Thank you for those who reviewed! I loooove those! Does it make me shallow? I don't care. hehe. But I guess I just like this story and wish people liked it too, so reviewers get candy! ;)) PA

Chapter 3 – A shoulder to cry on

She straightened her black dress one more time and let out a loud sigh. She was procrastinating and she knew it. She had always been a fan of the word, but never one to actually indulge in using it until now. She shook her head lightly because she felt it was something stupid to be thinking about now. She was stalling because she knew what came next and what it was was facing the facts. She took a deep breath and let it out heavily before closing the door behind her.

The house was quiet now. That house had been many things to her but quiet had never been one of them. She had been there countless times before and she had come to know it as a safe haven, where people were kind and generous and the sun graced them for it in return. It was a warm house, mainly because warm people inhabited it. But not today. Today everything was hollow. She took hesitant steps and laid gentle prayers to the saints so that she could keep her head centered and her tears inside for at least a tiny bit longer. She reached for the feeble hand close by and entertwined her fingers with hers. That person she loved that had just had her life completely altered. That person she knew to be the bravest and sweetest friend anyone could ever possess. Alice. She was suffering and there wasn't much she could do to help her.

The service was simple and understated, much like the man it was honoring. He would always do his job perfectly, he would always finish his tasks within time limit and he would always help someone in need. And he would do all that quietly and without fuss. He would never impose and he would never complain. His family knew he wouldn't want grand shenanigans and long speeches, so they complied. His only daughter was quiet, which was unlike the usually high spirited girl. Her two best friends stood by her side at all times, as if afraid that at some point she would collapse. They grasped her hands to show her that they were there, that she could count on them, but right then, all she felt was the air becoming thinner and the walls becoming lower. She disentangled herself from her friends' care feeling the need to be elsewhere, anywhere.

"- I'm going outside for a minute, ok?" – Came her small voice, a pleading note hanging in it for them not to follow.

And the two girls stayed there, watching her walk, deciding that she probably needed the space and hoping that somehow she would find the strength to build herself over.


-- XXX -- XXX -- XXX --


Alice was sitting in a low patch of grass from which she had a clear view of the garden beneath her. She felt pale and dry. And numb. She let her fingers wonder over the soft leafs to see if it would cause her some reaction. Nothing. She searched the colors of the garden for something to tell her what she was still doing there, until she heard a crackling sound.

"- Hey there, Alice." – Said a deep husky voice beside her and she perused her surroundings looking for its owner.

He was standing there. James Potter. She had no idea why, but there he was in all his messy haired glory. He wasn't in formal wear like most people, but in dark grey slacks and a black leather jacket and what seemed a plain white t-shirt beneath it. She knew he had never been one to care for convention. She was surprised to find him there and yet she wasn't.

"- Hi, James." – She replied simply, her eyes inquiring her unspoken questions.

"- May I sit?" – He asked politely and she nodded. "- I just came because I thought, maybe, you needed someone to listen. Or maybe even, someone to stay quiet with." – He was sitting beside her now, he always had such poise and grace that even at a time like this she couldn't help but notice. He just had an air about him, something that everyone could see. He was one of those people you noticed in the middle of a crowd. "- You might not want to talk, and that's ok. I just found comforting to know that I could, you know? That someone was there, someone who understood." – His voice was soft and his tone soothing. He stopped talking and looked to the scenery ahead of them.

"- When?" – She asked him slowly, comprehension dawning on her.

"- Just after last holidays started." – He answered unfazed. "- Mum says these things just take time…" – He paused and she saw a hint of a smile play his lips. "- …But I've found that good friends and chocolate are quite handy too."

He reached his jacket pocket and took out a package of fudge. He offered her some with a hopeful grin but she hesitated.

'- Trust me, this is the holy grail of fudge, mourners number one aid to life!" – He teased bringing the package closer so she could smell it. She couldn't help the smile that crept on her lips. "- Yey! You smiled!" – He said pretending to chant and cheer but maintaining his voice low while he threw his arms up in a small celebration. She chuckled reluctantly and he gave her a sheepish grin.

'- You're such a goofball." – She said smacking him lightly in the arm as she helped herself to the fudge. He smiled back at her satisfied, understanding clear in his hazel eyes. She looked at him earnestly. "- Thank you, James." – She paused looking down and smiled a little. "- I didn't think I'd be able to laugh today. Or anytime soon, for that matter."

"- Anytime, Alice." – He replied, still smiling that sweet smile of his. "- Really." – She nodded at him, accepting his token of friendship. He then looked ahead again and they stayed quiet for a while. "- Can I tell you something?" – She nodded once more. "- I truly admire you, Alice. You know? Today, before I came, all I could think about was that what I admired most about you was that you are always smiling that big genuine smile of yours and it always makes everyone around you feel better and just a tiny bit happier. Hey, I'm not making a move here or anything… " – He joked and she snorted. "- But it's true. I was afraid you would lose the very essence of you."

She stared at him, locking her gaze with his. Never in a million years she would have imagined to hear those words from him. They were friendly, but they weren't very close and it just added to the surprise. And it was funny that he would come and be the one to tell her those things; ironically funny because of the many times he had been called self-centered and egotistical. Not by her, granted, but it was still humorous all the same.

"- I won't.' – She said still holding his gaze.

"- Good." – He said still smiling, his eyes so warm that seemed a fire was cracking inside them.

After sometime he slowly began to stand up. He patted himself, getting rid of all the sprinkles of grass that had clung to his clothes and offered her his hand. She took it and got up clumsily and she smiled again at her own antics without even realizing what she was doing. She looked from him to the garden and then back to him. And then unexpectedly he hugged her. A friendly hug that felt warm and full, as opposed to everything she felt. She rested her head on his chest and slowly but surely the tears came. She let herself cry quietly, knowing that there she was protected because he truly understood. They stayed like that for a while, until the crying was replaced by a subdued sobbing. He strained himself from her gently and bended his head a little so that he could meet her eyes more easily.

"- Ready?" – He asked.

"- Ready." – She said taking a deep breath and squeezing his hand. She then turned and walked inside the house.


-- XXX -- XXX -- XXX --

She had been distracted watching her all alone in the garden through the glass door when she heard movement near her. Three boys approached Mary and she was certain they would reach her next. Sirius, Peter and Remus. Three fourths of the most popular group of boys from school was there. And Lily hoped she managed to hide the disappointment that she felt over the absence of their missing member.

They approached her, like she had foreseen and she responded politely and, although she didn't say anything, someone noticed her eyes searching for him. She knew he had to be there if the others were and she had that feeling she always had when he was near. It was like she had a special radar that beeped every time he was in the proximity. And then she found him. He was in the most unlikely place and at the exactly right one, like he used to be.

She watched him drop himself on the ground next to her best friend. He wasn't wearing a suit or anything like it but still he didn't look estranged. He had this ability to always seem completely natural and at ease that was uncanning. She only knew two people in the world that could blow formality with such class, him and his best friend. She thought it must be one of those things only those that had already born in class could achieve. She carefully analyzed the scene in front of her: her best friend and that mysterious person sitting together. And then something unexpected happened. Alice smiled. Lily was bewildered and unbeknownst she smiled too. There were few things or people that could have managed that on that moment, and he just happened to be one of them.

"- He has that effect on people." – Came the elegant voice of Remus Lupin. He had said it so quietly it sounded almost like a secret.

"- Sorry?" – She muttered back confused.

"- James." – The boy beside her replied. Then he moved his head pointing to the duo sitting outside. "- He has that effect on people." He then paused as if reflecting about something and continued after chuckling lightly. "- Most people, anyway."

She knew what he meant. More than once she had made it perfectly clear that she disliked his best friend with force. She bit her lips and let her gaze return to the scene she had been watching ever so intently.

"- Seems like it." – She answered him. "- How does he do it?"

Her question was fair. She had no idea what to say and it was her best friend. And there he was, helping Alice like she didn't know how.

"- You'd have to know him." – Remus shrugged. "- I think you'd really like him if you did."

And with that he left and she was alone again, watching her best friend cry on the arms of that boy she wished she understood. But he wasn't a boy anymore. And he wasn't the prat that annoyed her constantly or who chased her relentlessly either. He was the mysterious contraction that inhabited her thoughts, every day a little more. Even if she didn't inhabit his any longer.