Hello my darlings! I'm sorry for the slow update, college has been working my fingers to the bones and I wish I could do more. This chapter I've been working on for a little while and I like it a lot because it just gives a better roundness to the characters, especially Lily. Now, a lot of you have said that Lily is a bitch in this, and I have to agree. Thing is, I always hated how every character painted her as such a Mary-Sue when I think she wasn't like that at all. She was a hormonal teenager for the most part when everyone knew her, and I like to think she was less than perfect, more human, but if you have a problem with my interpretation of her, then you know where the little red button at the top of your browser is, all you need to do is click it and don't bother me with your flame.
Happy reading, until next time my dears!
SironaFlett o.x.o
"Now before you go, remember and mention my Quidditch triumphs." James said earnestly as Remus pulled on a scarf. He frowned and looked over, the long faded scars on his face crunching up slightly, paling in the firelight. Sirius was sitting upside down on the chair, his black hair spread across the floor and his holey socks up in the air in an undignified manner. Peter looked up curiously from his homework.
"James," Remus said sternly, picking up his notebook and copy of "Tales of Beedle the Bard" and slipping them into his robes. "The first three times you asked me to persuade Lily that you were really an alright guy were epic disasters worthy of their own book. I highly doubt that bragging to her about your achievements is going to help the process along."
"Told you!" Sirius sang. James gave a little pout, went over to Sirius and pushed him off the chair, forcing him to do a forwards roll onto the rug. "That was childish," Sirius said picking himself up and wiping himself down.
"Remember," James said. "Quidditch! Oh, and mention how smart I am! She likes clever! Doesn't she?"
"If she did," Sirius said, frowning. "Then wouldn't she be going after Remus? I mean, he doesn't play Quidditch but he does know how to ride a broom and he is smart… ish…"
James scoffed but looked really worried. Remus patted his shoulder.
"Why are you wearing a scarf to patrol anyway?" Peter perked up.
"We'll be patrolling the dungeons and towers," Remus replied. "They are usually colder during the winter. I don't want to land up in the hospital wing with pneumonia,"
"Especially when the full moon is tomorrow night," Sirius said.
"Sh!" Remus hissed. "Keep your voice down. And yes, that certainly would be most unpleasant."
"Proper English gentleman." James said. "You could just say that it would be a pile of crap."
Remus gave them a look.
"Have we even thought about what we are doing tomorrow night?" Sirius asked.
"No," Remus said. "And we're not going to."
"Why?"
"Why?" Remus repeated. "Well, let's think. 1. It'll be so cold outside that you won't be able to feel your toes or… Other extremities… 2. Might I remind you that it will be incredibly dangerous and we'd be breaking about fifty school rules, not including the ones that were especially put in place for me and 3-"
"You worry too much," Sirius said.
"I worry just the right amount," Remus said checking his watch.
"Hello Remus," Lily said grimly from behind James. Remus nodded and James turned, trying to look and act cool. He failed, pathetically by ruffling his hair and leaning against the back of the couch. Sirius jerked it from him and he fell on his behind, causing some in the common room to sit and giggle. Lily just gave a stern look at Sirius, still angry from the way he treated Mary but approving of the way he handled James at his most annoying.
"So," James said, getting up, trying again to look cool. "Evans'…"
"Drop dead Potter," Lily said, cutting him short in seconds.
Sirius pulled his wand. "I'll do it for you!"
"Brown noser." James said.
"What?" Sirius asked. "I want your money is all!"
"Boys, not here," Remus said. Lily smiled slightly, blinking her eyes. She had put make-up on, which Remus found to be a bit odd but dismissed the thought casually as she tied the red and gold scarf around her neck and sighed.
"Ready?" She asked him.
"Not really," Remus shrugged.
"What about tomorrow?" Lily asked. "Will you be…?"
Remus licked his lips and cleared his throat, nodding slightly.
"Right, okay." Lily said. "Then I shall just have to do it myself."
"I'll cover for you sometime next week," Remus said, almost apologising, his cheeks growing red from the faces that his friends were pulling behind his back.
"Don't be silly," Lily replied. "I know you can't help it. Don't worry about it. Okay?"
Remus nodded.
"Urgh," Sirius said. "Get a room already."
"What?" James looked up. "Get a what? No! Don't get a room! Lily will you go out with me?"
"Didn't I tell you to drop dead?" Lily asked.
Sirius stepped forward and pulled James back. "Working on it. Planning on poisoning his tea."
"Ha!" James said. "Now that you've told me, I can avoid breakfast tomorrow! Oh Padfoot, you really are a simple being."
"This is why you should start paying attention more," Sirius said. "I said I'd be poisoning your breakfast. I said no thing about tomorrow. In fact, I never said when I was going to poison your breakfast any time soon. All I said I was going to poison your tea."
"Yes, I only drink tea in the morning," James said frowning.
"But I meant, your supper too." Sirius smiled.
James' face dropped. "You what?"
"When I said tea, I was also referring to every meal that you could potentially eat for the next few months." Sirius said. "And since you're not wanting to starve…"
"You're a cruel man Sirius Orion Padfoot Black," James said.
Lily smiled.
"Was that a smile?" James asked.
"No." Lily replied biting her lips.
"That was a smile." James said.
"No, it wasn't." Lily said.
"SHE LIKES ME! I'M OFF THE HOOK!" James said punching the air.
"Shall we go?" Remus suggested.
"Let's," Lily said. Together they linked arms and left the common room. James sighed and flopped down onto the couch.
The crackling fire spat out an angry flame onto the heath with a temperance as snow began to filter from the sky. It was the curse of being so far in the highlands of Scotland. It meant that weather that wouldn't normally appear for a few weeks would hit sooner than they wanted it too.
"I hate being single," James said.
"Then go find a girl, tell her she's pretty and make out for three to four weeks." Sirius suggested, sitting beside him. "Then dump her because she's not Evans' and then start all over again."
"That's not helpful Sirius," James said.
"She doesn't hate you," Peter said, dipping his quill in his ink bottle and scribbling something down.
"What?" James asked.
"She doesn't hate you," Peter repeated. "I heard her last night when I was sneaking around… Y'know as Wormtail. And she was telling the others that she doesn't hate you per se. She just doesn't like your choices."
"But the choices make me, me!" James said.
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Sirius said. "Bachelor life is for me. You should think about it too,"
"The only reason you want a bachelor lifestyle is so you don't need to spend copious amounts of money on girls." James said. "And no girl matches up to your expectations and when they do, you don't like it."
"Are you saying something about my choices in love?" Sirius asked.
"No." James shook his head innocently.
"Good," Sirius leaned back against the chair and smiled.
"Do you ever wonder what they do on patrol?" James asked. "I mean, besides patrol."
"I think they have ravenous make-out sessions in the broom cupboard." Sirius shrugged. "But who am I to know?"
…
"James Potter is an arrogant prat and a half." Lily said.
"Yes," Remus replied, tucking his cold hands into his robe pockets as they walked through the cold leaking dungeons of the castle. "You say this as if I don't know."
"He is rude, pompous, pathetic…" Lily rattled off. "How on earth can anyone stand being around him for more than five minutes?"
Remus opened his mouth to say something but Lily cut in front of him.
"I mean, I wouldn't mind so much if he didn't know he was doing it. But that's the worst part. He knows what he does to piss people off and he does it anyway! He just really rattles my cage, y'know? I just could take his big stupid head and squish it so he died a miserable painful death." Lily mimed the action with her gloved hands, taking a moment to show how exactly she would 'squish his head'. Remus looked on a little amused at it.
"He's not that bad." Remus said.
"Oh yeah? Because he's so accepting of you, that doesn't make him a bad person?" Lily asked. "Well if he was so righteous then why can't he accept other people? Why not Severus? Why not anyone else outside of you three? He just drives me up the wall!"
"I think you might be forgetting something," Remus said, as they turned a corner and noticed two Slytherin students huddled together. He tapped their shoulders and asked them kindly to return to their dormitories. All he got in reply was a sneer before Lily stepped in and told them off, her cheeks growing red. As the Slytherins stalked off she turned back to Remus.
"Oh really?" She asked. "What am I forgetting?"
Remus smiled slightly. "Well, either James is the arrogant tosser you think he is."
"Or?"
"Or, maybe you might be just ever so slightly biased in favour of Severus." Remus said.
"Don't be ridiculous, Remus," Lily said beginning to stalk off. "I just hate him! The way he acts, the way he talks! His stupid arrogant big head especially when it comes to Quidditch, he's not as good as he thinks he is."
"Now that's not fair," Remus said calmly. "He has managed to win us the last few matches. Just because he's confident in the thing that he's good at, doesn't mean he's pompous. Would the same rule apply to me because I'm good at Defence Against the Dark Arts? Or Severus because he is good at potions? Or even you because you're good at charms?"
"Shut up Remus," Lily said flushing.
"You know I'm speaking the truth." Remus said.
"Yeah and I don't like it, so shut up." Lily said. "Potter is a bastard. End of discussion."
"You know, Lily," Remus said, folding his hands behind his back. "For someone who hates James so much, you talk about him an awful lot."
Lily stopped dead as Remus kept walking. He slowed slightly and looked around at her thunderous face.
"What are you implying Remus?" Lily asked, her eyes blinking.
"I'm not implying anything," Remus said. "It's just very odd."
"I don't fancy him if that's what you mean,"
"I'm certain you don't," Remus said as they resumed walking. "Who do you fancy anyway? You could have your pick of the guys so…?"
"I don't fancy anyone," Lily said blushing furiously.
Remus stared at her. "Please, Merlin, tell me that you don't fancy Severus."
"No!" Lily said. "He's my friend and will be nothing more. I don't see him as a romantic attachment."
"Alright then," Remus said, kicking his feet as they began to ascend the stairs towards the Hufflepuff common room. "So who?"
"I'm not having this conversation with you," Lily said.
"Too bad." Remus said. "I talk about my relationships with you."
"Or therefore lack of," Lily said.
"I don't like the way that you said that." Remus said.
"Well you're always either in a relationship with Sarah, or not. Make up your mind." Lily said.
"You know my life is complicated." He replied, moving his hair out of his way.
"Only because you make it that way." Lily said.
"Oh, here we go." Remus said rolling his eyes.
"What?"
Remus stopped and sighed. "Lily, I like you. You're one of my best friends and one of the few people who know about my…" He cleared his throat. "Problem. But please, don't tell me how to live my life."
"Sometimes people need pointers," Lily said.
"True, but if someone doesn't want pointers, best to stay out of their way before they hit you." Remus said politely.
"You're as bad as Potter," Lily said fuming.
"But you don't fancy me," Remus chuckled.
"I don't fancy him!" Lily said, her cheeks flaming red again.
"But you fancy someone," He replied, giving her a look.
Lily tilted her head and sighed. They walked quietly through the corridors for a few minutes, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Lily sighed heavily, her red hair falling over her almond eyes.
"Remus?"
"Yes?"
"…Nothing."
"Glad to help." Remus smiled. Lily looked around.
"You're not helping," She said.
"Wasn't meant to." Remus said as they turned another corner and ran head first into James and Sirius.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius cried, a rat sniffing at his ear.
"What are you doing here?" Remus replied. "I'm on patrol. You should be doing your homework."
"Homework, I can do that in my sleep," James said, folding a piece of parchment up and pushing it into his pocket.
"That'll be a sight." Lily grunted.
"Always a ray of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day," James said.
"Black, why on earth do you have a rat on your shoulder?" Lily asked folding her arms.
Sirius looked over at the rat with a knowing look in his eyes. He grinned. "I found it in the sewers…" He picked it up and held it out to her, "Want to check if it's male or female?"
"EW! BLACK YOU'RE DISGUSTING!" Lily almost screamed, knocking poor Peter out of Sirius' hands.
"No need for that," Sirius said. "Come on Prongs, we have work to do."
"I hope you mean homework," Lily said.
"Yes." James nodded, trying to conceal his snigger. "Homework. Coming Moony?"
Lily opened her mouth at Remus. "You're not serious about abandoning patrol?"
"Well, we're almost finished," Remus said. "Why not finish early tonight?"
"Because we have a responsibility." Lily argued.
"Aw! You're no fun!" Sirius said. "Let him go!"
"Yeah!" James said. "He keeps us in line."
"Sometimes," Sirius said.
Remus looked over at Lily sheepishly.
"Oh fine go." Lily sighed. "I'm not putting up a fight with you."
Remus grinned and followed his friends away through the corridors, leaving Lily standing on her own in the torchlight.