Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
A Change in the Tide
Chapter 13: Sirius Talks
James walked to his room and walked over to his cluttered desk. Noticing the newspapers strewn over it, James picked them up and tossed them into the trash can. He fell asleep soon after.
James was awakened by the warmth of the sun's rays streaming through his window. He blinked twice before realizing he was in his room. Slowly, the events of last night filled James' head. He remembered Lily and they had reunited. He couldn't wait to talk to her again. He wanted to find out as much about her as he could; all of the things he had missed while they were separated.
James got up and got ready for the day. As he was walking towards Lily's cabin, he remembered that she was probably sleeping still. He shrugged and continued towards her room anyways.
As James reached Lily's door to her cabin, he tapped lightly to see if she was awake. There was no answer. He opened her door slightly to peek in. James was surprised to see the room empty and the bed made. 'I guess she is already up. I wonder where she went.'
James decided to head down to breakfast. The dining room was empty as everyone was already working for the day. It was almost lunch time, but George made James a small platter to eat. James quickly finished his meal and headed up to the deck where he would have to continue his duties.
Once he reached the deck, he looked around, inspecting his crew and making sure everything was in order. He walked toward Sirius to take over. At the moment, Sirius was steering. James quietly swept over to his first mate and tapped him on the shoulder. Sirius jumped in response. James watched as his friend turned to face him.
"Gee, James, you scared the crap out of me. I nearly just punched you. You can't blame me if I had, though. How am supposed to know if you are not an enemy?"
James smiled in response. "I'll take over now. Go make sure Peter is on the lookout, and could you check on Lily."
'Lily, who's Lily-oh Evans,' Sirius thought to himself. Sirius couldn't help but feel as though James wanted to get rid of him. "Aye, Captain. Just one question though. How come you slept so late? I went to your cabin this morning and found you sleeping. I didn't want to wake you up, but I found it unusual thought that you would sleep so late. You always get up early." Sirius stopped his questioning to see James' reaction.
To Sirius, James appeared as though he was in another world. He had a blank stare as Sirius asked him his question. It was almost as though James wasn't listening. After a few moments with no answer from James, Sirius backed up and turned to walk away. "Hey, James, I'll see you at lunch."
This time Sirius got a response. His captain simply nodded his head. Sirius knew something was up with his friend. He would ask him at lunch.
Lily got up when she heard people walking past her door. She sat up on her bed and glanced out the window. The sun was shining. Lily figured that the men were going downstairs to eat breakfast. Lily got off of her bed and dressed for the day.
At breakfast, Lily ate with George in the kitchen. She and George made light conversation until Lily had to leave. Lily headed towards the infirmary where she was to take care of the sick and injured.
While hustling about, fixing people's wounds, Lily thought about dinner the night before and all of the events that occurred after.
She felt like a whole new person. She now had her memory back and was able to fill in that blank in her life. Her parents would be amazed to know that she remembered her childhood now.
Her parents. Now that she knew her past, Lily also remembered meeting them. She was at the orphanage and they told her they were going to adopt her. Lily had been very upset which led to she and James running away. Lily felt so bad thinking about it this way, but, it was because of her parents that James was captured and she got hurt.
Her body was in autopilot while Lily focused on her thoughts. 'I wonder where my parents are now. Did they ever make it to Lord Dursley? How is Petunia? Are my parents out looking for me? Will I ever see them again?'
Lily was so deep in her own thoughts, she didn't even noticed when Sirius entered the room. Sirius looked around the infirmary and saw Lily wrapping up a man, named Gary's, arm.
"Evans," Sirius called out. Lily didn't respond. 'That is weird, I could have sworn I spoke loud enough for her to hear.' "Hey, Evans," Sirius repeated even louder. Lily continued her work, oblivious to the man calling her name.
'Hmm, that's funny. James is acting the same way as Lily.'
A bell sounded, signaling lunch. Sirius turned around and left the room.
Lily was shaken from her thoughts as the lunch bell sounded. She glanced up from Gary's arm and noticed the door closing to the room. Lily shrugged and finished wrapping the pirate's arm. She cleaned up the supplies and went to go see George.
Sirius watched James walk into the lunchroom. He stood up to call James over. His captain looked over to him, and started heading towards him.
Once both of them were settled in their seats with food, Sirius began his interrogations. Looking into his friend's eyes, Sirius asked, "What's going on, James?" Sirius was concerned for his closest friend.
James didn't exactly understand what Sirius thought was wrong. "Nothing is going on. I'm fine. Better than ever actually."
"Really? I beg to differ. I noticed that you seem awfully tired today. What happened after you left dinner last night?"
"Oh, that." James nervously ran his hand through his messy hair. "I was thinking about… uh things."
"Things? Care to expound upon that." James stared at the men eating around him, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to share his news about Lily just yet.
James finally came up with what he was going to say. "I was thinking about Lily." James knew that he had said the wrong thing when he saw Sirius' eyes widen with a mischievous glint in them.
"Really, Lily, huh? She is quite a catch. I knew you would fall for her eventually. Gosh, every guy on this ship secretly crushes on her. Even Remus and I feel something for her although I'm thinking it is more along the lines of friendship. Wow! I can't believe it. I was right all along. James, you just made me five dollars richer. You see, Remus and I made a bet and…"
"Sirius, shut up. That's not what I meant."
"I said that you would fall for Lily within the month and Remus said it would take you three months from now." Sirius ignored his captain and continued his rambling. "Hey, you know, when I went into your room this morning, I noticed that you threw out all of your old newspapers. What's with that?"
"Sirius, that's what I've been trying to tell you. The girl I used to live with at the orphanage is Lily."
It took Sirius a moment before it dawned on him. "Lily, the girl's name was Lily. And we know a Lily. You don't think they're the same?"
"I know that Evans is the Lily I know. I talked to her last night." "No way. So does that mean you really don't have a crush on her?" Sirius was disappointed when he noticed his friend shake his head. "Damn. I really needed the money. So… you talked to Evans last night. What happened?"
"Well, I went to go see her in her room and when I entered, she told me that she remembered me. We talked for awhile about our past. Did you know that the reason she didn't remember me was because she suffered from memory loss. Bill and Hyde hit her and she hit her head. Up until that night, she had no recollection of her past."
"Wow, what a story?"
The two men continued talking through lunch and a little after. It was James who ended the conversation. "I have to go check up on everything." James stood up from his chair and stretched out his limbs. Hey, is Peter doing his job?" Sirius nodded. "Good, and Lily?"
"She was in the infirmary this morning." James nodded his head and then left.
Sirius followed his friend out the door and headed down the opposite hallway as James, looking for Remus.
Sirius was in such a hurry that as he rounded the corner, he didn't notice the red-head walking straight in his direction. When he noticed her, it was too late. They had already bumped into each other and poor Lily fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry, Evans." Sirius reached down to help her up. When Lily stood up, she straightened out her dress and fixed her hair.
"It's okay," Lily said, "It was my fault anyway. I wasn't watching where I was going."
While Lily was talking to him, Sirius could only picture her as a little eleven-year old hanging around with a young James.
Suddenly, Sirius remembered how Lily was acting earlier that day. Although he knew what was wrong, he wanted to know her side of the story.
"So, Evans, I couldn't help but notice that you seem different today."
Lily tensed when she heard this. She didn't know what to say. Sirius was not surprised to see her shocked and confused expression. He dragged her back into the dining room where they both sat down across from each other at a table.
"Sirius, I really have to get back to work," Lily complained.
"C'mon, Evans, cool off for a sec. I just want to talk to you for a few minutes. So," Sirius awkwardly began the conversation, "why have you been walking around in a daze today?"
"Well, I've had a lot to think about lately."
"Does it have anything to do with James?" Sirius bated her.
Lily paused before answering. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it does."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I know this is going to sound weird, but I knew James when I was younger."
"No?" Sirius said in mock denial.
"Yes, it's true. We lived in the same orphanage. We were best friends too. Inseparable. Amazing how things have changed."
"How so?"
"Well, for one, James is a… a pirate now. Not to mention the fact that just last week, both of us could hardly stand being in the other's presence. It's hard to believe we were friends."
"Just because you are different from each other doesn't mean you can't still be friends," said Sirius.
"I know, it's just that, oh I don't know," Lily shook her head in confusion.
"Even though James is a pirate, doesn't mean his character has changed. He is the nicest guy I know. Sure, he can be tough at times and his temper can get to the better of him, but he is a good person. I'm sure that at least that much of him hasn't changed," Sirius provided.
"I suppose so. I just want to get to know him better. We have so much to catch up with."
"So, do you think that you could ever be more than friends," Sirius sneakily added in the question.
Lily eyes bugged out of her head. "What?" she asked in shock. "Me and James? Huh, no way. We have only ever been friends. Besides, he just isn't my type."
"So what exactly is your type?"
"Why do you care, Black?"
"Just curious. Is it because he is a pirate?"
"No… no, I just don't think he is my type, okay. He could only ever just be a friend."
"Okay, I get it."
"Well, I really have to go now," Lily said. She left without saying goodbye. Sirius was by himself, thinking. 'Wow, Lily is extremely touchy on that subject. Note to self : never ask Lily about possible love interests.'
It took a few minutes before Sirius remembered why he had been in a hurry before he bumped into Evans.
Sirius spent the next ten minutes searching the ship for Remus. He found him braiding some ropes on deck.
"Hey, Remus, mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," Remus said without looking up from his work. Sirius grabbed some rope and sat down on a barrel next to Remus.
"You know, I talked to both James and Evans today. Guess what I found out?"
"What?" Remus asked.
"James and Lily lived at the same orphanage when they were children."
At this, Remus looked up with interest.
"That's not possible… the odds of that happening are…Wow! That's just unbelievable. How are they both reacting to their discovery?"
"They are still trying to overcome the shock of it all. I made the mistake of asking too personal of questions with Evans. She is slightly annoyed with me right now," Sirius said, guiltily.
Remus and Sirius spent the next hour analyzing their friends' relationship and trying to decide how to help them out.
A/N: This is my longest chapter yet in this story! I know it wasn't very action packed. It was a filler chapter that showed the current relationship between Lily and James. The next few chapters will show developement in their feelings for each other. Hopefully, they will be more interesting than this chapter.