Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling therefore I am not the owner of Harry Potter

A Change in the Tide

Chapter 14: Pirate

Lily huffed in anger, "Arg, I hate Sirius Black. The nerve of him. Nosy git. How dare he ask me such personal questions." She blindly stomped through the hallways.

After several minutes of walking in circles, Lily decided to go to her room and cool off a little bit.

Lily pulled open the door of her cabin and rushed inside. Upon entry, her disposition immediately changed. There was something about the room that had a calming effect on her. She gently sat down on her bed and looked out the window. The ocean stretched infinitely around her. The setting sun reflected off the water creating a perfect scenery.

Lost in the beauty outside her window, Lily forgot about the reason she had gone to her room in the first place. By the time she remembered what she had planned to do, it was nearly dinner time. Shaking her head, she decided to take a few minutes to think.

As she thought, she began to realize how ridiculous she had been acting. She was mad at Sirius for such a stupid reason. Sure, Sirius had been a bit forward with his questions, but he meant no harm. In fact, knowing Sirius, he was probably teasing her and purposely instigating her.

Laughing at how worked up she had become, the contents of Sirius' questioning began to race through her mind.

'So, do you think that you could ever be more than friends?' Sirius' voice echoed in her head.

"Me and James? I hardly know him. The new him, that is… more than friends? We are barely friends as it is. Pfft, who is Sirius kidding."

Lily's personal questioning was put on hold when there was a knock on her door.

After Sirius and James ate lunch and finished their conversation, James continued his mission from earlier that morning. He walked back to Lily's room, hoping she was in there. When he reached the cabin, he noticed that the door was open as he had left it that morning when he went to check in on her. Peaking inside, he immediately realized it was empty.

Feeling slightly disheartened, James continued his search. He decided that the next best place to check would be the infirmary. When he reached the room filled with his sick and injured crew, he noted that there was no redhead in sight.

James asked his men where Lily had gone.

"She just left, went down to see George, I think," a man with a damaged arm, named Gary, answered. Turning at the door, James huffed in frustration. He headed back to the kitchen where he started his search.

James entered the kitchen, but only found George in the room. George was cleaning up all of the dishes used for lunch. George turned around to greet his captain.

"Good afternoon, Captain Potter."

James nodded in greeting then asked, "Have you seen Lily? I've been looking for her all day. I want to talk to her."

George noticed his captain's impatience and hurriedly replied, "Last I saw her, she was in that hallway talking to Sirius." George pointed in the direction in which he was referring to.

Deciding not to be rude to a friend of Lily's, James said thank you before leaving. He walked to the hallway George told him he had last seen Lily, but it was empty so he followed it to the end and went up the stairs. On deck, he saw Remus and Sirius braiding rope. He marched over to them and asked his question without a proper greeting.

"Sirius, where is Lily? George said he saw you and Lily talking earlier."

Sirius decided to play with James a little. He waited, pretending to be thinking before answering.

"George is right, I was talking to her."

"Sirius, answer the question."

"What was the question again?" Sirius asked innocently.

"Sirius, answer now or you will be scrubbing the deck for the rest of the week. By yourself!"

"Hmm, Lily. She just walked away after our conversation. Didn't say where she was going, though. Maybe she went back to the infirmary."

James ran his hands through his already messy hair in an attempt to control his emotions. "I already checked there." James seethed through his teeth. He wasn't necessarily mad at his best mate. He just desperately wanted to talk to Lily.

"Sorry mate," Sirius shouted as James stormed back down the stairs. He quickly walked past the infirmary. After no success, James continued walking until he reached Lily's cabin. James sighed, realizing that the door was closed. That was a good sign. Taking a minute to control his frustration, James took deep breaths in and out. When he felt he was calm enough, he gently knocked on Lily's door, politely waiting for a reply.

"Who is it?" James heard Lily's sweet voice ask.

"It's James."

After a few seconds, James heard a creak as the door flew open. In front of him, stood a very beautiful and serene Lily.

James cleared his throat. "Hello Lily."

Lily looked into his hazel eyes and replied, "Good afternoon, Captain."

James nodded his head and tore his gaze away from Lily. "Was I interrupting anything?"

"No, of course not. I was just lost in my own thoughts. Actually, I was just about to head down for dinner."

"Hungry?" James asked.

"A little," Lily admitted.

"Do you want to go to my dining room for dinner?" James anxiously awaited her answer.

"Um, sure."

James grabbed hold of her arm and gently led her to his own private quarters.

The two sat down across from each other at the empty table. James excused himself for a moment. He went to go tell George that he would be serving two that night. Once he returned, he settled down in his chair.

Just as James was about to begin conversing with Lily, George walked in carrying two trays. George set them down in front of them and the two began eating.

They both ate in silence, too nervous to talk to one another. Once the plates were clean, the excuse for not talking disappeared.

George came in and took their plates away.

Lily rubbed her arms nervously and James coughed, both uncomfortable with the silence, but too afraid to start the conversation.

Finally, James asked, "So, how was your day?"

Lily smiled slightly and said, "It was fine, a little busy, but nothing unusual. How was your day?"

"Fine." James paused trying to think of another topic for discussion. "So, I heard you had a talk with Sirius today. How did that go."

"Well, I told him about our past. That's really it."

"Really? I told him about you at lunch time."

Lily started laughing. James, not sure what was so funny, decided to join in. Her laugh was contagious.

"That's funny. Sirius acted as though he knew nothing about our past when I talked to him. And that was after lunch."

"Well, that's Sirius for you."

"Yeah." Suddenly, a question flashed through Lily's mind. "I want to ask you something…"

"Go on," James encouraged.

"Well, do you enjoy life as a pirate?"

James paused for a moment. Lily watched as James' brows furrowed in concentration. He was deep in thought. When James spoke, he began softly. "Life as a pirate has it's pros and cons. For one, I don't have any deadlines. I can do whatever I want. I have loyal friends and crew and I have enough gold to fill a whole room. But, of course pirates don't have the best reputation. We are considered thieves, slugs, lazy hogs, and filthy scum. Also, most pirates aren't to be trusted."

Lily noticed James' frown. "James, none of those things you listed pertain to you. You're not like other pirates."

He gave a sad chuckle. Looking up into Lily's eyes he noticed a mischievous glint in them.

"James, I want to learn how to be a pirate."

A/N: So, I finally got this chapter out. I apologize for the length. It was going to be longer, but I decided that as one chapter it would be two long. Instead, I split it into two. I plan on updating soon.

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