The Way we Were

Kipa

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Lily & James
Book: Lily & James, Books 1 - 7
Published: 03/10/2007
Last Updated: 10/12/2007
Status: paused

Chapter 6: Someone is having trouble returning, while her whole world is shattering because of this. She only has 5 days left.

Chapters

1. Where I end and you begin

2. Low

3. Rest in Pieces

4. Forever Love

5. Mr. Curiosity

6. Silver and Cold

1. Where I end and you begin

Where I end and you begin

There's a gap in between,
There's a gap where we meet,
Where I end and you begin. -By Radiohead.

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"Evans."

"Not now Potter," she said without sending a glance his way. "Can't you see I'm busy?" she added quickly.

"Merlin Evans, you've been ignoring me all ride! You do realise that we are going to have to get along fairly well for us to work together, right?" snapped James, starting to get just a bit frustrated. He had never received such treatment from her.

He had always thought of her as a shy bookworm. She wasn't especially beautiful and was so scrawny she was edgy all over. However, there were two features she possessed which couldn't help to go noticed.

First, there was her deep, auburn hair, which cascaded along her shoulders, down to her hips. Her waves moved naturally with every movement of her head and made it extremely easy to distinguish her in a crowd.

Then, there were her immense eyes, which seemed as if they would pop out of her face in any second. They were emerald colour, with a spark in them that would catch the eye of the viewer immediately.

He blinked twice and returned to reality when he heard a voice try to answer his question:

"Whatever you say Potter. Can't you see that I'm checking all the compartments? Something we should be doing together as we were asked, to control that everyone has changed into their uniforms. But of course, the thought of helping hasn't even crossed your mind." She had been practising this cold attitude towards him all summer and longed for it to be effective. She turned, for the first time in nearly three months, to inspect his reaction and realised it had worked. She tried to maintain a straight face but couldn't help her stomach from doing all the butterflies' routine.

Hearing her comment and feeling hurt, James grabbed her arm and dragged her near him. She looked at him with clear surprise in her eyes. He had never touched her before, at least not willingly.

"All right, Evans, I'll check the rest of the compartments and you can go back to your friends. But later, and don't give me that look. Later, we're talking want it or not."

She frowned, wondering where this genuine concern for her came from, but walked away, back to her place in the train, with her friends.

It wasn't very far away, so she arrived quickly. She opened the door noisily and was suddenly received with a vague odour of chocolate and intense chatter.

"Hey Lily! About time you came to visit us!" Lily sat next to Cassie, smiling warmly. Cassie smiled back at her radiantly. She had a beautiful face, with big baby blue eyes and everlasting eyelashes. She had small full lips and her hair was incredibly dark, like the night. She wore it up to her shoulders, with long bangs, which just made stand out even more her eyes. She had a round face and body. "What have you been doing all this time? Any encounters with a certain marauder, who happens to be the new Head Boy, who also happens to be the Griffindor Quiditch captain, who you..."

"I think what she's trying to say rather slowly is if you've seen James." Finished Sam for Cassie with an enormous smile plastered on her face. She then asked: "Am I right Cass?"

Sam was probably the most simple physically from the five friends, but that hadn't stopped her from having one of the most admired boys from her year. She had been dating Tobey Sullivan for over a year and people were used to see them attached. She had small brown eyes, a straight nose and thin lips. Her hair was curly and all over the place. Her figure was petite.

"Well, of course you're right! Can't you ever let me finish?" pouted Cassie.

"Ah, but you know you love it!" continued Sam, before hugging her still pouting friend.

"Okay people!" cut in Mandy, "We are getting off the point! Lils, please, could you answer the question?"

"You are rather impatient today Mandy, something wrong?" drifted again Lily, trying to change the subject.

"Well, you know, the normal. I'm excited about the last year, terrified about going to the outside world and Lucas dumped me yesterday," replied Mandy quickly, with a tear travelling down her face to her quivering lips. Mandy was a pure blonde, with straight hair that reached her hips. She had chocolate brown eyes and an incredible smile. She was quiet tall and had an athletic figure.

"What happened?" asked shocked Bethany, the last girl of the group. She was a brunette, with waves down to her shoulder. Her eyes were green blended with brown. She had an attractive figure, which she normally hid behind her robes.

All the girls moved instantly to surround Mandy and try to hug her at the same time. The girl managed a small smile and started to narrate her story:

"Well, you know, it's really not very complicated. He just said that this was his last year and that he wanted to have fun, and wanted me to have fun too..."

"Bastard," murmured Sam. Everyone agreed with her silently and begged Mandy to continue.

"Well, he said he really liked me but that he didn't feel our relationship was going anywhere and just wished to stop things now before we got too attached. But that's the problem!" Mandy started crying again. "I have already gotten too attached!"

"Oh Merlin, that is just such a pathetic excuse," muttered Bethany. "Mandy, listen to me, he doesn't deserve you. And he's right; we are going to have so much fun this year without him. I know it doesn't feel that way right now. But I promise it will get better."

"Yeah, I hope so," Mandy said unsurely. "But I really want to think about something else. So Lily, can you tell us what happened? Please?"

Lily looked surprised for a moment, but then comprehension filled her eyes and started talking.

Not much time later, she finished her tale and stared at her friends' reactions. Cassie was the first to talk:

"Well, you know what you have to do now. It's the perfect occasion to make him realise you are over him."

"Even if you're not," pointed out Sam.

"Ah, but he doesn't have to know that, you see," added Cassie mysteriously.

"Well that IS the whole point. That he believes you Lily. You up for some lying?" inquired Bethany, quite concerned.

"It should be pretty easy, I suppose." Lily said, not very convinced.

"Remember how much he hurt you Lils," Mandy added. Everyone turned her head at her. They hadn't been expecting a contribution on the conversation. "You have to stop letting him."

"I know, I know," assured Lily. "I just wish it was easier."

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Some time and many chocolate frogs later, the girls were laughing uncontrollably, all signs of any serious conversation gone.

"So what if I did?" asked Sam, between breaths.

"Well, that would be incredibly disgusting!" replied Lily between horrified and curious.

"I don't think that's the word. More like incredibly kinky!" added Mandy.

"It was kinky alright!" assured Sam, and the five girls continued laughing uncontrollably.

Unexpectedly, the door of the compartment opened and in its place appeared the head of a famous James Potter. He had his head cocked to one side, so his shaggy hair fell on his face. He had an eyebrow raised questioningly:

"Good morning ladies, what's the joke and why did you all stop laughing?" he said smiling.

"None of your business Potter," cut Sam.

"Hey!" he looked confused at the five girls glaring at him. His smile vanished, and in its place appeared a frown. "What's up with the hostility?"

"Potter, you don't like us, and we dislike you even more. So please don't look so surprised if we don't want you here. I think it's pretty obvious why." Bethany said.

"Well, I'm willing to change that girls, really" a snort came from Mandy's direction. James, trying to make conversation, added "Mandy! How's it going with Lucas?"

Abruptly, Mandy started crying again. James looked even more confused. Lily grabbed his arm and took him out of the compartment before he could do any more damage.

"Ok Potter, here I am, what do you want?" questioned Lily. However, the boy was still looking at the compartment's door, wondering in his own world what had he done wrong. As intrusive as ever, he asked. Lily's face softened and she tried to clarify, without giving too many details.

"They are not together anymore, so please, don't mention him again." Her face became hard again. "Now, what do you want?"

James looked at her for the first time in the last five minutes and remembered why he had gone there in the first place:

"We have to talk," he said simply. Lily looked at him with tired eyes and nodded. "About what you said in the train last year."

"Look," explained Lily. "What I said doesn't matter anymore. I don't feel that way. I'm over you." She turned to the door, but James grabbed her arm for the second time that morning. She slowly turned again to look at him, helpless.

"Evans, you said you loved me. I don't think you can be over that so easily." he tried again.

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter," she said with disgust. "I did not love you, I never could. I just fooled myself in thinking that. And it's not so easily. It's been two years now. I think it's more than enough, don't you?"

"What if I said I liked you now?" he dared. "Would you still not want me ?"

Lily stared at him. When he thought she would not answer, she whispered a response, which was nearly inaudible:

"The problem is that I would never believe you."

"Why not?" he inquired puzzled.

"Well, how could I?" she raised her voice. "After everything you've done, how could I?" she looked him in the eye, challenging him to say otherwise. To be bold enough and state he had never hurt her willingly. That those tears he had seen so many times fall from her eyes were never meant to leave their home in the first place. That all those remarks and jokes had been meant for her to laugh at them, not to be laughed at.

Of course, James was left without words. He knew it was true. Everything. But he couldn't take it back. There were too many things to take back. He had committed too many mistakes.

This time, when Lily recoiled, he did nothing. He was left there alone, in the middle of the corridor, thinking, and wondering, what could've been.

He was incredibly confused, as he had been all summer thinking about her. He had thought that returning to school and talking to her to clear things would change this. But it hadn't. And now, she didn't like him anymore. How ironic.

Comments are incredibly appreciated:)

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2. Low

Low

It's cool you didn't want me,

Sometimes you can't go back,

Why'd you have to go and make a mess like that? -Kelly Clarkson

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The night of the return, James lied in his bed, thinking, like he had done in the past few months. He hadn't been able to sleep much. His guiltiness and regret hadn't let him.

The room was dark; the moon was new, so no light passed through the castle's windows. The rest of the marauders had been sleeping for a while, not knowing their friend was incredibly jealous of them. He could hear Sirius snoring quietly, like every other night. This fact had lulled James to sleep many times before, but it didn't seem to have the same effect any more. Peter was whimpering, probably having one of his nightmares. When his friends asked, he would say he didn't remember, but James suspected that he did. James was convinced that his friend had horribly dark images passing through his subconscious every night, but that he was too afraid to admit them. Remus, on the other side, just breathed loudly and slowly. However, the nights before the full moon, he would cry in his sleep. It seemed as he dreamt about the fearful night when he was bit. Sirius and James didn't dare to ask, and Peter just didn't notice.

His thoughts had been trying to avoid the path where they were being lead to unwillingly: Lily Evans, and that last train ride before the summer. James frowned at the thought, and put his hands to his eyes, attempting to fight himself to sleep. But it was useless. He punched the pillow, and no sound came from it. He turned to face the ceiling, which showed his pride for his team. It had a photo, which had been enlarged magically of the last year's final game, where Griffindor had won the cup. It showed the whole team excited. They were all dancing, hugging each other, and looking to the middle of the photo, where James stood, holding the cup with pride, and frowning when Sirius tried to snatch it from him. James smiled at this sight.

He was really thankful for having the Marauders. He new they would all stick together for better or for worse, event though that sounded more like marriage than friendship.

James stretched in his bed, touching with the tip of his toes the end of the bed. He had grown exceptionally over the past two years, which made jokes from his parents about this constant. He had been quite short when he was a child. That had been part of the reason why he had started to fly: it gave him courage. He felt more imposing, less like a jumble of bones, and more like a confident teenager. Quidditch had helped him get taller, and now, even though Sirius still towered above him, he wasn't very far behind.

He wasn't oblivious to the fact that girls seemed to love this in boys. More than one had told him it made them feel protected, safe. He understood perfectly that most girls craved for him. However he wasn't so proud of it anymore. It hadn't led him to anything good, after all.

He was lying there, with only his boxers on, as it was still September and the weather was still quite warm. He thought about what Lily had said earlier, about how she didn't love him, anymore. He smirked, wondering what she would do if she saw him like that. He had been hurt when she admitted this fact, but, after hours of thinking, he had come to the conclusion that it was better for both. He would try to be friendly however, as he wasn't up for any fights about their work as Heads. His smile vanished as he thought, for the millionth time that night, of what had happened.

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James was looking for a certain redhead through the compartments of the train. Ten minutes ago, his friend Sirius had had a wonderful idea to end his sixth year at school. True, Remus hadn't seemed very approving, and sure, neither Sirius nor him had really thought about it for too long. But it seemed like a good idea at the moment, and he wasn't going to let his head ruin it.

He found her in the prefect's compartment, all alone, finishing some annotations. He couldn't have planned it better himself. He smirked at this thought, and stopped to look at her. She was still wearing her uniform, but she had taken her robes off. She was leaning against the table, her back against him. This position made it easier for James to catch a glimpse of her thighs, rosy and silky.

Through his eyes, Lily had always been a geek, since the first day of school, when her hand had rose up the first in all the questions and she had answered all of them with an immense delight. Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact that he had done the same but had only been picked up to answer one question, and on top of that, he'd answered it wrongly. He knew he couldn't judge her by his first impression, but he couldn't help it when the rest of impressions he got where the same.

No one really liked her, apart from her group of friends, who always stuck together and were nearly never seen apart. But that morning, thanks to Sirius' comment, he looked at her with a different perception.

He slowly approached her, being careful so she wouldn't notice. When he was just some centimetres away from her, he slowly circled her waist with his arms, and he grinned when she gasped. She didn't move, obviously noticing who he was. His mouth slowly approached her ear, and he whispered what he wanted to do to her. Lily could only blush deeply.

He started kissing her neck lightly. He was completely aware of what he was doing to her. Her breath became louder and quicker. He was working his work through her. His plan was working.

However, suddenly, she turned herself, and pushed him violently. Her expression had changed completely. Her face showed anger, amazement and tears. James scowled at the girl in front of him and grabbed her arm when he saw her trying to slap him again:

“What do you think you're doing?!” he demanded.

“No, the question really is what do you think you are doing, Potter!” she exclaimed. He realised this was the first time she had called him by his surname. He had always been James for her.

“I have no idea what you're talking about.” He replied, trying to keep his cool.

“Please Potter,” she spat. “Give me some credit. You were trying to shag me. And don't you dare deny it, cause you said so yourself!”

“Why would I deny it?” he asked surprised. “You seemed pretty eager about it just a few seconds ago.

“How dare you!” James could see she now was extremely furious. Her face was flushed, but this time, it was from anger. “I know you were just trying to use me! You were using the fact that I like you to manipulate him. I knew you were scum, but this is a whole new level. How could you?” she glared at him with disgust. She had already let the fact sink in, and was calming down, feeling instead repulsed and let down.

He suddenly realised what she was implying. He felt ashamed of himself. It really was dirty of him to have done such a thing:

“Look Evans, I'm sorry, I didn't think.” He excused himself.

“Well, that is quite obvious.” She cleared, quite shocked by his response. “ But being sorry is never enough is it? I'm sorry that I love you, but I still do.” She looked at his face, which was covered in surprise and disbelief. She smiled. “You didn't know that, did you? Well, I do, but sometimes, I think I must be a masochist, because you never smile my way, or send me a compliment, or just talk with me in a civilized manner. No, you just treat me like dirt. Well, I must be, if I let you treat me that way.” He opened his eyes in surprise and shaked his head. But she ignored this, and continued with her little monologue, letting everything that had been going through her mind the last year and a half. “Because, you know, sometimes you make it hard to love you. You really do.”

Silence fell in the small room, while Lily tried to catch her breath and James tried to catch his thoughts. Eventually, he opened his mouth:

“You love me?” he asked, still in shock.

“You are such a jerk.” She said simply, not believing that after her talk, that was the only detail he had mastered to listen. She headed for the door. She opened it, and when she was about to leave, he told her to stop.

“Why?” she questioned, willing for him to confess his undying love for her, but knowing he never would, and feeling bitter about it.

“Well, do you?” he asked again impatiently.

“I can't believe your nerve” she answered shocked. “ Didn't I just tell you I did?”

“Well, yes. But I don't really think it's true.”

“You are unbelievable. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have passed the humiliation of telling you. I have my pride, you know? I'm sorry if me loving you makes you feel guilty about what you've done, but regret should have butted in a long time ago. You are just another guy. Okay, you have the looks, the popularity and the brains. But, if you take that away, what are you left with? You are so shallow. And you laugh at me because I like knowing things. Obviously, the ignorant laughs at what he doesn't know. Because you don't know me. You think you do, but I'm not as shallow as you are. I have layers. Hundreds of them! But it would be too much effort for you to try to uncover them. That's why people don't bother to get to know me. It's too much work. But I can assure you, that when you get to know me, it's worth it. It really is, because I can be funny, I can be bold, I can be serious... I can be whatever you want, if you would just let me.” She stopped talking abruptly, as the train got to a stop. She hadn't moved from her position, so the door was still very close. She looked at him once more, and left.

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Okay, so here is a bit more of an explanation of Lily's and James' history. I will be doing more flashbacks, but not in the next chapter. Please review so I can know what you think.

Thanks!

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3. Rest in Pieces

Rest in Pieces

Look at me; my depth perception must be off again,

Cause this hurts deeper than I thought it did.

It has not healed with time. - Saliva

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"Could you just stop doing that?" snapped James, aware of all the prefects staring at him quizzically. Everyone but her looked at him. She was too busy mumbling insults under her breath, trying to organise her things into a neat pile and get them inside her bag. Meanwhile, James kept talking to her. Actually, shouting would probably be a better way of describing it.

They had just finished another prefect's meetings, the forth one in the month, and Lily had been ignoring James completely. When she did not do this, she would just contradict him in front of the prefects. She had to say for herself that the prefects had thought of James as a waste of space in the first place, but he just felt incredibly humiliated.

Remus Lupin, a prefect and James' friend, tried to take away the tension present in every meeting, but it was near to impossible. In this moment he was gliding his hand through his hair in frustration. He had tried to drive the students away from the confrontation, but they just would not budge, even if it were not the first time that they had heard the Heads battle. Remus noticed that teenagers had a tendency to meddle in people's business. He rolled his eyes at this thought and gave a significant look to James, asking for forgiveness. James responded with a small smile and turned his head back to face Lily.

“Well? You are just going to start to ignore me, after embarrassing me again in front of the whole school?” James tried for the millionth time. Lily snorted at this. “What's your problem now, Miss. Know It All? You do realize you are being a coward, not facing me, right?”

At this, Lily finally changed her position to face him. She breathed deeply, looked at him with no emotion present on the surface, even though she was tired of these conversations:

“Potter, don't you dare call me coward when you bugged me about liking you just so you didn't have to deal with it seriously. I think I've made it clear that I want to talk to you as least as possible. You must also know that it is definitely not my fault if I have to correct you in every word you say. You humiliate yourself alone. You don't need me for that.” Lily attempted to convince him, not succeeding in any way. Saying this she escaped the room just in time so that her emotions wouldn't slip through her thin façade. She hated doing that: ignoring him and acting as if she didn't care. But caring just hurt too much.

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Bethany was studying in the library, wishing to be out in the sun with her friends. It was just too bad that she had the biggest conscience and couldn't help read over her textbook for the hundredth time for the test they had the following day in Ancient Runes. Her friends were used to this demeanour. She knew they loved her, even if she was kind of a geek. But she was surprisingly quite proud of it.

All her friends achieved excellent grades, but she was the best in every class, and she needed to work twice as hard as the rest to maintain this status. Many people laughed at her, but she had developed an antidote for all this hating: she just zoomed out of the world. She didn't even realize she did so.

It was getting extremely hot in the library, as Miss. Howells had obviously made her warming charm too powerful. Bethany perceived many of the old woman's small details, as she did of most people. She didn't like being out of her robes at school, but it was Sunday after all. She inspected the whole library with her eyes to make sure no one was watching, and took them off, revealing a pair of shorts and a white, plain t-shirt. After this, she was comfortable enough to keep on studying.

Time passed incredibly fast and it was already starting to get dark when she heard someone whistling behind her. She took her gaze of the book and turned her head to meet the eyes of Sirius Black, who stared back, startled. He opened and closed his mouth, which reminded Bethany of a fish. She frowned and looked at her watch. It was already past curfew. She gasped shocked. Bethany started collecting her books quickly, afraid of being caught so late at night. However, she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Meadows! What a nice surprise!” he said with faked enthusiasm. “I never imagined you out at such late hours.” He looked her up and Bethany flushed, wishing she had her robes on again. He couldn't help but notice what the robes hid. He was surprised to see that she actually had curves. Instantly, he decided to make Bethany his next pray.

“Good night, Black.” She said, showing she was well mannered enough as to not kick his ass into the next decade. “I didn't realize it was so late. I'll be going now.” She walked past him and didn't even turn back once. She hadn't realized Sirius' plans. After all, she was quite innocent, or so people thought.

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The next night, Lily and James were fulfilling their rounds. Lily was surprised by the quietness of his secret crush. He had been silent for the past half an hour. Normally, he would make witty comments about the people they found in closets and classrooms, making Lily daydream about them together. She knew it was incredibly wrong, and that she had to forget him. She reasoned with herself that after this last year, they probably wouldn't see each other very often, or at all. She missed him every summer, only being apart from him scarcely more than two months. She was aware that, after graduation, she would suffer terribly if her feelings didn't subside.

She finally gathered up the courage to ask him what was going through his head. When James heard her, he smiled, surprised by the girl's genuine concern. He really believed she hated him, and was incredibly sorry. Especially since he was starting to get to know her and his perception of her had altered completely. However, this didn't mean in any way that he thought she was aloud to intrude in his privacy, and he made her know quite civilized:

“Evans, it's a really long story, and it would probably bore you to death.”

“Well,” she insisted. “I know from previous experiences that to open up with a stranger,” he looked at her frowning and she added:” To put it some way, is always better, as you get an objective opinion.”

“Okay, I'll tell you.” he said without resistance. Maybe, he thought, this way she would stop ignoring him. “But just because I know you won't give up until I tell you” he continued, now grinning. Lily pouted slightly at this comment, but let it pass, as now she was extremely curious.

“Okay, you know how Sirius and I are best friends?” he asked, and Lily nodded, not wanting to interrupt. “Well, we've always had the same philosophy in dating: basically to leave them when you get bored, which usually happens around the second month of the relationship. Also, when not dating, we would have one-night stands and be okay with it.” At this, Lily looked stern. Even though she already knew this, hearing it first hand, made it much more real.

“Remus prefers dating seriously and Peter…Well, he doesn't date much. But, the problem is that I've changed. I don't want to date knowing it will end pretty soon. I suppose because of certain incidents at the end of last year, including your talk, “Lily grimaced. “I don't want that anymore. But Sirius just says I've betrayed him. In reality, I think he just is a bit lost. We used to think alike, and he doesn't like changes.” When Jams finished, he looked at Lily expectantly. She stayed quiet for a few seconds, absorbing all the information and trying to find a disinterested tone to match her opinion:

“Well, personally, I just think you've matured and realized there is more in life. Sirius is yet to give this step. But he will. He must. Meanwhile, you just have to be patient, I think.” She concluded.

James stared at her, and she started feeling the heat go up her neck and settle in her cheeks.

“What?” she asked. It took a minute or two for James to answer, as he was still dazed by her intelligent conclusion.

“Nothing. I just wasn't expecting your theory to help me at all. I'm just marvelled, that's all.” She opened her mouth in mock hurt, and slapped him on the arm. James raised his eyebrows at this movement, and they both started laughing together, for the first time in seven years.

Who would have told Lily that to get James' attention she just had to ignore him? Boys were definitely too simple.

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Lunch break was about to end, and the marauders were talking animatedly by the lake, in their favourite spot.

“Well, guess what”” Sirius asked excitedly.

“You've found a new girl to get?” Remus said, knowingly.

“Remus!” Sirius whined. “You're no fun! Now I'm so not telling you who she is.” Sirius pouted.

“Well, you did tell us to guess.” Peter reasoned.

“But normal people, when asked this question, would just ask what.” Sirius insisted. “Of course, normal people don't turn into wolves every new moon. I think.” He said, more to himself than to his friends, who just laughed at his silly comeback.

“Okay Padfoot, I will bite: who is she?” James tried to make Sirius happy.

“I'm not telling you now!” Sirius said childishly.

“Hey! That's not fair” James was now curious, as much as he'd hate to admit it. “ You said you wouldn't tell Moony!”

“Okay, okay.” Sirius approached James slowly, trying to look mysterious. James just looked at him quizzically and impatiently, not knowing what his friend was up to now. Finally, Sirius got to James's ear and put his mouth close to it. James leaped.

“What are you doing!?”

“Hey! I was going to tell you in the ear so Remus wouldn't hear” Sirius clarified. “ As much as you love yourself, not everybody does, Prongs. Sorry pal, but I prefer long legs and breasts.”

James grinned goofily at this.

“Okay,” Sirius persisted. “ I'll tell all of you. Moony, you should feel thankful.”

“Sure, sure, just spill.” Even Remus was starting to get anxious.

“You know Bethany Meadows?” They all nodded. “Well, Bethany Meadows.”

“No. Way.” Remus said instantly.

“Wow man, this is going to be one long chase. “ James pointed out.

“Why do you care Moony? ”Sirius asked, ignoring James completely, and pissing him slightly off.

“She is not like the rest Padfoot. You will end up hurting her, and she doesn't deserve it. But I know you won't listen to me, so just be careful.”

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Here's the third chapter. Just thought of adding something more than just J/L for a change. Please R&R, for my sake. Thanks!

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4. Forever Love

Forever Love

When you smile,
With those eyes,
Baby it's like,
You place a finger on my heart.- Anna Nalick

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Lily was sitting in the third row. People thought she was a nerd because she got good grades. But she was sitting in the third row. She always had.

Most people who didn't know her thought this way. Not only of her, but of all her friends. Some more than others. They had the reputation because they were good girls, and intelligent ones, and they hadn't been able to change it in the past seven years.

Lily was thinking of this while she secretively doodeled on a piece of parchment. At first, it had been incredibly frustrating, trying to make people believe that she didn't study as hard as they thought, that she had a life. After a while, however, it just became downright annoying.

She was sitting beside Sam, who was laughing discretely at Lily's past drawings. Lily glanced her way and snorted. She couldn't help but get bored, especially in Ancient Runes. She had no idea why she had stayed in that class. Probably because at first she had ignored the fact that it was what they called the “Sleeping Time” class. Really original.

She removed her sight from her piece of parchment to scan the class quickly. Wherever she looked, there were closed eyes, people talking and paying no attention whatsoever. Mr. Cranium wasn't respected much, to say the least. Lily partly felt sympathy for him, but also an irrational anger, because his students didn't show any tipe of consideration for him.

Her eyes suddenly stopped when she caught a glimpse of that familiar unraveled hair. She couldn't help it. He was sitting one row before her, but he was leaning backkwards, talking with his friend Sirius who was just behind him. His eyes had a mischevious glint, making sure everyone knew what they were up to: a new prank.

She didn't even bother looking at the rest of the Marauders. Sure, they were extremely attractive too. Even Peter, the smallest of the group, had his crowd. Not that Lily understood why.

But her admiration was such for James Potter, even after all these years of torments, that she just had to stare at him. She didn't understand herself really. She thought she might be a masochist, liking the one person who had hurt her so deeply.

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Two years before, a lankier Lily was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, looking for a certain boy who had been in her thoughts lately. She looked at him with pure adoration in her eyes, not understanding how Merlin had created such a wonder and had allowed her to see it. In her eyes, James Potter was perfect.

She had told her friends some months before, finally admitting her feelings to them. They had only shrugged and said that they didn't understand what she saw in him, but that it was okay with them. When Lily had heard this, she couldn't believe it. For her, it was pretty obvious from where her devotion came from. ¿How could anyone think any other way?

However, it had taken her months to decide to tell him. He was part of the popular crowd, and had never even acknowledged her. In her heart, Lily thought deeply that she wasn't enough for him. Not pretty enogh, not intelligent enough, not funny enough… She could see perfectly why he dated all those other girls and never even darted a glance her way: they were all better for him. She understood that she didn't stand a chance.

However, that sunny October morning, Lily had been caught gawking at him by no other than Sirius Black. She had immediately turned away and blushed deeply. She hated terribly her easyness to blush. Nevertheless, she had looked again, and had found Sirius laughing and James winking her way. She turned around, sure that he was winking at his newest date, but there was no one behind. She flushed even more and decided that that day would be the day that she confessed her crush on him to James Potter.

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So there she was, in search of her Marauder. After telling her friends that she was finally going to give the big step, they had decided that first, she should get ready. So they had applied make-up, had done her hair, and had dressed her in such a manner that they thought James could never think abouy saying no.

She finally found him with his friends near the lake. They were talking animatetly with some girls, and Lily felt jealous instantly. She approached them quitly and slowly. When she was about scarcely a meter away from them, Remus Lupin, one of the four handsome Marauder, noticed her and turned her way, with a polite smile and questioning eyes. Lethargicly, the rest of the clique did the same thing, until every single one of them was facing her way, making her blush and play with the hem of her skirt. Finally, after a long uncomfortable silence were Lily was left without words, not knowing how to act in front of all these popular people, looking lost and confused, like a small girl, Remus helped her:

“Lily,you wanted something?” he said nicely.

Lily finally awoke from her stupor, and managaded to squeak a nearly inaudible yes. They continued staring at her, waiting for a reason, not used to shyness. She started talking again, controlling her voice this time and making it sound kind of confident:

“Well, I was wondering if James would mind if I share a few words with him.” They all waited. “Alone.”

“What do you have to tell Jamie that you can't tell the rest of us?” James' new girlfriend asked rather annoyingly.

“We-ll. “ she stammered, all assurance long gone. “It's kind of personal.”

“And why exactly would you have to say anything personal to James.” The girl started again. At this, Remus, always the considerate one, helped Lily.

“James, just go and hear what she has to say.” At this, James nodded and followed Lily a few metres away. When they reached a stop, James looked at her expectantly, glancing quickly every few seconds at his group of friends, where he belonged. When he was alone, he would never admit it, but he had always felt alone. Finally, Lily decided to talk:

“Well, you see James, I think that…” she frowened and decided to start again, after all, she didn't think it, she knew it. “ This is difficult for me to say. “ She looked his way and he nodded seriously. “ I like you.”

There it was, finally out. She let a deep breath out which she didn't realize until then she had been holding. She examined James nerviously, afraid of his opinion, but even more curious. What she wasn't expecting was what came next:

“So you would like to go out with me?” he asked, smiling. She hadn't expected it to be so simple.

“Well, yes!” she answered excitedly. “I would love to!”

Then, he turned to where his friends where standing, and shouted in their direction:

“Do you ear that guys? Lily Evans, Queen of the Dorks, wants me to go out with her. Pathetic.” At this comment, all the gang started laughing hysterically. Even Remus cracked a smile, betraying Lily's trust. They hadn't been really friends, but had talked when they bumped into each other in the library and now at prefects meetings. She couldn't believe she was being laughed at.

“Look James.” She started, trying to defend herself, but failing miserably. “ I just thought you should know. Hat you would like to know.”

“Why Evans? You thought I would want to be with a geek like you? Well, don't think, cause not even studying si going to make you good at it.” By then, the whole clique had advanced to where the two were standing, so they were able to listen to everything, and laugh at the appropiate time.

They were doing just that, when Lily decided she had had enough. The little pride she had left told her to leave, before things got any worse. So she turned, not being noticed as they were all roaring with laughter at James' new joke, which Lily hadn't been paying attention too, and started walking to the entrance. When she was sure that she wouldn't be seen, she started running, and didn't stop until she arrived to her room and sprung into her bed. She lied there, facing the now damp pillow.

She stayed like this some time, thinking hardly about what had happened. How could he have mocked her in such a way? What had she ever done to him to deseve such treatment? Shouldn't people feel pride, and not disgust, when another person admits their feelings towards them, even they are not reciprocated? She did not know the answer to these and many other questions, but she did know that she had thought of James as perfect for the las time. She had finally seen the light and sure, it had been painful, but it had been necessary too.

An hour later, her friends found her, finally asleep, peacefully. They had heard what had happened in the corridors of the school, where the word had already travelled, like it always does. They quietly threw away all the tissues lying around, and tucked Lily to sleep, waiting impaciently and anxious to hear her thoughts, and ready to craddle her in their arms if necessary. They were her friends, after all.

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Lily came back from her memories to find herself again in Ancient Runes. She had matured since then and wouldn't commit the sames mixtakes. That incident had been followed by many others, not one of them worth remembering. James had made it his target to tease her and degrade her, and he had succeeded.

Lily had been through a phase were she even thought that she hated him, but had conclusively admitted that the only thing she hated, that she was capable of hating, was loving him. She did not know why. It was her prerogative.

James noticed a pair of eyes bore into his neck, and turned to see who the intruder was. He found himself staring to a surprised Lily. She hadn't acknowledged the fact that she was still looking at him. He smiled a half smile briefly, but not unkindly. She flushed, which she didn't even notice anymore, and raised her eyebrows.

They stayed like that, looking at each other seriously, not minding the rest of the world, until Sirius shoved James. The contact was broken, therefore braking the magic. James frowned and looked at Sirius, slightly mad, not knowing why.

“What?” Sirius commenced, in his usual form. “ Why are you looking at me with that face if I'm stopping you from looking at her so you can look at me? I would be thankful of such an honour, but don't worry, that's what friends are for.”

James couldn't help but snort and crack a smile, leaving a grinning Sirius. What he didn't know, however, was that Sirius was thinking about him, and Lily, together, and didn't like the thought one bit. No sir, not one tiny bit at all.

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Okay, so here I am again. I'm sorry for the delay, but I didn't get many reviews either…(hint,hint). I'm kind of in a bad mood, because I had finished this chapter before, and was ready to post it, but I had to do something else before, and when I got back, my father had turned off the computer, so half of the chapter was erased. So I had to rewrite it. It's not even the same. I've changed many small details.

So, until this chapter, it was more of a getting to know James' and Lily's past, to understand how they gor where they are. Obviously, this process isn't finished, but luckily, next chapter will have more plot.

So stick with me please? You know I love you all, right? (grins)

See you in the reviews you're going to give me!

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5. Mr. Curiosity

Mr Curiosity

See this catastrophic event,
It wasn't meant to mean no harm,
But to think there's nothing wrong is a problem. -Jason Mraz

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Four of the five girls were talking animatedly, heading to lunch. The fifth, Sam, was again spending time with his ridiculously perfect boyfriend. While Lily was talking to Mandy about their love life: currently nonexistent, Cassie and Bethany were discussing what they should do the next Hogsmade weekend, falling two steps behind the dreamy girls:

“Maybe it's time we visit the Shrieking Shack. I've always been kind of curious.” suggested Cassie.

“You are always curious Cass." replied Bethany, unsure. “Who knows what, or who, inhabits such a gloomy place. I can't see the attractiveness.”

“Exactly my point!” exclaimed Cassie, a little too enthusiastically, causing looks upon her.

“No one knows what is in there, because it's dangerous. I say we continue going, like we've always done until you heard the Marauders murmuring about the Shrieking Shack, to Hogsmade,” argued Bethany.

“You've said so yourself: we always do that. I'm interested to know what the Marauders have to do with that place.” Continued Cassie stubbornly.

“ Interested? Don't you want to say more like snoopy?” joked Bethany.

“Please?” Cassie tried again.

“ Curiosity killed the cat.” Bethany blatantly said.

“Pretty please? With a cherry on top?” pleaded Cassie as she started to get desperate.

Cassandra O'Neal, as her parents had named her, had abhorred her name since she knew she would have to have it forever. Since then, she had grown to dislike rules, not breaking them specially, but taking any chance she had to criticize them, as she thought they didn't let you “fly”, as she so metaphorically put it. She was somewhat strange, as was commonly said. In reality, however, she
was just extremely eager to know more. She believed fully in the phrase “the more you know, the more you don't know” and applied it to any situation. Just like then.

Cassie was just about to ask for a vote to the group, when someone stepped into her sight, blocking her way and facing Bethany, who had not noticed this, and kept thinking about ways to convince her friends.

“Excuse you Black, you are invading my private space.” Said Cassie disturbed, finally realizing who had interrupted her so viciously.

“O'Neal, nice day, huh? Don't you miss your friends Evans and Darwin?” he said this while shoving Cassie brusquely so he was standing where she was previously. “Bethany! It's so good to see you. You have any plans for this weekend?”

“Actually…”

“Excellent!” he didn't let her finish. He placed one arm on her shoulders, which she tried to shove off without avail, and stretched his
other arm into the horizon for dramatic effect. “Just imagine; me, you, and Zonko's.”

“You and I.” She corrected automatically, and cursed herself for being such a grammar nerd.

“Exactly! See you then.” He removed his arm, winked at her and went in the other direction.

Instantly, the three friends who had been walking in front of her, supposedly having their own conversation, stopped and turned, looking
shocked at Bethany.

“What the fuck was that?” asked Lily, using these words for emphasis.

“I have no idea,” confessed Bethany. “ I think I kind of have a date with Black.”

“Kind of? You must be kidding. Is this a joke? Because if it is, I can assure you it's not funny.” Said Mandy, unbelievably.

“I'm afraid it's not. Black just didn't let me say no.” Bethany repeated.

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“You are crazy, my love.” Said a quite astonished and smirking Lucas to his girlfriend Sam, who had just announced to him their amazing plan, according to her, of going to the Shrieking Shack.

“It's interesting. Besides, Cassie really wants to go.” she debated. “And as Beth has a date with Black and she's too nice to cancel now, it's the perfect occasion.”

“But I don't understand why she can't just go to him and say she doesn't want to go.” He admitted, pushing himself upwards.

They were lying on the Quidditch pitch, side by side. They had been through a lot that last year, and you now could not find a more harmonized couple. They were, as her friends put it, perfect for each other. They always knew what the other was thinking or doing, even if they were apart. It scared most people. Others just thought it was incredibly romantic.

“I told you. We have no idea what Black is up to, but Beth said she can't just cancel after saying yes, which she didn't do. Black just assumed. Black is just going to start fibrillating when he realizes Beth is not how he expected: like the rest. How I wish I could see his face at that moment.” She started daydreaming. Lucas just laughed.

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“So here we are girls. You ready?” asked Cassie, looking to her sides, where three of her friends stood grinning.

It was six o'clock, which means it had already darkened. They were standing just in front of a huge mansion, grey and black, towering above them, like an evil giant. The windows were broken, opening and closing because of the wind, crashing loudly. The house had been abandoned a long time before, no one knew why, but the rumours said that something terrible had happened inside.

Around the house, to demonstrate how long it had been unoccupied, stood the green plants, in a fight with each other to climb up the walls first. The grass had not been cut in such a long time that the girls had problems walking through it, as it reached their thighs.

Even in it's gloomy form, the girls were not frightened, but anxious to access to its secrets.

They looked at each other with expectation, sensing that something important was going to happen to them that night. They just didn't fathom how much it would change their lives. How much it would change them.

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“Here we are, Bethany. What do you think?” Sirius and Bethany were standing just in front of Zonko's. Sirius had a glint of admiration in his eyes, while Bethany was looking longingly at the window next door, where the bookshop stood. Sirius, smiling, turned his head to look at Bethany for a response.

“It's great Black.” She tried, struggling to sound enthusiastic but failing miserably.

That morning, Bethany had woken up because of some kind of spell made by Sirius, which had told her it was time for her “fabulous date with the one and only Sirius Black” and that she should “get dressed for a great day”. Finally, the spell had confessed that she only had ten minutes for this and had exploded, filling the room with tiny pieces of God only knew what.

Bethany had lazily stood up from her bed, cursing her friends' sleeping form inwardly. She rushed to get herself ready and jumped down the stairs, were she had found a very grinning Sirius. She had saluted him awkwardly and they had headed for Hogsmade, with not much to talk about. That's what she had thought at the beginning, but Sirius had immediately started talking about himself, not even pacing to breath, in case someone would interrupt him.

Bethany only learnt this way that he had to leave early, as he had some business with the rest of the Marauders and that he wanted to buy something at Zonko's to upset Peeves. She wasn't sure what, but she really didn't care. She thanked God for letting her daydream freely while he was talking.

What she didn't know therefore, was that Sirius' conversation had actually been quite interesting. Sirius was known for not having any secrets. He was just like an open book. He had been saying how James and Lily were starting to get along, but that Lily should be careful still, as James had not changed that much.

Sirius was saying this in hopes that Bethany would listen and tell Lily, and that she would leave his friend alone. Sirius was getting tired of finding James thinking too much about the redhead. James hadn't realised he was starting to get infatuated, but Sirius knew him better. He was terrified, though he would not confess this to anyone.

Sirius and James were like brothers. They were more than that even. James had always been there, helping Sirius with his stupidities, and Sirius didn't want this to change. He knew he was being incredibly selfish, but he didn't care. No t then, at least.

As Bethany said nothing, he asked her about Zonko's, and surprisingly, she didn't seem very captivated.

“Is anything wrong Bethany?” he asked, genuinely concerned. He looked down at her, and noticed quite surprised how petite she was. She only reached his shoulder barely. She was arching her face upwards, looking at him with her beautiful eyes. At that moment, the way the sun was hitting them; they had taken an amazing green colour. The flecks of brown were just hardly noticeable. He adverted right then how her eyes seemed to change colour, depending on the light, and was fascinated.

Bethany was biting her lip; conscious about how she was supposed to answer. She didn't want to lie to him. Not because of who he was, but because of who she was. She didn't lie.

“I just don't really like pranks.” She tried. Sirius immediately emerged from his stupor.

“Why not?” he questioned, more curious than annoyed, unexpectedly.

“Well,” she tried to be reasonable. “ I just don't have fun hurting other people.”

“I don't hurt people.” He said, frowning.

“That's what you think. But I see people crying when you turn around from one of your jokes. In fact, I have suffered myself from them.” She said now, with more strength.

“Why don't you like me Bethany?” he suddenly asked surprised.

“Can't we just finish with this? It's not that I don't like you. It's just that I don't know you.” She managed to say.

“Sure. I'm sorry.” He said, not knowing what to do now.

“It's okay.” She smiled, feeling guilty.

“So,” he tried again. “Where are your friends today? I think it's the first time I see you without them at Hogsmade.”

“Well, that must be because no one had asked me to Hogsmade before.” She admitted, smiling at his marvelled look. “I'm no Sirius Black. For us, normal people, it's difficult to find dates.”

They both started laughing at this, all traces of their previous conversation vanished.

Sirius found himself having fun with this strange girl who he hadn't noticed before. He wasn't used to having someone from the opposite sex talking seriously to him, and he found that he liked it. He was actually quite curious.

Neither of them bothered noticing that this would change everything. They came from different backgrounds and were supposed to travel to different places. They had reputations. They didn't want to think that when they returned to the castle, home, everything would return to normal. The fairytale would vanish. The carriage would return to being a pumpkin.

“Can you imagine?” she said, going back to their previous conversation, trying to make him laugh. “ My friends are at the Shrieking Shack. What time is it? They wanted to go when it got dark. So I suppose they should be there. My, aren't they curious.”

At this, Sirius stiffened, and Bethany slowly lost her smile, noticing her comment hadn't been taken how she expected.

“Are you mental?” he inquired, and started running in the opposite direction.

Bethany was left there, angry, frustrated and confused. What she didn't know was that at the other end of the village, her friends were having a difficult time. Something atrocious was taking place at that precise moment. She looked at the sky, wondering what had just happened, and smiled absent-mindly at the moon, which illuminated the whole sky. She had never seen such a full moon.

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Okay, so here I am again. So sorry for the delay, but I had my very important French exams, even though it's not an excuse. I hope you like this chapter. I think it's a bit quick, but I hope I left it kind of hanging. Please tell me what you think of it. It's different from the other four. I thought it was about time something happened. Well, I really hope you review, at least to stay “good”. It makes me happy=D.

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6. Silver and Cold

Silver and Cold

I, I came here by day,

But I left here in darkness,

And found you, found you on the way. -AFI

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The Beast was going after her. She could sense it behind her. She was running, but she knew she wouldn't be able to escape. The floors creaked with each step she took, making herself more easily found. Tears had started flowing down her face. She didn't know when she had started crying. Had it been when she had seen it? Powerful, staring at them from above, deadly. Or had it been when she had lost her friends in their seek for a way out? She didn't know anymore. She just wished she could stop running. She almost hoped for the Beast to catch up with her, so the torture would end.

But she couldn't. She wasn't going to give up on life that easily. Because she knew, she shivered just thinking about it, she knew that if the Beast found her, she would not wake up once more.

She turned around the corner, hearing It's treading, getting nearer, following her scent, and found herself with no way out. She was terrified. What could she do now? She heard the Beast howl, its hot breath on her ear made her jump. She hadn't known it was so close. She knew it was howling in joy, he had finally caught his pray. She breathed deeply, closed her eyes for a second, making herself think that maybe this way, she could wake up from the nightmare. When she opened them again, her gaze met the rotten wall she had abruptly stopped in front of. Resigned, she turned slowly, and she met the eyes of that horrible creature, which was waiting for her patiently now that it knew it had nothing to loose. She could almost swear that she saw some kind of intelligence behind those red, bloodshot eyes. The Beast was sniggering evilly, which distorted its face and made her even more terrified.

And so, she waited for death to come.

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“Cass, come on, go to bed. I'll stay with her” Lily tried, for the millionth time. But Cassie would not budge. She looked up at Lily, and they both saw in the other their reflection: bloodshot, shiny eyes which hadn't been able to stop crying since two days before, when they had woken up, in the hospital room, to find out that Mandy was in a coma.

The three girls who had been there that night wouldn't talk about what had happened. The teachers and Dumbledore only managed to gather all the information by word of the Marauders, which, the girls didn't know how, knew everything. Bethany, however, was clueless, as she had been on a date with no other than notorious Sirius Black. She just knew that something horrible had happened that night. But she didn't know what.

So that day, after spending some time in Mandy's bed-side, trying to convince Cassie that whatever had happened wasn't her fault, she went to find the only person who she thought could reveal to her why one of her best friends was having difficulties coming back to the real world and why the rest of her friends couldn't stop imagining that night in their heads but wouldn't dare to speak of it out loud.

She searched for him the whole day through, but could not find him. How could a person disappear like that? It was just her luck though. Finally, tired and frustrated, she went to the library to find peace in her books.

That was where Sirius Black found her much later, sleeping on top of one of the classics: Jane Eyre. He smirked at the sight. He just knew that she would be ashamed of herself for it, and more even if she found out that Sirius Black nonetheless had caught her. After all, she had been ignoring him for the past two days. When he had asked her about this, knowing that she would speak the truth, she confessed that in Hogsmade, she had thought better of him than in the last seven years. However, that didn't mean that she had suddenly changed her mind completely. She still thought that they were, as she tried to put it mildly, way to different.

“Ah, but you see Bethany, they say that opposites attract.” He had reminded her, his big, genuine smile never leaving his face.

“They also say that two people who are the same repel. However, Black, I see you and Potter pretty close.” She hinted, mocking him. He was completely taken aback by her answer, but he would never show it.

“Wow. Who knew you were funny Bethany?” he asked rhetorically. However, instead of smiling back as he expected, she looked at him and said:

“Just…Please stop trying.” And with this, she took off in the other direction.

Returning from his memories, Sirius debated on what to do with the sleepless form and finally decided to wake her up. She wouldn't want to rise the next morning to find herself late for class or something similar after all.

He kneeled beside her chair and looked up at her dreaming form. She had to be dreaming, he thought, because she had her brow furrowed. He noticed that she didn't look her best and wondered how she was really coping. It had to be a blow to have one of your best friends so ill and the rest crying along the corridors, and still stay clueless. He got closer to her face to scrutinize anything that might have passed without notice.

She probably felt his breath on her face, as she slowly opened her eyes, and still half asleep, smiled dreamily at Sirius. However, when he grinned back goofily, she realized what was truly happening and fell of the chair because of the shock. Now she had even more reasons to be embarrassed, she thought, as her cheeks turned bright crimson and she clumsily stood up.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, confused, biting her lip.

“Good morning to you too. Had a nice sleep?” he said, teasingly, ignoring completely her question.

“Okay, so I fell asleep. No big deal. Stop grinning like that.” She tried to shove him but he was too strong and she was too little. He just grinned even wider.

“I can't help it. It's my default setting,” he admitted.

“I guessed that much,” she mumbled, more to herself than him, but still he heard, and he laughed.

“Well,” he started, finally calmed down, “ my job is done here.”

He started to walk to the door. Meanwhile, Bethany debated herself. She had actually been looking for Lupin, who would sympathise better, but Black would have to do.

“Wait!” she shouted, and ran to where he had stopped. He didn't turn around however. “Can-Can I ask you something and you promise that you will answer sincerely?” she blurted.

“Why?” he simply asked. She knew it was a logical question but still she grunted.

“Because I have no one else to ask.” She admitted.

“Ouch!” he said, faking tears.

“Oh, please! You are such a drama queen.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are- Wait! Okay, enough playing around. Will you?” she asked, exasperated.

“Will I what?” he asked jokingly.

She just had to hit him.

“Hey! That hurt! We're going to have to work on filtrating your anger on a dummy or something. Just something, or someone for all I care, that isn't me. Look, so you can finally realize I'm a good person, I'll let you hit Peter.”

“Please. Really.” She was now tired and just wanted to go back to check on her friends. “I'm really not up for the mood for Sirius' games.”

His face softened and he smiled kindly at her, which surprised her, but not in a bad way.

“Okay, what do you want to know?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.

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“Any change?” Cassie asked, coming back from an obligatory sleep forced by non other than Dumbledore himself. She had left Mandy's side reluctantly but she admitted, though only to herself and never out loud, that she needed the rest.

Now, sitting beside her were Lily, whose turn was finishing, and Mandy's own parents. They had come immediately after they had been notified about the accident and were currently staying with Hagrid, in his little hut. They had confessed, after a short interrogation from the girls, that it was turning out to be an unpleasant experience, as much as they liked Hagrid. It was mainly the fact that there was nearly no space. Add to that Hagrid's inability to cook and the constant barks from his current dog and you got sleepless nights for two people who were in serious need of a time off.

The girls were quite comfortable around the Darwins, as they were very open and affectionate. However, Mandy was their only daughter and it was a hard blow for them what was happening.

“No, I'm afraid not.” Mr. Darwin spoke, with a husky voice, which showed that he had been crying. Mrs. Darwin however, was just pale and looking straight ahead. She had become numb. She couldn't deal with what was happening and that broke her husband's heart.

Madame Pomfrey had administrated Mandy a few potions for all the external and internal damage, which were supposed to bring her back after, maximum, one week. If she didn't wake up after this time, it meant that, even though her heart would keep on beating, her brain would be dead. No one could begin to imagine what would happen if she didn't wake up.

Mandy was well liked across the school. She was a bubbly-but-not-in-a-repulsive-way kind of girl. She smiled and saluted everyone, she didn't get in fights, she was a good student, but not a stuck-up. It made Cassie smile bitterly when she entered the hospital wing and took in the sight of all the flowers, get-well-soon cards and teddy bears Mandy had received.

That night, when everyone was sleeping, Cassie snuck out of her room and left for the hospital wing. When she saw Mandy in her bed, bloodless as she seemed, her breath caught, as it had been doing every time she saw her and, as it would continue to do until she woke up.

Cassie stepped towards her bed and seated herself on the chair besides her friend, thinking about everything and how she had insisted stubbornly to enter what would now had become a part of her night and daily nightmares. Then, and only then, did she start crying. She cried because she felt guilty. She cried because she knew that Mandy didn't deserve it. She cried because of the frustration of not knowing what had really happened. But most of all, she cried because she loved her friend and didn't know what she would do without her.

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James Potter was patrolling alone. He was normally the one that forgot about his duties, having to be reminded constantly. However, these last two days he had done his best, so that Lily wouldn't have to patrol. He had told her that he would do the work and she had smiled thankfully, though what showed on her lips had not reached her eyes.

James was no fool. He could see perfectly how everything was affecting everyone. It was affecting him too, even though nobody except the rest of the Marauders and Dumbledore knew. However, he knew that Remus was suffering even more, as he was convinced it was his fault. He had gone home, quitted school, saying he wouldn't risk the life of any other student, especially his friends, because he was too selfish to give up his studies.

Everyone had tried to make him see that he wasn't to blame for an illness he had. Dumbledore had even ordered to put a restriction spell around the Shrieking Shack, so no one else would ever enter. But Remus had just shook his head, packed his things, hugged his friends and taken a last look at what had been his home for the last six years and a month, before he vanished. He had promised that he would never return again.

Meanwhile, Mandy struggled for her life. She had five days left.

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So I'm back. I'm really sorry for taking so long. It's been a while. However, I had a huge writer's block. I kept picturing this chapter in my head, but nothing convinced me. Finally, I just decided to sit in front of the computer and let the words flow, and this is what I got. I hope it's good enough! I tried it to give Bethany and Sirius' part a bit of lightness so the chapter wouldn't be so emotional. Please tell me what you think. I'm looking forward to receiving many reviews! (So yes, press the button where it says, “submit reviews” and say something nice xD). It really does make my day, even though that's what everyone says=P.

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