I'll Fight For You
By Hazelmist/Summerskies
Disclaimer: Alice's shoe belongs to me.
Chapter 12: Homecoming
The Sixth Year Gryffindor Girl's Dormitory has been transformed into a war zone. Clothes are scattered all over the room, the beds are unmade and stray objects litter the floor. If it wasn't for the fact that there's so much feminine apparel and products crowding the rug, (I can't even see it anymore) I might ask myself if I had walked into the Boy's dormitory. Gracie and Tiffany run around the room, tripping and stumbling over clothes and books. Alice is over near my bed doing a weird sort of jig as if she's some sort of Irish Step Dancer on drugs.
"My shoe! I can't find my shoe!" Alice wails, hopping around on one foot. Alice's always losing things.
I look around in amusement, watching as Alice climbs under Tiffany's bed in search of the elusive shoe. On the other side of the room, Gracie and Tiffany do a frenzied packing job that they left off to the last minute. Tiffany overslept, and Gracie, though she was up long before all of us, is a huge procrastinator. Of course, I, being the organized one, started packing two days ago. I can't help but smile a little smugly.
"Lily, have you seen my cloak?" Alice asks desperately, after finding the shoe. She rummages through Gracie's half filled trunk in search of the missing cloak.
"No. Sorry, Alice."
Someone bangs on the door and I jump up to get it.
"Housekeeping!" a freckled faced girl jokes.
I roll my eyes at Mary Pewter, the Gryffindor who received the Head Girl badge instead of Ophelia. Mary adjusts her spectacles, squinting as she steps a little closer to get a look at the room. Hastily, I try to fill the doorway with my small figure by spreading out all of my limbs. I wish I could save my friend's from the lecture that will surely ensue, but I know that even as I close the door that there's no escaping once Mary puts her mind to something. Mary's frown indicates that she already witnessed the disaster zone, that only hours ago was actually, believe it or not, our dorm.
"Good golly! What happened? Did a volcano erupt?" Mary asks, staring at the closed door.
"Er, not quite," I laugh nervously. "Don't worry, we're finished, just making sure we didn't forget anything," I lie through my teeth.
Mary stares at me and then shakes her head.
"Better you than me, the train leaves in exactly ten minutes, I thought for sure that everyone was done, but apparently some people, won't mention any names, sixth years, had more important things to do." She walks away, rapping on the Fifth Year Girl's dormitory, which I'm thrilled to notice, looks much worse than ours.
"The train leaves in ten," I tell them, stepping back inside. "Are you ready?"
"Yes!" Tiffany and Gracie chorus. Tiffany's yanking at her hair, asking us if she's forgotten something. Gracie sits on top of her overflowing trunk trying to close it. Merlin, why are they taking so much stuff home?
"We have to leave NOW!" I sigh exasperatedly.
I point my wand at Gracie's trunk and it immediately closes, though a couple of sleeves and pant legs hang out. Gracie whines until I correct this comical mistake. Finally we're able to convince Tiffany that she hasn't forgotten anything, and start for the door.
"My cloak!" Alice moans, dancing around as if she has to go to the bathroom.
"Accio Alice's Cloak!" I summon the cloak.
Gracie grabs the cloak, which came hurdling through the door as if it had been left out in the common room or maybe, no, but she's blushing! There's no time for theories though and we hurry out of the room before Alice can realize that she's lost something else.
Debby McLaggen, conveniently couldn't come out of the Infirmary until we were at breakfast this morning. Alice explained, with a smirk, that it was because she's afraid that her nose is still broken, despite Madam Pomfrey's excellent mending skills. Typically vain, conceited, shallow McLaggen, at least we didn't have to deal with her. Alice looks a lot healthier now, as we step onto the train. I notice how a mysterious rosy glow fills her cheeks as Frank immediately takes her things (accidentally dropping it on some poor second year's feet) and then offers her his hand to help her up onto the train. I don't dare laugh, or make any assumptions of any kind, because Alice gives me a warning look as if reading my mind. A few strands of my hair are still an extremely ugly shade of green. (Payback for when I sent her to the hospital wing with Frank.)
Not too far away the infamous Gryffindor gang stands, no doubt planning to go out with a bang. I only hope they don't try to blow up the train while I'm still on it.
"Let's get a compartment," Gracie says quickly, meeting my eyes and knowing what I'm thinking.
Since Alice totally ditched us for lover boy, the three of us get on the train (managing the step fine), and locate an empty compartment not too far down the train, which, much to my chagrin, happens to have a wonderful view of the Marauders who are still standing huddled outside on the snowy platform.
"You're so lucky to be able to spend the holidays with the Marauders and your best friend!" Tiffany sighs, wistfully eyeing the laughing boys outside.
"I think I'd rather be spending it with my family," I say sadly.
The other night I told Tiffany, Gracie and Alice what Dumbledore had wanted to see me about.
"Oh I would invite you, but, I'm um, I'm going to visit Frank for a few days, but if you want…" Alice mumbled, blushing (though they were only best friends). But I had received my green hair only recently and wasn't about to make a comment, though Gracie looked strongly tempted.
"It's alright, Alice. I think I'll just stay here. It won't be so bad you know…" I trailed off sadly. I had never spent Christmas alone and the thought was extremely depressing to me.
"Well, you know you could stay with me and my Dad, but I have to stay with her again," Tiffany grumbled, referring to her mother, who had left both Tiffany and her dad soon after she was born. The woman had mysteriously walked back into Tiffany's life only a couple of years ago and Tiffany hated her with a passion, but was still forced to visit her during holidays.
"Lily, don't be ridiculous, you're more than welcome to stay with us, you're practically family!" Gracie said quickly.
Alice, Tiffany and I exchanged a look, noticing once again what Gracie hadn't. Gracie saw the look, and went quiet for several minutes.
"You mean the Potters?" I asked tentatively, when I finally found my voice again.
"Of course, I did!" Gracie forced some cheeriness into her voice and immediately ran off to find James who was more than happy, according to Gracie, to have me in his home.
So yeah, I'm thrilled to be spending the holidays with my best friend, but I'm not so psyched about staying in the same house as my two favorite Marauders. In fact I'm dreading it, especially after what happened yesterday with James on the staircase. Awkward, awkward, and his parents seem to think that we are already an item and James has done nothing to indicate that this is a big fat lie, so yeah, lots of fun at the Potters. Whoop-de-doo.
"I know Lily, it must be hard for you," Tiffany says sympathetically and both of us involuntarily steal a look at Gracie who's scowling at Sirius. (He's making faces at her on the other side of the window.)
"I'm going to miss Daddy, but my mother, if you met her you'd know. I hate her. She's a total -" she trails off, saying something under her breath that causes me to grin amusedly.
"It's not fair!" she whines, still watching the guys, who are now breaking up (because Gracie threatened to shut the shade) and heading toward the train.
"Oh, quit your whining! Black's the very last thing I want to see in my face on Christmas morning," Gracie grumbles as Sirius suddenly runs back and starts writing rude comments on the frosty window pane.
"Likewise," I murmur, replacing Black with Potter.
Tiffany laughs as James and Remus join him. Even though it's backwards I can make out the words "James Potter loves Lily Evans" Gracie frowns at Sirius's next sentence, and writes something back. James roars with laughter, and Tiffany gasps before dissolving into giggles. Remus on the other hand, catches my eye, and I realize that he's been trying to do this for a while.
"Can we talk?" he mouths, making sure that the others are distracted.
I frown, but discreetly nod my head, silently indicating that I'll meet him at the end of the train.
I slip out unnoticed, and notice the top of Remus's sandy hair, moving rapidly past the windows. Hurriedly I follow, all the while, wondering, what does he want to talk to me about? I mean sure, we're friends, kind of, and yeah we're prefects, and have a lot in common, but we never really talk except during prefect meetings or sometimes in class. Remus overtakes me outside, and hops up onto the train before I reach the end.
"Hi," I smile uncertainly. "What'd you want to talk to me about?" I ask curiously.
"Not here," Remus looks around nervously. He brushes past me, in search of a more private spot to talk. Passing by, he grabs my wrist, pulling me through the students behind him. A few compartments down, he stops, dragging me inside the empty compartment and slamming the door shut.
"I have to warn you, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't," Remus whispers. "Remember when you walked in on us in the Common Room the other day, when we were talking about something Ophelia said to Gracie?"
"Of course," I frown, wondering why Remus looks so upset by this information.
"Ophelia said something about the funeral and Gracie took her seriously, very seriously."
I swallow hard, my heart sinking. This can't be good.
"Lily, you're the only one that can stop her. I'm hoping that I'm completely wrong, but I think that over the Holiday Gracie's going to attempt something very dangerous and extremely stupid. I think she's going to look for-"
The compartment slides open so fast that I fear it might shatter. I jump back, my heart slamming in my chest. But it's only James.
"James!" I gasp.
He looks livid.
"What's going on here?" James asks, angrily folding his arms over his chest.
"Uh," Remus and I look at each other, extremely confused. "Nothing?" I answer, raising an eyebrow.
James looks from me to Remus, and then realizing that we're telling the truth, uses another tactic.
"Well what were you doing… alone?" he asks, lowering his voice and narrowing his eyes.
"We were talking." Remus rolls his eyes and exits the compartment, nearly barreling over petite little Tiffany who had been standing near the door. "Sorry," he apologizes, and Tiffany blushes as she's exposed.
"Oh, there you are Lily! I was wondering where you went!" she laughs, eyeing James and I nervously. "I'll - er - tell Gracie I found you." She slowly backs out of the compartment and runs after Remus.
Great, I get some more alone time with Potter. Just what I wanted.
"How long has this been going on?" James asks, studying his nails in a not-so-casual manner. I resist the urge to roll my eyes like Remus did.
"The talking thing? Oh well, it started when I got to Hogwarts. I met Remus in Charms class and I said "Hi, my name's Lily, do you want me to help you with the Charm?" and he said "Hi, my name's Remus. Yes, that'd be great." but if you really want to know the truth, I started talking when I was a year old, or maybe I was younger, or older…"
"Shut up, I didn't ask about that," he snaps.
"Oh, you didn't! Well then what were you asking about James?" I ask smirking, knowing full well what assumptions James made when he walked in on the two of us. I could save him a lot of drama, but it's fun to watch him squirm.
"You're snogging Remus!" he bursts out after several moments of agonizing silence.
I suppress a laugh. I'm strongly tempted to lie and say that we were, but I notice the look on his face. James looks as if a Quidditch has just been canceled…for life. Besides, I don't think Remus would be too keen if I went around telling people that I was his girlfriend. First of all, I'm not that great of a catch, though for some absurd reason Potter thinks I am. Second of all, judging by the look on his face when he first walked in, I think James would tear Remus to shreds. Friend or not, he'd probably teach him a lesson he'd never forget. I shudder, wondering if I'll ever be able to have a boyfriend without having to worry about my unwanted stalker assaulting him in the hallway.
"You're his girlfriend, aren't you?" James misreads my hesitance.
"Um, no."
"What are you then, friends with benefits?" he asks, trying but failing to look as if this doesn't matter to him.
"Unless an extra brain counts as a benefit, I believe we're just friends." I smile, watching as his muscles relax and the tension leaves his body. He looks up hopefully at me, his hazel eyes meeting mine.
"You mean there's nothing between you two?" he inquires hesitantly.
"Nothing," I admit.
"And you were only…"
"We were only talking." I grin, repeating exactly what Remus told him.
Hearing it from me, James accepts it. A slow smile spreads across his face, and smugly he looks me over as if to say, "I knew all along that nothing was going on here, I was just testing you.". I scowl hating the fact that he can be so arrogant even after he just made such a huge mistake.
"Well, Evans, I guess I'll see you around, since you are coming to stay with me." He starts to leave.
"Wait just a minute Potter, we're not finished here." I grab the back of his robes to stop him. Just then the train jerks forward, finally getting off to a delayed start to the long journey home. The result, James loses his balance and falls backwards, onto me. We topple, landing on the seat.
"Get off me!" I hiss, pushing at Potter who's practically sitting in my lap. Why does it always end up this way? You'd think I were a klutz considering the amount of time I spend with Potter on me and the other way around.
"I happen to be very comfortable." Potter grins, leaning his head on my shoulder.
"Well I'm not!" I growl, unsuccessfully shoving him with my one free arm.
"MOVE!"
"No!" Potter smirks, knowing that I can't reach my wand and he's a lot heavier than I am. But he doesn't realize that I can still…
CRACK.
Potter swears. Instantly he hops off me, holding his face where I slapped him. Already there's a nice red hand print forming. Maybe if I'm really lucky, there will be a black and blue. I mustn't get my hopes up, but imagine what his fans would think.
I fly out the compartment running into both Gracie and Tiffany.
"Well it's about time the train started moving," Gracie is saying to Tiffany. "You know what the delay was, don't you? Princess McLaggen held us up. She wanted to pack, so of course they had to stop the world, just so she could get her stuff being mortally injured and all." Tiffany and I crack up laughing and Gracie grins.
"Oh, there you are Lily. We were wondering where you went." Gracie notices me, and moves over so I can walk between them.
"What'd Remus want to talk to you about?" Tiffany asks eagerly.
"Oh, nothing, he wanted to pass on something from the prefect meeting to me." Tiffany quirks an eyebrow, exchanging a look of disbelief with Gracie. They clearly don't believe it, but I can't very well come out and tell them that Remus wanted to pre-warn me that Gracie was going to attempt something stupid over the holiday.
"He's stuck here over the holidays, did you know that? It's going to be him and Peter. I guess his mom took ill at the last moment and didn't want him to catch it. Poor Remus. I would rather stay at Hogwarts with them than go visit my mother. The woman's so vain, so horrible, that I'm ashamed to admit that we're related. She divorced her 11th husband, I mean, who the hell goes through eleven loveless marriages? It's like a hobby for her. If I didn't know how awful and heartless she is I might check to see if she were mentally stable."
We reach the compartment with Tiffany still babbling on about her mother and her eleventh ex-husband. She takes a seat and Gracie and I sit down side by side across from her. Gracie takes out Witch Weekly ("Does Your Favorite Wizard Fancy You? 10 Tell Tale Signs That Romance is Brewing") again, pretending that she's actually listening to Tiffany. It's not like we haven't heard this before, we listened the first few times, I swear, but there's only so many insults Tiffany can create for the faceless woman and her long line of exes and though it was amusing, it gets boring after the fourth or fifth time. I nod my head a couple of times, submit a view "Yeah"s, and completely tune her out.
*
The cold air swirls around us as we step off the train. Around us parents and siblings run forward, laughing and shouting, answering the joyous calls of the students that claim them. For a split second I think that I see my mother, but as the woman steps into the light, I realize that the woman looks nothing like her. I can't help but feel disappointed. I watch as the woman gathers the furs closely around her, wondering how I could possibly mistake this stuck up lady for my mother. The woman scans the group, scowling. She tosses her flowing blonde hair, turning to the huge wizard beside her who happens to be wearing a black robe, and yes, sunglasses.
"Is that a body guard?" I ask aloud, and I'm surprised to find both Gracie and Tiffany staring at the beautiful snobby woman and her humongous body guard.
"Oh no!" Tiffany moans looking as if she wants to sink into the pavement and disappear. "Hide me, please!" she squeaks, pushing Gracie in front of her (who happens to be the tallest).
"Tiffanella!" The woman calls out waving. She's no longer scowling, but I can't help but notice that her wide smile looks completely fake.
"Tiffa what?" Gracie asks. She looks at me, and I know we're both thinking: Blackmail.
Tiffanella groans behind Gracie, but slowly creeps out from behind her defective shield. The woman, who must be Tiffany's unbearable mother, parts the crowd dramatically with her body guard as she gracefully strides over to greet her daughter.
"It's been ages darling!" She stretches out her arms, as if she's waiting for Tiffany to run right into them. Tiffany gives us a look that clearly says "You've got to be joking, right?" And Gracie and I have to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
"Write me," she begs us, before reluctantly joining her mother. The body guard picks up the trunk as if it's a feather. Where does he work out or maybe I should be asking, what kind of drugs is he on? Her mother gathers Tiffany into a huge hug (which is unreturned) and then walks away with her arm around Tiffany, waving her free hand around as she goes on and on about how much she's missed her "Tiffanella".
"It's TIFFANY!" I hear Tiffany exclaim.
"Oh no darling, that name's far too boring for a daughter of mine. Tiffanella is so much more beautiful, it breathes potential and beauty and it would look so much better up in lights don't you think, Tiffanella?"
Gracie and I unfortunately don't get to hear Tiffany's comment to this, because the group exits the station, and the Potters join us.
"Gracie!" Mrs. Potter physically runs across the station with her husband, son, and Sirius in tow.
"Auntie Heather! Uncle Dan!" Gracie meets them halfway, receiving them far more enthusiastically then she did when she was last staying with them.
Gracie's aunt and uncle take turns hugging their niece. James steals a very quick look at me and I'm happy to see that his left cheek is still a wonderful rosy shade of pink. Sirius silently applauds, a look of admiration on his face. I pretend not to notice, but James glares at him and he stops.
"Oh, and you brought Lily too, wonderful!" His mother smiles genuinely, embracing me as if I were her own daughter. She pats my hair and I hear her whisper confidentially in my ear. "Lily, your hair's looking a little green." I blush remembering that I hadn't been able to completely reverse Alice's payback spell. She takes out her wand when the others aren't looking and kindly removes the remaining dye with a flick of her wrist. I touch my natural hair and smile.
"Thank you Mrs. Pot-"
"Heather," she corrects me, winking.
She grabs Gracie, wrapping an arm around her. The other falls around my shoulders. I look from a laughing Gracie and Heather, to Mr. Potter and the two boys eagerly giving him the play by play of the recent match verse Hufflepuff (Gryffindor slaughtered them, largely thanks to Gracie and James). Guilt twists my stomach as I wonder if I might actually enjoy this Christmas, despite the absence of my parents.
Heather leads us out to a car, I didn't know that wizards had cars, and we all get in. I quickly realize that this car is nothing like it appears, and is certainly not muggle. Mr. Potter, who wishes for me to call him Dan now, is playing with a few buttons and knobs on a panel next to the door, and suddenly we're off flying over the traffic, squeezing through houses and trucks, and running stop lights. Needless to say I'm gripping both James and Gracie's arms by the end of it, and I'm more than happy to run out of the car when we finally arrive at the house ten minutes later. (It felt like hours) Mr. Potter taps the car with his wand, and it zips away, disappearing with a pop. Gracie, James, and Sirius lazily join me, looking rather amused.
"What's wrong Lily? Did you get a little car sick? Or was it that you couldn't resist an excuse to touch the irresistible Potter?" James smirks.
I glare at him, but it's Gracie, still rubbing her arm where I practically cut off her circulation that comes to my defense.
"James, get a grip, Lily was trying to cut our blood supply off. She was trying to kill you not come onto you, honey. She grabbed me by mistake I'm sure." She pats James's arm sympathetically, and he shrugs her off and stomps into the house.
Sirius and I laugh.
"Muggle cars don't act like that I take it?" Gracie asks me, smiling slightly as we follow him into the dining room where the Potters already have dinner set up for us.
"No," I shake my head. If only they knew that you were supposed to stop at red lights, and in the muggle world you can't squeeze through cars, you hit them and die. I shudder as I take a seat next to Gracie, across from James, reminding myself never to get into a wizarding car, under ANY circumstance.
Dinner's a pleasant surprise, the food's excellent, and Dan and Heather out do themselves making me feel right at home. They both ask me about school and stuff, and encourage me to partake in several of their conversations. I feel like I'm an old family friend, or a niece, by the time the delicious treacle tart arrives.
Gracie finishes her dessert and goes up to her room to unpack. Hastily, I try to finish my treacle tart, which I was unable to eat since I was laughing at one of Dan's jokes.
Someone kicks me under the table. I choke, dropping my fork with a loud clatter. Mysteriously it slips off my plate and even though I swear I caught it, it slides through my hands and lands somewhere under the table. My reflexes aren't the best in the world.
Forgetting table manners entirely, and the fact that both Dan and Heather are legal magic using adults and could easily use their wands, I climb under the table in search of my missing fork.
James's face greets mine, and I sit up so fast that my head bangs into the table.
"Ow," I whisper, scowling as he holds up the fork that I was searching for.
"Meet me upstairs in two minutes, we have to tell you something," he says so softly that I know no one but me can hear it. I would've told him "no way" right then and there, but he said we not I. Reluctantly I give a short nod, before crawling out from under the table and taking my seat again.
Dan and Heather give us a curious look, as I drop the dirty fork in Gracie's empty dish and James reappears at the seat across from me. I realize that there's a second clean fork and blush in embarrassment. Way to make a fool out of yourself, Lily.
"Er, I'm muggleborn," I mumble.
Quickly, I eat the rest of my treacle tart and excuse myself. I hear James do the same behind me, and Sirius…
"You're eating me out of house and home," James complains, pulling him out of his seat. Sirius still manages to stuff helping number four of Treacle Tart into his mouth before following James and I up the steps with a mouth full of food.
"What'd you kick me for? That hurt you know!" I hiss, running up the steps after James.
"Oh, please Evans, stop whining! You've done worse to me plenty of times," James snaps.
"Yea, but you deserved it every time. I've done nothing to deserve that kind of assault on my sensitive shin!" I protest, following James off the steps and down a hallway that looks all too familiar.
"Oh, you've done enough. Trust me Evans, you're far from innocent after everything you put me through," he mutters, stopping in front of a closed room. I don't ask what he means, because as soon as he opens the door, a wave of memories slaps me in the face.
"Why," I gritted my teeth and wrapped my cloak around me and the dumb dress, "are you still staring at me?"
"I can't help it, I've never met anyone more beautiful."
Soaking wet from the funeral we came here and sat in the dark and the quiet. Sirius throws himself down on the couch, and James sits down beside him.
"I just wanted to thank you,"
"Thank me?"
I shut the door softly behind me as I step into the room.
"You don't believe me? I'll prove it to you right now Evans. You're going to witness a miracle right before your very beautiful green eyes."
I can recall how close we were, how I closed my eyes and leaned back against the door and let his hands do the work. I shake the memories from my head, but I grin, remembering how convinced Potter was that he would be Head Boy and would win our bet. I'd forgotten about that. I perch myself on the arm rest closest to Sirius, don't want to give Potter any ideas, and turn expectantly to them.
"What'd you kick me for?" I demand again, hoping that this isn't some silly ruse to use Sirius as a way to get me to go out with Potter, because it won't work, trust me.
"What'd Remus want to talk to you about?" Sirius asks, barely suppressing a grin as he watches James suddenly lean forward. His intense hazel eyes move to me and lock.
"Erm," I consider lying but decide to tell them the truth. "He wanted to warn me that Gracie was going to do something incredibly dumb because of something Ophelia said to her."
"Oh," James sits back in the couch, lowering his eyes.
"See! I told you so!" Sirius turns to James with a triumphant grin. James frowns, but says nothing.
"So, you know then what she's planning to do?" James inquires, closing his eyes.
"No."
"What?" His eyes flutter open and Sirius looks at me incredulously.
"I don't know because someone interrupted us before he could tell me." I narrow my eyes and look at James.
"You didn't." Sirius's eyes flick to James, and he groans, realizing that James did exactly that. "Now, we have to explain it to her," Sirius grumbles.
James sighs and pushes Sirius over so that a space is cleared on the couch beside him where I can sit. I eye him suspiciously, but hop off the arm rest and sit down next to him.
"Look Lily, while they were waiting for you after the prefect meeting Ophelia started talking about how she went to Gracie's parent's funeral."
"Why would they be talking about a funeral?" I wonder aloud. Who talks about funerals?
"Lily, it's Ophelia, she's nutters," Sirius pipes up.
"As I was saying," James continues. "Ophelia mentioned that fact that she made a very unusual observation concerning Gracie's mother."
The familiar sinking feeling returns and I look up at James with wide eyes. My breath hitches in my throat and I grab at James's hands in a weak attempt to keep myself calm.
"What's Gracie going to do?" I ask in a hushed voice that sounds far away and faint.
James looks at me, his eyes looking as distant as his voice.
"Trust me, you don't want to know."
There are a lot of things that I wish I didn't know. Ignorance is bliss. Unfortunately I think it's too late now to deny me information. Once you discover that your best friend's family's been brutally murdered for no particular reason, and there have been others, there's not much else that can scare you. I took the plunge the day I opened that letter, the day that the Serial Killers arrived, the last day I saw my parents, the day that I held onto James as the world crumbled around us.
"Try me," I challenge.
"Fine." James leans toward me and whispers in my ear. It's ridiculous, unbelieveable, something that would be published in Ophelia's fiancé's beloved Quibbler, no doubt. But not something that I can see someone actually taking seriously, or let alone acting upon it.
"Gracie doesn't actually believe that, does she?" I ask weakly, but I know after seeing her that fateful day that Gracie does. Maybe I would believe it too if our situations were reversed. Quickly I change tactics.
"She couldn't actually…"
James smiles sadly, and Sirius shakes his head as if I'm an idiot.
"Lily, look out the window." James takes my hand, and drags me over to the window. He pulls aside the curtain, and I look, and see, far away, barely noticeable, but definitely there…
"Oh, God!"
I pull away from James and run out of the room and down the hall. I don't stop until I'm outside her bedroom. I throw open the door, nearly flattening Gracie in the process. Gracie grabs the door inches before it smashes into her face. She looks at me startled and confused. When she reads my face, the confusion fades along with the shock, and an amused smile spreads across her face.
"Remus told you?" she asks laughing.
"He tried to." I step inside the room, and she shuts and locks the door behind me.
"James?"
I nod.
"I figured one of them would," she sighs, flopping down on the bed.
I fold my arms over my chest, eyeing her warily. Gracie pretends not to notice, picking up a copy of Witch Weekly and flipping through it. We sit in an uncomfortable silence for several agonizing minutes before I finally have the courage to break it.
"You're not really, you aren't going to…" I stammer.
Gracie's strange smile returns, daring me to continue.
"You wouldn't…"
She lifts her head defiantly, her blue eyes conveying the message clearly.
"Want to come along?" she quips.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I roar.
"I'll take that as a no," Gracie says dryly, turning back to Witch Weekly.
"You're joking, right?" I ask, hoping that my ears deceived me, and that she did not just suggest that we - she can't, she can't actually think that I would go with her down there. No, it had to be my imagination. This whole thing has to be some stupid prank the Marauders are pulling on me that Grace is in on.
"No, Sirius insists that I don't have a sense of humor." Gracie frowns, but I'm not about to let her change the subject.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MARBLES?"
"Maybe, but I'm still going, with or without you."
"When?" I ask.
"Tonight obviously."
"You're insane!" I back out of the room, wondering if she's still the same Grace Adams that I'm best friends with or if she's being inhabited by the same alien that took over James's body a few months ago. Because certainly, I mean it's crazy!
"So, are you, since you're coming with me!" she calls after me even as I hurry back to the guestroom that's been arranged for me again.
"No, way!" I shake my head. Never, I'm never ever going down there, not unless I'm dead.
"I'll come by later, wear something warm, we wouldn't want to freeze to death!" she laughs.
I slam the door shut and lean against it, still shuddering. A few doors down I hear her do the same.
A/N: Thanks guys for reviewing! You made my day! I promise I'll do my best to update soon, since the next few chapters just need to be edited. Please let me know what you think, though I understand it's a cliffhanger and you kind of need the next chapter before you really understand what's going on. It might get weird in the next few chapters, but they're very unique I can promise you and I had a lot of fun writing them.
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