Affectionate Obsessions

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

Note: Thank you for the reviews! And the medieval person I mentioned in this chapter, just in case you'd be wondering, is purely made up by my weird and bored mind. Anyway, I have a close friend who has a habit of talking to the fishes in our biology lab and library and naming them after herself and after her friends. She asked me a lot of times if it was normal to do so. Well, here's my answer……..Too bad she wont get to read this since she isn't as Harry Potter obsessed as I am and has never heard of But oh well.

Chapter 3

Chocolate Obsessions and Fish Talks

All was peaceful in Hogwarts two weeks later. The atmosphere and the night were quiet and everyone was in the state of blissful slumber. Everyone except one.

"GUYS!" Sirius suddenly called out, waking up his three dorm mates. "WAKE UP!"

Three groans were heard simultaneously as Sirius unceremoniously shook Remus, Peter, and Frank Longbottom until they opened their eyes.

"Sirius," Remus spoke sleepily as he tried to fall asleep again. "Would you please explain to us why you had another bout of the crazy sickness and decided to wake us all from our sleep?"

"Simple guys," Sirius said. "I want some chocolate. Let's go to the kitchens!"

Three pillows were hurled towards his head.

Remus gave him an exasperated glance. "Padfoot," he said as patiently as he could, "You woke us all up for chocolate? Why don't you spare yourself the trouble of going to the kitchens and conjuring up a bar by yourself!"

"But I can't!" Sirius said in a voice of anguish. "You see, conjured-up chocolate isn't as good as kitchens-house-elf made chocolate".

"And it matters because…….?" Frank asked darkly.

"Well, it's simple," Sirius explained. "I love chocolate. I need to have the best of the best, because without it, I'll go insane, or worse, lose my handsomeness and charm!" He took on a look of horror at the very thought.

"And would that be so bad? Besides, you're already insane," Frank said.

Sirius brushed the insult aside. "Come on, guys. This is chocolate we're talking about here! The best thing on earth since….well, since ME!"

"Unbelievable," Peter muttered into his pillow. "Not only is he crazy, but he's arrogant as well".

"No Padfoot," Remus said. "What we are talking about right now is your apparent craziness. Wait, technically, we shouldn't even be talking, we should be sleeping. Normal people are still asleep at 2:45 am, Sirius, and we want to be one of them, so the answer is NO!"

Sirius pouted. "Come on, guys! Please! It'll be great, I swear!"

"Sorry Sirius," Peter mumbled, his eyes already closed. "I need my sleep because I don't want to fall asleep in front of my breakfast, plain and simple".

"No way Sirius," Remus said, "I need my sleep since I need a clear head for tomorrow's Arthimancy test".

"Forget it," Frank added. "I'm seeing Alice tomorrow; I need to look like something even remotely resembling a human being, and not someone from the Night of the Living Dead".

"Fine" Sirius said. He threw on some clothes and his cloak and headed outside. He stealthily walked towards the Head's common room until he was in front of a large portrait of a snoring man in elegant mauve wizard's robes.

"OY! Strange portrait guy! Wake up!" Sirius whispered as he repeatedly tapped the canvas.

The man in the portrait gave a short noise, jolted and opened his eyes sleepily. Upon seeing Sirius, it asked in a dignified English accented voice, "Yes?"

"Hey, strange portrait guy, let me in, I need to see the Head Boy!" Sirius said as loudly as he could.

The man in the portrait straightened his posture and said in the same dignified tone, "I would prefer if you called me Sir Patrick Whilloughby-Devonton, Knight of The-----"

"Round Table? Like in King Arthur?" Sirius asked.

"Square Table, actually. I worked as knight and sorcerer for the father of Lady Gwendolyn of Alessiera," The man in the portrait rectified.

"Gwendolyn of where? Wait a second, why the hell am I making small talk with a bloody portrait?" Sirius asked himself. Turning once more to the portrait, he said, "Come on, Sir Patrick, let me in!"

"And what business would you have with Master James at this hour?" Sir Patrick asked.

"I need to talk to him!" Sirius said simply.

"About what?"

"Why would you care?"

"Because as Protector of the Head's Room, I make it my business to know about anyone's specific reason for entering this room. Now what business would you have with Master James at this hour?" Sir Patrick asked.

Sirius sighed. "Fine. I want him to come with me to the kitchens to get some chocolate".

"What!" The portrait hissed. "Young man, are you aware that sneaking into the kitchens, especially during these hours is strictly prohibited? It says so in Section 1 of the Prohibited Things in the Hogwarts Rulebook".

"Geez, you're more rigid about rules-following than McGonagall. No wonder James dislikes you," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" The portrait questioned.

Still not believing that he was still talking to a crazy rules-obsessed portrait, he replied, "Fine. I wasn't really going to take him to the kitchens. I was really just here to um…..borrow his Hogwarts Rulebook! You know, to read up on the rules of this school, so I can make sure I don't break anything! I just care so much about rules, you know?" He smiled innocently at the portrait, but was gagging inwardly at the words he had just spoken.

Sir Patrick visibly brightened. "Well then, that's an entirely different matter! Very good, Sir. In you go!" and with that, he swung the portrait to reveal the entrance to the Head's common room.

Just as Sirius was about to enter, he paused and asked Sir Patrick, "Hey wait a minute, why are you letting me enter without a password?"

"Simple," Sir Patrick replied. "You are a rule-follower, a person who respects authority and lives by the rules. You just said so. I trust people who are like that, so I know perfectly well that you won't do any destructive actions".

Sirius simply nodded and walked inside, the portrait closing behind him. "That was almost too easy," he thought to himself as he climbed the staircase leading to the wooden door marked "James Potter, Head Boy".

Once there, he turned the knob, opened the door, and went inside, closing the door softly behind him. His first thought was that it would be worth becoming Head Boy just so he could have a big, neat, and grand room like this………but then he changed his mind and decided that pranks would be better instead.

He found James sleeping peacefully in the big bed at the center of the room. "Hey, he's still using the quilt he had when he was still five! Hehe, this is great for blackmail purposes! He is such a little kid," he thought to himself before he went to the side of the bed where James was sleeping and started to shake him as he had done with the rest of his friends.

Finally James opened his eyes. Upon seeing Sirius's face, he said groggily, "Padfoot? What are you doing here?"

"Simple," Sirius repeated what he had said to the others before. "I want some chocolate. Let's go to the kitchens!"

James glanced at the clock. "Padfoot," he said through gritted teeth, "You woke me up just because you wanted some chocolate? It's bloody 3 o'clock in the morning, go find someone else to annoy, or better yet, go get it yourself!"

"But I can't!" Sirius said in a voice of anguish. "If I went alone, I might get lost; you know how uncoordinated I am in the dark, and I don't want to use my wand. And besides, if I tried to find someone else, they would only try to hex me for being an annoying prat".

"Which is exactly what I'm going to do to you if you don't go back to sleep and stop annoying me," James muttered darkly into his pillow.

He repeated the reasons why the other three guys didn't want to go with him, which he said, were perfectly valid reasons. "See, you are my friend," Sirius also explained. "So that means you won't hurt me, right?"

"Keep talking and I just might," James said threateningly. He was in an especially grumpy mood whenever something interrupted his sleep.

Sirius turned to James with a pleading look in his eyes. "James? Please?"

"No way!" James protested.

"Why?"

"Because……..well……because…….I uh…….."

Sirius grinned triumphantly. "Ha! You don't have a reason, so that means you have to accompany me to the kitchens!"

James suddenly got an idea. "Nope, I have a reason. I have to look good tomorrow because I'm going to see Lily then! There, a perfectly valid reason" He smirked.

Sirius, much to James surprise, simply grinned. "No, sorry Prongsie, but that's not a good enough reason. Now let's go!"

"What!" James protested. "But that excuse worked with Frank, why can't it work with me?"

"Because James," Sirius said as he went to James's side of the bed and began to pull on him to get up. "The difference between you and Frank is that Alice is actually Frank's girlfriend, while Lily isn't looking even close to becoming your girlfriend".

As he began tugging on James's arm, James said, "NO! I don't care, Sirius, I am not going with you".

"Well then, I'll just have to tell Lily about the time during your parents' party last year when you tried to do a spell to clean the drink you spilt on the floor but it backfired and caused it to spill on Lady Patricia Adamson's dress. And not only that, you also----"

"Okay, okay, let's go," James said hastily as he hurriedly got out of bed and got changed into something proper and more decent, along with putting his robe on. "Sometimes I wonder why I couldn't get a normal best friend," he muttered to himself as he retrieved the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map from his trunk.

He threw the cloak over them and the two walked out of his room and out of the common room. The crept quietly to the kitchens, taking care not to pass on any corridor that had another person walking.

Finally they reached the big portrait of fruit. Looking around first to see if someone was there, Sirius reached out his hand and tickled the pear. At once the portrait swung open to reveal the immaculately white kitchen of Hogwarts, which, though filled with many house-elves concocting and whipping up foods for breakfast presumably, was still strangely spotless.

Two house-elves came to them at once, a male and female. "Good morning, James Potter and Sirius Black!" the two chorused as the female house-elf gave a short curtsy.

"Hello Talley, Hello Barley. Just the usual chocolate feast for me, and a cup of hot chocolate for James, if you please," Sirius requested as he and James sat down on the chairs by the big mahogany table the house-elves had placed there especially for Hogwarts students.

As the house-elves began laying the chocolate-laden delicacies on the table, Sirius expression was of one who had died and gone to heaven. He sighed contentedly as he began eating, James merely sipping his hot chocolate as he fought to stay awake. Suddenly, he heard a voice that made him snap totally awake.

"Sirius? Potter?" These were the words that came out of Lily Evans' mouth as she stared in surprise at the two newcomers. "What are you two doing here? At three thirty in the morning?"

As James was still looking shock stilled to see the love of his life in the same room as them, Sirius answered by saying, "Well, I wanted some chocolate and I asked James to come along! But I should ask you the same question. What are you doing here? This is against the rules, and you are Head Girl".

"And Potter is Head Boy but that didn't stop him, now did it?" Lily countered. "Besides, I don't recall Professor Dumbledore ever mentioning that going into the kitchens was strictly prohibited. And anyway, I didn't come here by free will, Kailey asked me to come with her".

It was Sirius' turn to stare. "What? But Sir Patrick said it was illegal! According to him, it was stated in Section 1 of the Prohibited Things in the Hogwarts Rulebook".

Lily shook her head. ""Sirius, first of all, there is no Hogwarts rulebook. You see, the teachers had already assumed that students would know the rules by just following their common sense and what the teachers would tell them. And besides, Sir Patrick is a crazy person who still believes that he is an all-important knight and he makes up rules to mess with peoples' minds".

Before any of them could say anything else, Kailey came up to them, bringing with her a half-eaten muffin.

"Hey Lils, where are---wait a minute. Sirius? James?" she said in disbelief. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Apparently you're not the only one with a sudden 3 am chocolate craving, Kaye," Lily replied for the boys, laughing a bit.

Kailey shook her head, and then suddenly had direct eye-contact with Sirius. She saw a glint in his eyes, and she understood completely. Giving a subtle nod, she guessed his plan right away.

"Well, guys, it just so happens that um…." Sirius said. "Uh, Kailey and I have to talk about our Transfiguration project! Yeah, so we'll just go and…….."

"Yeah, come on, Sirius. Let's go talk in the uh, Great Hall," Kailey said.

Lily and James threw the two looks, and they knew that they weren't fooled. "You need to talk about school? At almost four in the morning? My, my, aren't you two different," Lily said smoothly.

"You know Sirius," James said with equal smoothness, hoping to get Lily's attention. "For a person who wanted chocolate, isn't too keen on schoolwork, and loves the kitchens, you seem to want to leave right away. Strange".

Kailey and Sirius glanced at each other. "Well, this is important. We really have to go. Bye!" and without listening to their friend's protests, Sirius took Kailey's arm, which seemed to surprise everyone, and led her out of the kitchens, leaving Lily, James, and a very awkward silence behind them.

"So..." Lily said awkwardly.

"So……." James echoed after her. He searched for something to talk about, and then said the first thing that came into his mind. "So, how's the weather?"

I hate myself, he thought, I'm in a room with the girl I love and all I could talk about is the weather! I am so stupid.

Lily looked at him oddly. "The weather? At 3:45 am?" she sat on the table so the two were across each other.

"What?" he said defensively. "Although now that you think about it, it does sound kind of lame, doesn't it?"

Lily was taken aback. Did she just hear James Potter admit that he had said something lame? Whoa, that was a first. "Frankly, yes. It is lame," she conceded. She glanced at the clock perched on the wall, and said, "Well, I'd better be going then. I need my sleep-or what's left of it—if I'm going to stay awake for class later". She made to stand up, and walked over to where James was at since the entrance was near him.

There was a loud blast, and James was suddenly knocked over to the far side of the room. "Damn restraining order charm," he muttered painfully.

Lily looked on guiltily. "The restraining order charm did that, didn't it?"

"What do you think?" James said sardonically.

Lily sighed, took her wand and said, "Sorry. I guess I'll have to remove the charm. After all, if you get too close, I can always hex you". And with that, she waved her wand, said an incantation, and James happily walked back to his original place.

Once there, Lily said, "Right. I'd better be going then".

James nodded. "Yeah, I'd better be going too. I need my sleep if I'm going to be awake enough to grace everyone with my wonderful handsomeness tomorrow, especially you".

Lily turned to face him, her eyes narrowed. "See, this is what I hate about you! You're being so damn arrogant, smirking all the time and ruffling up your hair, it makes me sick. Look, do me a favor, and just don't talk to me today, okay?"

"How can I do that? We both have more or less the same classes today, and at some point we will have to make contact".

"How would you know if we have the same classes, huh?"

"Simple. I memorized your schedule. It's Monday today, so at 9 to 8:50, you have Charms, then at 10- 11 you have Double Potions with the Slytherins, then lunch then----"

"Wait a sec, you actually memorized my schedule? Are you stalking me or something?" Lily asked him, her incredulous gaze laced with silent fury.

"I'm not stalking you Evans, just admiring, only crazy people stalk," James defended himself.

"Potter, you owled me almost every single day at my house last summer. You suddenly turn up at places where I am, as if you have a map or something that knows where I am. Any boy who approaches me and just asks me out somehow mysteriously ends up in the Hospital Wing sprouting tentacles. Does that not sound like stalking to you?"

"Well, maybe a bit," James said uncomfortably, "But I'm only doing it for you to see that we're perfect for each other!"

"POTTER!" she screamed. "We are not perfect for each other, see how much we fight? Besides, never in my life would I go for someone as egoistical and annoying, not to mention slightly crazy, as you!" And with that, she turned and left the kitchens.

James just stared at her leaving figure, wondering why he was constantly being such an idiot around Lily. Now that he thought about it, it was probably because he had been following advice coming from a book Sirius had given him, which was made by the Marauders on his birthday, which stated ways on how to win over Lily.

"Why did I trust that stupid book again?" James questioned to himself. Then he remembered that the only reason why he even bothered to open the book was because of the fact that there were the words, Written by: Remus Lupin, on the cover. Unfortunately, he didn't even stop to think that written had meant that Remus was the one who wrote down the book to make it readable and was following Sirius' directions as opposed to he was the one who actually thought up the ideas written there.

Stifling a yawn, he placed the half-empty cup of half-chocolate on the table, said thanks to the house-elves, and headed back to the Head's common room to salvage what was little was left of his sleeping time.

..------..

"James, why do you look like someone from the Night of the Living Dead?" Sirius asked him bluntly as they began eating breakfast.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I couldn't get to sleep again after you dragged me to the kitchens to satisfy your crazy chocolate craving! Honestly, your worse than a pregnant woman with a crazy food combination craving," James snapped at him as he buttered his toast.

"You mean you actually let him drag you into his nonsensical chocolate escapade!" Remus asked as Peter and he laughed.

"Hey, it wasn't at all fun for me, you know. I had to talk to an insane portrait!" Sirius interjected. He turned to James. "I wonder, how can loss of sleep take away all your looks? I mean, look at me, I barely slept at all last night, and I still look as handsome as ever".

Not paying any attention, James turned to Remus and Peter. "Tell me honestly, guys. How bad do I look?"

Remus and Peter looked at each other apprehensively. "Well, Prongs, if it's any consolation, the way you're looking now, Lily's staring at you," Peter said tentatively.

He stole a look at her direction, and countered, "No, she's not staring at me. She's glaring at me". Peter shrugged and returned to his breakfast. James turned to Remus. "Moony, how bad do I look?"

Remus sighed, put down his muffin and said, "Do you really want an honest answer?" When James nodded, Remus replied, "Fine. Simply put, you look like shit, but there's still time for you to get ready and snap up before classes start. I know a spell to remove the dark circles around your eyes. Trust me," his voice dropped. "It helped a lot after the full moon so I wouldn't look so weak".

"Whatever, fine. Good point though, I can't go to class like this, it'll ruin my reputation," James said. Nothing more was said as the four friends resumed eating their breakfast.

Once they were finished, however, they all headed to the common room to help up with James' not so appealing appearance, then headed off to class.

..------..

"JAMES MICHAEL STANLEY POTTER, I WILL MURDER YOU!" Lily yelled at James. It was the afternoon, and they were in their last class of the day, History of Magic, and Professor Binns had left for awhile to attend the staff meeting scheduled by the Headmaster.

"Well, you know my mother's maiden name? How wonderful!" James said, looking quite composed yet delighted.

"STOP TRYING TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT! DID YOU, OR DID YOU NOT, JUST WRITE ME THIS LETTER?" Lily snapped at him. Everyone was watching the bickering couple intently now, amused grins on their faces.

"What letter? I've written a lot of letters today, one to my parents, to my cousin, to my friends-------" James said smoothly.

"THIS LETTER!" Lily yelled as se held up a piece of parchment. James walked up to the front, where Lily was sitting, and took the letter from her grasp.

"Oh, you mean, this one? Ah yes, I vaguely remember writing this, but I don't seem to recall the contents of it. Let me refresh my memory, shall I?" And with that, he began to read the letter. Out loud.

"No, Potter!" Lily hissed. "Don't you dare!" He seemed to pay no mind as he started.

"Dearest Lilykins," he read out in a dramatic voice. Lily covered her head with her hands. "Your emerald eyes shine like frog spleen oil, so deeply they glisten with brilliance. Whenever you look my way, I feel as if I had died and gone to heaven with the affectionate looks-yes, I know those sneers and glares are all expressions of love—you shoot at me every day. You are perfect in looks and attitude, although I do know that you have quite a short temper, and sometimes talk to yourself in the common room. You have strange quirks but it only endears you to me more. Your constant refusals are only signs that you want me to work harder for your affections, and indeed I shall. Until the day I draw my last breath, I will always be there, loving you and waiting for you to give me a chance. Love, James".

The entire class was lightly tittering, save for Sirius, who was laughing so hard that tears were coming down his face. "How did you like that letter, Lily? Wasn't it just sweet?" James asked her, grinning.

Lily looked up, and straightened her posture, her face as brilliantly red as her hair. She stared into his eyes, took the parchment out of his hands, and ripped it to bits. "That's what I think, Potter. I cannot believe you just embarrassed me in front of the public, again! Must you always torment me like this?"

"Lily, I'm not tormenting you! All I'm trying to do is show you how much I care for you! I just want one chance, that's it!" James replied, an almost desperate tone in his voice.

"Well, trust me, Potter, the way you're acting now, I will never give you a chance! I have never done that, and I never will, why can't you get that through your overlarge head!" Lily half-yelled.

At that moment, the bell rang. The students began filing out of the room, Lily being the first to leave.

"Come on, James, let's go to the common room and play Exploding Snap!" Sirius said excitedly.

"Yeah, we've got nothing better to do with our time," Peter added as an afterthought.

James paused then said, "Nah you guys, I sort of need to do something. I'll see you at dinner". And with that, he took his backpack and left the room, leaving behind his three bewildered friends.

He walked and walked through the corridors, his mind full of muddled thoughts. He at last reached the entrance, and went outside. He walked and walked until he reached his destination.

There was no one by the lake, James noted with some relief. Finding his favorite spot, he placed his backpack onto the ground and sat down, observing the water.

Ever since he had been eleven, there was one thing he could never understand about Hogwarts: Why could he not find any fish in the Black Lake? Sure there were mermaids, and the Giant Squid, that was all well and good, but what about normal aquatic creatures? It had never failed to baffle him, and he sometimes liked to sit by there, hoping to see even just one fish swim out to greet him.

But now, he had not come to go fish-watching, he had come to think about his obsession and feelings for Lily. He simply could not understand why she seemed to hate him so much, but sometimes she would act civilly to him.

He was too caught up in his thoughts to find that slowly, four figures started to show themselves from the water, swimming near the spot James was in. When he did notice, however, he went closer and took a good look. He gasped.

Fishes.

"So there are fishes in the lake!" James thought triumphantly. He grinned to himself and observed them carefully. He found that they seemed to be very friendly with one another, and by some strange notion, he was reminded of his friends.

"Hmm, I think I'll call that one Sirius, and that one James, and that one Remus, and that one Peter," James said quietly to himself.

He looked at them again, and was surprised to find them all looking up at his direction, as if they were all staring at him directly. "Right," James said, figuring that he needed someone, or something to talk to besides himself. He looked at the fish he had called Sirius, and said, "Sirius, I don't get it. Why does Lily hate me so much?"

The only response he got was a slap of the fin, which splashed some water onto James direction.

"Stupid fish," James muttered. He turned to the one named Peter. "Peter, what's wrong with the way I'm acting?"

Peter the Fish's reply was only to swim to another side to eat something it had found.

"Useless fish," James muttered as well. He looked at the fish he had named Remus. "Remus, does Lily hate me?"

To his surprise, Remus the Fish began jumping from the water twice, as though nodding. James looked extremely pleased.

"Finally, something that makes sense! Anyway, she tells me that I'm being an idiot. Am I really?" At his question, the same response was given.

At that point James began to pour out all his problems onto the fish, never pausing once. And amazingly though, it seemed as if Remus the Fish was listening patiently as he spoke.

Suddenly, James heard a voice saying, "Potter? What are you doing?"

Without looking up, he said, "Talking to Remus. He's helping me with my problems".

"But Remus isn't here".

"I'm talking about Remus the Fish," James said. He turned about and found himself face to face with Lily, who had a strange and bewildered expression on her face.

Wordlessly, Lily sat down beside him. They sat in silence for awhile before Lily broke it by saying, "So let me get this straight. You're conversing with fish? That's not normal………"

"Well, have you ever seen fish in the Black Lake before?" James asked her.

"No. But what's the point?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to ask you, I guess". And with that, another uneasy silence fell again between them. And once again, Lily broke it.

"I'm really sorry for yelling at you, I was just mad I guess," Lily said suddenly in a rush. The moment the words came out of her mouth she covered her mouth with her hands, looking horrified at the slip of the tongue.

James couldn't believe his ears. "Did—did you just apologize to me?"

As though only realizing now what she had done, Lily snapped hurriedly, "Of—of course not. Why would I be apologizing to you, I don't need to. I don't even know what I'm doing here, don't ask me, you prat!" She hurriedly stood up and walked away, muttering the words, "Stupid James Potter".

James stared at her retreating figure, dumfounded. First she acts quite civilly, and then she snaps at him? Strange. He honestly couldn't understand the way Lily was behaving recently.

And frankly, neither could she.