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Every Other Time
Mei Queen
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Disclaimer: None of it's mine. The inspiration and title belong to LFO, a pop group from the 90's (many of you asked who they were in the teaser). Naturally any names you recognise belong to JKR. (Except for Bella and Grant, they're my lovelies.) Oh, and Hansel and Gretel are obviously owned by the Grimm brothers. If you haven't read their tales, their some of my favourite childhood stories. Extremely gory, though. Just a warning.
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Authoress' Note: Well, kids. Here we are. I never thought I would ever do a sequel to anything, but it's funny how time makes you eat your words. That's right, people. I said sequel. So if you haven't read 'Steal My Kisses', I recommend that one first, just so you'll know who Bella and Grant are and what their influences are to the plot. To my loyal readers and reviewers, thank you so much for your support. I would never have gotten here without you.
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Chapter 1: The 'Dress'
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"I said 'let's talk about it'
As she walked out on me
And slammed the door
But I just laugh about it
'cos she's always playing those games
Deep down I know she loves me
But she's got a funny way of showing me
How she cares (she cares)"
("Every Other Time" -LFO)
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::3rd P::
Annabelle "Bella" Burton grinned, yawning and stretching her arm around her boyfriend, Sirius Black. The couple was relaxing in the Gryffindor common room after a long day of classes. "So, Siri…now that Lily and James are 'official', do you think that their arguing will finally stop?"
"Are you kidding?" he asked with a broad smirk. "I would die of boredom if they ever stopped their wonderful rows."
As if on cue, Sirius' answer was accompanied by a slamming at the portrait hole.
"James Potter, I swear to Merlin…"
Snorting, Bella whispered, "Trouble in paradise?"
"Seems that way," Sirius murmured back, grinning.
"What's wrong, Lily?" James' anxious voice asked, running after his temperamental redheaded girlfriend, who was quickly sprinting up to her dorm.
Swivelling to face him, her facial expression contorted into one of extreme disbelief.
"What's wrong? Are you bloody joking? You- agh! I'm not going to ruddy justify this with an answer."
Angrily spinning on her heel, she stomped up to her dorm, making sure to slam the door as loudly as possible. While the sound reverberated, Sirius turned to James, who was still standing motionlessly in the middle of the common room, looking as if he'd been slapped.
"You know," Sirius offered, chuckling, "rows are supposed to keep the relationship alive."
Shaking off the shock and turning irritably to his best mate, James spat, "Oh, really, Padfoot? Well, that's a wonderful relief. Lily and I will officially never need the Elixir of Life, because our rows will keep us and our relationship alive for bloody eternity!"
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::Lily's P::
Sighing, I flopped back on to the covers, twirling a long strand of scarlet hair around my finger. And how sad is this bit…I don't actually remember what I was originally so angry about. James had said something completely prat-like that really irked me, that's all. It reminded me of what a pompous arse he'd been in the previous years, a time in our lives which I generally preferred to mentally block out. Most of the time, James Potter had completely reformed his egotistical prat ways, but he still occasionally slipped into comments or actions that I didn't find remotely funny.
You see, we were still working out the kinks of our relationship.
James and I had been dating now for about a month and a half, and it had mostly been really great. He had waited so long to date me that he made sure to capitalise on any possible opportunity to spoil me a little bit, which I found completely lovely. I won't deny that we still have our occasional rows, though- at least once a week, really. Sirius Black counted once, we actually fought once daily for two weeks at one point.
But we're getting better.
Really. Well…mostly.
Okay, so there's the fact that we're arguing right now. But this was a fluke thing. Well…except for the fight last Friday. Oh, and the one on Monday. And there's the trivial fact that I'm usually the one to instigate it. Actually….I'm always the one to start it, aren't I? Wow. James has never deliberately tried to start an argument with me…ever. Merlin, what a horrid girlfriend I make. I wasn't this bad with Grant, was I?
Well, maybe I just need to lighten up a bit. You know, not take James' playful personality and crude jokes too seriously?
Yes, capital idea.
I'll start…tomorrow. I mean, really. I'm not going to be the one to walk down at apologise to prat-boy. He can stew for a little bit.
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Half an hour later, I grudgingly sighed, pulling my hair back in to a ponytail. I had tried to read a book, tried to draw something, scribbled a bit in my journal, played with some makeup…in short, I was bored out of my mind. I missed my friends, and all of them were downstairs. Maybe it's about time to finally just apologise to James. He probably understands by this point that he did something wrong, even if you don't remember exactly what it was he said. That's another thing. The stubbornness has to stop. You don't even realise what you're angry about half the time, but you're too bloody obstinate to admit that you just might be wrong. It has to stop…what if James gave up on you because of how much of a pain in the arse you can be? Think of how horrible you'd feel. James Potter means everything to you, even if he can be a right little prat.
Sighing and shaking off my thoughts, I slowly walked towards the door to the dorm, opening it and stepping out in the hallway.
I almost walked smack in to Annabelle, who was apparently on her way in to our dorm. I was glad that Emmeline Vance, our other roommate, was busy studying the Library…I wasn't in the mood to explain myself to too many people at the moment.
"What's wrong, Lil? Why are you up here?"
Since it was Bella, I didn't mind admitting the truth as much. "I…I don't remember."
"Oh, Lily," she muttered sympathetically, shaking her head slightly and reaching out to give me a quick hug. "You really need to get past this 'picking fights for the hell of it' phase. It's driving James completely mad."
"Why do I do it?" I asked agonisingly, sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, clutching my head in my hands. "I know that he's perfect for me. I mean, yes, he's a prat sometimes, but he cares about me. He loves me and he isn't afraid to show it. He'll stand up for me and stand up to me when he feels it's necessary. He's everything I could want in a bloke and more, but yet, I keep trying to sabotage our relationship. Why? Bella, why am I doing this?"
She sighed, sliding down the wall to sit beside me. "I don't know for sure, but I think it might be a defence mechanism. Maybe you're scared of getting hurt. Grant couldn't hurt you because you didn't love him…but…"
"I love James," I whispered, touching my hand to my mouth in realisation. Maybe Annabelle was on to something. But part of her theory was questionable to me. Did I just not want to get hurt, or was I paranoid that… that I was going to hurt James?
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"Look who has finally arrived," Sirius called with a roguish grin a few moments later as Annabelle and I strode down in to the busy common room. It was a good thing Sirius was loud, I thought to myself amusedly. Otherwise I never would have heard him over the exploding snaps of the first years, screams of indignation at loss in Wizard's Chess by the third years, fifth years grudgingly beginning their loud OWL quizzing, and Remus and Peter's extraordinarily boisterous game of Gobstones.
But, yet, Sirius Black was not to be overpowered by any of the above. His lungs are a modern marvel, I quipped with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah. No need to rub it in, Black," I replied with a good-natured grin. I normally despised teasing because, from life experience, I've realised that behind every joke is a dash of truth. Otherwise, a joke would not be funny. It would be whimsical with no connection with reality. Throughout my early Hogwarts days I got a misrepresented reputation as a stickler, a girl who couldn't take a joke to save her life. It's not the jokes that bother me, so much as who's telling them. Bella can make me laugh raucously at a moment's notice, just because I know that, regardless, the girl has my best interests at heart.
Though nobody else had ever been able to reach that particular closeness with me, I was finding more and more that I didn't mind jokes from Sirius Black and James Potter, just because I knew they both held me in the highest regard despite the prat-like words escaping their mouths.
Speaking of James, meanwhile, said Head Boy was twiddling his thumbs in an armchair by the fire. I could feel his eyes on me, but when I turned to make eye contact, he looked away quickly. He looked extremely nervous. Ironic that we've finally gotten together after so many years and yet we still have to feel nervous around one another… Gods, this is my entire bloody fault, I thought with self-deprecation, moving a stray bit of fringe out of my eyes.
Sighing, I walked slowly over to his chair.
"Hi," I whispered. Not exactly eloquent, but it's a start nonetheless¸ I thought, still mentally berating myself for putting both of us in this awkward position in the first place.
His sad eyes flickered up to my own as he replied. "Hullo."
"Look, James…I'm not good at the apology thing, really."
"It's okay, Lily," he began, cutting me off. "It's my fault. I'm sorry I upset you."
"No, really, James," I replied, letting out a shaky breath and sitting on the arm of his chair. I felt his hand hesitantly find my own. "I shouldn't have overreacted. I'm going to try to be less sensitive from now on. I take things too seriously, and I make a big fuss over the little things, and I shouldn't. But you…you have to stop being such a prat," I teased with a grin, playfully mussing his hair with my spare hand.
"I don't know if I can manage that," he replied in a mock-serious tone, tapping his finger thoughtfully against his chin and then smiling broadly at me.
A moment later, when I was sharing the chair with him and his hand was slowly trailing little comforting circles on my scalp, I whispered, "I don't like fighting."
"I don't, either," he muttered. "Let's not do it anymore, okay?"
I chuckled. "I don't think we could survive without the occasional row, James."
He mulled it over thoughtfully. "Well, as long as the making up is worth it, I suppose it is fine to argue once in awhile."
I punched him softly in the shoulder for that little bit of genius. "Don't be pervy."
"What? I wasn't being ruddy pervy. This is about that stupid 'scarlet woman' thing again, isn't it?"
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"Oh, no," Bella whispered with a gasp the next morning at breakfast. "Is that…Petunia's scrawl that I detect?"
Her eyes were boring holes in the letter sitting innocently next to my bowl of oatmeal. "I think so, yeah," I muttered irritably, spooning myself some more of my breakfast. "Call me crazy, but I really don't want to open it. Anything that Petty would write to me and take time to send to me by owl has got to be bad."
Wordlessly, Bella nodded her head fervently. She looks like a bobble-head doll, I noted with a snort. Her and Sirius would make the cutest pair of bobble-heads. They could go in the window in the back of my family's station wagon together. Aww. Is it odd that I want to collect my friends as plastic hood ornaments? Hmm.
"So," James began from my other side, interrupting my thoughts. His eyes were too trained on the letter. "Are you planning on opening it?"
"I'm mentally preparing myself," I explained, eyes mindlessly roving the hall. Whilst my eyes were travelling over the Ravenclaw table, I noticed that a certain blonde's eyes were trained on me. The eyes were those of Grant Ashcroft's, my ex-boyfriend and Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain extraordinaire, to be exact. And now that I noticed, I idly wondered when he was going to look away. It had been over a minute, honestly. The lad needs a hobby.
"What does he want?" Sirius Black interjected darkly, noting where my eyes had trailed. Spinning his eyes on his fork, he muttered in to his plate, "Bloke's creepy. He just doesn't give off a good…vibe. Nice guy when you're on his good side, definitely, but he strikes me as the Jekyll and Hyde type."
"You actually know who Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are?" I asked, not bothering to keep the incredulity from my tone.
"Of course," Sirius replied, as if it were the most obvious fact in the universe. It was like I had said 'the sky is blue' or 'humans can't live without air'. "I have a thorough understanding of Muggles and their culture, thank you."
"Oh right, Padfoot," James replied with a snort. "That explains why you sent our house-elves into a riot thinking that our family was inhumane, all because you explained that my family almost roasted Hansel and Gretel in the oven, but it was all the bread crumbs that saved 'em. Now I still can't get Poddy to stop leaving a ruddy trail of sourdough wherever he bloody goes, it's ridiculous…"
"If it's in a book, Prongs," Sirius replied, as if, again, this was ludicrously obvious, "it must be true."
Shaking off my thoughts and breaking eye contact with Grant (who was really starting to creep me out), my hand trailed down to the lovely envelope resting motionlessly by my plate. Grimacing, I broke the seal. Bella leaned closer to me so she could read it, too.
Miss Lily Evans (and Guest):
Mr and Mrs Reginald Evans
and
Mr and Mrs Stephen Dursley
request the honour of your presence
at the union of their children
Petunia Marie Evans
to
Vernon Stephen Dursley
On Saturday, the twenty-first of December
One thousand nine-hundred seventy-seven
at six in the evening
St. Joseph's Church
505 Lewis Street
Surrey
My shaking hand set down the invitation; only to have the spot in front of my plate be full again as another owl flew in and landed right in front of me, this time with a sizable package. Opening the note on the top, I was met with the following note:
Lily-
You're maid of honour. Mum forced me. Here's your dress. Get there at least a day before for the rehearsal. Wreck my wedding and I'll never speak to you again. Bring a date; Vernon's friends won't want anything to do with a freak like you.
-Petunia
"Your sister's such a charmer," Bella muttered. I was still too much in disbelief to respond.
Opening the package, I was met with…
"It's…cotton candy," Sirius observed. "Overgrown cotton candy. It's like a really bad horror film, like that one from the sixties, 'The Blob'."
"You actually do know something about Muggles," Peter interjected with awe, walking up to where we were sitting and grabbing a roll.
"Well, naturally I do," he replied with a hollow laugh. "Nobody ever believes me."
"Excuse me, lads, but we're in the middle of a crisis. Could you please keep it down?" Bella asked irritably, waving Emmeline over as she had just walked through the doors to the hall to grab a quick breakfast before classes. Em raised an eyebrow at the opened package sitting motionlessly on the table, and the pink that seemed to be overflowing from the box with no help at all. It, I was told later by a giggling Emmeline, actually looked like a pink cloud was attempting to swallow the table whole. 'The marmalade is lucky it's still alive,' she had later relayed to me through her chortles.
But back to the disaster dress, which I was still staring at with wide eyes, note and invitation clutched in my fist so tight that my knuckles were beginning to go pale.
"Lily seems fine," James noted placidly, observing my lack of outbursts so far.
I hadn't completely registered the whole situation yet, to be honest. I was too terrified to hold up the dress. The pink taffeta was foreboding enough. If I discovered that I was going to look like a pink cotton ball in front of all of my extended family and friends, not to mention all the family and friends of that Muggle git Vernon, I was going to find it out in the privacy of my own dorm, thank you.
"It's a mask," Emmeline cut in. "That's from her sister, right?"
The Marauders confirmed this with a nod.
"Just wait. Give her about five more seconds."
True enough, I seemed to regain my voice a few moments later. "W-w-w…agh. Why? Why is this happening to me? I have to go to a wedding for my sister, fine. But I have to be in it. And the dresses are crap. And I'm going to have to pose for a whole bunch of pictures and pretend to get along with my wench of a sister and her boring git of a fiancé. And…I'll need a date. Oh my God, I'll need a date!"
"Sweetie?" James interjected. "I'll go with you. It's not a big deal."
"Let me correct that last statement. I need a date that understands Muggles. Petunia' horrified of magic, and from the looks of this Vernon chap, he's not any better," I replied hopelessly, flinging the note and resting my pounding head in my hands. "And we've only got two weeks until Christmas break, when I'll have to pack up and get ready to smile and look pretty for the union from Hades!"
"Well, the answer is simple," Remus Lupin said with a grin, adding some marmalade to his roll.
Looking up, I asked hopefully, "There's a solution to this mess?"
"Of course," he replied with a roguish smile. "Just go with Sirius here. He's the resident Muggle expert, you know."
"Agh!" I spat angrily. Grabbing the ugly package to my chest, I got up to put the package away in the dorm before classes. I really didn't want to lug it around all day and have to answer any more questions about this dress and my lovely sister that was forcing me to wear it than necessary.
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Don't get me wrong, I expected someone to follow me when I stormed out of the Great Hall with my 'dress'. I had expected James Potter to, seeing as, well, we're dating. Well, that and James has always been incapable of leaving me alone when I am angry. If it was physically possible, the bloke would follow me to the ends of the earth, asking, "Are you sure something isn't wrong?"
That's just the kind of lad that James Potter is.
And, indeed, he did follow me. But this time he wasn't alone.
"Lily, wait," James called after me. Sighing, I grudgingly stopped and swivelled around, not too terribly opposed to the thought of company that wouldn't make fun of the 'pink cotton ball that couldn't' on the long walk up to Gryffindor Tower.
I hadn't expected him to be a few paces behind James, quickly catching up.
"Can I talk to you, Lily?" Grant Ashcroft's soft voice said hesitantly, using his long strides to quickly close the distance between us.
James looked at him darkly, before meeting my eyes questioningly.
"I guess. I'll be right back, James…can you watch this for me?" I asked, setting the dress down on the floor.
"With that dress, I'll be watching it for my own self-defence, it might just swallow me whole," he managed with a meagre chuckle, meeting my eyes meaningfully. Whispering in my ear, he said, "It's not that I don't trust you. It isn't. I don't trust him though. Just…don't be gone long, okay?"
"I won't," I replied consolingly, rubbing his arm affectionately and planting a quick kiss on his lips. "I'll be right back, like I said."
Nodding, he resolutely sat down against the wall in the corridor, pulling my 'dress' to lie in his lap.
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"What do you want, Grant?" I asked irritably, partially wheezing. He said we needed privacy for whatever it is he wanted to talk about, so we had been walking for over five minutes now just to find a private spot.
"Just a sec," he muttered distractedly.
Finding an abandoned classroom, we ducked in, careful that nobody noticed our deliberate rule-breaking.
"Okay," he said nervously, turning to face me. "I saw the dress. I saw the wedding invitation. I can guess from what one of the Ravenclaws overheard that you need to be in a Muggle wedding."
"So?" I asked, more than a little irritated that he would pull me away from my boyfriend and enthusiastic self-pity to point out facts that were this obvious.
"I could go with you. I know Muggles. My aunt's a Squib. I've gotten really good at understanding their ways, Lily; I won't embarrass you or anything. I doubt you'll get the same promise from Potter."
I sighed, clasping my hands and turning to look out the window on to the grounds. It's so beautiful here, I noted with a contented sigh. It's sad that even after so many years of magic and Hogwarts, I still have to get in to ugly dresses and deal with annoying Muggles. Life sucks sometimes.
Coming to a definite conclusion, I turned to give Grant a piece of my mind. "You know what? James Potter is not perfect. Sometimes he gives me really bad migraines, actually. But, regardless, I've told you before and I'll tell you again, I love him. He means a lot to me. And even though he may embarrass me a little at this wedding, he's going, because I want him to meet my parents at some point, you know? It has to happen eventually."
"We dated for a year," Grant muttered irritably, running a hand through his hair. "I never met them."
It's not like I could tell him the real reason. The real reason that Grant never met my parents was, of course, that I hadn't been serious about him and hadn't wanted my parents to get attached. I didn't love him, why should I expect them to? But James? James was a totally different story.
Sighing and shaking off my thoughts, I met his eyes again. "Is that all you wanted?"
His eyes steely, he met mine again. Shaking his head, he muttered, "What happened to you, Lily? You used to be so great. You were studious; you did all your Head duties. I've heard from the other prefects that you two haven't even been patrolling! I'll bet your grades are falling. You probably haven't even done an assignment in ages."
I avoided his eyes. My mind quickly flashed to the Potions essay I only had the heading written for that was lying on top of my trunk, waiting to be researched. The Charms paper that was due in a day, the History of Magic term paper that I hadn't even picked a topic for. Shit.
"You're losing it, Lily. You can still get it back though," he whispered, stepping slightly closer to me and tilting up my chin so our eyes met. "You can still get me back. I'll help you put it all right, Lily. Everything."
Pompous arse, I thought to myself in annoyance, my eyes flickering up to his face.
He had closed his eyes. He seemed to be leaning closer to me. Was he trying to do what I think he was trying to do? He was rapidly closing the distance between us. Mind reeling with disgust, I was about to back away when I heard the door click open. Grant's face was barely inches from my own.
James Potter was standing in the doorway, one arm clutching the doorknob, one arm clutching my pink monstrosity, and looking like he was experiencing the difficult decision of whether he wanted to throttle or vomit.
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Authoress' Note: Review, lovelies! Please?