James threw a snitch up in the air with his left hand, and caught it with his right. He held on to it so tight that he crushed its wings.
Sirius stared at him, wide-eyed, "Yeesh, Prongs! Chill out."
James sighed. He, Sirius, and Remus were sitting in the living room of their apartment in Diagon Alley. It was a bright, sunny day, and their room gave a spectacular view over green hills outside of the bustle of Diagon Alley, but James couldn't think about anything else but her.
Remus raised a calculating eyebrow at James, "You miss Lily, don't you?"
"How can I not?!" burst out James, relieved that someone had finally raised the subject, "I love her, and I haven't seen her in four weeks! Letters can only do so much."
Remus smiled at him, "Prongs, I'm not supposed to tell you, because it's supposed to be a surprise, but Lily wrote to me telling me that her parents are letting her come out here to stay with us a couple of days."
"Really?" the moody, brooding look on James's face instantly turned into one of delight.
Sirius nodded, looking like he wanted to laugh at the silly look on James's face.
"Aaah. That's great." James flopped over on the couch, now perfectly at ease, he stared at Sirius, "What about you and Em?"
Sirius cast the room a furtive look, and turned away, "What about me and Em?"
James frowned, "Didn't you two tell each other you loved each other?"
"Yes."
"Have you heard from her?" prompted Remus.
"No."
James exchanged a worried look with Remus, "Why not?"
Sirius turned back around, an anger blazing in his eyes, "You think I know? We're perfectly happy when school ends, then when she heads home, and I come here, I don't hear from her for four bloody weeks!"
Remus's brow furrowed, "Maybe she's waiting for you to write to her."
Sirius let out a disgusted noise, "She said she would write when school ended."
"Maybe she forgot and thought you were supposed to write to her."
Sirius sank into the couch, and flopped his head in his hands, "Maybe she doesn't want me anymore. Maybe she isn't writing for a reason. Maybe she just wanted to string me along until she could get rid of me."
"Now come on, Padfoot!" exclaimed Remus, "Em's not like that, and you know it."
Sirius shook his head in sorrow, "Maybe I should have just let her stay with Gideon. She would have been happier with him. He'd have been a better boyfriend."
James bit his lip, "Probably. But that's not the point, mate. She loves you."
Sirius stared up at James, a haunted look in his eyes, "How do I know that?"
The three of them were silent. James and Remus didn't know what to say to that.
Sirius grimaced, "See, prongs. That's the point. I don't."
--
Lily was restless. She was fidgety. One more day until her trip to James, Sirius, and Remus. She hated this. As much as she loved her family, she was an adult! She deserved a life of her own! All the rest of her friends were soon starting their careers. In just a year, Emmeline was going to be signed as a chaser for the England reserve team, Dorcas was going off to healer school, James and Sirius were off to Auror training, Remus was going to start an at-home course on teaching, and even Peter was getting a job as an add-consultant for the Daily Prophet. She, Lily, the one person everyone thought would succeed, was a nothing.
Thinking about her friends got Lily emotional. They had all promised each other that even when school ended, they would never leave each other, but here they were, separated, and who knew when they would ever see each other again. All she could think about was her trip to see James. At least she would see him, if she could see no one else. Sure, she wrote to every single one of them, but it just wasn't the same as being in their company and never leaving their side.
"Lily! Dear, there's someone here for you!" called her mother.
Lily sat bolt upright. Could it be? She bounded down the stairs, and flew to a stop when she saw the best sight she had seen in many days. Em and Peter, looking slightly worse for wear, standing on her front porch.
Lily didn't say a thing, but enveloped them both in a rib-crushing hug.
"It's so good to see you!" she cried.
Emmeline smiled, "It's fabulous to see you as well, love."
Peter grinned at her, "Haven't seen you in a while, Lils."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, staring at them as if she couldn't believe it.
"We'll explain inside." said Peter. This comment roused her good manners.
"Come in, come in!" she pulled them into her kitchen.
As they sat in the kitchen table, and reminisced, Emmeline asked, "Is that demon sister of yours around?"
Lily laughed, "No. She's staying in an apartment with her husband. They're just waiting until they have enough saved and until they have a good offer before they buy a house."
Emmeline nodded, "Have you heard from Sirius?"
Lily frowned, "No. Why?"
Emmeline sighed, and traced the rim of her glass with the tip of her finger, "It's just that, well, since my father, as a muggle, doesn't like owls flying around the house, he was supposed to write once to tell me his phone number once he bought one, so he could call me at my house, but...he never did."
Lily shrugged, "I'm sure there was some misunderstanding. I'm going to James, Sirius and Remus tomorrow, you should come with me."
Peter nodded, "Actually that's why we're here. I told my mum that if I want a headstart on my job, I should get to the newspaper headquarters soon, and she said ok, so I walked to Emmeline's house since we live so close, and she was worried about Sirius and you had written to say that you were visiting them soon, so we decided to come here to go visit them with you."
Lily's mother stepped into the kitchen, "I was just listening, and my book club will be inhabiting the house for the better part of today, so if you three want to get a headstart along to Diagon Alley, you're welcome to do so."
"Thanks mum!" called Lily as her mother left, "Well that settles it, I suppose. Just give me a moment to gather my things and we'll go."
Lily dashed upstairs, her heart beating, hardly daring to believe it. Today was the best day ever! Not only did her friends turn up together, but they three of them were going to be reunited with the rest of their friends. Only, well, Lily's heart ached for Dorcas. She was living with her cousin, Marlene Mckinnon outside the city, and if she wished to visit them it would take time.
Lily ran downstairs, a traveling bag in hand, and the three of them disapparated, an unmentioned excitement left hanging in the air even after they were gone.
--
a/n: lalala, yes I'm supposed to be cleaning my room, which I tell you is no mean feat, it'll probably be a week-long project, but...I managed to write anyway, so check for updates because more of Chapter 13 coming soon! Read and review, please!
look into my eyes
I know I'll see surprise
when in my eyes you find
something a little unkind
not to you but to myself
I put my beliefs on a shelf
for love
to rise above
and accept your promise of a dance
I decided to give you a chance
because I couldn't say away
from you for days and days
and because of course
you took me by force
I waited for you to save me
but it was you who made me
into this lovestruck person
it was like you put a curse on
me so I was helpless and sad
but also unbelievably glad
because when I see you I soar
though I have no wings
and it's like I love you more and more
yes you do to me crazy things
wood seems a deep chocolate brown
the grass a bright green in the ground
the water seems a sparkling blue
and it's all simply because of you
and though I regret
letting myself forget
to practice restrain
though it was all in vain
and it was such a great thing
when I heart you sing
straight into my heart
you tore my beliefs apart
and as I sit on the porch
with you right next to me
I think how wonderful
forgetting restraint can be...
as you can see, the name of this fanfic comes from one of my poems...