Chapter 4: Idiot

The first few weeks of school were rather uneventful, however Lily was very busy. With her 6 NEWT classes and her Head Girl duties, she was practically running on empty.

That being so, she also had less stress when dealing with James. He hadn't pestered her endlessly, and they even got along during the prefect meetings. But there was no mention of James' admission the first night.

Ellie and Lily were, as ever, inseparable. However, for the first time in six years, the Marauders had begun to hang out with them on a daily basis. Ellie thought it stemmed from her and Remus studying together; Lily had no idea for the reason, but was reasonably suspicious. She didn't trust the Marauders, especially Sirius and James, any farther than she could throw them.

On a sunny Friday afternoon, Ellie and Remus found themselves in the library, writing a Potions essay. Their studying together had expanded to all classes, not just Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"So," said Ellie, flipping a page of her Potions textbook, "Have you noticed anything odd about Lily and James lately?"

"What do you mean?" asked Remus suspiciously. He knew James still adored Lily, but wasn't sure how much Ellie knew.

"Well, they haven't been yelling at each other, or rather, Lily hasn't been yelling at James. It's almost as if," she paused, as if what she was about to say was too unbelievable to be true, "It's almost as if they're getting along."

Remus just laughed. "I know it's pretty weird, but I'm not going to complain about it. Besides, haven't you noticed? James hasn't been asking her out nonstop. I'm pretty sure that's why Lily's cooled off."

"Yeah, maybe," said Ellie. "But still, she used to HATE him. Now they're almost like buddies!"

"I know what you mean, it is weird."

They continued writing for a few minutes when a fifth year girl from Ravenclaw ran out of the library in tears.

"Wonder what that was all about…" muttered Remus.

Ellie looked at him, surprised. "Didn't you hear? That's Janet Jaynes; her parents were aurors."

"Were?"

"Yeah, they were killed by Death Eaters on Tuesday." They both sat in silence, reflecting the dark times they were in.

"It could happen to anyone," Ellie said quietly.

Remus looked at the door where the girl had run out. "I know. That's why it's so scary."

-------------------------------------------------

James walked into the Head common room, his stomach full from dinner. He had been playing a game of Exploding Snaps with Sirius in the Gryffindor common room when he had realized there was still a Defense Against the Dark Arts essay he needed to finish.

As he entered the common room, he found Lily in there already, working on her own Defense essay. She looked up from her work to see what James wanted. He didn't realize he had been standing there looking at her for wanted 30 seconds.

"So, working on the DADA essay, huh?" he asked, casually sitting down on the couch next to her.

"Yes, and it's proving to be very annoying," she said absentmindedly, having already turned back to her essay.

"So Evans," James started, not knowing how far he should push his luck, "You have to admit, these past few weeks…well, it hasn't been too bad working with me has it?"

Lily looked back up at him and cocked her head. "Actually James, it hasn't." She turned back to her essay, which James looked at over her shoulder.

"Actually, Vevarci isn't a counter spell to the bone breaking curse," he told her, pointing out a mistake in what she had written.

"Oh…you're right, thanks."

"You know, if you want, I could help you out with this essay. Lupin's taught me a few things about Defense Against the Dark Arts," James continued, cautiously.

"Sure," said Lily. "Read this part over, will you? I'm not sure it's correct," she turned her head to look at him, only to find his face right in front of hers. Her eyes widened in surprise.

James' couldn't help but look at Lily's lips, then back at her eyes. They stayed frozen for a moment before Sirius barged in and said, "Boy, don't you two look cozy?"

Lily jumped as far away from James as she could manage while sitting. James leaned back, groaning. "Oy Sirius, what do you want?"

"Maybe I was just coming to say hello to my Lilyflower." He jumped onto the couch between them, putting his arm around Lily. "I know James is cute, but darling, you could do so much better."

Lily playfully patted his arm, batting her eyes. "I know, that's why I'm completely enamored with you darling!" She fell into his lap, giggling hysterically.

A flood of jealousy instantly filled James, which Sirius must have sensed since he changed the subject. "Hey, did you guys hear about Janet Jaynes' parents?"

Lily nodded solemnly, but James shook his head, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. Lily whispered softly, "Voldemort killed them."

James let out a small "Oh…" and the room broke out in a somber silence. "I wish I could do something you know, about all these attacks. I feel helpless."

Lily nodded in agreement. "For awhile I wanted to be an Auror for that very reason. But then I found out how long it would take and knew it wasn't worth it. There has to be something we could do that would stop him sooner."

"I know how you feel, its like we'll never be able to do anything in time-" Sirius was interrupted by a knock on the door. "I'll get it?" he jumped up and opened the door slowly, letting a sixth year Hufflepuff girl in, her raven hair bouncing behind her.

"Hi James," she said, batting her eyes. "Are you ready for our date?"

"Er, hi Sarah," James mumbled, cursing his luck. Just when he'd gotten Lily to talk to him…

"Well, I guess you can help me with my essay when you're less…occupied. Wouldn't want to spoil your fun." Lily found herself disappearing into her room, not understanding the surge of anger she felt at the sight of James with a black-haired, busty, Huffelpuff bimbo.