Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, am not J.K Rowling, so I do not own Harry Potter. Sorry to disappoint you.
A/N: I have not intention to step on a LEGO. Once again, sorry to disappoint you. ;)
Enjoy xx (hopefully...)
"I'm sorry, Lily, but it's over."
The rest of the day seems empty.
So does the rest of the weekend.
The Quidditch match comes and goes, and I sit up in my room and practise Transfiguration. They lost the match, so there was no party, but James didn't come back that night. On Monday morning, I go downstairs and eat breakfast in the Great Hall. Then lunch. Then dinner. I go to all of my lessons. I do my rounds alone. I talk to my friends. I try to act normal. Act like everything's alright.
But it's far from alright.
He's acting different too, Alice says. I'm avoiding him, never catching his eye, and he must be doing the same, because I haven't spoken, or even looked at him since...that day.
As I'm sitting in the Gryffindor common room on Tuesday evening, Sirius comes up to me.
"Look, Evans...I know about the...the thing with you and Prongs, and he's being a git. Don't worry about it, okay? He'll realise what a big mistake he's made soon enough. So hold on, okay? Hold on."
With that, he pulls me into a quick, one-armed hug. I close my eyes, and just for a minute, I can pretend that it's him hugging me. Then he lets go, but as he walks back over to sit with Remus, I feel a rush of affection for a certain Sirius Black. He's...his best mate, yet Sirius still came and gave James' ex-girlfriend a hug to make her feel better, and it worked. At least, kind of.
James is better at picking out friends than I gave him credit for. He just can't pick the right girlfriends, apparently.
There's a knock on the portrait hole, which causes the Fat Lady to shriek in protest instantly. I get up, confused, and walk over to the door, yanking on the door, Alice close behind me. Outside stands Amos Diggory. I go to the slam the door, but he catches it and looks up at me imploringly.
"Wait a minute, b-Lily, I just wanted to ask about something."
Torn between being a good Head Girl and following my instincts, I dither in the doorway, giving him the chance to open the door halfway, and I sigh.
"What do you want?"
"It'll only take a minute. Come on, please Lily."
Alice moves a bit closer to me, drawing herself up to her full height.
"If you try anything-"
"I give you full permission to hex me." He grins, obviously trying to be charming, and drastically fails.
"Fine."
Alice and I step outside, and my hand immediately shoots to my pocket, hand resting on my wand.
"I'll say it again, Diggory. What do you want?"
"I wanted to see how you were."
"Excuse me?"
"Well, you and Potter broke up, right?"
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear."
"So it's not true?"
"That's neither here nor there."
"On the contrary, it is here and there. I wanted to see if you were alright and see if my sources are correct."
"Your sources?"
"Yes, my sources. The ones that told me that you were snogging Lupin, for example."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Diggory. I didn't realise."
"What?"
"I mean, it's never easy to admit that you have schizophrenia. I am Head Girl, so I am always ready to listen, but family should really know first..."
Behind me, Alice sniggers, and I nudge her gently, telepathically pleading her to move so that we can go back inside.
Diggory is obviously fighting to keep calm. "I think that's quite rude, actually. I only came to see if you were alright-"
"Ok, then, I am fine. Besides, are you trying to lecture me on being rude? You certainly don't have the right to do that."
"I don't want to be judged on my past mistakes-"
"Okay, Diggory, what do you want?" Alice cuts across him, stepping forward. "Stop acting smart, it doesn't suit you, and tell us what you want."
"It's just...there's a Hogsmeade trip next weekend, and-" He looks a bit nervous.
"What did you say?" I keep my voice quiet, steely calm.
He definitely looks nervous now. "I said, there's a Hogsmeade visit for Halloween next weekend, and I was wondering..."
"Whether you could go with Alice? Oh, I'm sorry Diggory, but she's taken. Anything else you want to share?"
"No I didn't want to ask out Day, I was actually wondering whether-"
The portrait hole bangs open, followed by a faint protest from the Fat Lady, and Remus steps out, closely followed by Sirius.
I can't help it; I feel a glimmer of hope as I see them. They can help.
"Black. Lupin. What a pleasure." Diggory's voice is suddenly frosty, and as I turn to my friends, I can see them squaring up for a fight.
"Diggory. I'm afraid I can't say the same." Sirius snarls.
Diggory's frown deepens as Alice and I move a little closer to our fellow Gryffindors.
"What do you want?" The Hufflepuff's tone is threatening now, and I watch Sirius reach for his wand.
"Oh, we merely wanted to see what was taking the girls so long to come back in. Now, though, we understand why."
Remus' voice is calm, and casual, as if they're dicussing something trivial, but there's an edge to it that I haven't heard before.
"I was speaking to Lily."
"Lily? Lily, do you want to speak to this...man?" Sirius spits, but there's a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Well, he was just asking me something, actually?"
"Really? Care to share, Diggory?"
The shorter boy stands up taller, and suddenly he is holding his wand. "Whatever I want to ask Lily is none of your business."
"Really?" Remus has his hand on his wand too now. "I think, on the contrary, that it is indeed our business. Lily is our friend, so forgive us for being a little protective when she disappears from the common room with her best friend, to speak to...well, you."
"Your friend? What a load of rubbish. You're only looking out for her because Potter would kill you if anything happened to her."
Sirius starts to speak, but it cut off by a voice behind us.
"It wouldn't be them I'd be killing."
James.
"Potter."
"Diggory. Unless you want something, get out of here. Before I do something I'll regret. "
Breathe Lily. Breathe.
"I do want something actually, Potter."
"Really? What's that? Going to try to make another pass at my girlfriend?"
Don't look at him. Look at Sirius. Look at Remus. Look at Alice. Look at the wall. Anything!
"Your girlfriend? Ha! She's not your girlfriend anymore, or so I hear. Messed it up, did you? Dumped her? Or did she dump you? Can't blame her, if I'm being honest."
Shut up.
Next to me, Remus is holding back Sirius, with difficulty.
I'm still not looking at James.
"Did she realise what was wrong with you, Potter? Realise what a coward you are? Weren't so brave were you, when Mr Potter died? Were you?"
"Shut up!" I flick my wand, and his wand goes flying. Casting a quick Silencing charm, I poke him the chest with my wand.
"Shut up! You know nothing! Nothing! You know nothing about James Potter, and you will never be as good as him. So shut up and go back to your common room before I do something that I regret! You already have a week's detention for touching an enchanted painting. Don't make it a month! GO. NOW."
The stunned looking boy turns and runs off down the corridor, clutching his throat frantically, and I pocket his wand; he can have it back tomorrow.
If I feel like it.
My friends are all looking at me, stunned, but my eyes are searching for James.
There are tears in his eyes as he looks at me, more openly than he's done in a long time.
"Can we talk?"
Without thinking, I nod, and follow him into the common room.
Duh, duh...duuuun!
Good luck on waiting for the next one!
Reviews make me update faster, by the way!
Danke,
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx
