Chapter 18 of Year 4: Crossing the Threshold
Marlene was the only one who could possibly know the entirety of their situation (as far as Eilidh could tell. She didn't know if Sirius had told anyone.) In fact, this whole thing was practically Marlene's idea. "Make him see you can still be friends," she had said. Eilidh took her advice to heart. It was difficult though when Sirius rarely looked at her voluntarily anymore and only spoke using so many words. So, she composed this plan.
At first, it seemed to work. Breakfast the next morning was spent giving vague answers to the boys' many questions.
"Exactly how many charms did you use?" Sirius asked the minute he sat down next to her (close enough to feel his body heat) in the Great Hall.
"Enough," she answered, not skipping a beat.
"You better not have used a Permanent Sticking Charm," he warned.
"Would that be fair?" she asked with a coy smirk as Sirius scowled at her over his cereal giving her a small amount of hope.
His mood changed though when Muggle Studies came and they were alone. Eilidh had walked in and taken her usual place in the left centre of the room. Sirius had turned to look at her over his shoulder with the hint of a smirk on his face, opened his mouth to stutter out half of a syllable, licked his lips, then turned back around, returning to his indifferent manner. As sad as it was, it was more than what she had been getting - usually, she just got a head nod or, on good days, a partial wave. Still, she repeatedly had to remind herself that after Hogsmeade things would be normal again.
Eilidh was quite surprised to see how long it took them to open the envelope. Three days after the party, the Gryffindor girls received a rude awakening in the middle of the night by a loud, wailing, klaxon-like sound. Startled, she pulled her covers up to her shoulders causing Marlene's cat to leap off her bed and cast a disdainful look over his shoulder. It took a brief second before she realized that a boy had tried to enter the girls' dormitories.
"Let the prefects take care of it," Eilidh muttered after hearing Josie jump out of bed. She settled back down on her pillow and was almost asleep again when there was a knock at the door. Eilidh groaned, sat up, and lit her wand.
Andrea Kim, the Head Girl, entered the room after Lily's shouted, "Come in!" looking less than pleased.
"Will one of you please go down there and get them to go to bed!" Andrea begged.
"Who?" Mary asked.
"The boys in your year - Potter and them." Andrea waved her hand dismissively and swooped out, not waiting for an answer.
Josie grumbled, unintelligibly, and pulled her covers over her head.
"I've had to deal with their pestering all Quidditch practice," Marlene said stubbornly, turning over so her face was in her pillow.
"Potter," Lily groaned, throwing herself back down on her bed.
"I'll go," Eilidh sighed rather than hear the rest of their arguments.
It was rather funny to see how frustrated the boys got.
"Seriously! This is it?" James shouted, brandishing the note at her before she had even stepped foot into the common room. Eilidh forced herself not to laugh.
"What?" she asked, trying (and failing) to sound innocent.
"What?" James repeated in a high mocking voice.
"The one-eyed witch at 10 o'clock! What does that even mean?" Peter asked, over James's angry muttering and stomping. In order to keep her stoic composure, Eilidh forced herself to look away from James's dramatic antics.
"The statue on the third floor, the one everyone used to say was haunted-"
"We know! What does it mean?" Sirius demanded, flailing his arms and collapsing into an armchair, without looking at her.
Eilidh's throat felt constricted when she answered, "that we - that is the girls and I would like to meet the four of you on Saturday at 10 o'clock by the statute. That was all in the note."
"For three days we've been trying to open that thing! We've hardly slept!" James said, sounding shrill. Eilidh had to bite her cheek to prevent her laughter. "Don't tell me that's all we're getting!"
"One," Eilidh said as she held up one finger, "it's for Sirius. Two," she continued, adding another, "it's not all he's getting. Obviously, we have something planned."
"We know that. James meant, is that the only information we're going to get?" Remus said, calmly.
"After three days of torture and no sleep," James added indignantly. "And it's a Hogsmeade weekend! You're going to make us miss Hogsmeade?"
"Trust me. It'll be worth it," Eilidh told him, which earned her a glare. She turned back to Remus. "You need to wear Muggle clothes on Saturday and we'll need your brooms. That's all you're getting."
"Peter got my broom kidnapped," James said as if to say 'ha ha, your plan failed.'
"That won't be a problem," Eilidh said confidently before moving to return to her dormitory. "We'll need your brooms by tomorrow night."
Their brooms were delivered via a very large package carried by three of the school's owls at breakfast on Friday. It cost Eilidh 5 galleons and a million questions to borrow her brother Lucas's broom for James. No one wanted to ride with him.
"He's a classic backseat driver," Lily had said.
"He could drive!" Eilidh desperately tried to argue. 5 galleons were hard to come by.
"There are easier ways to die!"
So, she paid the 5 galleons, dodged Lucas's questions, and added a box of Fizzing Whizbees to ensure his silence. Then, hours before sunrise on Saturday morning, she and Mary snuck into Hogsmeade through the tunnel under the one-eyed witch.
That had been difficult for Eilidh. For the entire year she hadn't even looked at the statue; when queued up for Charms she looked determinedly pasted it or immersed herself with some form of distraction, other times she avoided that corridor completely. She had used that passage only four times before, in her third year. Her father sometimes had business in the city. He'd stay for the weekend and she'd sneak out on Saturday mornings to meet her father outside of Hogsmeade village. They'd spend the day in the city together and she'd be back before dinner. All four of her dorm mates knew about it - she had brought them with her once. It was no doubt because of this that Mary filled their silence with an endless stream of mindless chatter. Part of her was grateful for it. It was definitely easier to walk through the passageway and sneak in and out of Honeydukes without having memories flood her mind. Another part of her longed for silence, so she could think about those memories that had become so painful.
Mary's distraction, though well intended, only made things worse come Saturday afternoon. Being the most familiar with the passage under the one-eyed witch, Eilidh led the group with her wand held lit over her head so she could clearly see the path in front of her. And though some memories were able to slip through causing her eyes to sting slightly with the threat of tears, she focused determinedly on each footstep on the uneven ground, the sound of Remus's haggard breathing (hoping that the exercise and the waxing moon wasn't putting too much of a strain on him), her friends squealing every time they saw a worm, Marlene telling them to "grow some ovaries," and James and Lily talking behind the group.
"How did you know it was Filch who was coming for us? You seemed pretty sure of yourself," Lily commented.
"That's what Code Berk means, Evans," James answered.
"I got that, but how did Peter know that it was a 'Code Berk'?" Lily pressed.
"He's become rather clairvoyant since he's taken up Divinations," James explained. Lily snorted, but James continued. "Seriously! You should hear the dream he had about us."
"If you tell me he dreamt we were married with six kids, living in a cottage in the countryside where we grow old and die together, I will turn you into a worm and leave you here where no one will ever be able to find you," Lily threatened, sounding serious.
"Actually, we had a house in Westminster with four children," James corrected, completely unabashed. "Lily Jr., Lily the second, Lily the third, and James Sirius Remus Peter Potter. They all had your eyes."
"I prefer the country," Lily said simply.
"You'd have to with six children. Imagine the noise! And the expense," James said, not convincing anyone with his pessimistic words.
"Don't blame the children for the noise; we both know that'll be your doing. And as long as you get a job with long hours we won't have to worry about the expense… or my sanity." Lily smirked when James clutched his chest and gasped in faux offence still unable to hide his grin.
Saturday proved to be the perfect day for flying undetected. The sky was cloudy and grey with the threat of snow. Marlene had brought extra jumpers for everyone, assuming correctly that they would forget to bundle up. The boys' frustration seemed at ease now that they had rested. In fact, they seemed excited. Eilidh even caught Sirius gazing around curiously at the countryside.
"You know, when you asked for our brooms, I thought we'd be flying at some point," James told her conversationally, though there was an impatient edge to his tone.
Eilidh rolled her eyes but didn't even look back at him when she said, "We're almost there, stop complaining." It was the same thing she said half an hour ago when they came to the stile at the end of the lane, but this time they really were almost there. She could see the tree that marked a small fissure in the rocks where she and Mary had hidden their brooms hours before.
"It's right there!" Mary announced, rushing forward causing the rest of them to break out in a run.
"And what do you use this place for, Evans?" James asked once they had reached the tree.
"Tea parties," Lily smiled. She was rather enjoying seeing them struggle with not knowing something. "Just remember you've been sworn to secrecy," Lily warned.
"You know we're actually breaking the law by doing this," Josie said as if the idea had suddenly struck her. She had said the same thing when Eilidh had brought her out last year and was probably about to start lecturing about truancy.
"It's official, we're in," Remus grinned.
"How exactly did you get our brooms here?" Sirius asked curiously, having found the fissure in the rocks.
"You have your secrets; I have mine," Eilidh said evasively, moving forward to start handing out the brooms.
"Now can we know where we're going?" Peter asked impatiently.
"I thought it'd be obvious by now," Marlene smirked, taking her broom in hand.
"You already know where we're going," Mary said fairly, leaning against the tree next to Josie.
Eilidh called James forward, holding out Luke's broom, but when James made to grab it, she pulled slightly away. "This is my brother's broom. Break it and I'll hex you into oblivion."
"Please! I think James Potter knows how to properly handle a broom," James smirked, snatching the broom out of her hands.
"I think James Potter needs to stop referring to himself in the third person," Sirius muttered, finding his own broom.
"James Potter thinks Sirius Black needs to stop being a-"
"We," Eilidh said loudly, successfully stopping James's insult, "are the only ones who know where we're going at this point so you four need to follow us. It's important that we stay close together, keep our eyes peeled for You-Know-Who, and keep high enough so the Muggles at least mistake us for birds."
"There's no need to be so optimistic, Eilidh," Remus said, looking slightly concerned.
"We're not going to run into anything dangerous, least of all You-Know-Who," Lily said, calming the tension that had risen.
"We might," Eilidh sang (specifically addressing Josie), as she skipped past the rocks that hid the village from the Muggle world.
"This is truancy. Which is a serious offence! Our parents'll be fined and we'll be expelled," Josie said, giving everyone their last chance to turn back.
"We'll be fine Jo. We'll be back before Hagrid orders his first bucket of Meade," Lily smiled, slightly pushing Josie urging her to follow the rest of them.
Without looking back to see if she would follow, Eilidh took flight. In a tightly formed group, they flew higher, aiming for the clouds. With every foot towards the heavens, every care Eilidh had for the world fell and by the time she passed through the dark grey storm clouds she was soaking and weightless, her chest filled with nothing but blissful excitement.
"Woohooo!" James, shrieked on her left, pulling his broom into a skilful loop. It was a wonder why no one wanted to ride with him. Sirius, who was on her right and close enough to touch, seemed to feel as peacefully she did. The tension that marked his face since Halloween was finally gone. His eyes were focused on James as a mischievous smirk played on his lips. For a split second, he caught her eye, grinned, then ducked out of sight only to pop up again on James's other side, startling him enough to swerve.
They didn't seem to mind the cold at all, even as their lips turned blue, Eilidh's hands felt like they might have been frozen to her broom handle, and Marlene (who had taken Sirius's place on her right,) was visibly shaking. It took only a little over ten minutes for them to reach their destination where they dived down as fast as they could, the street lights ablur, into an alley in the very heart of the city.
Once landed, James and Sirius magically dried themselves and ran out of the alley, instantly enticed by the people performing on the street. Jugglers, people with skillfully trained dogs, musicians rendering their instruments almost past their capacity while the artists were only beginning to reach their full potential.
"Right," Marlene said, after drying everyone else in turn, "Where to first?"
"Anywhere and everywhere! The city is ours," Eilidh grinned, double checking that their brooms were fully covered by the rubbish.
"So..uh..any requests?" Mary asked, looking around.
"There." Sirius pointed to the giant record shaped sign belonging to a shop across the street and stepped into the road.
"They should see the Joke Shop," Lily declared, already heading in the opposite direction, not realising where Sirius had gone.
"I wanna see that!" James said, scurrying to catch up with Lily.
"But I'm hungry. Couldn't we eat first?" We're usually in the Three Broomsticks by now," Peter moaned, following James.
"Oh! There's this really good cafe not far from here," Mary said skipping off, pulling Peter by the hand.
"Oi!" Eilidh called after them, irritably. Sirius hadn't realised that none of them had followed. Unfortunately, no one turned at her call.
"How about we all meet Mary and Peter in the cafe?" Marlene suggested. "You keep Black out of trouble and Josie and I'll take Remus… um- There's a used bookstore on the next street, how's that sound?"
"Erm…" Remus turned to Eilidh, looking for a reaction but Eilidh was too busy glaring at the grinning Marlene to notice.
"Great. We'll see you at the cafe, then?" Josie asked.
"Fine. We'll pick up Lily on the way," Eilidh grumbled before sprinting to catch up with Sirius.
Sirius was already elbowed deep in one of the crates by the time she entered the shop, his eyes flickering over every album cover, pausing momentarily at an interesting looking one, but only one caught his interest enough for him to pull it out to look at the back. Iggy Pop, shirtless, clutching his microphone stand, staring out at the crowd, his skin illuminating red while the rest of the cover was black. It was an iconic album that she knew well. It was Lily's favourite and she had played it until her needle broke.
"Lily has that one. She'll let you borrow it if you ask," Eilidh told him. Sirius jumped at her voice.
"Where are the others?" he asked, dropping the record back in its place.
"They spread out," she shrugged. "You should try The Runaways if you don't mind girl groups or American bands." Eilidh moved to where the owners had marked the R's and started digging. Sirius abandoned his crate and chose the one next to hers.
It amused her to see how much care he took in choosing an album. If one caught his interest, he'd quickly scan the front, read the back in detail, then back to the front again, his eyes moving from top to bottom with the amount of concentration Josie reserved for her books or James for the Quidditch field. It was even worse when he started a conversation with the store's owner; every answer he received seemed to only spark another question. It was an hour before Sirius finally found his selection. Eilidh waited patiently by the door, swinging her plastic bag at her side, watching Sirius with a smile on his face as he finished his conversation with the owner.
"Did you wanna go somewhere?" Sirius asked, once he finally broke away.
"Yeah, but we've got to catch up with other's first," Eilidh said, leading him out the door.
"Well, I think I found my new favourite shop," Sirius said. She was partially surprised that he was carrying on a conversation with her.
"You don't have a good record store at home?" Eilidh asked, her chest bubbling with excitement.
"I don't get out much at home." Sirius shrugged then after a brief moment said, "Thanks for bringing me here," looking at her sideways, smiling, his body leaning toward her almost to playfully nudge her.
"Of course," she grinned. "It's your birthday; I had to do something."
"So, we're still celebrating my birthday?" Sirius asked, walking backwards to look her square in the eye. Eilidh's stomach suddenly started squirming.
"Er- yeah, sure," she answered, apprehensive about what the consequences might be.
"Then I'd like to make a request," Sirius said, full of confidence and enthusiasm in a manner she had not seen from him in weeks.
"Ask and you shall receive," she vowed, her nerves taking a backseat to the thrill she got from his suddenly normal behaviour.
"Total honesty," Sirius said his voice still confident but he stared directly ahead of him and his pace grew suddenly swift and hard to keep up with. "To be fair I'll play along too. So, we can ask each other anything and our answers have to be one-hundred percent, totally, and completely honest no matter what the other person might feel or think."
"Risky, I like it." She grinned despite the pit in her stomach. What was he going to ask?
"You go first," Sirius said.
"But it's your birthday," Eilidh insisted.
"Exactly, you go first."
Eilidh sighed heavily and slowed her pace to a casual stroll forcing him to match her steps. She didn't know what to ask him so she just said, "What's your favourite number?"
"Seriously?" he asked, Eilidh shrugged. "Alright. Um… 22."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I guess it just seems like a good age," Sirius said. "And that was two questions, so I get two."
"Fair enough," Eilidh nodded.
Sirius thought for a moment, gazing at the crowd as if in search of inspiration. "Why'd you bring me here?"
"Erm… I don't - I don't know," Eilidh's stomach twisted. This was something she really didn't want to explain. "You just seemed like you could do with a bit of fun… Halloween seemed pretty stressful for you." That could have been referring to anything; his brother, that fight, the chase, their "moment."
"Nah, I should have expected that. It was pretty standard actually… Well except for …. Okay, question two," Sirius took a deep breath then smiled forcefully. "Why'd you kiss me?"
Eilidh's stomach dropped. Her heartbeat sped up dangerously. Her head spun making her thoughts incomprehensible. She could feel her eyes growing large. She swallowed before forcing herself to speak. "I- To get away from the Slytherins. People look away too quickly when they see people snogging; it was the simplest conclusion."
"And that's it?" Sirius asked, his voice suddenly hard. "Total honesty?"
Eilidh's heart rose to her throat. In the heat of the moment, it did seem like the simplest conclusion. But if she were honest with herself, there had to have been a small sub-conscious ulterior motive that had made her feel guiltier for the past few weeks.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Huh?"
"You got all quiet and you look angry," Sirius explained, watching her with such scrutiny it made her blush. Sirius stepped in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't run into him. "Answer the question," he ordered.
"I did," she said shrilly.
"Not completely," Sirius argued.
Eilidh groaned irritably and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "What question did I not answer?" She looked determinedly in his face, allowing her irritation with him for the past weeks to take over. He didn't even flinch at her scowl and it only proved to make things worse.
"Do you fancy me?" he asked, his voice at least an octave higher than usual.
"You never asked that," Eilidh answered, refusing to blush and forcing herself to keep eye contact.
"It was implied," Sirius said, sounding as irritated as she did.
"I thought we were doing total honesty, not implications," she said, stepping around him, dodging his outstretched hand, and walked as quickly as she could, but despite her efforts, Sirius kept up with her easily.
"Oh my God! You fancy me!" he practically screamed. Eilidh, despite herself, laughed at his excitement. She bit her lip so she wouldn't be caught smiling. "You have to admit it; that's the point of the game."
"I fancy you," Eilidh said through gritted teeth, unable to deny that shit-eating grin on his face even if she tried.
"Thank you. Next question-"
"No," she said sternly, stepping in front of him and stopping him with her hand on his chest. He looked shocked but didn't push her away which she took as a good sign. "You only had two questions and you've asked three - it's my turn."
"Ask away," he said smugly.
"Why are you such a prat?"
"Why do you fancy me if you think I'm a prat?"
"You can't answer my questions with another question."
"I can when they're not real questions."
She glared at him with her face burning. Though she put up an angry front, she knew it was only because she was embarrassed by her confession.
Sirius took a step closer to her and said softly, "perhaps you'd like to ask if I fancy you too?"
"I can choose my own questions," Eilidh snapped. She crossed her arms and threw herself against the nearest wall, glaring at the passing cars. She really did want to know if he fancied her, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction, especially when he was already being so smug. Sirius leaned against the wall next to her with his hands in his pockets, looking patient and serene. "Why'd you stop talking to me after we kissed?" she asked finally.
"I didn't stop talking to you," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Fine, why'd you get weird then," she corrected.
Sirius shrugged. "Because it was weird. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how… if you - what you wanted so I just… I don't know, it seems stupid now."
"It wasn't stupid, it was just annoying," Eilidh told him.
"Yeah, well. I'm not a mind reader. You could have done something," Sirius argued.
"I did when I kissed you," she said slowly.
"Right. Can I ask my question now?" Sirius asked.
"No, it's still my turn."
"Fine."
Eilidh breathed deeply and took a long moment to prepare herself. "Do you wish I hadn't kissed you?"
"Erm…." It was awhile before Sirius answered. Eilidh stayed determinedly silent, wrestling with the decision to take back her question. She could practically see the wheels turning in Sirius's head as he gazed blankly at a potted plant across from them. "I wish it had been under different circumstances, and my ego wishes I had been the one to do the kissing but that's it," he admitted, sounding sure.
Eilidh nodded, accepting the relief that washed over her. It wasn't the best answer but it was better than she was expecting.
"Okay… now… what's your favourite colour?" she asked, simply because she couldn't think of another question. Sirius laughed heartily then shook his head.
"Alright, get ready for something almost as cliché as your question," Sirius said, stepping into the middle of the pavement, striking a pose like he was about to give a dramatic speech.
"If you say black, I'll take everything back," Eilidh warned. Sirius grinned.
"It's purple," he said simply.
"Total honesty?" she asked, slightly taken aback. They began to stroll again, suddenly realizing how much time had passed from when they had last seen the rest of the group. Sirius nodded, now trying to hide his smile. "You were making fun of my cliché question," she accused.
"It was embarrassingly cliché. I'm a bit disappointed in you," he admitted, holding back a laugh with obvious effort.
"Fine, but why purple?"
"Why do you ask why so much?" he challenged. Eilidh pursed her lips, indicating that it was still her turn. "Because it's calm and exciting, depending on the shade," he answered with a sigh.
"So, you like all spectrums of purple?" Eilidh asked. They had reached the shop Lily had taken James, in fact, they could see them through the display window. Reluctantly, Eilidh reached for the door, wondering if things were really repaired between them or if it would all revert once they were inside.
"You know," Sirius pulled her arm back just before she had grabbed the door handle and forced her to face him, "you've asked like fifty questions. I'd say it's my turn."
"Yeah, I guess," Eilidh said. Sirius's stubborn determination made her nervous. He glanced into the shop window then pulled her out of its frame.
"Do you wanna go to Hogsmeade?" he asked so quickly his words almost strung together. "I mean with me. Like on -" he groaned rather than finish question. Eilidh couldn't believe her ears. Sirius couldn't possibly be asking her on a date while standing between a joke shop and a sporting goods store on this random busy street in a random Scottish city. Sirius took one deep, slow, steady breath then started again. "Do you, Eilidh, want to go on a date with me next Hogsmeade weekend?"
"Does total honesty apply to these questions as well?" Eilidh asked. She never thought of Sirius as insincere but the past few weeks had put so much of a strain on her this outcome seemed too good to be true.
"Mate, you already had the opportunity to ask if I fancied you," he answered, his lips twitching almost to a full smile but quickly became focused again, "but yes."
"Okay," Eilidh said softly, afraid of speaking above a whisper in case he could tell that she was holding in a scream. She crossed her arms so he wouldn't see her hands trembling with excitement.
"Okay as in yes? Because it'd be really weird if you fancied me but refused to go on a date with me," Sirius said, speaking in a rush.
"Oh, yeah, sorry yes," Eilidh stopped herself, knowing she was about to start rambling and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'll go with you to Hogsmeade… on a date."
"Cool," he nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Eilidh could have sworn he was grinning when he ducked his head which caused Eilidh to smile. Sirius looked back up, caught her eye, and they burst into giggles at the sheer awkwardness of it all. "We should-" Sirius pointed at the Joke Shop window.
"Right, before they start looking for us," Eilidh nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. A thought had occurred to her. While their current friendship was going well, the tension between James and Lily was very real. In the beginning, her friendship with James had even caused a small strife between her and Lily. She wondered how she would react to this news. "Hey," Eilidh touched Sirius's arm before he could venture further into the store, "you'll let me tell Lily, right?"
"As long as you'll let me tell, James," Sirius smirked, though it seemed less confident than usual. Eilidh nodded with an understanding smile, moments before James rushed up to her.
"Hey, watch out!" James reached out and grabbed her shoulder, sending a shockwave through her arm that seemed to be caused by a loud buzzing from his hand. Eilidh yelped, in both surprise and pain, and flinched away while James chuckled. He slung an arm over Sirius and pressed his hand into his chest, issuing another loud buzz. "Tell me what, Pickles?"
"Merlin's-" Sirius pushed his arm off, "how much of an idiot you are!"
"Oh, really?" James grinned, reaching his hands out threateningly.
"Yeah, we were just discussing it on the way over here." Sirius took a step back. "Where's Evans? You didn't kill her with that thing, did you?"
"Oh, no, the aliens got to her before I could," James smirked, stalking forward, pushing Sirius back into a corner, toward what appeared to be a mannequin with dark red hair wearing a green alien mask. That is before it jumped out and grabbed Sirius revealing itself to be a very alive Lily. Sirius jumped, turned away from both of them, then looked behind him to check for any more surprises. "Alight, in all seriousness, pun partially intended," Sirius rolled his eyes as James dug in his pocket, "happy birthday, mate." James held out a can labelled 'Jolly Good Jelly Beans.' Sirius eyed it suspiciously.
"It's not going to turn me into a toad, or turn my hair blue, or make me talk in pig Latin for a week?" he questioned.
"Mate, we're in a Muggle store," James whispered, stretching his arm out further. It all seemed rather innocent until Eilidh saw Lily watching them with a glint in her eye and an excited smile. Sirius took the can reluctantly and seemed rather relieved when nothing happened. "Those were good ideas though, keep them in mind for-" Eilidh cleared her throat, hoping he wouldn't say anything about Snape. James did seem to stutter before finishing with, "the next time we prank Remus and Peter."
"Remus would look good as a toad," Sirius grinned.
"Right? You should open that up, I'm starving," James said, clutching his stomach.
"You'd make me share my birthday present?" Sirius asked, obviously playing for time.
"Good friends share, Sirius," Lily said, smirking. Sirius sighed and began twisting the lid of the can. Eilidh took a step back, her imagination running wild. Being in a Muggle store wouldn't stop James from charming the can when he thought no one was looking. Sirius pulled the lid off and a cloth covered spring jumped out.
"Wow, looked what popped out of this totally inconspicuous can," Sirius said blandly while trying to stuff the spring back in.
"Eh, we should have waited," James told Lily, looking a bit disappointed.
"It's alright, he could always give it to Regulus," Lily grinned at Sirius.
"That would be funny," Sirius chuckled, finally getting the lid back on.
All four of them stared at each other for a moment. The moment got rather awkward so Eilidh spoke quickly, "I told Marlene that'd we'd meet her and Mary at the cafe."
"Ah, yes. Peter and Mary… skipping off to the cafe… holding hands," James said, staring at Eilidh and Lily like they were supposed to understand something.
"Er, yeah they did. It's just up the street," Eilidh said slowly. James sighed and grumbled but strode out the door. Lily and Eilidh looked to Sirius for an explanation but he shrugged before following James out.
"You and Potter didn't kill each other," Eilidh remarked, walking a few paces behind the boys.
"He's actually nice when he's distracted and plotting against his friends," Lily smiled. Eilidh smirked at her, cocking an eyebrow. Lily nudged her with her shoulder. "Stop it. It's not like that. He's so…."
"Fun?" Eilidh offered, sounding casual so Lily couldn't possibly know the weight behind her words. Lily rolled her eyes and stared at the back of his head.
"Confusing," she sighed. Confusing was much better than 'arrogant weasel.'
***Thank you Snuffles's Bitch and welcome :D I hope you continue to like it.
***Hello lovies,
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