So yeah, I changed my mind. I didn't want to write about them walking around the school. Sorry, but don't let that stop you from REVIEWING. Please.

Chapter 18: Ambre's big mouth

Over the next few days Ambre showed up more and more. But then the Marauders and Lily's friends were at the library a lot more than usual. What with exams quickly approaching along with the holiday break. Lily wished she could spend some time with James over the break, but she would be going home, and so would he. Although he'd be coming back right after Christmas, so she was hoping he could visit, she just had to ask him.

Lily sat in the library going over her Charms essay. She'd finished it, but she didn't like the way it had come out. James, Ivy, Jamie, Mary, Sirius, Remus, Ambre and Peter all sat at the same table with Lily. James was mostly dozing off using his potions book as a pillow, Ivy was tutoring Ambre while working on an essay of her own and perfecting a small spell involving a quill. She was multi-talented. Mary and Sirius were whispering to each other and Peter was struggling to finishing a Herbology project that was due the next day.

"Are you staying at school over break?" Ivy asked Ambre.

"I am actually." Ambre replied happy to have a reason to stop. Ivy continued to say that Ambre was a smart girl and good at witchcraft, but so far all Lily'd seen was the girl struggle. "My parents are helping my grandparent's move and said I should stay here."

"Okay, well I'm going home for the holidays, but maybe I could get someone to help you. We're falling behind schedule. And it would be a great way to catch up." Ivy said, mostly to herself. "Lupin? Your staying aren't you?" Remus looked up from the long piece of parchment he'd been writing on for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What?" He asked. Lily scratched out another line of her essay replacing it with something completely different.

"Are you staying here for Christmas break?" Jamie demanded. She'd been on a short fuse all week. What with Mary dating one of the Marauders and Lily being suddenly nice to them, she'd been pissed.

"Yeah?" Remus answered sounding nervous.

"Would you mind tutoring Ambre while I'm away?" Ivy asked him choosing to ignore Jamie. He glanced at the small sixth year before agreeing with an easy going, "Sure."

"What?" Ambre asked looking panicked.

"He's a great tutor." Ivy assured her, "Without him Jamie would have flunked Care of Magical Creatures third year."

"Yes. Talk like I'm not here!" Jamie said a little too loudly. Remus ducked his head, once again getting absorbed in his essay.

"So what are you working on with her?" Lupin asked, having finished and pushed his parchment aside.

"We're just going through Transfiguration stuff now. She's trying to change her eyebrows color." Sure enough in front of Ambre was a small mirror leaning on a stack of books.

"It's not working." Ambre said as if on cue.

"Well, here try it on me." Remus suggested. Ambre's eyes widened in horror.

"No! That's okay! I-I-I've almost got it." She stammered. From the corner of her eye Lily saw Mary smile knowingly.

"Really it's a lot easier casting it on other people. Just ask James and Sirius." Lily found herself trying to muffle a laugh as she remembered the train fiasco.

"Why is he talking about me?" James whispered. Lily leaned down to tell him.

"He's telling Ambre that it's easier to cast spells on other people than yourself." She told him.

"Oh." James said sitting up. "He's right. See." James flicked his wand at Peter causing his skin to turn a neon green color. Peter let out a squeak as he watched the green spread across his arm until it covered his entire body.

Sirius looked over, frowned at Peter's strange color then went back to talking to Mary as if this was an ordinary daily occurrence. Ambre's mouth fell open.

"I-I don't want to turn you skin green." Ambre told Remus. He smiled kindly at her.

"Don't worry. That's just James. All you have to do is change my eyebrows. Right?" Ambre nodded. "Okay then. Go." She looked nervous as she pointed her wand at his face.

"Are you sure about this?"

"You'll do fine." Ivy encouraged. Ambre bit her lip before saying the wrong incantation. She flinched as Lupin's noise grew twice it's size. There was nothing really to compare it to, his noise was huge! Remus went cross eyed looking at it.

"I am so sorry!" Ambre said. "I don't know what went wrong! That's not supposed to happen!" Remus raised his hand trying to calm her.

"It's not..."

"Um, maybe....The hospital wing! Madam Pomfrey will know what to do!" Everyone at the table was laughing, but trying hard not to.

"Calm down." Remus told her. But Ambre was mortified.

"I'm so sorry." she repeated. Lily covered her mouth to muffle her laughter. There was a loud thud as Sirius fell off his chair laughing.

"It was an accident." Remus reminded her. "Just help me get to the hospital wing. Pomfrey can reduce my noise." Ambre nodded so they left together, a flow of apologies continuing.

"That's so cute." Mary whispered. She was the first to stop laughing.

"What?" Sirius asked wiping his eyes.

"She likes him." she explained.

"Who?"

"Ambre silly."

"Wait. Do you mean to tell me that Ambre likes Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Well it's pretty clear she does." Mary said.

"But it's Moony." Sirius argued. "He doesn't date anyone."

"Ever." James added.

"Yeah. We've tried to set him up." Sirius continued.

"Well there's a first time for everything." Mary said pushing some hair behind her shoulder.

"Not for Moony." James said.

"Can you change me back?" Peter asked. Sirius looked over at him.

"Relax Wormy. No one'll notice." Sirius said.

"He's green, Sirius." Mary said patiently. "Someone's going to notice." Sirius looked at her, sighed then looked back at Peter.

"Fine." Sirius said, as if this, like so many other things, was the biggest inconvenience in his life. He flicked his wand at Peter, so his skin became it's usual pale color. "Always cleaning up Prongs' messes." Mary shook her head at him smiling.

"You're so dramatic." she told him. Sirius just shrugged leaning back so he was balancing on the back two legs of his chair.

"Hey Prongs?" Sirius said.

"Hmm?" James asked lying back down on his book.

"I'm bored."

"So?"

"Let's do something. Filch has been too happy lately. Let's fix that." Sirius suggested.

"You promised to be nice." Mary said.

"To other students." Sirius corrected.

"Sirius! Filch works hard for this school. You should show him a little bit of respect."

"I show him a little respect." Sirius said indignantly.

"Really?" Mary challenged.

"Yeah. I haven't kicked Mrs. Norris in a week. That's respectful." James smiled into his book.

"But you shouldn't kick her at all. What did she ever do to you?" Sirius was about to answer but Mary cut him off. "That was a rhetorical question."

"Can't you guys shut up?" Jamie shouted. She cursed before picking up her books and marching out of the library. The group, now smaller, stayed at their table for another hour before Lily decided to go up to bed. She hadn't been sleeping well so wanted to go to bed early. She'd been having nightmares about her dad. Just him dying all over again.

When Lily got to the dorm room Ambre was sitting on the couch.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Lily asked her, mostly to be nice.

"Oh, um, I was just thinking."

"About what?" Ambre looked up at Lily.

"Your friends don't know do they?"

"Know about what?"

"You and James." Panic ran through Lily's body. Did Ambre know?

"What about us?" Ambre rolled her eyes.

"I told Remus by the way. That you two are dating. He said that was ridiculous. But then I said that I saw you two holding hands while you thought no one was looking. And kissing in secret passageways. And that fake fight in Hogsmeade." she paused. "Why are you keeping it a secret?"

"You told him?" Lily shrieked the panic of the girl knowing changed quickly to blazing anger.

"I honestly didn't know you were keeping it a secret. I just asked him how long you've been going out. He told me you weren't, but then I told him what I'd seen and....I'm sorry."

"You told him." Lily said.

"Yeah."

"You stupid insubordinate girl! Haven't you ever heard of keeping things to yourself!"

"I'm sorry!" But Lily was pissed. She'd wanted to tell her friends, but on her own terms, not some sixth year's. Lily pulled out her wand, ready to give the girl hives or turn her into a small bug, easily squished.

"Hey Lily," A voice said. "What are you...?"

"She told them." Lily told them.

"She told who what?" Lily turned to James, who'd just come in by himself.

"She told Remus about us." Shock crossed his face.

"What?"

"SHE TOLD HIM!" Lily screamed. "She just told him!"

"Okay, calm down."

"NO! I will not CALM DOWN! She told! Her and her stupid big mouth! I wanted to see their face! Hear their congratulations! SHE TOOK THAT!"

"You'd better go." James told Ambre. She sprinted up the stairs. "Lily, really. Why are you so upset?"

"I'm not upset!"

"Then why are you angry?" James was staying remarkably calm.

"I'm not angry either." Lily said leveling her tone. She crossed her arms, sitting on the couch. James smiled at her. He sat down across from her on the coffee table. He leaned toward her without saying anything. "I wish she didn't tell him." She said after a minute.

"I know."

"We've been dating, or whatever it is we're doing, for more than a month."

"I know." James repeated. They'd gotten together just after Halloween, in that first week of November. Now it was almost Christmas.

"I still miss him." Lily admitted. She wasn't sure why she wanted to talk about it then, but she did. She'd tried to stay strong but there was no denying that she thought a lot about her dad. She missed his letters, even though she still got at least one a week from her mother, she missed the letters or at least just the signature and smiley face or heart next to it from her dad. James frowned unsure who it was exactly that she missed. "My dad." Lily explained. He nodded patting her knee.

"When does it get better?" She asked. "It's been three months and it hasn't."

"Yes it has. You'll always miss him. But you have to let go of the fact he died. Then you can start remembering all the good times."

"I feel so stupid. I mean why can't I get over it? I have you, and my mom, good friends and a great school. But why can't I just forget. Instead I only ever think about how much I miss him. His stupid signature and smiley face."

"My dad." James began, whether to change the subject or cheer Lily up, she wasn't sure. "Used to take me to this orchard over the summer and during school breaks. He'd bring our broomsticks and this old muggle ball. I can't even remember what the thing was called, but it had black spots on it, but mostly it was white. Anyway, he'd tell me that if I could get the ball past him then he'd take me out to pizza, because my mom couldn't cook. Still can't, but I remember him doing that." Lily smiled.

"I do remember that my dad used to say, 'when I meet your boyfriend,' then he'd pause for the longest time while he'd take a drink of his coffee or read a full article in the paper. It would drive me crazy, because he'd completely ignore me until he was done. Then he'd finish by saying, 'I'll tell that boy that he's lucky to have found a girl like my Lily. But even if he can magic me a wig, I'll kill 'em if he hurts you.' It always made me smile." Lily focused back on James. "He'd only drink his coffee with about a pound of chocolate in it. Then he'd complain about a stomach ache."

"He drank coffee with chocolate in it?" James asked. Lily nodded.

"Only the syrup. He hated the powder. Said it was fake and cheap."

"Did he drink much coffee?"

"No." Lily laughed. "He preferred tea."

"See. It's easier to remember the good things. Rather than the death." James told her.

"Thank you." Lily smiled.

"So when should we tell our friends?"

"About us?" Lily asked, then shrugged. "How about right before we go on break? Give them time while we're away to accept the idea." James nodded in agreement.

"Then I'm going to talk to Remus about it. Tell him and such."

"Mary found out by the way. She promised not to tell anyone."

"Okay." James stood up pulling Lily to her feet by the hand. "Try to get some sleep tonight." Lily frowned. "I've noticed that you've been tired. Plus you have bags under your eyes."

"You look out for me." Lily said.

"I try." James said in that teasing cocky voice of his. He kissed her goodnight before going up to the dorm to talk to Remus.

Hoped you liked it. Now please REVIEW. I promise it won't kill you.