1. The 'Dress'

Every Other Time

Mei Queen

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.

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.

Chapter 1: The ‘Dress’

“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)

::3^rd 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!”

::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.

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?

“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?”

“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

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.

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.

“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.

Authoress’ Note: Review, lovelies! Please?

2. Mental Health Day

Every Other Time

Mei Queen

Authoress’ Note: Okay, so this chapter is pretty random. Product of too little sleep, too much work on a Saturday, and not near enough coffee. Oh, and the plot really doesn’t go anywhere yet. Sorry. Big thanks to everyone that reviewed the first chapter, and another huge thanks to my fantabulous beta Chelsea!

LAST CHAPTER:

Chapter 2: Mental Health Day

“James. Hi,” I murmured awkwardly, immediately stepping back from Grant. He, meanwhile, was still poised midair, awaiting some sort of physical contact with me that I’d rather not think about.

James Potter appeared to be taking every bit of self-resolve to stay calm. Turning to me and exhaling a deep breath, he met my eyes as he asked, “Lily, what’s going on here?”

“This has nothing to do with you, Potter,” Grant spat, obviously recovered from the shock of James’ interruption and turning to my boyfriend in annoyance.

The Head Boy in question quirked an eyebrow accompanied by one of his sarcastic smiles before answering. “I hardly think you’re in a position to talk right now, Ashcroft. Try not to dig yourself in deeper.”

Taking a few paces toward me and taking my hand, he pulled me close before whispering, “What happened?”

I mustered the closest expression to a smile that I could manage and pulled back to look him in the eye. “Nothing. Honestly.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go, Lil…do you have your things?”

Grant gave a loud snort of indignation.

“So, that’s it, then. You’re just going to go with him. Like nothing’s happened between us. Like I don’t even matter to you,” the blond accused in a deadly whisper, meeting my emerald eyes with his stunning cerulean. I immediately felt wracked with guilt, though I hadn’t the slightest idea why. Who the hell was he to accuse me of this? I was going to leave with my boyfriend; I was going to Petunia’s wedding with my boyfriend… because I loved my boyfriend. Because James and I belonged together, damn it!

It was never meant to be Lily Ashcroft, I thought with a sigh. That just sounds terrible…

Looking at my ex challengingly, I replied quietly, “That is it, Grant. It has been over for months. I’m sorry that this fact seems to have escaped you, and I’m sorry for having to be cruel in telling you like this. But I’m not sorry for telling you, because I’m tired of you making me feel guilty for something I can’t help. I’m genuinely sorry for the way we ended things, that wasn’t fair to you. But you stalking me? You continually thinking that I want you back or have some deep, suppressed desires toward you? That’s unfair to me. Please leave me alone.”

Turning and striding out, I noticed that James seemed to be lingering behind a few moments to have some final words with Grant. Shaking my head in exhaustion, I turned to head back to the Tower. Alone. As alone as I feel inside, I mentally quipped, running a hand through my hair anxiously. I had an ex that wanted too much from me, and a boyfriend that, for all intents and purposes, was pretty damn perfect, but I kept starting problems with. I’m ready for a bubble bath, because attending classes just isn’t going to happen today, I thought exhaustedly, throwing my arms up in a yawn as I muttered the password to the Fat Lady. I’ll just tell them I’m horribly ill or something. Muggle diseases always work wonders as excuses around here…

.:3^rd P:.

“Where the hell is she?” Annabelle Burton whispered furiously to her boyfriend, Sirius Black.

He met her eyes blankly. “Who?”

“Oh for the love of Merlin. Celestina Warbeck, that’s who.”

Sirius’ face lit up into a broad grin. “Celestina? Where is she? Is my hair all right?”

“I’m going to smack you,” Bella countered. “I meant Lily, you nitwit.”

“Then why didn’t you just say that?” Peter Pettigrew interrupted after leaning over to overhear their conversation. After all, the seventh year Gryffindors’ first class of the day was History of Magic, so there was not really much else to do but eavesdrop. Remus Lupin, meanwhile, looked over at his mates disapprovingly, making a hushing sound and pointing to Binns, who appeared to be noticing that the class was not listening with rapt attention.

Annabelle rolled her eyes in response to Peter, apparently not feeling up to justifying his idiotic question with an answer. Sighing, she leaned over to her other side to ask the only person that might know the location of Lily Evans- her boyfriend, James Potter.

“James, where’s Lily at? She was there at breakfast…but now she’s not.”

“I’ve noticed,” he whispered in frustration. “We had a run-in with Grant this morning, and she just… disappeared.”

“What, you didn’t go looking for her?” Bella replied incredulously, as if James were a complete and hopeless moron.

“I tried,” he snapped crossly. “She wasn’t in the common room, though. I can’t exactly go up to your dorms, now, can I?”

“Oh. Right. Forgot about that. Well, I’ll check on her after this class, then.”

Bella and James both gulped when they noticed that Binns’ usual monotonous strain of babble had paused, something that was never a good sign.

“You two! Bumpkin! Porter! I’m trying to teach about the Goblin Rebellion of 1678, but if you’d rather teach the class about it yourselves, by all means, keep up your idle and senseless chatter!”

.:Lily’s P:.

My right big toe sneaked out of the sea of bubbles to turn off the running faucet in the prefect’s bathroom. Letting out a contented sigh, I felt my muscles relax in the fragrant warmth of the bath. This is so much better than an hour of Binns, I thought contentedly, one hand reaching for my shampoo.

I don’t know how long I was in there. It must have been the whole period of morning class, because when I exited, hair still dripping wet and clothes slightly askew, the corridor was packed with students trying to make it to their next class on time.

My eyes rolled when I noticed a familiar head of hair in the corridor walking toward me. What is this? ‘Grant sticks to Lily like used Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum Day? Honestly. It’s ridiculous…I’ve had over a month of a great relationship with James, and now Grant decides it’s time to interfere. The bloke’s got timing, I’ll give him that much.

Ducking my head slightly and covering my telltale hair with my towel, I walked a little more briskly, fervently hoping that Grant wouldn’t notice me. I didn’t want a repeat of this morning, and I certainly did not want to have to explain why my hair was wet. After all, Grant had been lecturing me about the threat James Potter was posing to my academic career just this morning, I didn’t want to go and prove him right only hours later.

I was fairly relieved when I heard someone call Grant over to my side of the hallway. Looking back, I noticed it was the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, Gideon Prewett...an egotistical seventh year I’d never gotten on too famously with, actually. “I have a question for you about the match, Ashcroft!”

“Sure,” he replied, striding over my way. Oh shit. Shit shit shit…he’s coming over here! Where the hell can I go? I can’t let him see me, I thought frantically, head turning to the side to see if there was anything I could hide behind. Gratefully noticing that the tapestry brushing my hand seemed to have a very convenient alcove behind it, I surreptitiously slid in. Not a moment too soon, either.

“What is it, Prewett?” Grant asked, treading over and stopping directly in front of the tapestry. My heart beat even faster when I realised that I could even feel the fabric move slightly as Grant’s hand brushed against it. Praying to the founders, I desperately hoped that Gideon and Grant would not notice the alcove like I had...or for that matter, the fact that I was hiding inside said alcove.

“I just wanted to ask if you got a new Seeker like I heard from McKinnon this morning… we’ve been training up ours, but we still don’t know what’ll happen at the match. Those second years, great in practice but still nervous as mice on brooms once the Quaffle’s in the air, you know how it is. Hey, man, you all right?”

Grant made some noise of muffled assent that I couldn’t really understand. Mildly intrigued in the conversation on the other side of the tapestry now, my ears perked as my ex began to speak. “It’s been a long day, yeah?”

“I mean, I know we’re not the best of mates or anything, but even I’ve noticed you’ve been a bit off since Lily got with Potter.”

I winced. Did he have to bring me into this? Though I had made it a point not to speak too excessively with him in our entire time at Hogwarts, I was now feeling an overwhelming wave of dislike for Gideon Prewett.

“Yeah,” Grant murmured softly. “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“That someone as fabulous as Lily Evans would compromise herself with Potter?” Gideon asked tactlessly. “Yeah, it’s a pity. That fiery red hair, those green eyes…you two would have made some beautiful kids. But with Potter…Merlin, the poor child will probably have that prat’s hair…”

Okay, now I was getting hacked off. They had no right to talk about my boyfriend like that! And I never knew Gideon disliked James that much…James was usually much better liked than I was, but I suppose Grant and Gideon were exceptions to that general rule. Why isn’t Grant replying? He’s got the perfect opportunity to talk rubbish about James, but now he doesn’t seem up to it…

Prewett apparently did not sense Grant’s hesitation, however, as he continued. “What if…what if we could save her from making some horrible mistake, Grant? We get Lily and Potter to break up, and get her back with you. It shouldn’t be too difficult, eh? I can’t stand to see you this depressed, man…it’s bad for Quidditch. If we get you and Lily back together, everyone will be happy. It’s the right thing to do, really.”

I cocked my head to the side. What the hell is that logic? Am I the only sane one here? And exactly how does Prewett expect to break up me and James, anyhow? He’s even more of a pompous prick if he thinks that whatever Grant and him do will affect James and I as a couple. Why hasn’t Grant replied yet, anyway?

Finally, Grant coughed awkwardly, breaking the silence between the two blokes. “All right, Prewett…well, I’ll just see you next game. I need to get to class.”

Gideon returned the sentiment, hollering “just think about it” to Grant’s retreating figure before striding off himself. After waiting a few minutes to be sure that the coast was clear, I was finally allowed to get out of my claustrophobic hideaway and back into the corridor, mind reeling with questions.

Two hours later, I was nipping down to the kitchens for a quick snack (after all, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. But since I was “sick”, I couldn’t exactly go eat lunch with everybody else, either).

“Miss Evans. I didn’t see you in class this morning,” I heard from over my shoulder. Stomach sinking with dread, I turned, finding myself face-to-face with Minerva McGonagall.

“Er…yes, Professor. I’m afraid I’m not feeling well today,” I replied in my most sick-sounding voice, making sure to insert at least four coughs into every sentence, all the while fervently hoping she would believe my act.

“What a pity,” she countered briskly, obviously not fooled in the slightest. “What are you doing out of bed? Has Poppy seen you yet?”

“Madam Pomfrey? Um…not yet, I was on my way there right now.”

“Well, you certainly are taking the scenic route, aren’t you?” she asked with the ghost of a smile tugging on her features. “…Seeing as the Hospital Wing is on the other side of the castle, Miss Evans.”

My cheeks reddened furiously. “Right. I’ll just be on my way then, shall I?”

I walked past her, and heard her call my name after I had almost rounded the corner of the hallway. Turning to face her, I inwardly groaned as McGonagall called, “Oh, and next time you’re feeling ‘sick’, maybe you should let someone know… a professor, preferably. Then we’ll let you know whether or not you’re actually ‘sick’, Miss Evans.”

Nodding and fighting the extreme urge to roll my eyes, I rounded on my heel and began to grudgingly make my way to the Hospital Wing.

.:3^rd P:.

Annabelle Burton threw her hands up in exasperation, descending the stairs two at a time. At the bottom, she was met with her best friend’s extremely nervous boyfriend, who was currently standing in the middle of the common room, one hand anxiously tousling his mop of ebony hair and one foot tapping so quickly Bella was surprised it hadn’t fallen off yet from the effort.

“She’s not there,” Bella exclaimed hopelessly. “I don’t know where else she could be…we’ve looked bloody everywhere.”

“Well,” Peter interrupted from his seat by the crackling fireplace. “Logically, she could be anywhere in the castle. Hey, Prongs!”

“What?” James asked in annoyance, turning to face Peter impatiently. “What is it, Wormtail?”

“Have you checked the…um…” Peter looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. “The map?”

The Head Boy smacked himself in the forehead, unable to believe he hadn’t thought of that option himself. “You’re brilliant, Wormtail!”

James Potter was quite a sight to see at that moment. He raced towards the boys’ dorms, pushing to the side whatever was in his way, jumping over first years, upsetting games of chess and Gobstones that were actually in session, all the while uttering a steady stream of “excuse me” and “sorry”. Needless to say, James managed make it to his dorm in record time. Flinging open his trunk, he got out a certain faded piece of parchment that was folded and sitting on top of his clothes. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!”

Even though he had ran the whole way up to his dorm, James’ heart beat even faster as he located the dot of ‘Lily Evans’…in the Hospital Wing.

“Where is she?” James Potter gasped, trying to catch his breath from the long run over. He burst through the doors to the Hospital Wing loudly, allowing the heavy doors to slam, not really caring whether or not Madam Pomfrey took it as a disturbance. Frantically glancing around the near empty wing in between wheezing gasps, he demanded, “Where’s Lily?! Lily! Are you in here?”

“Mr Potter, what are you doing here?” Madam Pomfrey enquired in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest, and quickly striding out of her office to have a word with whoever was so loudly and inconsiderately disturbing her patients. “I’ll have you know that this isn’t a good time for visiting.”

“I don’t care. I want to see my girlfriend. Where’s Lily at?”

“She’s over in that bed by the window. See her? She’s perfectly fine,” the woman snapped, pointing to the bed in the farthest corner of the wing, where a redhead was sitting up, observing the conversation with noticeable amusement. “Now please get back to your classes.”

“I need to talk to her.”

“About what, pray tell?” Madam Pomfrey pressed, tightening the arms over her chest suspiciously and raising a quizzical brow. Lily Evans, too, cocked her head curiously, wondering what excuse her boyfriend would come up with to get to see her.

James Potter, however, was not to be intimidated. “The schoolwork she’s missed,” he countered evenly, knowing without question that bringing schoolwork to ill students was usually an assignment presided over by the ill student’s Head of House- which for Lily, happened to be Minerva McGonagall, someone far more senior, superior, and severe than Poppy Pomfrey.

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, the nurse turned to go back in her office, face looking almost as if she’d sucked on a lemon. Before slamming the door behind her, the nurse called bitterly, “Five minutes! Then you have to leave!”

Sighing, James turned back to Lily’s bed. Walking over and gingerly sitting on the bed, he took one of her hands in his, murmuring, “Hi there.”

“Hi.”

He chuckled hollowly. “Seems like we’re in here a lot lately.”

Lily joined in the laughter, feeling a smile widen on her face. “Yeah, we are, aren’t we? Odd.”

“Where were you today?”

The redhead sighed, looking away from the probing stare of her boyfriend. “I just couldn’t take it today. Life just seemed too difficult…I didn’t want to have to deal with everything…everyone.”

“What’s up, Lil? Is it that git Grant? Because if it is, I know plenty of secret passageways to hide the body in, and I know Sirius would help me. He owes me, speaking of which…”

“First off,” Lily scolded, “that’s mildly disgusting. And…it’s a little bit Grant, but more just everything happening at once today…the wedding, Grant deciding that we’re soul mates or some crock of shite, it’s just a lot to take in one day. I suppose I just needed a mental health day. Nothing serious to worry about, though.”

“Oh,” James replied, obviously relieved. Reaching over to take her hand, he brought it to his lips in a soft kiss before whispering, “I love you, you know.”

Lily smiled in response. “I love you, too. So…are you ready to meet my family?”

“Are you kidding?” he asked excitedly. “I’ve been thrilled about this since you got the invitation! I really hope your parents like me.”

The redhead chuckled at her boyfriend’s nervousness, using a consoling hand to ruffle his hair affectionately. “They’ll love you,” she promised. “Petunia, on the other hand…well, she doesn’t even like me, so don’t be offended if she doesn’t like you, either…”