James glanced around the common room and sighed. It had been a long day. Although anyone else would think that James tried to make Lily upset, that was defiantly not how it was. He hated it when Lily got mad at him, now more than ever. Was she going to give him a chance, now that she knew she was going to marry him, and have a son with him? He tried not to think about the fact that anyone could change the future, especially if they knew what lay in store for them.
Where's Sirius when you need him? James thought, and frowned slightly. Sirius was usually pretty good at distracting James when Lily and he had an argument. Maybe it wouldn't be much of a help this time, since Lily had actually been kind to him at the end of it. The image of her turning her back on him and walking away replayed in his mind again and again, no matter how hard he tried to push it out. James heard the common room door swing open, and glanced over his shoulder.
"Come on, Harry. It's really not that hard to figure out that you're James' son. You look exactly like him, and have his last name. As for Lily, she's not thick at all, so I'm not surprised that she found out as well," came a matter-of-factly voice that sounded a little like Lily's.
James quickly turned back, and gazed into the fire; it was his son and his two friends. Every time James thought about the boy, his heart skipped a beat. That wasn't something that usually happened to James; care-free James, who just wanted to enjoy life. Now that word, 'life' seemed to have a whole different meaning. He had a son, with the girl that he loved. It had struck him as odd, however, that his son seemed awkward around James. Why should he be, when he was living with an older version of himself at home?
Rubbing his eyes, and sighing, James tried to clear his mind of all thoughts. This was far too confusing for him.
xxx
Sirius, Allie, Remus, and Lily were walking towards the common room silently. There really wasn't much to say, as it was obvious that they were all thinking the same things. Allie glanced sideways at her best mate, and looked away, concerned. Lily seemed dead to the world, the usual spark in her eyes gone. Remus looked thoughtful, as he often did, but Allie could detect a hint of confusion in his eyes. She couldn't blame him; it was all rather confusing.
Biting her lip, she sighed deeply, and when they finally reached the portrait hole, said, "Acromantula."
xxx
James looked up again, as he heard people entering the common room. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw Sirius and Remus, but when he saw Lily, it gave way to a wave of terror. Their son was sitting on the other side of the common room, talking to his friends, but if Lily started yelling at him, he would defiantly hear it. What kind of a son would ever like to watch his teenage parents fighting like that?
"I'm going to go for a walk," Allie mumbled slightly, sensing that Lily and James needed to be alone. She looked up at Remus and Sirius, "Do you guys want to come?"
Remus smiled, but shook his head, "No, thank you. I think I'd better study for my Muggle Studies exam."
Sirius chuckled slightly, and rolled his eyes, "Moony…never one to just let go and fail an exam. Well, Allie, I think I would enjoy a walk," he grinned at her.
A tinge of red appeared on Allie's face, but she willed it away before talking. She couldn't show her feelings. That would be very thick of her. Besides, she doubted that Sirius would ever fancy her…or any girl for that matter. He was more the type that got into a relationship, if you could call it that, if the girl looked nice.
"Ok. Let's go then," and with that, she and Sirius walked out of the common room, and Remus up into the dorm.
xxx
Lily watched Allie and Sirius go with a sigh. Turning her eyes back at James, she flushed slightly as she noticed him studying her, and silently sat down next to him, "Sorry about yelling at you before, James. I-er…I just assumed that you weren't going to take the situation seriously. I was wrong though."
James nodded, and looked down at his feet. She was apologizing, and admitting that she was wrong. Isn't this how he's always dreamed his conversations with Lily would go? Well now he didn't know what to say or do. Finally, after thinking for a while, he looked up and said, "It's ok. But you really have me all wrong in your mind. Sure, I like to have fun…but I'm the kind of person who doesn't take a serious situation….seriously."
Noticing what he had just said, James ran a hand quickly through his hair, and scowled at himself. Why did he always have to sound so incredible stupid? But then a jolt of excitement shot through him as he realized that maybe, just maybe, Lily would give him a chance now. After all, they were being honest with each other, without her screaming her head off. That was good.
"Alright, well…I think I'd better go…I'll talk to you later," Lily smiled slightly at James, and walked, dazed towards the girl's dorm.
James watched her go, slightly crestfallen, yet left with a feeling of happiness. She didn't hate him after all.
xxx
"So, Sirius, any new girlfriends lately?" Allie smiled at him, and tried to sound casual.
Sirius grinned back and sighed before saying in what he thought was his oh-so-charming voice, "No, not really. I've got my eye on a certain girl, though. I think I might ask her to go to the next Hogsmead trip with me. Did you see the notice? It's on the board in the common room…the trip's next weekend."
Allie frowned slightly. He had an eye on a certain girl? What was that supposed to mean? Allie's heart beat slightly faster as she thought of the idea of Sirius in a serious relationship. (A/N: Ehh, once again!) With a hint of distractedness in her voice, she replied, "No, I didn't see it."
Sirius nodded, "Yes, I've noticed that not many people read the board…they just hear it from the brilliant blokes like me that do. Not that you're not brilliant," he flashed a smile at her, "But, you know. Well, anyway…tell what an ideal date for a girl would be…I need to know in order for the Hogsmead trip to go smoothly."
He really was serious about this girl. Trying not to look to upset, Allie bit her lip, and made her voice steady in her throat before answering, "Hmm. An ideal date…? I think that would defiantly be if someone took me to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, and then maybe Zonkos just for a little bit of fun. Then maybe a walk around Hogsmead would be nice."
Yes, Allie could describe her idea of a horrible date to him, to insure that his date went horribly, but she doubted that he would ever even want to speak to her again if she did. Sighing slightly, she looked up to see him nodding, with a thoughtful expression on his face, "That sounds good. Thanks."
They turned another corner in silence, and found themselves walking towards the Gryffindor common room. Giving the password again, Allie climbed through the portrait hole, in a slight daze, and walked straight up to the girl's dorm without a word to Sirius, or James, who was sitting alone near the fire.
James looked up at Sirius sat down across from him in another black arm chair, "So why do you look so happy?" he asked, dreading the answer slightly.
"Nothing really…I'm just planning to ask Allie to go to Hogsmead with me…you look like a Hippogriff, James…what's gotten into you?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at James, and looked him up and down.
"I look like a Hippogriff? What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? Anyway, Lily and I talked, and she didn't yell at me once. Is that odd, or what?"
"Women," Sirius sighed, "From what I've noticed, you can never tell what mood they're in, so just to play it safe, give them lots of chocolate and flowers."
A/N: Ok I'm jet-lagged from vacation, so I typed this partly yesterday afternoon, and finished it this morning at three. I hope you liked it, because it's all I had to do for a couple of hours…thanks to my reviewers:
Klappa: Thanks for the constructive criticism. Seriously, I really appreciate it! I hope this chapter was more along the lines of what you were thinking…?
