A/N: There'll be an explanation at the end of this chapter as to why I haven't updated for so long. I hope you guys won't desert me, and now, I'm not going to make you wait any longer…
Chapter 7
Sirius let out a loud whoop as he entered the house the next morning. His friends looked up from their plates of toast, bacon, and tomato.
"You'll never guess what just happened!"
"Did you get my eggs?" Lily asked.
Sirius ignored her. "I met my old landlord down at the store, buying seeds. He told me that they were for his son, who runs a greenhouse! I mentioned that Nicole was very fond of plants, and he offered to set up a meeting!"
"Really?" Nicole's eyes widened.
"Yes, dear. It'll be tomorrow morning at nine, The Three Broomsticks."
"Did you get my eggs?" Lily repeated.
"Evans! This is a really big and important bit of—OK, no."
"Knew it."
"It's just eggs! Anyway, how about it, Nicole?"
"Of course I'd love to meet him! Thank you, Sirius!" Nicole paused. "I need to start drawing up a resume…"
"Oh, there's no need, actually. It'll just be a very casual chat. My landlord says his son doesn't really bother much with such formalities."
She beamed and threw her arms around him.
"Hey, and since the meeting's at nine, I'll be glad to accompany you there before work," James offered.
"I'd really appreciate it, James."
Lily patted Sirius on the back. "Yes, I realize how insensitive I was to your big news—but now that you're done, you can go back and get those eggs."
"It's just eggs, Evans!"
"Either you get them or you don't eat."
Sirius went off, grumbling. "Honestly…redheads…"
James tried to head off his girlfriend. "Love, you didn't have to be so bossy…"
"I'm sorry, James, but this is how I am, alright? I'm a perfectionist, I'm neurotic, and I can't help antagonizing your friend because he's the exact opposite," Lily shot back.
"You can't seriously expect me to ask Sirius to change just because you say so." James's voice was rapidly escalating.
Remus knew that tone. James, it was common knowledge, regarded Sirius as a brother, and no one disparaged who James Potter had put under his protection.
Lily was clearly unaware. "He could use it!"
"Lily…" Remus tried. James's expression was twisting into a very familiar coldness.
"Oh, sod off!" he finally yelled before storming off and out the front door.
Lily's eyes widened. "Fine!" She turned and ran upstairs.
Remus and Nicole winced as two doors slammed shut at the same time.
"Should I—" Nicole offered tentatively.
"No, I think I better." Remus sighed. "I think its best you go and get Sirius. He'll have a better idea where our recalcitrant Prongs may have gone."
She nodded quickly.
"Good luck," each wished the other.
xxxxx
Remus took a deep breath and pushed open Lily's bedroom door.
She was slumped on her bed, staring listlessly up at the ceiling.
"Lily."
She lifted her head about a centimetre from the pillow she was reclining on. "Remus."
He jumped onto the mattress at her feet. "'Oy, this is fun…"
Lily raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
He leaned closer and poked her in the ribs.
"Hey! Now you've done it…"
What ensued was a very raucous tickle fight, which Remus eventually won.
"OK," Lily gasped, clutching her stomach, "Now will you tell me what's wrong with me?"
Remus picked up one of her Muggle fashion magazines and leafed through it. "You tell me, Miss Evans."
Lily punched a pillow absently. "It was such a silly argument. And James is right…I was positively horrid to Sirius—I mean it was just eggs."
Remus politely waited for her to go on.
"I can't help it, Remus. There's only the five of us, in this house. We're only children, Remus! I wake up sometimes and I think, how could I have complied? How could I have agreed to do this? I felt that I had to rise up as the mother of the house."
Remus raised an eyebrow. "We are legally adults, Lily. And have you forgotten that Sirius has lived on his own ever since he was sixteen, and did quite well? I hope it has not slipped your mind that he is probably more grown-up that the rest of us are. He's gone through life being forced to mature quickly. He's seen a lot more than we have. I know he seems on occasion quite flighty to you, but you must understand that this is his way of hanging on to his youth—which he understands better than anyone that we won't have forever."
"I did forget, " admitted Lily.
"Sirius irks you to rebel against you. You've done nothing but critique him ever since you and James got together." Remus stood up from the bed. "I think it is time the two of you had a nice chat to settle these issues. I as a mediator can only do so much. Nicole went to get him at the store—they should have returned by now."
Lily nodded. "And I have to apologize to James."
Remus smiled fondly. "You have a good head on your shoulders, for a redhead. Thank Merlin for that."
xxxxx
Sirius and Lily were sitting in the kitchen, at opposite sides of the counter, arms crossed.
"So," began Sirius. "You have something to tell me, Evans?"
She did not speak.
"Well in that case, I'm off then. Bye-bye."
"Black, wait!"
He did, his infamous smirk playing across the his equally famous lips. "Well?"
"Thanks for getting the eggs?"
"Gee, thanks. OK. I'll take my leave now."
Lily quickly leapt off the counter. "Look, Sirius—I'm sorry."
He looked very pleased. "For…?"
"I have been putting you down ever since I've been with James, and I never thought of how irksome I was getting. And I never took your feelings into consideration."
"Go on…" Sirius was clearly relishing this.
"I really do appreciate having you around, Black," Lily confessed.
Sirius looked incredibly self-satisfied, but he dropped the expression when he realized that Lily was getting emotional.
"Evans! You're forgiven! I promise!" He yelped as he drew her into a bear hug. "There's no actual need to cry! Evans!"
XXX
A/N: OK, the long-winded explanation I promised:
The reason why I stopped updating was for two reasons. The first one was because I felt a need to take a break from the Harry Potter world—from the Internet in general. I felt that I was getting far too addicted to the World Wide Web, and it was interfering with my schoolwork. The second was because I no longer had much enthusiasm for writing. I felt that what I was turning out was showing this, and I decided that instead of posting regularly (but with mediocre chapters), I would take a hiatus—get my head together, allow my creative juices to recharge. I spent most of these few months reading all sorts of literature (most recently classics) to get inspiration. And just this week, my "spark" returned, ready for action (funnily enough, after I read Artemis Fowl)
I actually have finished Chapter 8 already (I hope to have it up by tomorrow), and am in the middle of writing Chapter 9. I'm telling you, it feels great to be back in the game:)
And now for some long-overdue acknowledgments…
Arista Ramabra, LupinLover99, Wilty, and webling-girl05- Thanks from the very depths of my heart! (Although technically, feelings come from the amygdala, which is located in the temporal lobe of the brain…Little psych-nerd ranting there :D)
God bless, y'all!