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Vapid Philosophy—I actually had this written a while and couldn't find it. And then I discovered it after I had posted, and decided this was a much better version. Plus, I just wasn't happy with the way I had written a few of the scenes in the previous one. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 2

"Frank!" a voice whispered hoarsely. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"Bugger off," Frank Longbottom muttered, turning over in his bed to wrap his arms around his girlfriend. Lily turned over to look at Frank as he wrapped his arms around her. They smiled at one another and then kissed softly. But then Lily looked beyond Frank and saw that his younger brother Trevor was standing in the doorway watching them.

"Oh my god!" Lily said loudly and mortified.

"What?" Frank asked. He followed Lily's eyes to Trevor at his door and Frank suddenly became enraged. He sat up to cover Lily from Trevor's view.

"What are you doing?" he bellowed.

"I was trying to warn you that Mum is on her way up and she'll kill you if she finds Lily here!" he said to his brother.

"Just leave, ok?" Frank said quickly. Trevor nodded and shut the door while Lily and Frank quickly dressed.

"What time is it?" Lily asked him, buttoning up her blouse.

"I don't know…like noon."

"Frank, we were supposed to meet Mary and Sirius at 11:30!" she said angrily.

Frank nodded while he attempted to put on his pants, but simply fell over at one point because he panicked at the sound of his mother's knock on a door across the hall on his sister's door. He then jumped up and put his pants on correctly and threw on a shirt while Lily began making his bed.

They heard Mrs. Longbottom's footsteps and eventually a knock on his door, followed by her entrance.

"Oh, Lily!" she said sweetly. "Lovely to see you dear. Didn't know you were here."

"We came in through the back door," Frank said. "We met for breakfast and then just came back to uh…talk."

"Oh, how lovely."

"We're actually running late. We were supposed to meet some friends in London," Frank said, gesturing to the door.

"Don't let me keep you then. Actually, Frank, can you pick up a tie for your father at that Muggle department store he loves so much."

"Mum, you know I'm rubbish with Muggles, I—"
"I can help you, remember?" Lily said to him.

"Perfect! They had to order it from Peru, I believe," Mrs. Longbottom said. Frank rolled his eyes and then left his room and ran down the stairs and out the door with Lily.

"We have to be more careful," Lily said to him.

"Merlin knows Trevor loves coming in to warn us though," Frank laughed, finishing buckling his belt as they walked.

"Well…I mean we can't go to my house because my father would probably kill you or something if he had a chance," Lily told him.

Frank grabbed Lily's hand and Disapparated both of them two streets away from the restaurant. They began walking rather quickly, bumping into others as they went and still conversing about their families.

"Should I be afraid of your father?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…he's what…important in your culture, right?"

"He's in Parliament, so he's fairly important I guess. Our mothers probably have more in common than our father's do though. My mother is high in Muggle society, due to my father's status. But she still works. She's an excellent doctor. I don't know how she finds the time to do all of the things she does with the hospital and Parliament functions with my dad. Seems nearly impossible."

"Maybe my mother should work," Frank said, thinking aloud. "That way she'd be out of the house more and not catching us going at it."

Lily giggled and then led Frank into the restaurant that they were to meet Mary and Sirius in.

"Can I help you?" the host asked them walking.

"We're meeting two friends here. Black is the name," Frank said to the man.

"Ah yes, they've just arrived," the host said, pointing in the back of the restaurant.

"Thank you," Lily said, walking back to where the man had pointed. Sirius and Mary were sitting in a both, looking at one another with great anger in their eyes.

"Well, what do you want him to do? Wait around 'til she's single again? No! I don't like her very much either, but if this works out for him, it works out!" Sirius said to Mary.

"Hi, guys," Lily said, sitting down. Sirius and Mary stopped glaring at one another and smiled at Frank and Lily.

"Sirius, how's your Quidditch game these days?" Frank asked him.

"Of course the first thing they dive into is Quidditch," Mary said disgustedly to Lily.

"Hey, it's an important topic," Sirius said defensively. "Right, Frank?"

"Absolutely," Frank agreed.

"See?" Sirius said, turning back to Mary. She rolled her eyes and carried on a conversation with Lily while Frank and Sirius talked about Quidditch.

But Frank was a little distracted during his conversation with Sirius. He kept thinking about the amazing advice Sirius had given him when he first started dating Lily.

Frank had been sitting with Mary, Lily and Sirius while they all studied for upcoming exams.

"Can we just be done? Please, Evans! Please! I'm exhausted!" Sirius groaned.

"I have to go help Sev with Potions anyway," Lily said, standing. She leaned down to kiss Frank on the cheek and then left quickly.

"I'm going to go get something to drink from downstairs. Do either of you want anything?" Mary asked Sirius and Frank.

"No thanks," Frank said.

"Sirius?"

"No thanks. Do you want me to go with you?"
"No. I think I'll take Sarah. She's a little depressed since breaking up with her boyfriend. We need to have some girl time," Mary said to Sirius.

"Ok. Hurry back," Sirius said, leaning in to kiss her. Their kiss lasted for quite a long time, making Frank feel a bit uncomfortable and then Mary finally left the common room.

Sirius turned to Frank who had gone back to his studying and said, "So how do you deal with Evans being such good friends with Snape?"

"I condone it," Frank said quietly. "And plus, Lily and I aren't that serious about each other yet."

"But you will be eventually, right?" Sirius asked him.

"I don't know. I guess," Frank shrugged. "She's my first real…you know…she's my first actual girlfriend."

"And all you do is allow her to kiss you on the cheek?"

"Sirius—"
"I'm just saying. Mary and I have been together in less time and I feel like you guys—"
"I am not about to take relationship advice from someone who—"
"Whoa, watch your footing there, Frank," Sirius advised him, smiling.

"Sorry."

"Longbottom, it's a fact, girls want to have sex just as much as blokes do. Move it faster. She won't mind. And plus, it'll get Snape out of your hair if you do eventually sleep with her."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Definitely. I mean, I'm not telling you to jump into bed with her tomorrow, but at least kiss her on the mouth in public so people know you're together."

Frank nodded and said, "Thanks."

But there were parts of Frank that didn't trust Sirius Black—even if he gave great advice that actually proved useful and legitimate. Sirius always had that charming, yet smarmy attitude—particularly around Lily. In fact, every one of the boys in Lily's year in Gryffindor house acted that way around her.

"Well, Lily, we should go get that tie for my father," Frank said suddenly, noticing that Sirius was getting away from his conversation with Frank and starting to talk to Lily more now as the meal progressed.

"Oh, right," Lily said, smiling. She hugged Mary and Sirius and then left the restaurant with Frank.

"Oh, dear lord," Sirius said aloud once the other two had gone.

"What?" Mary asked.

"He's cheating on her," he said.

Mary put down her fork and stared at him.

"What?" Mary asked him loudly. "How can you tell?"

"I just know, ok? Are they officially back together or…?"

"Yes! Sirius, what—"
"No, Mary. He's definitely screwing someone besides her."

"Probably because his mother's making him," Mary said disgustedly. "Everyone knows she hates Lily."

"Gee, if my mother had made me have sex with someone I think we probably would've gotten on better," Sirius said. He leaned over and kissed her before she could respond. "Love you."

"You gonna tell her?" Mary asked him.

"I have no proof besides my instincts," he shrugged. "Plus, she'd want to hear it from you if it is true. And come on, she shouldn't be with him in the first place."

"Well, that's for sure," Mary agreed.

"I'm surprised you agree," Sirius said. "I thought you hated James."

Mary paused for a moment and said, "I do!"

"That's not why you think they shouldn't be together, is it?" Sirius asked, smiling.

"Yes, it is!" she said unconvincingly.

"Mary, I know when you're lying. I know when you're faking—and I know it doesn't happen much, but I always know. And I know you're lying when you say that it's not because you think she should be with James."

"I don't want to have this discussion anymore," Mary said abruptly. She leaned forward and kissed him, pressing him up against the back of the booth. Sirius pulled apart from their kiss, tried to say something, and was pulled back into the kiss again.

And yet across town, Lily and Frank were enjoying the rest of their afternoon, despite what Sirius felt. Lily led Frank through Harrods, telling him not to touch certain things or enchant them.

And then they finally reached the men's department. Frank watched as Lily stood at the register and spoke with the employee.

"Is it in your father's name or mother's name?" Lily asked him quickly.

"Should be my dad's," Frank shrugged.

"Harold Longbottom," Lily said to the clerk. The man nodded and disappeared to the back. Lily turned to Frank and said, "He's checking in the stock room."

Frank nodded and glanced around the department and noticed a woman looking at tie clips close to the register.

"Mrs. Potter! Hi!"

The woman turned round to reveal herself to be Caroline Potter, James Potter's mother. "Hello, Frank. How are you?"

"I'm great. Thanks."

"Good. Can I ask what you're doing here?"

"My father wanted a tie from here or something."

"Oh, right. He and Harry and Edward Spears always would compare to see who had the best Muggle ties," Mrs. Potter laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Frank asked her.

"Just browsing. I sometimes need to get away from my society friends and like to live like a Muggle for a few moments."

"I was so sorry to hear about your husband. I wanted to come to the funeral, but I—"

"Oh, no. It's alright. One less person I had to greet," she said gently. She looked at Lily for a moment and then looked back to Frank. "And who is this?"

"Oh, Mrs. Potter, this is my girlfriend, Li—"

"Lily Evans? Right?" she asked.

"Yes," Lily said shyly, shaking the woman's hand.

"Sirius Black has told me quite a bit about you."

"I don't know whether that's good or bad," Lily said.

"It's good," Mrs. Potter laughed. "You're very beautiful. Just like he said."

"Thank you, ma'am," Lily replied politely.

"Well, I must get going. It was nice seeing you Frank. Give my best to your mother. And Lily, it was great to finally meet you."

"You as well," Lily said kindly. They watched as Mrs. Potter left the store and walked out onto the Muggle street.

Immediately, Frank turned to Lily and asked, "Why would Sirius Black be talking about you to Mrs. Potter? And calling you beautiful."

"He lives with them now. Didn't you know?' Lily said to him, circling a table full of ties. "And…am are you…calling me not beautiful."

"No, I didn't know that. And yes, you're stunning, but…I don't want him looking at you like that."

"Yeah, for a few months now. And I am one of his girlfriend's best friends. Stop being so jealous."

"Yeah, but—"

"What? You think Black has something for me?"

"No, I just…I don't know, Lily."

"What?"

"Well, everyone knows that Potter—"
"Oh will you stop it with this James Potter business," she grumbled, turning her back on him and walking back to the register.

"You like it when he talks to you. It's attention. Those two months we weren't together must've been great for you."

"I don't like it. How could you even say that? I mean, at the lake, he practically tortured poor Severus and I—"
"Poor Severus? Yeah…that too," Frank murmured.

"Frank, how many times do we have to have this conversation? I am not interested in either Severus Snape or James Potter."

"Fine, but when you leave me for Snape and I—"
Lily stopped him by pulling at his shirt and pulling him down to kiss her. "Stop it."

She let go of his collar and turned to find the clerk had returned with Mr. Longbottom's tie. Frank pulled out his wallet and paid the man. While they were on the down escalator, Frank merely looked at his girlfriend longingly and then followed her out of the store.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. Lily grabbed his hand and then kissed him on the lips quickly.

"Why didn't you tell me that his father had died?"

"Whose father?"

"Potter's?"

"I thought you knew," he said.

"No. How would I know?"

"It was all over the paper," Frank said emphatically. "Everyone knows."

"You've been keeping me busy," Lily shrugged.

Frank grinned at the implication she had just made and continued on walking with her.

"My mother's social circle has been buzzing about Mr. Potter's death," Frank surmised. "They all want Mrs. Potter's social status and now that Mr. Potter has died, it is destined that her status shall go down."

"Why would they all want her—"
"He was the head of the Auror department. It's huge to them."
"Who's taking over?"

"Barty Crouch. Awful man," Frank told her, shaking his head. "His son's even worse. I had to hang around with him when we were younger. Good friends with my older brother actually."

Lily merely nodded while they walked along the Muggle street, hand in hand.

"Isn't that your sister ahead of us?" Frank asked Lily, pointing to a tall blonde woman walking at least ten paces in front of them.

"Sadly yes," Lily conceded. She took a deep breath, lengthened her stride and said, "Petunia!'

Petunia turned round right away and glanced at her sister disgustedly.

"What?" she asked Lily.

"I just thought I'd say hi," Lily shrugged. Petunia rolled her eyes and then looked at Frank.

"Back together, are you?"

"Yes. You knew that, Tuney," Lily reminded her sister.

Petunia nodded and said, "Dad wants you home for dinner, remember?"

"Ok. Is Mum working or is she off tonight?"

"She's not going to be there. I don't know what she's doing," Petunia said. "Dad said he needs to talk to us or something though."

"Dinner's at six?" Lily questioned.

"Yes. And Dad also requested that it just be the three of us," Petunia said primly, glancing at Frank. Frank smiled politely and watched Lily nod to her sister.

"Well, we're gonna go back into Diagon Alley. I'll see you tonight," Lily said nicely to her sister. Petunia smiled cordially and Frank took Lily's hand and they left the Muggle streets.

"Why doesn't she like me?" Frank asked Lily.

"Hmm?"

"Petunia. Why doesn't she like me?"

"Because you're my boyfriend and you make me happy and she hates whatever makes me happy."

Frank smiled quickly and then kissed her.

"Thanks. I needed that," Lily admitted.

On a strange level, James liked his vulnerability. It was an odd feeling, he thought as he looked up at his ceiling. He and Emily had moved from the pitch to his bedroom as quickly as possible after they began taking each other's clothes off as fast as possible.

Emily looked James right in the eye and then kissed him once more.

"I've kind of wanted to do this with you for a long time," she admitted. James laughed a little and then kept kissing her.

"Was it ok?" he asked her earnestly after their kiss.

"It was great," Emily said to him, looking around. "Where'd you put my shirt?"

James looked to his side and found that Emily's shirt and bra were on his floor. He picked them up and handed them to her, asking, "You're sure?"

"Yeah," she said nicely. "Plus, it'll be better next time. I promise."

"Next time? There's a next time?"

Emily kissed him again, leaving him a little breathless. He watched her get dressed and then get out of bed. She kissed him again, and said, "Yes, there's definitely a next time. See you soon?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. That's fine."

She walked towards the door, gave him a small wave and then left his room. James leaned back further into his pillows and then heard, "Prongs!"

He groaned and rolled over face first into his pillow. But sure enough, Sirius came walking into his room moments later.

"Go away," James grumbled. "I don't want to hear your criticism of my…relations with Spears."

"I didn't come to talk about you," Sirius said. James rolled over and looked at his best friend, noticing that Sirius looked quite distressed. "Although…seriously? You and Spears had se—"

"What do you want, Padfoot?"

"I'm breaking up with Mary," he said to James.

"You have my attention," James said, sitting up in bed. Sirius sat down in the chair next to James's bed. "What's up?"

"I really am not a fan of how everything is about her and whenever she doesn't want to talk about something, I just have to shut up and kiss her," Sirius said.

"What do you mean?"
"I mean that…well, Prongs, you remember what happened at the beginning of school last year, right?"

Yes, James remembered. How could he not? It was the beginning of his hatred for Mary. And what James couldn't remember too well, Sirius, Remus, and Peter could remember just perfectly.

Sirius walked upstairs in the Potter household, looking for one of his bags when he suddenly heard someone throwing up very violently. He passed James's bathroom and found that it was not James, but Mr. Potter, who was clearly in quite a bit of pain. Mr. Potter was throwing up repeatedly and sweating horribly.

"Mr. Potter? Are you ok?"

"I'm perfectly fine," he said to Sirius sarcastically. "You should really try this. You'd love it!"

"Mr. Potter!" Sirius gasped as he watched the elderly man collapse next to the toilet. "James! Mrs. Potter!"

And an hour later, Mary was absolutely livid by the absence of her boyfriend.

"Where is he?" Mary asked angrily to Remus and Peter. "He was supposed to be here already!"

"He'll be here," Remus said easily. "They're probably just running late. You know how Mrs. Potter gets sometimes. She obsesses over the right hat and what not."

"Yes, but—"

"Come on, Mary, I'm sure they have a good reason," Peter reassured her.

"Good reason! Good Reason?" Mary barked at him. "It better be freaking phenomenal whatever it is! We were supposed to sit with Theadora Kelson and her boyfriend!"

"Theadora Kelson is possibly one of the most boring people I have ever met, Mary. Why would you want to sit with her? And how does she have a boyfriend?" Lily Evans asked reasonably. Mary rounded on Lily and said, "She happens to be very interesting and is one of the best students in this school."

Lily merely shrugged and went back to discussing something with Frank. While Peter tried to talk to Mary, Remus interrupted Lily and Frank's conversation.

"What is it, Lupin?" Frank asked rudely.

"Lily, I was just kind of wondering if you could occupy Mary on the train."

"I've got the Prefect meeting," Lily shrugged. "I wish I could."

"Damn. Where's Alice?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen her yet. Where are Sirius and James though?"

"I have no idea," Remus said in all honesty.

It was hours later until James and Sirius finally showed up at school. James was emotionally drained from the day after watching his father go in and out of hospital rooms and trying to take care of his mother who was quite distraught.

They walked into the common room at about one o'clock in the morning to find almost the entire house awake and talking in the common room. Mary was seated on the sofa near the fireplace talking with a few other girls in the younger years. Remus and Peter were sitting on the other side of the common room talking with Lily Evans. The two excused themselves from Lily immediately and ran over to James and Sirius. But before they could get a word in, Mary had come charging over to them, looking infuriated.

"Where were you?"

"James's father had to go to St. Mungo's for an emergency stomach pumping. He has severe food poisoning," Sirius said to her.

"Oh. Well you could've owled us," Mary said. James looked at her in absolute disgust and then walked up the stairs with Remus and Peter. Sirius shook his head and glared at Mary for a moment.

"What?" she yelled at him.

"Mr. Potter has been like a second father to me, Mary," Sirius said. "So no, I couldn't have owled you because I was a little busy making sure that his wife and son were ok—who have essentially replaced my own mother and brother."

"Whatever, Sirius," Mary said quietly, resigning a bit but not wanting to admit it.

"It's stuff like that that gets me!" Sirius said to James. "She has no respect for me. She has no respect for you guys."

"That's nearly three years down the drain then, Padfoot."

"I know! I mean…girls like me. First years follow me all the time! I can totally get any girl I want!"

"Then break up with Mary," James shrugged.
"But that also means that I'd have to…I don't know…date—which I've never done. I mean, I see you guys do it and cringe at the mere thought!"

James looked at Sirius for a moment and then said, "You're gonna be fine."

"How do you know though?"

"I just do."

"So when should I break up with Mary?"

"I don't know!" James nearly yelled.

"We're going out to dinner on Friday. I'll do it then," Sirius decided promptly.

"Whatever," James replied. "Make sure there aren't any sharp knives around at this restaurant."

"We're getting Chinese. Chop sticks can't hurt too badly."