Chapter 2:
In which a deal is made, an essay is completed, and a confession is admitted.
"How goes it, milady?" I looked up from a last minute essay for Transfiguration that I only remembered to do this morning even though it had been assigned approximately a week ago. Standing in front of me was someone whose face was blocked out by the-
Who am I kidding? The sun doesn't shine during the month of October at Hogwarts.
Standing in front of me was Sirius Black, attached at the hip with Lily Evans on one side, James Potter on the other. Just being around them made my ears pop from the obvious sexual tension Sirius was always oblivious to.
"Dearest Sirius and floozies, to what do I owe this great honor of your acknowledgment of my existence?" I responded dramatically as I went back to finishing the last six inches. The essay was absolute shit, of course, seeing as I had been doing it at random intervals and had poked several holes in the parchment with my quill. I didn't have to look up to gauge their reactions.
Lily would turn as red as her hair, James would run a hand through his, and Sirius would bark out a laugh. I had been an observer of their group for years, as had many of the student population of Hogwarts, and knew most of their habits and haunts. For example: nine times out of ten, if Sirius Black was mysteriously missing, you could probably find him in the astronomy tower. Everyone knows that astronomy tower is only used for sex, see, so there you go. I suppose the really weird ones like Severus Snape actually used the astronomy tower for astronomy, but it was highly speculated that Severus Snape also didn't wash his hair.
"I am not a floozy, Rebecca." Lily stomped her foot in my down casted vision. I sighed, blowing out my unevenly cut bangs from when I had let my sister try to pretend she was a beautician.
"Lily, Lily, Lily. Your mere presence amuses me and inspires the every fiber of my being, especially with your audacious arguments that make me rethink my every planetary conception. Inspiring, truly." I heard her huff in frustration and I smiled down at my essay. Four more inches, five more minutes. I could actually pull this off.
"Calm down, Lils. You knew she would say that, I warned you," James soothed over Sirius' shoulder. I contemplated the situation while rambling on about the complex understanding of color changes in ink in my homework. Considering all the past dealings I had with the Marauders, Sirius and James specifically, the only reason they came to me was when something was shady. I had no idea why, maybe because I could keep a secret, maybe because I could beat any of them in a duel. The world may never know.
"Yes! Sweet, harmonious, victory at last," I celebrated suddenly in the middle of what I'm sure was a bonding moment between the trio of fabulously good looking people. It honestly didn't matter, because I had possibled the impossible, discovered the undiscovered, and finished the unfinished. I would fail anyway, due to the amount of chicken shit I had poured into the essay, but at least I had something to turn in. I finally glanced at the people standing in front of me, raising my eyebrows at them in anticipation. They stood frozen in shock, before Sirius' face split into his wide, take-me-now, grin.
"Ah, Collins, can always rely on you for a good surprise." I sit back and wait casually for the inevitable suave segue as I sit back down on my rock about halfway from the castle and Hagrid's hut, the latter of which I've spent most of the day hiding in between classes to finish the essay. "Speaking of good surprises…"
"Cut the shit, Black. What do the Marauders need this time? Another fancy spell? I'm kind of busy; as I'm sure you should be as well. We've got a class in two minutes." I started to walk off, but James stood in my way. James, as it seemed, was always in my way.
James Potter could possibly be one of the most complex people in the world, aside from his lovely Lily-flower. I wasn't exactly sure what to make of him. He was arrogant, but most of the time his bragger wasn't flaunting, it was being honest. He was an arse, but only to please the people he actually liked. Mob mentality, meet James Potter, your new poster child.
"Amanda, please. Just hear us out." His magnified eyes from his nearly legally blind prescription glasses searched mine. It was almost pathetic.
"I," I paused, deliberating, "alright. Fine, hit me with the disastrous plan that will give me another three months of Saturday detentions." James smiled at me and released my arm from his death grip. I looked over at Lily, who appeared to be giving me glares usually reserved for her ex-best friend, Severus.
"We just want you to be friends with Lily. That's all. You don't need to do anything under the table, because it's just plain and simple," James said hopefully, and I wanted to pinch his cheek he was just so bloody cute. Then it hit me.
Friends with Lily Evans? My schedule was tight as it was, with trying to find a decent submission article for any hope for a job at the Daily Prophet, and even if the article was award winning, it was almost guaranteed I would have to work my way up under the dreadful Rita Skeeter, who could write a killer article, but more than likely it wasn't hard hitting.
Maybe this could be my ticket. An exposé on one of the most cryptic people at Hogwarts, the highly revered Lily Evans. What an exclamation point that would be, I can only imagine. So, I did the only logical thing a person could do with the proposition to boost her future career; I accepted.
"Yeah, sure. That sounds fine." They all three stared at me in unmoving shock. I waited for a little bit before I remembered my so-called tight schedule that told me that I was already five minutes late for Transfiguration. A Ravenclaw was never late. They still stood in my way, and I was now sufficiently frustrated. "What do you expect me to do, burst into song? Out of my way, I'm late."
I pushed through the throng, storming back to the castle, only to hear a parade of fast moving feet behind me. Merlin they were stalking me. "Wait, Amanda!" It was Lily calling to me now, my new faux-best friend.
"Yes, Lily Evans?" I turned around to find that she was nose to nose with me.
"Do you want to know why?" I thought it over, taking a step backwards, away from her scarily bright green eyes. Finally, I shook my head.
"No, not really. I figure that I'll figure it out eventually." I offered her my hand, which she eyed warily. "Come on, Lily, don't have a hernia. I'm a Ravenclaw, not a death eater."
"No ulterior motives, eh, Collins?" Lily tried to clarify with me while we shook hands. I looked her straight in the eye to give my answer, my mud brown eyes tacky next to her green.
"Not in the slightest, Evans." What she didn't know couldn't hurt her. This was turning out to be a beautiful friendship.
"What a joke. Lily-flower, Amanda always has an ulterior motive, so don't believe a single bloody thing that comes out of her mouth. Ravenclaw or not, remember who her parents are." I snarled when Sirius said this. No one at Hogwarts knew about my parents except the staff, Sirius Black, and Elton Meyers, my real best friend from Ravenclaw. The only reason Sirius knew was because his parents were friends with mine. My parents, who were, at the moment, tucked into the farthest corner of Azkaban as the world could put them. Which is where they deserved to be, but if there was one thing I didn't want on my plate is was Sirius going around spreading lies.
Merlin left trainer, I wish I wasn't desperately in love with Sirius Black. "Shut up, Sirius. At least my other family members aren't in the ring as well. How is good old Regulus these days? Heard he got a new tattoo. Mummy Black will be most pleased," I giggled sadistically.
"Amanda, you are one of the biggest fascists I have ever met in my life," Sirius growled at me, but he was smiling his beautiful, always present smile. My insides felt gooey.
"Sirius, you flatter me so," I giggled. Lily and James gave us disgusted looks, and it snapped me back to really.
"Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger," I muttered as I sprinted off randomly during the middle of my conversation towards the castle. I was going to make it to Transfiguration if it was the last thing I did today, and I was going to turn in the bloody essay.
So, this was what was on my plate. An unrequited love for Sirius Black, a false friendship with Lily Evans, a random James Potter, and I'm late for class. Fucking fantastic. Also, it was seventh year, stressing the jobs after Hogwarts was getting tedious. This exposé on Lily better be amazing, because I'm sure as hell not working for Rita bloody Skeeter.
"Collins, wait!" Lily called again, but she was much farther away than before. I was more athletic than I had thought to be able to run so fast. "You forgot your essay!"
Bloody bugger shit hoe-bag, I had. Merlin let the end come quick, and let me get on to the Daily Prophet and out of Hogwarts as fast as possible.
That awkward moment where you forget the disclaimer because you never had to write one before… Sorry J.K. Rowling.
Can we still be besties? I kid, I kid. Okay. Here… we… go. Review and stuff.