Chapter 72: Private Emotions
"You better go find James and talk to him." Arabella insisted.
"Why should I?? He pissed me off first." Lily defended.
"But afterall he's your friend."
"So??"
"So you should go find him and ask for an explanation??"
"Demand for explanation, you mean??"
"I rather you ask than demand."
"There's no need to be polite with big-ego guys."
"He's a little egoistic."
"A little?! A far more than that, I think."
"That's what you think."
"Don't tell me you don't agree with me."
"I don't. That guy has the biggest ego in the world."
Who did she think she is?? The most gorgeous girl in Gryffindor?? Ha.. Like real. James gave a soft sarcastic laugh at himself. She is pretty in my eyes though. He shook his head a little and walked along the corridors aimlessly. The main reason why he was out was to avoid the crowd of girls. Where can I go to get some time for myself?? I can walk in Hogwarts with my eyes closed and I still know where I would end up. He had the mental map of Hogwarts in his mind, and being a prefect, he could walk around the school at night legally. To start with, he always wondered the school grounds with the rest of the Marauders illegally, so it did not make much of a difference. Ha.. The kitchens. My fave spot. He tickled the pear on the portrait and went into the kitchen.
"Go find James??" Lily muttered to herself. "No way." She went out of the Gryffindor common room. Looking around, there was no sign of James except for a few prefects who were patrolling the corridors. "I rather go get some food for myself." With that thought, she headed towards the direction where the portrait of the food bowl was.
"Thanks for your kind hospitality once again." James thanked the house-elves once again.
"You're very much welcome, Mr. James." One of the house-elves replied.
"We hope to see you soon." Another called out.
"You bet I frequent the kitchens more than the classrooms." James commented. Several of the house-elves laughed at his little joke. "Gotta go."
"Bye, sir." The house-elves greeted cheerfully.
"Bye guys." James left the kitchens. After he checked that the coast was clear, he turned to his right. There was another place where he thought that would be better than the Gryffindor tower.
"Hi guys." Lily smiled the house-elves warmly.
"Hello, Miss Lily." One of the house-elves replied. "What would you like to eat today??"
"Give me my fave Creamy Chicken Linguine." Lily said after some thought.
"Be right back." Several house-elves turned into the kitchen.
"Miss Lily, Mr. James left a few minutes ago, did you met him??" Another house-elf asked.
"No." Hmm.. James was here. That greedy fella.
"Here's your food, Miss Lily." A house-elf brought a steaming hot plate of Lily's fave pasta.
"Thank you very much." Lily said and helped herself while her mind was deep in thoughts. James.
"You don't like it??" A house-elf spoke up. Lily was eating her food unusually slow.
"No, of course not. I love them. Just thinking about some stuffs." Lily defended and ate slightly faster.
"About Mr. James??" Another house-elf asked.
"No, not him." Lily felt herself blushing slightly and quickly turned her concentration to the plate of food in front of her.
"He went to the Room of Requirement." Scooby whispered to Lily's ear.
What is that girl doing now?? James thought as he lain comfortably on the couch that appeared in the Room of Requirement. Bet she's busy flirting around. James thought with a tinge of jealousy. Moving a little to adjust himself to a more comfortable position, his eyes remained staring at nothing in particular.
Room of Requirement. Do I really want to go there and see that egoistic jerk?? Lily walked aimlessly around the castle, her legs carrying her towards the direction of the room where James was said to be. No. I don't want to see him. Lily thought with determination. She walked passed the place where the door into the Room was situated. Giving the empty space a look, she left with determination.
"Do you think Lily and James are together at this moment??" Arabella asked Sirius. Once again, they managed to get into a dance together again. Sirius and I are going to have such a short-lived happiness together.
"Don't think so. I know James."
"But I believe Lily is out there with him."
"I doubt that. James is probably hiding somewhere like the Room of Requirement or something."
"Let's have a bet."
"Sure, about what."
"The two of them will come back together."
"I bet they won't."
"Deal."
"What's the forfeit??"
"One galleon."
"Money isn't everything."
"Then what you want."
"A kiss from you."
"No way."
"Then I'm going to use some force." Sirius leaned forward and kissed Arabella on her lips once again which she caught it in surprise. Short-lived romance, but sweet and memorable.
"Do you think we'll be together for long??" Stefanie asked Remus softly.
"How long we're together isn't important. I know you'll live in my heart forever." Remus answered sincerely.
"Remus!!" Stefanie leaned onto Remus' muscular chest and hugged him.
"Stef, what happened??" Remus asked worriedly, hugging Stefanie tightly, giving her a sense of security.
"Lils and James, Bell and Sirius, they looked so perfect together, but it so short-lived."
"That's our fate, I guess. What matters most is that now we have each other and even in the future, we'll live in each other heart, with our shared memories together."
"Oh.. Remus."
"Don't worry about tomorrow." Remus assured. "We must enjoy our life everyday. And trust me, I'll love no one beside you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Why do you sound so formal??"
"Then what do you want me to say??"
"Say something to make me happy."
"Stef, I love you."
"How long have I been lying here??" James asked himself. "About an hour??" Wow!! I'm going insane, talking and reply to myself. He got up from the couch and stretched himself a little. Better head back to the party. All her fault spoilt my night. James thought to himself and left the Room. After confirming the coast along the corridor was cleared, he turned left and walked briefly back to the common room.
"Maybe I should turn back to check if he's around." Lily talked to herself. After much hesitation, she finally decided to turn back to the Room of Requirement. "If that jerk is there, we talk. If not, then we're not fated to meet." She started walking at a slightly faster pace towards the Room of Requirement. Thinking of James, she walked along the supposedly door into the Room three times to-and-fro.
The door appeared and Lily walked in with anticipation. Looks like no one is inside. The room was empty except for a comfortable looking red couch in the middle and some moving pictures of James. Maybe I shouldn't put James into my thought while I was thinking of entering the room. With about ten or more pictures of James in various outfits and pose looking at her, she felt strange. Ok, he's not here. Without walking more than five steps into the Room, she turned to leave. Afterall the reason for going into this Room was to find the real James and not having more than ten of James' portraits looking at her. Ogling would be a better word in this case.
"Prongsie, where on earth did you go??" Sirius exclaimed dramatically the moment he entered the Gryffindor common room. It looked like Sirius was expecting him to enter any moment.
"Just went out for a walk. Did you go mad while dancing with Bell??" James looked at Sirius with a puzzled expression.
"He's just feeling insecure without your graceful presence." Arabella said in a strange tone of voice.
"You sounded like you lost a bet or something." James teased Arabella a little.
"Kinda, anyway where's Lily??"
"Don't know. Didn't see her at all."
"How dense are you?? She went out to find you."
"Not possible."
"Why not??"
"She doesn't even want to talk to me."
"Who said so??"
"She said so."
"And you believed??"
"Am I supposed to say 'Oh Lils, you don't wanna talk to me?? No problem. I will do all the talking.'??"
"Not something like that, of course. Something more sensible please."
"That was my most humble statement and you're not satisfied??"
"Now I must really agree with Lils that your ego and been dramatically inflated."
"I'm a person with self confidence."
"Hey, can I say something??" Sirius spoke up suddenly.
"What??" James and Arabella stopped their debate and turned to look at Sirius.
"Lily just came in and she left for the dorm."
"Am I supposed to say 'Oh Lils, you don't wanna talk to me?? No problem. I will do all the talking.'??" A familiar male voice said from not too far away. Lily turned to see where the source of voice came from.
"Not something like that, of course. Something more sensible please." Arabella replied. She and James were facing one another. She caught sight of Sirius looking at her direction and she gave a wave before turning towards the female dormitory.
"That was my most humble statement and you're not satisfied??" She could hear the egoistic James' comment even at the stairs. I can't imagine one day I would marry that jerk and have a son. This is pure nightmare.
Lily must have heard what I said. James looked at the retreating silhouette of Lily at the staircase. Her back view looks good. Nice, firm butt. He felt like he wanted to run forward to hold Lily in his arms, but he knew he would do no such thing.
"Prongsie, are you back on land??"
"What do you want??"
"Just checking how many meters are you above ground level."
"What are you talking about??"
"You're looking at Lily until you floated."
"Haha. Very funny." James gave Sirius a sarcastic laugh and headed towards his dormitory. Peace. I need some peace.
Do I like James?? Lily laid in the bed, thoughts flowing in her mind.
I don't like Lily, right?? James thought, looking at the ceiling, which had the picture of Lily looking down at him. Sirius and Remus had so kindly painted it for him since they were painting Arabella and Stefanie several weeks ago. She better not come in and see this. Sirius and Remus had somehow used some charm to make sure Lily's picture cannot be removed by any form of magic known to him. It was like a muggle picture because it was in still form. She looks ugly. All the pimples and stuffs. Look at her hair. Yucks. He thought to himself, trying to find something not nice about Lily.
James is a jerk. He's an egomaniac. He's lousy. He's a loser. He's ugly. He's disgusting. Lily was thinking all the possible bad things about James' mentally until she drifted off to sleep unknowingly.