupants mind. Most protection spells are only effective if said person has enough darkness or malice radiating off him, which in this case, we didn't. I personally don't think that it's such a good idea- anyone can mask their true intentions," he elucidated for her.
"Oh," was all she said, because thinking.
What he said made sense.
Anyone could hide behind a mask. It wasn't that hard. Most people use a mask to hide behind every day of their life. A lie here, a lie there, they'd build up until they'd created something exquisite to hide out behind. A shelter, a place to revel in secrets and not worry about what others might think for once.
---
Lily threw open her front door, red-faced and angry, feeling ready to explode. After her thoughts had turned from disguises, they'd sought out her parents and how she'd almost not been able to get home.
How dare her parents forget to pick her up!
She wasn't asking all that much. All she wanted was for one of her parents to have been there. Her dad perhaps, her mum hadn't needed to come, nor her sister.
Just her dad, who'd come running over to her as she walked through the barrier and sweep her up into a giant bear hug (which was embarrassing as hell) and tell her how much he'd missed his cheeky little bugger.
She'd mock-punch him and laugh and tell him, "Don't come the acid dad!"
And then he'd pick up her luggage and walk her to the car, parked in the handicapped spot, and he'd whisk her off towards home, towards family.
But no.
Not this year.
Red hair almost sizzling with the electricity of her fury, she dropped her trunk with a thud.
And screamed.
---
Midnight found her sitting on her hardwood floor, staring out her open windows, up at the starless night sky.
The 2 windows she was looking out of together equaled about 8 feet in width. There were a couple of other normal sized windows scattered around her room, but these were her favorite. She loved being outdoors, one reason why her bed had been moved long ago to allow her to gaze out the window from across the room.
Her bedroom, the summer after 1st year, had been painted gold, with red accents everywhere, including the bed with it's velvet spread and draperies. Her dresser was littered with some make-up that her mom insisted on buying her, a couple of sports bras, and pictures of her friends from Hogwarts. Her closet was a mess of clothes and sports equipment and a large mirror.
Leaning against her bed was her broom, and her trunk was laying awkwardly on the floor, somewhere near the door. Up the stairs in the far corner was a small circular room, a tower. A settee was against a wall that didn't include a window 3 feet wide, along with a stereo and some posters. Her most prized possession was the stash of Honeyduke's candies she kept in a little hideaway compartment in her food stool.
Her arms were crossed and wrapped around her knees, which were drawn up towards her chest for comfort.
She couldn't cry, didn't want to cry, wouldn't be weak.
She couldn't believe her parents were doing this to her.
They were ripping out her heart, and breaking it. Letting it drop and shatter without a second thought- only concerned with themselves. And all the tiny fragments scattered on the cold floor were so smashed and broken, there was no way they could ever be glued together again. No way to ever stop the hurt.
---
Her screaming brought her parents running from the kitchen.
"Honey, honey- what's wrong?"
"You!" she'd shouted, jabbing a finger towards her dad.
"What did you do now Richard?" her mom had asked, exasperated and annoyed.
"Both of you! You didn't come to pick me up today! Did you know I almost didn't get home- and wouldn't have had it not been for Matt?" she yelled.
"Matt, Matt who?" her mother inquired frantic when she heard a guy mentioned.
"It doesn't matter! Don't you see? Without him I'd still be at the station, waiting for one of you to realize that I wasn't home!"
"No, we didn't know, sor-" her father tried to cut in but just got cut off instead.
"Sorry! I want to know what's going on with you guys! You were never like this, never! And then this past year you're letters were less and less frequent and nothing about what and how the family was doing! It's revolting that you didn't even remember to pick me up on one of the only days I come home! What's going on!" she shouted at them.
"Nothing's going on sweetie," her mother attempted to placate her.
"DON'T BULLSHIT WITH ME! I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MY OWN FAMILY!" she cried out, nearly losing her self control as a crystal vase on the table next to her began to tip back and forth.
"That's enough young lady. You don't back talk your mother or I like this! Nothing's going on, and if there was something going on we'd tell you about it," her father snapped finally.
"Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes! You two have never forgotten to be there to pick me up before, never! So something's wrong and I demand to know what it is!" she demanded.
"Sweetie, nothing's-"
"If you don't tell me now, I'll leave. I'll leave and never ever talk to you again or come back!"
"I swear to you, nothing's wrong-"
"WOULD YOU ALL JUST STOP LYING TO OUR FACES!" a new voice joined in the yelling.
"For the past few months you two have been tiptoeing around me, having whispered discussions about getting a -"
"Why don't we just calm down and-" their mother tried again.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I KNOW EVERYTHING, I'VE BEEN HEARING YOUR FIGHTS! JUST TELL US THE TRUTH!"
When their parents both colored and looked away, Petunia turned towards her younger sister.
"Lily, they're getting a divorce."
"Don't take the micky Petty, it's nothing as drastic as that," she told her sister.
When she was met with silence, Lily turned to look up at her sister.
Her 20 year old sister had dark, curly brown hair with copper highlights worn short, and muddy hazel- green eyes. Which usually taunting or angry, were now tired and serious.
Their parents eyes gazed at her, trying to anticipate her reaction. Lily just stood rooted the spot.
After what seemed like years, Lily opened her mouth. Her parents, expecting more screaming, braced themselves.
What she did took them by surprise.
In a whisper so quiet, that they had to strain to hear, Lily said but 7 words. So cold, they hit Richard and Ellen like ice.
"I hate you. I really hate you."
And with that the crystal vase tipped over and shattered as it hit the floor, and Lily grabbed her trunk and ran upstairs to her room as fast as possible.
Petunia stared in the direction she'd just gone. Then, grabbing a coat from the coat rack and slipping into it, she opened the front door.
Her father made a grab for her arm.
"Don't touch me!" she hissed, then slammed the door in his face.
---
That had brought her to where she was now.
Refusing to cry because she thought it'd be weak, she stared out the window, feeling lonely. Not even the stars were out to keep her company tonight.
She could die now, if only she would just let go; let go.
---
Morning found her cramped and stiff, wondering why she'd fallen asleep sitting in the middle of her floor.
Lily puzzled it for a minute before the previous night came back to her in a rush.
"I hate you. I really hate you."
She frowned. It had been a mean thing to say, but…they had deserved it.
Suddenly her stomach let out a loud growl and Lily checked the time. A quarter after 10, no wonder she was hungry.
The red head trudged downstairs to the kitchen, refusing to acknowledge her parents presence, and poured herself some cereal and milk. She'd wolfed down 2 bowls within 5 minutes, then without a word to her parents, got up and headed back to her room to owl her friends.
Her dishes sitting where she'd left them, not bothering to her help her mum out by putting them into the sink.
---
Tru & Ty-
Can you guys come over and stay the night? I've got some family trouble and I'd feel better if you guys were here. Hope to see you later,
-Lily
Bethan-
My parents are getting a divorce. I'm a wreck, I don't want to be weak, but I feel like I can't be anything but, please come over for the night…I need…I need help. Tru and Ty are also coming over possibly.
-Lily
---
Lily watched as her owl, Hera, flew off into the sun, knowing that her friends would come. It didn't matter what they were doing, knowing she was in trouble and needed them, really, truly needed them- they'd be there.
She breathed out heavily and went up to her tower where she flopped onto the plush red settee and listened to The Clash to try and improve her spirits. Next to her friends, Mick Jones and the rest of The Clash could always be depended upon to help her out of tough times.
She grabbed a handful of Chocolate Frogs from her stash and sighed, long and deep.
Now all she had to do was wait.
---
6 o'clock that night, the Evans' front door was knocked upon. Before her parents even had time to get up, Lily had already opened it to admit her 3 friends. Tru, Ty, and Beth all gave her a huge group hug and then followed their friend up to her room, and finally up to the "tower".
They knew it was serious when Mick Jones' raw voice began to sing.
"Honey, what happened?" Tru asked beginning to brush through her friends hair, as Ty began to do her nails. Bethan was shutting off her record playing and setting up her radio (a magical one), and tuning it to the AAQ station.
Normally they couldn't stand to listen to the All About Quidditch station- they put up with Lily and that was enough, but tonight the 3 friends would make an exception.
---
An hour later, Lily had finished her story, her nails were dry, and her hair was in a new elaborate French up-do.
After she'd finished telling them about the divorce, they'd tactfully moved on to new subjects such as the relationship of Sirius and her. This brought a smile to her face, the first one she'd had since yesterday on the train. Once that got boring they played a number of games including 'Would You Rather', 'MASH-IT-UP', and 'Truth or Truth?'.
By the time they'd started their traditional pillow fight, Lily was hardly even aware of the fact that her parents were getting divorced.
Because with her friends around her, the latest Quidditch game being announced (Chudley Canons vs. Brighton Basilisks) over the AAQ, and her winning the pillow fight, everything was right.
'Well, as right as it'll ever be,' Lily thought as she knocked Beth off her settee.
XXX
REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW PLEASE!
Hey!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
lol, anyways, here's ch.3, enjoy!
and here's a preview of ch. 4:
"Is this legal Sirius?"
"Legal? Ha! Would I ever do something illegal?"
"Well...you have been known to have...momentary lapses of judgment when it comes to having 'fun',"
"Good point sweetie, lets put it this way."
"Uh-oh, which way?"
"It's not exactly legal, but it isn't illegal either,"
"Oh crap, I knew I should've cancelled our date,"
"How you rip at my heart with cold words. I do not believe I shall ever-"
Lily sighed and blew a piece of curly hair off her face.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. Lead the way Mr. Legality,"
Sirius stopped walking, "Hey! I resent that!"
Lily smirked.
"Too bad!" and gave him a push down into Knockturn Alley, quickly following her boyfriend, making sure to not be seen.
Thanx 2 all my readers, especially the ones that reviewed:
The Cardboard Moon: Awww...thanx so much!
crazylily: Thanx again!
LittleSunflower: Thanx...well here's the capter that shows you where I'm trying to go :)
LaughingManiac: I'm glad I replied to you, check your reply and you'll figure out the master plan, lol :)
XxStephXx: Thanx!
fanfictionsissy: Sirius is evil (and hot at it to!) lol...happy Thanksgiving, I sent this along to you in an e-mail, I just wanted to post it first. I'll repost the better version asaI get it back from my wonderful beta (you!) lol...ttys!
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Brighton Baby
xoxo