Here ya go! Finally! It's been pretty tough here. My family seems to be having world war three and I'm in the process of finding my own place. My mother also insists on selling our house so it's been chaotic. This story always offers me a reprieve though!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I'm very grateful Miss Rolling came up with it for us. She has a beautiful mind.

What you got going on?
High notes, eyes closed, holding on
And I don't want another day to break
Take our, steal our night away

Warm shadow
Warm shadow
Won't you cast yourself on me?

Warm Shadows, Fink

Chapter 8: How About that Destraction?

Lily didn't show her face for the next five hours. James knew because he had stationed himself out front in the common area, his eyes rarely leaving her door. He had settled down with the notion of getting caught up on his head duties. This had quickly turned into doodling, which had morphed into a short story about Gryffindor winning the Quidditch house cup.

In his boredom, James had nodded off for the better part of two hours. Cursing his lack of conviction and his ability to fall asleep anywhere, James dedicated the remainder of the time to homework. Or at least that's what he told himself. His thoughts easily drifted to the red head behind the wooden door, his fury returning tenfold at the state she was in. He itched with a desire to find Mulciber and finish what he started, whether Lily approved or not.

So deep in thought, James missed the creaking of the door, Lily's head popping out to check her surroundings. James craned his head from the table where he was attempting his homework, his eyes raking over Lily, looking for any cracks in her demeanor.

"Sleep well?" he asked as Lily shuffled out. She had changed into a baggy sweater and leggings, he hair tied up in a messy knot.

"How long have you been here?" she asked with a quiet voice, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Long enough. It's nearly dinner time. You hungry?"

Lily crossed her arms as if to shush the grumbling of her stomach. "No."

"Your stomach says otherwise. I can get you something if you like." It wasn't a question.

"You don't have to do this, you know."

James furrowed his brow in confusion. "Do what?"

"Pretend to care. Or even if you've convinced yourself that you do, I don't need your pity." Her words were cold, her face matching the tone.

James pushed himself back from the table, standing to his full height. "I'm not here to pity you. I'm here to help."

"I don't need your help. I'm not some charity case you can just dedicate yourself to when the feeling overcomes you." Lily had moved herself in the direction of the bathroom. She had to pee and desperately needed a shower. Why was James always in her damn way?

"I'm here because that's what friends do."

"And what gave you the impression we were ever friends?" Lily tried to hide the incredibility in her voice.

"If you would just let me-"

"I don't have to let you do anything. You have to earn my friendship. Friendship is built on trust and respect. What have you done to possible earn that from me?"

"Right, so that whole thing with Mulciber just happened because," James cut sharply.

Lily huffed indignantly. "I never asked you to do that. You jumped to a conclusion without using your head and all it ended up with was more bruises! How does that solve anything?"

"I was there for you!" James shouted. "Who else was there defending your back, huh?"

"So what, I just supposed to give you brownie points every time you defend me? You spend most of your time insulting me, for Christ sake! You don't get to be the hero whenever you damn well feel like it!" Lily threw her arms up in the air with exasperation. "It doesn't work that way."

James sucked in a harsh breath. "Hate on me when I'm the villain, hate on my when I'm the hero. Is there every going to be a time when you just accept me for who I am?"

Lily dropped her arms. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, you're better than that."

James nodded in an odd form of agreement. "So why do I bother?" he asked quietly.

"I've asked myself that for seven years."

James crossed his arms and bit the inside of his cheek. "Guess I should have known a lost cause when I saw it." Lily didn't answer, not knowing how to respond. "Can't hate a guy for trying, though." And with that, he left the common room, leaving Lily behind with some strange sense of finality.

********8

Darcy Hannigan walked down the hallway towards the great hall at lunchtime. Her dark brown hair swung in a loose French braid halfway down her back. Her sharp blue eyes scanned the crowed as she walked through the entrance into the great hall. The seventh year Ravenclaw saw her prey sitting at the Gryffindor table, a smile creeping over her perfectly shaped lips.

James Potter sat at the table, mindlessly pushing his food around. News had travelled fast, some epic show down between him and the ginger he chased after the last several years. It was a Wednesday and the two had been spotted avoiding each other like the plague. If James was off his target for the Evans girl, now was her time. Patience was a virtue well worth exercising.

"James Christopher Potter," she said his name slowly as she sat down on the bench next to him. The chatter around him stopped at her presence, Sirius eyeing her with great appreciation. "Your food's going to go cold at that rate."

James looked up from his plate, confusion rushing over his face. "Oh, uh," he stuttered none too smartly.

"Are your friends not doing a good enough job keeping you company then?" she smiled, touching his arm lightly. James jumped at the contact but didn't scoot away.

"We're doing a fine job, keeping our boy entertained here, but I'm sure he could use the extra company. Right, Jamsie boy?" Sirius asked, kicking James under the table. James shot Sirius a murderous glare before turning returning to Darcy.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked slowly.

"Mmhmm," Darcy said, leaning into the table. "I have this nasty transfiguration project due next week. I could really use the help of someone well versed in the subject. Word is, that would be you."

James cleared his throat, catching the tone in her voice and the implication it came with. It wasn't uncommon for him to frequent a broom closest with a special female friend every now and then, he just used to a subtler approach. "He'd love to help," Sirius cut in before James could say anything regarding his own will.

Darcy took the opportunity, shooting James another smile. "Perfect. We both have spares tomorrow last period I believe. Why don't we meet in the library then?"

James cleared his throat once more. "Sounds good," he managed. Satisfied, Darcy was up and over to her designated table, babbling about her upcoming date with James Potter to her friends. James turned back around to face Sirius, a sly grin on the boy's face. "Seriously?"

"What? You've been Mr. Mopey Pants for the last two days and we're tired of it. Maybe a little action is all you need to pull you out of this funk."

James gave in to the need to roll his eyes. "I'm not in a funk."

"You're in a funk," Peter agreed.

"And making out with the first available girl is the only solution?" James all but pouted.

"Exactly," Sirius smiled.

"Do I have any say in this?" James asked.

"Absolutely not," Sirius said with great finality.

"Remus?" James turned to his sandy haired friend for help.

Remus shrugged his shoulders. "If you think I'm about to get between Sirius and his mission for your tongue tied escapades, you're sorely mistaken."

James nodded. "So there's no way out of this?"

Sirius slapped James on the shoulder with a good natured force. "You'll thank me later for it, brother," he promised.

Stabbing his fork into his untouched chicken, James sighed. "You better hope so."

********8

Lily seated herself down into a chair, sliding her book bag onto the desk and pulling her texts out. It was last period on a Thursday afternoon and the library was dead quiet. Most students with a spare last period could be found doing anything but homework. This was exactly what Lily was counting on as she propped her textbook open to her desired page. Peace and quiet. What a beautiful thing.

Determined to get a good start on a transfiguration assignment, Lily threw her full attention to the subject at hand. The theory of changing inanimate objects into breathing creatures was a tricky one. Did a soul inhabit the newly created living being, or was magic the sole proprietor of its movement? The question had created much debate over the centuries, equally propelling notions to back each side.

Lily had all but given up on forming her own opinion. By now, she was relying on the words of others to finish her assignment.

Time seemed to pass quickly enough though. Lily had managed to kill two hours and a good chunk of her assignment. Annoyed at the lack of food in the library, Lily's mind drifted towards the thought of snacking. If there was one thing Hogwarts lacked, it was the availability of snacks. Crisps were her favourite, a food she felt need to restrain herself around lest she eat her weight in carbs. Mouth-watering and knowing food was still too far off, Lily grumbled as she closed her text book and set her quill down. She closed her eyes as a heavy weighted pulled them down, a need to nap closing in on her. It was far too easy to fall asleep in the library. What it lacked in food, it made up for in comfort. The coziness of the surrounding books was all she needed to lay her head down on her arm and-

A raucous giggle sounded through the library, its echo muffled by the numerous isles of books. The sound still managed to reach Lily though, pulling her out of her lull immediately. The giggling continued on, moving closer to where Lily was located, a masculine voice joining in. Bloody hell, Lily thought as she identified James. The female remained a mystery however.

It seemed the two had occupied a table only one row down, much to Lily's dismay. There went her quiet afternoon and a well-deserved nap, she scowled. Debating whether or not to stay, Lily chose to pack up her bag while she remained unnoticed. Slipping out now would save her a Potter induced head ache and perhaps even a confrontation.

About to push herself away from the table, the female's voice carried over the bookshelf, tangible words meeting Lily's ears. "I'm glad you agreed to join me, James. Besides the actual help I need, your company makes it so much better. It doesn't hurt that you're easy on the eyes, either." Lily was never one to eavesdrop, but the girl's words were dripping with so much honey, it was hard not to laugh. She was doing a fine job inflating James' ego.

Lily sat back down awaiting his response. "Well it helps when you have a beautiful woman complimenting you," James spoke, his voice deep. Lily had to hold back her snicker. Two wild narcissists in their natural habitat. If only she could see their faces. How glorious James' smoulder would probably be.

Lily heard a shuffle and some rummaging. Books being pulled out of bags, she presumed. She was nearly shocked they were actually planning to work. Weren't library study dates just code for hookups? Nothing substantial ever got done, did it?

"Where did you want to start?" she heard James asked.

"Oh, I think here," mystery female responded.

A sudden bump and a low groan hit Lily's ears, her face turning bright red. She should have left when she had the chance.

Not sure what to do with herself, Lily slid back deep into her chair. She moved her backpack onto her stomach, as if it would shield her from the events taking place only a few feet away. Crap, crap, crap. What to do? It was probably best not to do anything and just wait it out. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was something.

James groaned again, low in his throat, his mystery companion urging him on. Maybe staying wasn't such a good idea.

None, nope, nope, Lily thought as she gathered her wits. The two were clearly very occupied with each other. Perhaps now was the best time to leave, when they wouldn't notice her. With every bit of Gryffindor courage she could muster, Lily slipped down from her chair, getting as low to the floor as she possibly could while still being able to walk. About to round the corner and make her break for it, an unimaginably cruel thing happened. Sliding from her shoulder in her haste, Lily's book bag planted hard on the floor, an audible thunk sounding throughout the library.

Whatever commotions were going on in the isle next to her stopped immediately. "What was that?" The female voice asked loudly. Lily yanked her bag up and securely onto her shoulder, angry with its betrayal. A shuffling of chairs alerted her to the expose. It was mere seconds before James rounded the corner, shoving his shirt into his pants, his face a mixture of angry and annoyed. Lily stood up straight, her face beat red. James stopped in his tracks as his eyes met hers. "Well?" the girl asked again.

"It's nothing," James spoke so calmly, Lily almost believed him herself. "A book just fell over, bloody thing."

"Good, cause I wasn't finished," the girl said with a curl in her voice. "And neither were you."

James gave Lily one last murderous glance before turning to his 'study partner'. "I think it's your turn now," he spoke with a deep growl.

That was all Lily needed to propel herself away and out of the library. No turning back.

********8

James took his seat next to Darcy, his ears turning bright red. When they had heard the thunk of books, he had supposed it was Peeves trying to ruin their moment. Maybe a very out of place first year. It was not supposed to be Lily freaking Evans, her face bright with embarrassment, though for who he wasn't sure.

James had frozen in a moment of shame, words building at the tip of his tongue to explain himself. They nearly came forth before he changed his mind with quick haste. He had no reason to explain himself to her. James had needs like every other man on the planet. He would not shame himself for indulging in them, nor would he let Lily.

A wave of vindictiveness came over him in an awful rush at the look on her face. What had been a distraction in the form of Darcy was now something he could throw in her face, if he was reading her right. He was being passive aggressive but James wasn't beneath it. If Lily refused him, he would give himself to someone else and let her watch. She had made it perfectly clear he didn't reach her standards. He wasn't going to wait or be discreet about it then.

Darcy grabbed his collar and brought her face to his as he sat down. Her breath smelled rich of peppermint. "I believe you said something about it being my turn?" she cooed. James took no time in running his hand under her skirt. Darcy shivered in response, winding her hands through his hair. Their faces collided in a rushed assault of kisses, Darcy fuelled by lust, James fuelled by spite. In moments he had her moaning, his other hand over her bra, needling it with a rough grip.

James continued with fervent kisses, his body triggering with need. This is what Sirius had been talking about. The perfect distraction.

As their hasty needs were met, James began to pull away, his breath heavy with exertion. Darcy disentangled herself from James' long limbs, a satisfied smile curving her lips. "Well, don't we make good study partners?"

"Was that ever the intention?" James asked with a rough voice.

"Oh yes, I still need help with my project. Don't ever think I would lead you on with false pretences. This was just a welcome distraction."

James shifted in his chair. He was expected to focus on Transfigurations after that? This girl had high expectations. He was lucky he could even think straight.

"Alright, where do you want to start, for real this time?"

********8

Lily sat herself down into her chair, pulling out her notes for the day's lecture. Professor Tailor had been promising a surprise all week, promising its reveal on Friday. Well the day had come and the expectancy in the class was wearing thin. It was also first period, which meant Lily wouldn't be able to form a perfect sentence until at least 10:00. If only there was a potion to make her a morning person. Coffee wasn't served at Hogwarts to the students, lest they form an unhealthy addiction to it, especially the younger students. Fair enough.

Lily looked at the clock on the wall. 8:55. Six more hours and classes would be finished for the day. If she could make it to lunch, she might be able to squeeze in a power nap after eating. Satisfied with her plan of action, Lily returned her attention to her notes. The unit they were on was electronics. The class had covered the basics and were moving on to more complicated material. At least that's what her prof had called it. Lily knew two year old muggles who could manage the concepts of laptops better than the seventeen year olds in her class. Most two year olds seemed to have their own and could operate them with no hesitancy what so ever.

With one minute to spare before class started, the Marauders stumbled into the room. Lily averted her eyes instantly, her face flushing with the awful memory of yesterday afternoon. She would ignore James with the practiced grace she had perfected over the years. She did however offer a friendly hello to Sirius as the boys took their usual seats behind her.

Don't look at him, Lily urged herself. She didn't need to be reminded of the low moans coming from his mouth as he was pleasured by some bimbo in the library. It had be terrible enough to get caught nearby.

Professor Tailor entered the room shortly after, breaking Lily's unpleasant train of thought. The elderly man pulled in a large cart behind him. It cart was covered with a thick blanket to obscure its contents underneath, thus peaking the interests of everyone in class. Leaving the cart at the side of his desk, Professor Tailor made his way around it, taking a seat on his wide table. "I know, I know. I promised you something great all week. I'm finally here to deliver!" he announced with great delight. "Everyone take a seat," he urged to the remaining students still filing in. "Now before I unveil what I have been promising you for so long, a little back story." The thin man clapped his hands together in excitement. "As I have well versed you in, you know the muggle world is very dependent on technology. But technology is not only used for day to day tasks, technology has become a huge part of entertainment. Well, after much fiddling with the system and collaboration with the charm department, we have managed to bring a small part of the muggle world to you."

That pulled Lily out of her morning fog. She could see Elliot's interest piqued as well, the only other muggle born in their class. The importance was lost on everyone else though. Lily raised her hand, needing clarification before she let her excitement get too out of hand. "Sorry sir, what do you mean small part?"

The prof smiled. "We have done what was once impossible, but necessity is the mother of invention, my dear. The world is changing and Hogwarts should be there with it! Through careful enchantment, we have enabled small bits of muggle technology to work within the walls of Hogwarts. Dear class of mine, I present to you, a screen projector!" Professor Tailor pulled the cart towards him, ripping the blanket off to reveal a shiny piece of equipment below. It looked to have been built within the last ten years. Ancient in terms of muggle technology.

"That's it?" Lily heard Elliot mumble. She found herself agreeing whole heartedly. The buildup felt a little cheap now.

The rest of the class seemed more than impressed though. "What does it do?" a Hufflepuff asked loudly.

"Well, instead of just learning about muggle stuff, you get to experience it!" Professor Tailor cried excitedly. "We're going to watch a movie!"

"Fantastic," Lily breathed, just a tiny bit annoyed. "A recent one, at least?"

"It's called Star Trek!" Professor Tailor announced with enthusiasm.

"Please be the one with Chris Pine. God let it have Chris Pine," Elliot muttered, praying to the movie gods.

Sirius leaned forward. "Can you describe what a movie is, again?"

"It's like scripted moving pictures," James offered before Lily could. "Do you ever pay attention?"

"Does it have hot females in it?" Sirius asked optimistically.

"Depends which version we watch," Lily muttered.

Professor Tailor rolled the cart into position, pointing the projector at the back board. A makeshift screen appeared with a quick word from the old man, followed by some oohs and awes as he flicked the device on. A bright screen flitted on, the disc menu popping up.

"Thank god," Elliot muttered as the 2009 version of Star Trek popped up.

Indeed, Lily thought. This version was by far more superior. If wizards and witches were going to be exposed to muggle culture, at least let it come from the current decade. It didn't hurt to stare at Chris Pine for the next hour either.

Settling down, Lily rested her head in the crook of her elbow on the table. Professor Tailor dimmed the lights, the volume turned up loud. The movie began with collective sighs of appreciation from her classmates. The expressions on their faces indicated they were impressed.

"Hey, Lils." Sirius prodded her shoulder with a quill from behind half an hour in. "I didn't know muggles had giant space battles. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"We don't have giant space battles. This is a sci-fi."

"I don't know what that means."

Lily sighed and turned around. James held his attention raptly to the screen. "It's a science fiction movie. It's not real," she said, keeping her eyes trained to Sirius'.

The boy frowned. "So how did they film it?"

"Special effects." At his blank look, Lily added, "computer graphics." At his second blank look, she added, "it's done through technology."

Sirius nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

"You do that." With nothing else to say, and annoyed she was having to say anything, Lily retuned her attention back to the screen.

It didn't last long, naturally. "So muggles have never been to space?" Sirius said rather loudly. This earned him multiple harsh shushes from other students.

Lily turned back around. This was becoming routine. "No, muggles have been to space, just not to this extreme. Astronauts pretty much float around the earth in its orbit. In space stations," she clarified.

"Cool. So how do they get there? How do they breathe if there's no air? Can you bring food to a space station? Can anyone just go? Can I go?" Sirius looked eagerly at Lily.

"Just no. No more bothering me. Please be quiet and watch the movie." That was all she would indulge him with. She wasn't particularity pleased that every time she turned around to talk to Sirius, James was sitting right next to him.

Ugh. Boys.

The rest of the period, Lily managed to ignore any shenanigans from Sirius. The movie was paused halfway when the period was over, complaints rising from the students.

"Seemed it was a hit," Elliot said as students began filing out of the room. Lily had packed up her bag and was on her way out when Elliot beckoned her over.

"Good, I'm glad. Shows them how awesome muggle culture can be."

"Mmhmm," Elliot agreed. "I meant to tell you before class, but completely forgot, we're having the first Mug Bee meeting at the end of the month. Same room as always. Hannah convinced some of the house elves to make some muggle junk food. Should be fun."

Lily smiled, food was always promising. "Awesome. I'll make sure I'm not on patrols that night."

"Cool! And if we can make it happen, maybe a movie marathon sometime. Tailor also mentioned that iPods were next on his list of tech approved gadgets, as he called them. That means we may even have a dance party in our very near future." Elliot closed his eyes in bliss. "Could you image, next up, Facebook. How bloody awesome would Facebook at Hogwarts be? It's only a matter of time, you know."

"Don't you think that's wishful thinking?" Lily giggled.

Elliot shook his head. "Necessity is the mother of invention, Lily, and Facebook is necessary."

"Okay," Lily laughed. "Just don't tag any pictures of me if you manage it."

"No promises," Elliot shot back in good humour. The tall boy slung his backpack over his shoulder. "But I'll only tag the good ones." The boy winked and was out of the room with quick feet.

"Oh Lily, Lily, Lily, you're not seriously gonna let that boy tag you, are you?" Sirius said, creeping up from behind her.

Lily adjusted her back strap and made her way out of the classroom, Sirius in her wake. James followed behind Sirius looking very agitated. "Do you even know what 'tag' means?"

"Course' I do. I never pegged you one for loose morals, Lily-kins."

"First of all," Lily said as the three continued down the hallway, heading to potions, "I'm not the one with loose morals. Secondly, that's not at all what tagged means. And thirdly, you're not my mother. You don't get to monitor who I talk to and judge me for it. Elliot's just a friend with a common interest."

"And what's that?" Sirius urged.

"All things muggle."

"That's a lot for common interest," James mumbled. It was the first thing he had said to her all day. Six words too many, if you asked her.

"You have no idea how nice it is to be around someone who gets it," Lily continued on as if he had said nothing.

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean? Are we not good enough for you?"

"Some of you aren't," she said under her breath.

"Hmmm? Speak up Lily-kins."

Lily sighed and adjusted her backpack once again. It was heavy with the weight of her books, irritating a kink in her neck. She was ready to burn the bloody thing. "It's not that you're not good enough, it's just that you don't understand half of my life. You don't understand half the things I talk about. I make a pop culture reference and it goes right over your head. It want to talk about my favourite football team and no one even knows it's a sport. I want to read a book and can't find it in Hogsmeade because they don't carry muggle authors. It's just little things like that. I have to act like half of my life doesn't exist while I'm here, otherwise I get questioned or judged for it. So yeah, it's nice to be around someone who just gets it."

"Then why are you dating Liam?" The words were out of James mouth before her could stop them. "He's a pure blood."

Lily stopped in her tracks, the two followed suit. "You have something to say, Potter?"

"Nope." Picking up his pace again, James veered down the hallway and out of sight.

"He does have a point," Sirius added on after an uncomfortable moment passed.

Lily turned her attention back to Sirius. Her gaze had been tracking James while he exited their line of sight. "Seriously?"

"You're gonna seriously Sirius me?" the boy cracked a smile.

"Liam's nice. And at least he tries. He actually bothers to ask me about my muggle interests."

"And James hasn't?"

Lily tried not to slap him in her incredibility. "No! Never! Not once!"

Sirius shrugged his shoulders. "You sure about that?"

"What are you on about?" Lily accused.

"Why do you think James took muggle studies?" Sirius asked.

"Why the hell would I know? His motives are only ever self-pleasing. The rest of the time his head is just full of hot air."

Sirius pulled Lily's bag from her shoulder, slinging it over his own. Lily was grateful for the relief. "He never had to take it you know. No one told him to. Just think about that."

********8

So whachya think?

If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I'm totally open to them. I figured this chapter didn't have to be so dark as the last one. I feel like I can make it even lighter though. I'm just in a bad mood lately haha. Or do you like the angst stuff? Let me know!

Also, does anyone check out the songs? Am I overthinking them for no reason? Oh well!

Review review review!