The Truth Of The Heart
Summary: Lily Evans has always, ALWAYS hated James Potter. So when they become Head Boy and Girl, nothing could be worse. But could working with him change Lily's opinion? Has she been ignoring the truth in her heart all along?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this….except a few minor characters, so please don't sue me, JKR, 'cause I have nothing you want….unless you're into human flesh (you're not, are you?)
A/N: Thank you guys all SO MUCH for your reviews – it's nice to know I haven't been forgotten! I would do review thank-yous, but if this fic gets taken down again for anything, it won't be going up again, so I won't risk it.
WARNING: This chapter contains some explicit language – you have been cautioned!
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Chapter 19: Fun and Games?
"Uh-uh," James said, shaking his head. "No way. I know what these turn into with you."
Remus was nodding his head in agreement, but Peter looked torn between which of his friends to support.
"Ok, there's something wrong. James has a sense of responsibility?" Lily said. She twisted her face in mock-horror.
"I think I caught it off you!" James said, just as dramatically. He made a little cross out of his fingers and aimed it at her. "Stay away from me!" Lily rolled her eyes at him, but smiled.
She looked at Sirius' pleading expression. "Well, I suppose a short game would be okay," she said slowly.
"As long as we're sensible, and nothing too embarrassing comes up," Emma said. Sapphire shrugged, as James burst into a coughing fit ("Sirius? Sensible? Have you met him?").
Seeing that everyone else was in agreement, however, James and Remus eventually gave in, much to the delight of Sirius, who picked up an empty Butterbeer bottle and placed it on the floor in the middle.
The first to spin was Sirius himself. The bottle ended up pointing at Lily. Sirius smirked. "Lily dear, I seem to remember a certain 'talk' you promised to give me on a certain 'womanly' subject. Since you haven't done that yet, why don' t you tell us something about yourself . . . where and when was your first time?"
Sapphire gasped, thinking he was talking about something else, but Lily hushed her. "You really want to know?" she said coolly, though her cheeks were pink. "Transfiguration lesson, fourth year, 14th October."
"So that's why you left so suddenly that day!" Sirius crowed. "And I thought it was because of James stealing all your quills!" Lily raised her eyebrows.
"So, did you plan on returning the stationery you stole?" she asked quizzically, turning to James, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable; perhaps it was this that made him say "Spin the bottle," so hastily. Lily spun, and it came to rest on Sapphire.
"Hmm…Saffy, what's your honest opinion of Sirius?"
Sapphire looked straight at Sirius, and a smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Finally, I get to speak my mind: Sirius, you're a twisted prat with an ego the size of Asia, who can't keep his mind or his hands to himself," she said firmly. Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"I could say the same to you, sweetheart."
"Ok, ok," Remus interjected quickly.
Sapphire spun. It landed on Remus. "Ok, uhm . . . what's your greatest ambition in life?" She cringed. "I know it's crap, but I can't think of anything else."
Remus looked rather sombre. "To get a job," he answered quietly. Lily understood what he was talking about. James, Sirius and Peter too, looked more serious than usual for a moment. Emma and Sapphire simply looked confused.
"Go on Moony, spin," said Peter quickly, to cover up the awkward silence. Remus reached out and spun it gently. After a few swivels, it stopped facing Lily.
Remus smiled. "You know, I've been wanting to ask you this question for the longest time. We all know you're just naturally clever, so why do you work yourself so hard?"
Lily considered for a moment. "I don't know," she said slowly. "I think . . . maybe because I want to prove myself. If I get top marks, no one can hold the whole Muggle thing against me. Plus," here she smiled mischievously, "I get to rub it in yours and James' faces!" James stuck his tongue out at her; it was common knowledge that he, Remus and Lily were neck-and-neck for the top of most classes. "Seriously though, you guys are the naturally clever ones. I have to work for my marks."
James began to protest, but Remus shushed him. "We'll be here all night if we get into that argument. Spin, Lily."
She did, and it halted on Sirius. "Hmm," Lily said, a wicked glint coming into her eye. "Alright, if you had to pick someone out of this group to go out with, who would you choose?"
Sirius looked around. "James!" he proclaimed merrily.
James looked disgusted and moved away from him. "Best friend, yeah, boyfriend, never." He shuddered. "Ugh."
"Oh but Jamie!" Sirius cried in a high-pitched voice. "Think of how happy we could be together! You cooking breakfast naked, while I wound my hands around your waist and whispered erotic nothings into your ear. . ."
James was bright red, and looked ready to kill. "I am never sleeping in the same dorm as you again!" he hissed at Sirius. "Remind me to move out tonight!"
Everyone else was laughing hysterically. "Very nice, Sirius," Lily said, controlling herself. "I never knew you batted for the other team. But I meant out of the girls."
"Oh," said Sirius, looking crestfallen. "Pity." He considered each one briefly. "You, I suppose. Emma's taken, and Heathleigh . . . well, I refuse to take her out on a date." He shuddered, much like James had. "Yuck. I'd need disinfectant afterwards."
'Like I would ever want you touching me, Black! Disinfectant and sandpaper would be what I would need," Sapphire retorted.
Sirius carried on, as if he hadn't heard her. "But you're James', so in reality, I wouldn't go out with you either."
"I am not James' possession!" Lily cried.
James was so low in his chair, it looked like he wanted to fall through the seat, his face burning. Lily too, would have noticed her flushed cheeks if she had not been so busy glaring at Sirius and her friends, both of whom were laughing at her reaction.
"Can we please move on?" James ground out, his face still warm.
"Rightio," Sirius said, grinning manically. He spun the bottle, and to James' obvious dismay, it stopped facing him.
"Looks like the embarrassment isn't over, James dear." Sirius smirked. "Now, I do believe that you have several interesting things that you could tell us about yourself. I'll pick one. Why don't you tell us about a little talent that you picked up off your sister?"
James looked confused. "Playing the piano?"
"YOU play the piano?" three voices chorused at once.
"Yeah. Is that so unbelievable?" James said defiantly.
"No," Emma said, nodding her head vigorously.
"My dears, he does not just 'play the piano.' He plays the piano. Little Mozart in the making. Mind you, he can do jazz and modern as well, really well. Actually, the reason that he plays is rather . . . amusing. Shall I tell them the amusing reason, James?" Sirius took a swig of Butterbeer.
Only one word issued from James' mouth. "NO."
"That's settled then," Sirius said. "Gather round children." He began to talk like a nursery school teacher. "Now, when James' sister Maddie was six, her parents decided it would be good her to play an instrument. So, they bought the piano, got her a tutor, and she started. Naturally, when she could manage simple pieces, she got a lot of attention, being as small as she was. Our James didn't like that at all. So, he started playing in secret, sneaking down in the middle of the night, and taught himself how to play all sorts of music, until he could boast that he was better than Maddie. It must have been a classic moment, the day he brought his family into the dining room and played them some concerto or other. Maddie gave up a while ago, but James still plays. He sings rather well, too. Lovely voice."
Everyone turned to look at James, whose red face was hidden in his hands. "When I need a publicising officer, Padfoot, I'll look you up, but for now, please, shut up."
"Why? I think playing the piano is dead sexy," Sapphire said. She nudged Lily. "I bet Lily thinks so too, don't you Lily?"
"What? Yeah, I guess - wait a minute! No, no I don't!" Lily's face had flamed as well. Sapphire giggled as Lily gave her a dirty look. "Can we please change the game?"
"YES," James echoed vehemently.
"Oh, but James hasn't done his turn," Sirius said sweetly.
"What? What was all the piano stuff for then?"
"That was just us going off on a little tangent, James dear. My actual question involved a little thing that you were forced to practice on your sister's dolls."
"What? Oh no. Oh no. Padfoot, you are not going there."
"I most certainly am."
"Is it your life's ambition to embarrass me?'
'Of course. That's why I'm best man at your wedding!"
Everyone was laughing now, both at Sirius' innocent grin, and James' murderous expression. "Why are you my best friend?"
"Well Jamesie, if you don't want to say, you know what the forfeit is."
"You know what? The idea of proposing to McGonagall naked in the Great Hall in the middle of lunch is looking quite tempting right now. And DON'T call me Jamesie."
"Jamesie, the choice is yours."
"Fine." James mumbled something that no one caught.
"What was that?" Peter asked.
"I said, I know how to do hair. Girls' hair." James was so red now, he looked as though he was going to explode.
"Huh? You mean, like plaits and stuff?" Emma looked confused. James nodded sheepishly. Everyone burst into laughter – again.
"Are – are you serious?" Lily gasped, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Well it was either learn how to French plait her Barbie or watch her go running to Mum whining about how I was being mean to her when I was babysitting her and be docked of chocolate for a week!" James said defensively. "Besides, when you're eight, you have a lot of time on your hands to baby-sit for a six-year-old, and if that means doing her hair to shut her up, then I'd like to see you choose!" His indignant expression only made the others laugh harder.
"Maybe you should do a French plait on me one day!" Lily was clutching her side by now.
"Maybe I will. I'll plait your hair to a Hippogriff and see how you like it!" James stuck his tongue out at her.
"I'm sure you can do it for her at your wedding," Sirius said, in an innocent tone. He seemed to be doing a lot of things 'innocently' that night. "Of course, we might have to work around that thing with the groom not seeing the bride before the ceremony and all, but I'm sure we'll sort it out."
That wiped the smile right off Lily's face. "Sirius, you're talking nonsense. It's not going to happen. I suggest we change the game – now."
"PLEASE." James added.
"Fine, fine." Sirius put a hand to his heart dramatically. "If you don't like my games, so be it."
"Any ideas?" Sapphire asked.
"How about a pick-up line competition?" Emma suggested quietly. "It'd give us all a laugh."
Peter picked up on the idea quickly. "Yeah! Here," he wadded up a bunch of wrappers into the semblance of a ball. "We throw this at someone, and they have to say a pick up line, and then throw it on to someone else."
"First one down has to clean up the mess we leave," Lily chimed in.
"Everyone agreed?" Sirius asked.
Seven heads nodded.
"Okay, Emma, your idea, you go first." Peter tossed the ball at her.
"You're so hot, you could make the devil sweat." She grinned impishly, and threw to Remus.
"If I could rearrange the letters of the alphabet, I'd put U and I together," he said, and passed to Lily.
"Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?" Lily reddened slightly as she aimed at Sirius.
"Nice outfit. Wanna fuck?" Everyone started laughing as he passed to James, who looked disgusted. ("Why the hell are you hitting on me?")
"Never use that on a girl unless you actually want a slap," Lily said, giggling.
"Congratulations! You've been voted "Most Beautiful Girl In This Room," and the grand prize is: a night with me!" He passed to Sapphire.
"Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes." She looked sheepish as she threw to Peter.
"There must be something wrong with my eyes. I can't take them off you." He threw to Emma, who caught it deftly.
"I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away." On to James.
James looked around. His eyes fell on Lily. "I've had a really bad day, and it always makes me feel better to see a pretty girl smile. So, will you smile for me?" His neck was pink as he threw.
"Can I borrow your owl?" she asked, looking at Remus.
"What for?"
"I want to write home and tell my family I've met the guy of my dreams." Lily passed on.
"Do you believe in helping the homeless?"
"Yeah . . ." Sapphire answered.
"Take me home with you." He passed to her.
"I'm the kind of girl who deserves to have boys I don't deserve." She threw to Remus again.
"I just wanted to show this rose how incredibly beautiful you are." The ball moved to Emma.
"Hi, my name's Emma. You might want to remember it now, because you'll be screaming it later!" She was red as she passed on.
"This is never going to end!" Lily exclaimed, as Sirius caught it.
"You know the rules. Keep going," Remus said.
"The word of the day is 'legs'," Sirius proclaimed. "Let's go back to my place and spread the word."
Lily was next. "You know, you might be asked to leave soon. You're making all the other guys look bad." Lily passed to James, who opened his mouth, obviously racking his brains.
"That shirt is very becoming on you. If I were on you, I'd be coming too."
Seven mouths fell open at the implication, and seven heads turned to look at the speaker, who had not been James.
Serena Parkinson stood there, hands on hips, attention focused solely on James. She was wearing an incredibly short red leather skirt, and a tube top. Lily could not understand how she could walk past any teacher looking like that and get away with it.
"Wh-what?" James stammered, looking very much like a deer caught in headlights.
"Come on Jamie. Let's leave these . . . people, and go somewhere private." She extended an arm invitingly, and shot a glare at Lily.
James had regained his composure. "Beat it, Parkinson," he said coolly. "And don't call me Jamie."
"Come on James, you know you said I was the best fuck you'd ever had," Serena said, lavisciously, looking at him from under lowered lids.
"What?" James stared at her in disbelief.
"Come on baby, remember the Astronomy Tower, and the Transfiguration classroom? I certainly can't forget them. Those were the best hours of my life…with you moaning my name…" She was bending forwards now, giving him a full view of her cleavage. His eyes, however, remained firmly fixed on her face.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, Parkinson. I suggest you get a hobby . . . and a life."
"Well," Serena said salaciously. "If words won't persuade you, maybe actions will."
Without further ado, she bent down, grabbed his shirt collar, and covered his mouth with her own. She gave him a full-on snog for a few seconds, while he struggled under her, until at last he managed to push her away from him. His lips were already swollen, and his face flushed.
"Fuck off, Serena," he managed, breathing heavily. "Crawl back into whatever hole you came out of."
"Whatever you say, Jamie." Serena shrugged nonchalantly. "But mark my words, there'll be a day when you'll come round to my way of thinking, and when you do," here she shot a venomous look at Lily again, "I'll be waiting." She sauntered off. James began scrubbing at his lips with the back of his hand.
"Quick," he moaned. "Get me some disinfectant. And sandpaper. I need to scrub my lips off."
No one moved.
It was Sirius who finally voiced what everyone was thinking. "James, mate, you slept with her?"
James stopped rubbing to stare at him incredulously. "WHAT? I – no – what on earth – Padfoot, this was in fifth year – I was with that slut for three days – when would I – how would I -?"
"But she said you said she was the best fuck you'd ever had," Sirius said, looking rather ill, and not at all hyper.
"And you believe – I HAVEN'T SLEPT WITH ANY BLOODY GIRL IN HOGWARTS!" James hollered. It was lucky for him that the common room was more or less empty. "I can't believe you would – why the hell am I justifying my personal life to you? I'm going to bed!" He got up, and without so much as a good night, stomped upstairs.
There was a stunned silence.
"Well, now we know how to get him fired up," Sirius said, attempting to lift the mood damper. He lowered his voice. "I thought he said he wasn't intending to sleep in the same dorm as me."
A few minutes later, James came down the stairs again, still looking exceptionally bad-tempered. "I'm going down to the Heads' Rooms. I am not sleeping in the same dorm as you. Good night." He disappeared through the Portrait Hole.
Sirius shrugged.
"Guess I spoke too soon."
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A/N: So, I take it you all have your copies of the Half-Blood Prince? I think it's the best yet, personally, though that's probably because...well, I won't say, because I don't want to spoil any surprises. Four hours later, 607 pages later, and I was left wishing that I had more to read! And that DEFINITELY didn't happen with OotP.
Anyway, to let you all know, I'll be continuing with TTOTH as usual - fortunately there was nothing in HBP that I can't tweak my story to fit, so all the work of the last year and a half (God, has it really been that long?) isn't wasted. HIA (Here I Am - my other story, check my profile for it if you have no idea what I'm talking about) needs some more consideration...I like it, but...well. Again, I don't want to give anything away about the new book, so I can't do much explaining, but. Hm. I shall be talking that over with my most trusted advisors... :grins: (now, start guessing who they are, or if they even actuallyEXIST...)
Anyway, happy reading of HBP, and I shall update as soon as I can!