Semele Perdita

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Semele Perdita

Chapter 4: Explanations from a Ravenclaw Outcast

Author: LadyAkako

Rating: PG-13

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-James-

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 “Professor, Professor, come quick!” a frightened yell suddenly filled the still atmosphere of our classroom. I looked up, startled at the familiarity. It was Peter.

“Mr. Pettigrew, do have a reason for interrupting my class? Which I may add, you are supposed to be in attendance for?” Professor Hadrian inquired of the rather nervous boy.

Peter was wringing his hands together, a nervous habit of his. He seemed to be trying to say something, but all that he could manage were little squeaks of fright.

“It's…It's…Evans…Lily…she—she just collapsed, she won't wake up! I don't know why, but she just kind of fell and I think something's wrong with her!” Peter finally forced out.

I gaped in shock. Lily had seemed fine this morning, if I remembered correctly. I had noticed her watching us with an unreadable look on her face at breakfast, nothing unusual there. People didn't just faint for no reason, right? Wild ideas started to run through my head as whispers broke out furiously in the room.

“Mr. Pettigrew, where exactly is Ms. Evans?” Hadrian sounded worried.

“Down the hallways, this way!” Peter was already on his way down the corridor when Hadrian pushed his way from the classroom.

“What do you think happened?” Sirius asked me, his blue eyes following Hadrian out the doorframe. He had one eyebrow raised and was leaning back in his chair. The chair, I observed with a slight smile, was dangerously close to toppling over and sending Sirius tumbling to the stone floor. He really didn't need another dent in his head either.

“Dunno, mate, but I bet it's something bad, people don't just collapse for no reason, right?” I voiced my previous thought.

“Aww, how cute, ickle Jamiekins is worried for his Lily-flower,” Remus came up to join our conversation. I scowled at him.

“Just because I was wondering about what happened doesn't mean I like the girl. She's an insufferable know-it-all,” I defended myself. I did not like Evans. She was pretty, no denying that, but she just wasn't my type, exactly. At least, I didn't think so.

“Keep telling yourself that, Prongs,” Sirius teased, a grin tugging his features.

The class ended before Hadrian or Peter, for that matter, returned, so we all dismissed ourselves. It was what my mother would refer to as controlled chaos as we streamed from the Potions classroom. Not that I cared, loud noise was what I liked most about life.

“So…want to go find Wormtail?” Remus asked Sirius and me.

“Yeah…we probably should. He looked as if he would have a breakdown any minute when he came into class,” Sirius answered for both of us.

“He's probably in the hospital wing, then,” I added thoughtfully. Remus nodded and we all headed for the Wing in search of Peter.

When we got to the Wing, I saw Madam Pomfrey and Hadrian crowded around a standard hospital bed. When I ventured closer, I saw Lily Evans lying on the small, narrow mattress. Her face, though usually pale, was sickly white, and she looked almost dead. I held back a yelp of shock at her appearance. She most definitely had not looked like that at breakfast this morning.

“Shit, what's wrong with her, you think, James?” Sirius's whisper startled me from looking at Evans.

“I don't know,” I answered truthfully.

Remus suddenly spoke in a louder voice, announcing our presence in the Wing.

“Uh, Madam Pomfrey, is Peter…Peter Pettigrew here?” Remus asked timidly, his eyes fixated on Evans's pale figure just as ours' were.

“Yes, yes, Mr. Lupin, he's in the bed right over there. Poor thing fainted dead away. He'll be back up and going in an hour or so. Best not to disturb him until then, boys,” the nurse's voice was uncharacteristically gentle and understanding. It was frankly unnerving.

I nodded for all three of us and turned to leave when Madam Pomfrey's voice called me back in. She beckoned me over to the Evans's bed.

“Potter, can you please fetch Meara Riley for me and bring her here. I fear she is the only one who knows what caused Ms. Evans here to get in such a downtrodden state,” she requested. I nodded, my eyes flickering to Evans's still form.

“Do you…know what happened to her?” I asked quietly.

“I do believe she just collapsed from exhaustion, but I do think something else also factored in this. She will be fine, Potter, no need to fret.”

I nodded, to overwhelmed to deny that statement. Turning around, I headed out from the Wing. Sirius and Remus were waiting for me right outside the doors.

“I have to go find Riley, I'll meet up with you guys later, okay?” I stated as I walked towards them.

“Riley? As in Meara Riley? Why the hell do you have to find her?” Sirius followed me as I walked down the hallway.

“Pomfrey asked me too, because she thinks Riley might know something about why Evans is like that,” I answered and increased my pace. “Look, go ahead and go to supper. I'll talk to you later, okay, Padfoot?”

Sirius nodded and turned around without another word. I heard his rapid footfalls carrying him back to Remus. I sighed, now to find Riley. I preferred to do this alone only because Sirius might hit on the poor girl before I even explained what happened and then she wouldn't listen to a word I said. Of course, the latter was still a possibility even without Sirius.

Riley, though less prone to yelling than Evans, was quite secluded and didn't hang out with anyone except Lily. At least, that I could remember.

I headed to where the Ravenclaw dormitories were, waiting for someone to come along to get Riley for me. My chance came when Laila Geer came along, she was a Ravenclaw sixth year, along with Riley.

“Hey, Geer, can you do me a favor?” I asked in what was hopefully a controlled voice.

“Depends, what do you want?” Laila shot back frostily. Her icy blue eyes slid over me, inspecting my form. They stopped at my eyes, which she seemed to be studying intently.

“Can you get Meara Riley for me? Quickly? I need to—uh—talk to her…” I explained swiftly.

“I suppose, but what do you want with a freak like her?” Laila asked interestedly.

“Can you or can't you, Geer?”

“Fine, I'll go get her,” she huffed.

“Thank you.”

I leaned back against the railing behind me in wait for Riley. Looking down at my hands, I started popping my knuckles in nervousness. Honestly, I had no idea why I was nervous but the feeling had crept upon me none-the-less.

A few minutes later, the tall form of Meara Riley ducked through the frame. Her disdainful eyes swept over me critically.

“Well, what do want, Potter?” she said, with just as much ice edging her voice as Geer had had. Ravenclaws, did they have trouble accepting there are other people outside their own little worlds?

“Evans is in the hospital wing,” I said simply, knowing the explanation would infuriate her. I walked off, fully intending to ignore Ms. High-and-Mighty.

“What?” her voice was laden with concern all of a sudden. The frostiness had nipped away in a flash once her friend was in danger.

“You heard me, Riley.”

“This isn't some sick joke, is it, Potter? Because if it is, I'm not laughing,” the ice had returned.

“Go see for yourself, Riley,” I answered, grinding my teeth in irritation. “And I don't lie about things like this. That would be dumb.”

“You do a lot of dumb things.”

“Shut up, Riley.”

“Make me.”

“You really want to take me up on the threat?” I turned around to face her suddenly. “Get moving, Pomfrey wants to talk to you, Riley.”

“You still haven't answered a very important question, Potter,” she had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking at me, carefully guarded.

“What?” I fired back, annoyed by her probing and unsettled by her gaze.

“Why are you bringing me this news?”

“Because I was visiting my friend and Pomfrey asked me to come get you. I was being considerate,” I smirked at her.

“You considerate? Yeah right. What do you get out of this?” Riley narrowed her eyes at me.

“Nothing, okay? I came up here because I was worried about Evans. She looks horrible and she—she needs you, Riley. You're probably the only one who knows what's wrong with her,” I spat out, refusing to allow the sudden rush of emotion that I felt to seep into my words.

Riley stood there, eyes flashing knowingly at me. She finally started at a fast pace down the corridor, towards the hospital wing.

“By the way, Riley,” I called after her. “What is wrong with Evans?”

I jogged to catch up with her and she slackened her pace slightly letting me walk beside her. As I pulled even with her, she threw a sidelong glance my way. She sucked in her bottom lip, chewing it as if deep in thought.

“I'm not sure exactly but I'm guessing it's because she hasn't been eating much lately. She took the news about—er, I shouldn't be telling you this. Lily doesn't want anyone to know,” Meara stopped suddenly.

“I won't tell anyone, I promise. I just….need to know,” I promised earnestly.

“Fine…but if I catch wind you told anyone I'll personally make sure you never have children.”

I winced slightly, knowing Riley would hold true to her word. Nodding, I waited for her to continue the explanation.

“Her parents died in train wreck last summer and she hasn't been acting the same since,” Riley's eyes caught mine suddenly, the sadness in them surprised me. “I've been worried about her, but I never thought she'd land herself in the hospital wing because of it. I thought she was smarter than that.”

“Sometimes smart people do dumb things, Riley,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

“I know, Potter.” She rolled her eyes. “You're living proof of that.”

We had reached the Hospital Wing doors and Meara stopped and faced me suddenly. She looked as if she were about to cry, but was holding back the tears. It struck me then exactly how close Lily and she were. I smiled and nodded at her.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and walked away. My work was done here.

“Hey, Potter!” she called after me.

I turned around, walking backwards. I didn't answer with words just raised an eyebrow at her.

“What's with the sudden interest in Lily anyways?” she asked.

I shrugged. I honestly didn't know the answer to that. It was just a feeling that I had needed to chase away. For some reason, seeing Evans looking so pale and helpless had made me stop. It had caused me to worry about her and I didn't know why.

“I don't know, I was just…worried about her,” the answer sounded shaky to my own ears.

For some reason, Meara Riley smiled as she opened the doors to the Wing and disappeared inside.

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Just A Note: There is a lot of talking between James and Meara in this chapter so I hope it doesn't confuse everyone…I know this chapter is kind of like a filler but important things happen too! Now that James knows…what happens? dun dun dun…haha…I will come out with some real stuff soon, I know this was just a bunch of wool and had no purpose..* looks innocent *

Harmony ~ thanks for reading and I'm glad you've chosen my fic to look at if you don't usually read L/J:-)

AmandaPotter~ Spain? Goodness no, I am chronically American I just am enamoured in Latin studies and odd expressions:-) thanks for reviewing!

Moony11~ was your guess right? I personally thought it was obvious but that's probably because I was writing it and Duh I would know who it was..lol

Snuffles~ evil? moi? Why those words shouldn't be used in the same sentence…I'm wounded, honestly! *lol* only joking..i love cliffhangers[or at least writing them] but they are frustrating at times…humm

Hpfanmelissa~ thanks for reviewingJ hope you aren't disappointed…