Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 58: Crushes and Blushes
"Oh, I just feel awful!" exclaimed Alice as she walked into the compartment where Lily and Marlene were sitting. The Hogwarts Express was due to arrive at King's Cross shortly for the beginning of the Christmas holidays.
"Why? Did the cart lady run out of Fizzing Whizbees?" asked Marlene.
Alice slumped onto the bench and rubbed her face with her small hands.
"What is it, Alice?" asked Lily.
"I ran into Frank when I was going to get the snacks," muttered Alice from behind her hands.
Marlene and Lily exchanged a look before Marlene asked, "What happened?"
Alice looked up and with sad eyes said, "He asked me if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him after the holidays."
"He finally asked you out, then?" asked Marlene with a smile.
Alice nodded.
"And I take it you turned him down?" prodded Lily.
"I told him no. I know he's had a crush on me for a while and I had a feeling he would ask me out at some point, but I felt totally unprepared! Instead of politely telling him that he was a nice guy and that I didn't care for him like that, I just looked panicked and practically shouted 'No!'" replied Alice. "You should have seen the look on his face. I think I really hurt his feelings!"
"Alice, I'm sure you were as nice as you usually are, but if you were going to turn him down he was bound to feel a little hurt no matter how you told him," said Lily.
"I still feel bad about it," said Alice.
"Well, at least you two won't have to see each other for a few weeks. Hopefully it'll give him time to get over you," said Marlene.
"Just like you and Abel?" asked Lily.
Marlene had recently broken up with her boyfriend of 6 months, Abel. They had drifted apart, but that did not make the split any easier for them. Even though they were in different houses and in different years, they still managed to cross paths quite often.
"Abel and I weren't meant to be, but I'm only fourteen so life goes on, right? What about you, Lily? Any exciting prospects? New crushes?" asked Marlene.
Lily blushed and said, "No."
Alice smiled and said, "Really? I could have sworn I saw Matthew Morgan staring at you during breakfast today!"
"Matthew Morgan?" asked Marlene with a big smile. "C'mon, Lily! He's tall, dark, AND handsome."
Lily shrugged and said, "I don't know. He's not really my type."
"Not your type?!" exclaimed Marlene. "Well if you're not interested in him, then I'll be glad to take him off your hands."
Lily smiled and said, "By all means!"
Alice studied Lily and then asked, "Just what is your type, Lily?"
Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat and played with the edge of her sleeve. "Oh, erm…I suppose I'd like someone with smarts, talent, and a smile that could melt my heart…" She paused, deep in thought before suddenly turning to Alice and asking, "What about you, Alice? Do you care about anyone in particular?"
Alice tried to shrug nonchalantly as she replied, "Well, not really…"
Marlene's ears perked as she sat up. "You do! Who is he? Anybody we know?"
Alice nervously glanced at Marlene and said, "Well, yeah, I guess you do know who he is."
"Who is he?" prodded Lily.
Alice gulped and muttered something. When Lily and Marlene asked her to speak up Alice blushed and blurted out, "Sirius Black!"
There was a deafening silence in the compartment as Lily and Marlene tried to comprehend what Alice had just said. Alice sat nervously waiting for Marlene's reaction. Marlene suddenly started laughing and said, "Black?! No, really, Alice! Who is it?"
Alice looked her in the eye and repeated, "Sirius. I'm not kidding, Marlene."
Seeing Marlene's jaw falling, Lily muttered, "Uh oh…"
Marlene shook her head and disbelievingly said, "Black! You like Black? You actually like that loudmouthed pig?!"
Alice's face turned a darker shade of red as she frowned at Marlene. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do! I've gotten to hang out with him during Quidditch practice and he's not that bad of a guy!"
"Not that bad?" snorted Marlene. "We are talking about the same guy, right? The same Sirius Black who transfigured my hair into poodle fur? The same Sirius Black who placed a lip-locking curse on me and Abel when he saw us together outside the Great Hall?"
"That's your feud, not mine," stated Alice. "And you can be just as bad as him," she pointed out. "Just the other day you turned his teeth red and green!"
"That was different," protested Marlene. "It's the holidays, after all!"
Alice snorted and said, "Whatever you say, but don't get so upset about my liking him. It's not like I'm asking you to date him!"
"As if!" exclaimed Marlene. "The day I date that buffoon will be the day I flash Voldemort!"
Lily nervously watched her friends and finally decided to intercede. "Marlene, we know how you feel about Sirius. In fact, I'm pretty sure the entire school is aware that you dislike him. If Alice likes him, that's her business, whether you approve or not."
Marlene glowered for a moment before crossing her arms and muttering, "Fine."
"Thanks," said Alice. "Besides, it's not like he likes me back or anything. I just said that I have a crush on him, that's all."
The train started to slow down indicating their impending arrival at King's Cross. The girls stood and gathered their belongings. As they walked toward the magical barrier to the Muggle world Marlene sighed and said, "Two weeks without classes. Whatever will we do?"
"I know you're heartbroken about it," drawled Alice with a smile.
Just as they reached the other side of the barrier they heard a loud laugh as a large pair of boys swooped down upon Marlene and lifted her off of the ground. Marlene shrieked as she was swept off her feet though she did not look entirely surprised.
"Welcome home, Shrimp!" said one of the boys. He was rather tall and burly with similar coloring to Marlene - dark hair and chocolate eyes. The boy next to him looked similar though he was an inch or two shorter. Lily realized they were Marlene's brothers.
Marlene laughed and said, "Hey! How many times have I told you to quit calling me that? I'm not as short as I was when I was five!"
The boys placed Marlene back on the ground and she proceeded to hug each of them. Alice cleared her throat and they turned to see her and Lily still standing there.
"Oh!" exclaimed Marlene to Lily. "You haven't met my brothers yet. Lily, this is my older brother, Ian," she said, indicating the taller of the boys. "The other boy here is also my brother, Robert. Guys," she said to her brothers, "this is Lily Evans, one of my best friends. And this is Alice, my other best friend. You might remember her from when her family holidayed at our resort."
The two boys studied Alice for a moment before Ian finally smiled and said, "Yeah, I think I remember you. You're the shy girl who liked to fly her broom over the loch to see if she could glimpse the creature."
The creature Ian was referring to was known to the Muggle world as the Loch Ness Monster, which was actually a kelpie disguised as a sea serpent. The McKinnon family had a resort nearby. One part of the resort was for Muggles who wanted to search for the infamous monster. The other part was shielded from the Muggles where wizards could holiday.
Most of the time the Loch Ness Monster stayed in the shielded area where the wizards were, however every once in a while it ventured to the Muggle side and gave the Muggles something to snap a photo of. The McKinnon family had placed a charm on the creature to make it appear blurry in photographs - causing the Muggle tales to become more of a myth.
"Sounds like me," replied Alice. "What are you guys doing nowadays?" When she had holidayed at the McKinnons' resort the boys had still been going to Hogwarts.
"Ian and I both tend to the resort, though we occasionally do some work for the Ministry," replied Robert.
Lily noticed Robert and Ian exchange a knowing look and realized there was more to the story but before she could ask she heard her name being called. Turning, she saw her mum and dad waving at her from the entrance to the station. "I have to go," she said, giving Alice and Marlene a hug. "It was nice meeting you," she said to Ian and Robert. "Have a wonderful Christmas!"
"Bye, Lily!" they replied as she walked toward her parents.
About halfway to her parents Lily stumbled and the contents of her purse spilled onto the floor. Kneeling down she started to gather her scattered items. Suddenly another figure was next to her helping her pick up her belongings.
"Thanks," said Lily. She looked up and was shocked to see Marianne Potter helping her.
Marianne smiled and said, "Anytime. I remember you from earlier this year. Lily, right?"
Lily nodded, feeling a lump forming in her throat. Behind Marianne's eyes was warmth as well as strength. They were hazel, just like James'.
"Are you alright?" asked Marianne.
Lily let out a breath and said, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me." She gathered up the last of her things and stood up. "Goodbye, Mrs. Potter."
Marianne watched Lily hurry toward her parents, wondering why Lily seemed so nervous. As she watched Lily hug her mum, Marianne felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to see Sirius standing in front of her, grinning broadly and looking much more fit than he had at the end of the summer when he had looked half-starved. Next to him stood her son, another inch taller. His focus was on the entrance to the station.
"James?" she asked.
"What were you talking to Evans about?" he asked.
"You mean Lily?" she asked. James nodded.
"I didn't get to say much to her. I was helping her pick up some items she had dropped. Then she walked over to her family." Seeing him let out a sigh of relief she asked, "Why?"
When James didn't answer Sirius grinned and said, "James was just nervous that his mum had embarrassed him in front of the girl of his dreams, that's all."
"Sirius!" warned James. He glanced nervously at his mother, who was looking at him in a new light.
Suddenly, Marianne realized that her son had a crush on a girl. She glanced over to where Lily was, seeing her walk out of the station with her family. Her heart skipped a beat realizing that her son was, in fact, growing up. "You like Lily?" she asked.
"Well…erm…" stuttered James.
Sirius laughed and said, "He's completely smitten!" He took a step back realizing that James was about to pummel him.
"Does she like him back?" asked Marianne with a small smile.
"Used to," said Sirius. "They had a little romance once but, alas, it is no more."
"Sirius…" James warned again.
Marianne saw her son squirming and couldn't help but be amused. She gave a mischievous grin to Sirius and, leaning toward James, asked, "Did you kiss her?"
"MUM!" yelled James, his face turning three shades of red. "This is not something I want to discuss with my mother!"
Marianne chuckled as James started to drag his trunk toward the exit of the station. Following behind, she realized why Lily had acted so nervous around her. She would be sure to extract more details from Sirius when James wasn't around to get embarrassed. Chuckling, she leaned over and whispered to Sirius, "I'll take that to mean yes." Sirius smiled back and winked.
As they arrived home, Marianne was trying to stand firm in her scolding of the boys for their antics at school. She was currently on their case about the letter she had received from the Deputy Headmistress about their 'excessive use of the cheering charm' on her.
"What's the harm in that?" whined James. "We only wanted to make her smile. It's not like we put boils on her face!"
"She had to be placed on a stretcher and levitated to the hospital wing. She was laughing too hard to walk. It took two doses of calming potion to stop the laughter. The poor woman was in tears," chided Marianne. "She pulled a muscle in her side!"
"That's because she hasn't used it in a long time," smirked Sirius. Seeing Marianne's reproachful look he added, "I don't think I'd ever seen her laugh."
Marianne paused as the image of Minerva McGonagall in hysterics entered her vision. She felt a tug at her gut as she tried to suppress a giggle at the image but could tell that Sirius and James were on to her. Seeing them starting to grin she tried to take a few deep breaths but found herself developing the giggles. She sent the boys upstairs to unpack while she tried to regather her composure.
She sat down, amazed at how she now let things slip with James when he got into mischief. As a small child, he rarely managed to charm his way out of punishments. Joseph had tended to let things slide, but she had always held her ground and insisted they put James in his place when he misbehaved.
Now, she wondered what had changed. Deep in her heart though, she knew why she was no longer immune to James' charms. He was older now, and every time she saw him he reminded her more of Joseph. They had the same mischievous grin and the same twinkle in their eyes. She sat back against the chair and wondered how Lily Evans was able to resist the charms of her son.
**************************************************************************************
A/N: *Chuckle* I love how Marianne can make James blush! That said, I love that James can charm his way out of punishment. *smiles*
Pleasant surprise for me - I got the weekend off from work. Sorry to say, though, that I decided to skip town for a few days. Therefore, it'll likely be a few days before the next update.
Thanks to my latest reviewers: Alicia, Hermione G. Potter, DreamAngel, nanopy, lilynpotter, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, Chayse (x4), Mani12191, granger1191, mae513, sweetie513, A New Reader, Jo Bob, and spanish gurl.
Next chapter: James and Joseph have a chat about the 'family jewels'.