SORRY! I know it took me forever (Or by my standards anyway) to update.. But this is a pretty long chapter and I've been busy reading this book I got and trying to study for CRTs that are coming up.\
Chapter 41: Rehearsed
As the day progressed Lily became more and more curious, and irritated, as to what James and Sirius had gotten up to the night before. Gryffindore's were congratulating him and saying it's been a while. While other houses scowling, a few even looked truly offended or ready to hex all the Marauders.
Lily had asked several times, but to no avail. James would just grin, shake his head, walk away, chuckle, or become very interested in a near by statue/vase/passerby/shoe/parchment.
James seemed to sense another interrogation as a Gryffindor laughed saying, 'Good one James.' and giving him a high five. James nodded saying thanks and laughing. When he saw his girlfriend's face however, the smile vanished and the courtyard they were passing striked his interest.
"MOOOOONY!" James bellowed. Remus looked over from a bench where he had been sitting with, non other than, Ambre. He looked over at them frowning, while Ambre just peered past him and waved smiling.
James jogged over to them leaving Lily behind him. Which were his intentions, no doubt. She crossed her arms over her chest and followed him. It felt oddly familiar, crossing her arms because of James and ready to yell at him for being an arse.
"Hey James." Ambre said pleasantly as Lily was still just entering the courtyard.
"Hello, Amber?" James asked.
"Ambre." She corrected.
"Right. Sorry. So how have you been?" He asked her.
"Good." She shrugged. "Yourself?"
"Oh well," he smiled before getting cut off.
"James!" Lily hollered making him cringe slightly. He eased his way around the tree slowly, as if preparing to make a run for it.
"Brilliant." James answered her with a nervous smile. Now Ambre was frowning and Remus had his eyebrows up, one slightly higher than the other. "Really, I was just..."
"Going?" Remus guessed.
"Sorta." James was walking backwards now so he could still look at Remus and be moving away. "I'll see you around. Moony, Ambre." With that James was walking quickly out of the courtyard and down the corridor inside.
"I think that's the first time I've ever seen him run from Lily, rather than to," Remus said watching the retreating figure.
"What did he do?" Ambre asked.
"I'm not sure. But I know he wasn't alone." Ambre looked confused so he explained, "He and Sirius were out rather late last night."
"Oh," she said understanding now.
"Hey Remus," Lily said marching past him.
"Lily," Remus replied.
"Hi," Ambre said but was ignored as Lily was taking off down the hall after him. She giggled shaking her head at the two. "I wonder how much longer they'll last?"
"Who knows." Remus answered. "They've talked about marriage."
"Scary. Could you image little "them's" running around?"
"I'd rather not think about it." Remus said as they heard another cry of "JAMES!" from the other side of the oak doors.
James continued down the hall, skidding as he made a tight turn down the south wing.
"Potter!" Lily growled. She was sick of his games.
"Hey," James said patting someone on the back as he quickly passed behind them.
"I swear. James your being ridiculous!" Lily said watching as Sirius rounded the corner, his shirt, as always, untucked and messy. The two boys bumped into each other.
"Hey Prongs." Sirius said.
"Padfoot!" James said pulling Sirius in front of him like a shield.
"Did you...?" Sirius asked.
"No."
"Why?"
"Duh!"
"Please!"
"Would you?" James asked retorically.
"No!"
"See,"
"But she's" Sirius waved a hand at Lily, who'd stopped to watch the exchange.
"I know!"
"Then go!"
"No."
"Me?" Sirius asked.
"Hell no."
"Prongs." Sirius warned. He sounded as if he'd just given the best advice ever and now James wasn't taking it.
"Padfoot."
"Good ta' meet yah." Sirius said shaking James' hand.
"Well it's good to meet you too." James replied.
"I'm going to." Sirius began taking a careful step toward Lily.
"No." James said quickly.
"Yep." James wipped Sirius around.
"Move!" Sirius commanded.
"No!"
"Do it."
"Then you have to."
"No!" Sirius gasped.
"No." James agreed. Lily frowned at them, trying to make out what they were talking about.
"You tell."
"Yours?" James asked.
"Yes." Sirius nodded grandly. James snorted.
"Me for you." Sirius explained turning James around and pushing him against a wall.
"No." James replied spinning around, each had the other by the bicep.
"Yes." Another spin.
"No." Spin.
"Yes." Spin, but this time they crashed into a wall.
"Black," Jamie growled appearing around the corner. Sirius shrieked like a girl hugging James.
"What the hell are you doing? Practicing for the dance?" Jamie demanded. James glared at Sirius pushing him away.
"Get off." James said. Sirius pouted, James raised his eyebrows, Sirius shook his head, James frowned, Sirius jerked his head, James looked sideways at Lily, Sirius made a face with his eyebrows raise and lips pushed together. James glared but not angrily, Sirius shook his shaggy head.
Jamie and Lily both watched as the boys communicated silently. They cocked their head to the side before Sirius pushed James in the chest. James pushed back.
"Together." they agreed. Then as if they'd rehearsed the whole thing stepped together toward Lily.
"We have something to confess." Sirius began. Lily raised her eyebrow waiting.
"It was all for fun." James continued.
"And all his idea!" Sirius said quickly pushing James forward than running off down the hall. James caught himself, so instead of chasing Sirius he turned to Lily. She crossed her arms waiting for the explanation that he'd been avoiding all day.
"I love you." James said moving toward her. She shook her head.
"Don't give me that crap James," She warned.
"It's true."
"I know it's true. But it's not going to work. What did you do?" He mumbled something in response. "How about speaking up?"
"It's a long story."
"I have time."
"I have detention." James said. "Zzz."
"What?" Lily asked.
"I have detentions." he reminded her.
"Well, explain quickly." James rocked his head side to side considering this. Then he ran his hand through his hair.
"Alright," he sighed. "This way."
"So?"
"Sirius was bored," James began.
"Nothing good ever comes of Sirius being bored." Lily interupted.
"Yeah. No kidding. Anyway, so since everyone was studying, we decided to go have some fun. Like old pre-Lily times."
"Pre-Lily times?" Lily demanded not liking the sound of his explanation so far.
"Just before we were dating. I was careless back then." Lily snorted.
"Are you saying you've become boring since you started dating me?" Her voice was warning James to tread carefully.
"No." James said, "I'm saying that before you, I had more free time to cause mayhem. Now, are you going to let me continue?"
"I suppose."
"Alright then. So, we went up to the east tower to go Statue Racing."
"Statue Racing?" Lily asked.
"Yes. It's where you animate a statue, jump on and go."
"Okay. Continue."
"So we were going to. But then changed our minds. It wasn't late enough, and being head boy and all, I had to set a good example. Plus it's better during the holidays when no one's around." Lily shook her head. Only James and Sirius would come up with something like statue racing. "So we got the idea of a little prank."
"Being...?"
"Sirius' idea."
"No, I mean, what was the prank?" Lily corrected.
"Oh, right. Well you know that quidditch match coming up? Against Slytherin?"
"Yes," Lily agreed slowly.
"Well, we....he, thought it would be funny if we did something different with a statue." James paused looking at Lily. "So he bewitched one to shout out profanities at passersby."
"He? And what did you do?" Lily asked realizing that he was blaming it all on Sirius.
"Well, I bewitched two." He explained holding up two fingers.
"One specializes on insults to Ravenclaw, the other Hufflepuff. Pad...Sirius claimed Slytherin."
"That doesn't sound like a long story."
"Well you haven't heard the bet, or how three teachers were involved yet either."
"Right. In that case continue."
"Your not mad are you?"
"Why?"
"Well, you seem to think pranks are immature and I seem to remember getting yelled at for playing them." James explained.
"I still think it's a stupid, petulant thing to do." Lily said.
"But?" James asked hoping he was off the hook.
"But, I'm trying very hard to understand and stay calm." Lily said.
"Really?"
"Yes." Lily said.
"Okay." James said.
"What was the bet?" Lily asked in a clipped tone.
"Well," James began, "It wasn't so much a bet as an agreement."
"An agreement?"
"Yeah. See we, Sirius and I, said the summer of our fourth year, that if you ever went out with me I had to change the Giant squid to your favorite color. And then dance with it." James explained.
"How...?"
"Basically I had to wear a dress and dance on the bank." Lily stopped to look at him. He was serious. Lily closed her eyes, shaking her head, trying to banish the image of James in a dress from her mind
"But when you came in you were wearing...guy clothes." Lily said.
"Well that's because Flitwick found us wondering the halls past curfew.. Detention number one. He made me change before I got back to the common room." James explained flicking his index finger up counting. "And then McGonagall passed one of our statues. Dumbledore was with her and got a kick out of it. But She wasn't impressed. Detention number two." Another finger flew up beside the first. "Oh! And that reminds me, Dumbledore wanted to talk to us."
"About what?" Lily asked, frantically racking her brains, searching for a reason as to why the headmaster would want to see them. "When?" James, being ever so helpful, shrugged.
"You must have some idea. Did you do anything that would make him want to see us?" Lily demanded.
"I resent that! And no. It's probably nothing." James said.
"The headmaster, wouldn't want to see us just to have tea."
"Tea?" James asked beginning to walk again.
"Do you think we're being kicked out?"
"Hasn't happened yet."
"What if I failed my NEWTS?"
"You haven't even taken them yet,"
"What if he doesn't approve of our relationship? Can he make us break up?" Lily asked.
"What?" But Lily gasped, cutting him off.
"Maybe he found out about the alcohol." Lily suggested.
"That had nothing to do with..."
"Or that I cheated,"
"On what?"
"Nothing. I don't cheat. But he could have heard something and I don't want him to think ill of me." Lily said shooing him away.
"Okay, wow. Lily." James said being the one to stop and grab Lily by the arms. "Chill. We're Head Boy and Girl. It could be about that."
"Do you think he's taking it away?" Lily asked panicked.
"No. I think that you're freaking out for no reason. What's got you all keyed up?"
"Nothing." Lily said shrugging out of his grip. James could tell that she was over him getting in trouble and not telling her why. Instead, she was all worked up about who knew what.
"Lily," James prodded.
"Nothing." She repeated, but her mind was working over time trying to figure out what Dumbledore wanted.
"So," James asked tentatively, "Do you forgive me?"
"Yes." Lily said, but really she didn't have the capacity at that moment to be mad at him. And it was a wasted argument anyway.
So I hope you liked it. As some of you may have noticed, Lily is beginning to freak out about the tests, making it so shes tense and keyed up about a lot of other things that usually wouldn't bother her. I think that would be her biggest fault: she freaks out about little things. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! REVIEW! And because I'm polite, Please.