When You Wish Upon a Star

When You Wish Upon a Star
by Christabell

Chapter Eleven: Of Gullibility and Love

James and Lily took their time in returning to the common room. Though it was on the same floor as their tower, they managed to wander all throughout Hogwarts before reaching the portrait.

“I’m afraid your many admirers will be sorely disappointed now that I’ve come to steal you away,” James laughed.

“Well, I could say the same for you, Mr. Potter. You got yourself quite the fan club - mine could never rival yours.”

“I suppose, but do remember that I have had seven years to build it. As for you, only a month and a half, and it is already quite large.” Lily grinned.

“But most of them only know me because I teach their class for Divination.” James looked at his girlfriend thoughtfully.

“How do you manage that anyway? I mean, you are always teaching classes, plus you attend your own. There’s not that much time in the day, is there?” he questioned.

“Well, not exactly...” Lily trailed off mysteriously.

“Aww, come on. Tell me?” James begged. “I’ve been wondering since you started teaching.”

“You ever heard of a Time Turner?” Lily asked. Seeing understanding dawn on James’ face, she concluded that he had. “I use that three times a day, to get to my three combined classes. It works pretty well, but with everything going on, it gets pretty tiring.”

“Yeah, that would. And I don’t think Quidditch will help you out there.”

“Well what is this? Can I believe my eyes?” Sirius appeared next to them, obviously coming from the common room. He pretended to rub his eyes. “Is it true? This beautiful lady and my dear..” he faked a sob, “... best friend are talking like civilized human beings? Oh my!” James glared a him.

“Cut the crap, Sirius,” Lily said. “Yes, we are talking. Do I have your permission to talk to my boyfriend?” she asked sarcastically. Sirius’ jaw dropped.

“How come I didn’t know about this? You can’t be serious!” James rolled his eyes.

“Nope, you are.” Sirius cracked up.

“It’s such a funny joke!” he exclaimed.

“Sirius, I started it six years ago. When we were eleven, for gods sake. It shouldn’t still be funny.”

“Well, I still say it is. So, when did you guys get back together?” he questioned, still chuckling like mad. While Sirius was laughing, James leaned over to Lily and whispered something in her ear. She grinned broadly, and nodded.

“Oh, you should know... you were there, after all,” Lily said. Sirius gave her a blank look.

“Yeah, come on, Sirius. Think back to when we met Lily... I know it’s hard for you, but really...” James chocked back his laughter.

“You mean on the train?” Sirius asked confused. Both Lily and James nodded. “But you broke up the next day...”

“That’s what you think. We never actually broke up. We faked the whole thing. Figured it would be better for no one to know,” Lily stated causally.

“Wow... you had me fooled.” A look of amazement crossed his face.

“Then we did a good job. We didn’t want to deal with the pressures of going out in public and everything,” James added.

“But why couldn’t you tell me, James? We’re supposed to be best friends...”

“Honestly, Sirius. Do you really expect me to believe that you can keep a secret?” Sirius grinned ruefully.

“But Lily, you didn’t know that I have a big mouth. Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“Because you look like a giraffe,” she said very simply. She linked arms with James, and with a “Bubbles,” entered the common room, leaving Sirius standing there, feeling his neck, trying to figure out if it was really that out of proportion. As soon as the portrait closed, James led her over to one of the couches, and Lily collapsed on him, in giggles.

“Did you see him when we left? He believed every word of it! That was brilliant, James!” Lily exclaimed. James placed his hands on her cheeks and brought her face down closer to him, placing his lips on hers.

“No, you are brilliant, Lil,” he murmured. Neither noticed their shocked friends staring at them. In fact, they noticed nothing but the other until Sirius stumbled back into the common room.

“Do I really look like a giraffe, Lily?” he asked. “I didn’t think my neck was that long. Besides... giraffes can’t have long hair!”

“They spell it G-U-L-L-I-B-L-E,” she sung under her breath, so everyone near her could hear it, except for Sirius. Knowing looks were shared as everyone slowly caught on to what Lily and James had done.

“Oh my gosh, Sirius. I never noticed how long your neck was!” Mike Corkian, the keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, laughed.

“You know, I did see a giraffe with long hair before when I went to the zoo in San Francisco, in America. You look almost exactly like it!” Peter exclaimed. Arabella got up from the chair she was seated in and walked over to her boyfriend.

“Sirius, I’ve been thinking about you lately. I don’t think I want to go out with someone who looks like a giraffe. It’s rather embarrassing, you know?” Sirius looked shocked. He ran up to his dorm, not witnessing the wave of laughter that followed him.

“Sirius, you giraffe, we’re going down to dinner, join us when you can!” Mari shouted up the stairs. The group departed and soon found themselves in the Great Hall. Dinner had already started, and the eating students looked shocked not to see Sirius.

“Where’s Sirius?” someone called out.

“Yeah, he’s usually here inhaling food before the rest of us!” another student yelled. Lily smiled mischievously.

“You’ll see soon enough....” she replied. Within five minutes, Sirius was standing in the door of the Great Hall, beaming widely, and looking very happy with himself.

“I look the same as always. I’m not a giraffe!” he said proudly. The entire hall burst into laughter.

“Sirius, I hope you know that we were kidding about everything. Lily and I got back together after Quidditch tryouts today. And no, you don’t look like a giraffe - we were kidding,” James said, laughing.

“You were always the one who was easiest to fool, weren’t you?” Remus laughed, taking his gaze off Tiffany.

“Oh, well... I knew what you were doing all along. I picked up on it as soon as you started trying to trick me,” Sirius insisted.

“Nice try, hun, but no,” Arabella laughed.

“You can’t say that you didn’t believe Ara when she said she couldn’t go out with you,” Melanie pointed out.

“That was very mean of you, ‘Bella. I’m very mad at you,” Sirius pouted.

“Fine, then don’t expect any of this until you get over it,” she smirked before kissing him on the lips, very dramatically. She stood up, pushing her chair backwards. “Do you girls wanna come with me?” she questioned. They nodded.

“Sure,” she agreed. “I’ll see you later,” Lily whispered to James, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Arabella waved coyly at Sirius, and the five girls left the room.

“I always manage to do something to make her upset at me. It’s such a problem, and so much work being a good boyfriend,” Sirius sighed.

“Are you considering breaking up with her? It would be so strange not to see you guys together everywhere you go...” Remus said, shocked. Sirius shook his head vigorously.

“No way in hell would I do that. I’d be crazy to. It’s just, I like her so much, and I’ve only gone out with her for a month which is the longest I’ve ever gone out with anyone, and I just can’t do anything right, but I can’t break up with her because I think I might be in l... Oh never mind. I suppose I ought to talk to her later.”

“Exactly. No use telling us... we can’t really help you much.” The four marauders and Mike finished eating, taking the complete time allotted for dinner, and then some.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arabella latched onto Lily’s arm and guided her into the library, the other girls following. They walked toward a secluded table in the corner, a place where they knew they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“So Lily,” Arabella started. “You and James again?” Lily blushed.

“Yeah, well...” she began.

“You’re going to tell us everything, right?” Mel asked excitedly. Lily nodded.

“Of course - who else would I talk with about this stuff? You girls are my best friends!” she said. “Well, we had just finished Quidditch - by the way, I’m going to be the new seeker - and...” Lily stopped as she was tackled by the four other girls.

“Congratulations, Lily! I’m so happy for you!” Mari exclaimed.

“Yeah, it’s awesome! Plus, this way, we get to have two girls on the team. It’s always been all guys before this year!” Lily grinned.

“I’m not going to be able to play if you all smother me!” she cried out from center of the group hug. “Yeah, I’m really excited about it. But once James announced it, he came up to me, complimenting me on my skill. It changed into one of those awkward silences everyone hates, you know?” The girls nodded. “Well, I couldn’t stand it, so I told that we had to talk and I brought him up to this secret tower I found on my first day. I told him how much he had hurt me - you all know how he was my first boyfriend and everything. And he apologized so sweetly and sincerely that I could help but forgive him. But then he got really nervous and tried to ask me out, and he was stumbling over his words and it was so incredibly cute! But I understood what he was trying (and failing) to say, and just said that I would, and then he kissed me right on the lips.”

“That’s so sweet,” Arabella sighed wistfully. “I wish Sirius would do something like that for me...”

“You are so lucky, Lily,” Melanie said enviously.

“I know, you really are. I mean, I’ve always liked him. I think everyone knows that. But he never cared about me after we went out, and he’s never gone out with anyone twice. He cares about you so much - more than he has ever cared about anyone. He told us when you guys broke up,” Tiffany admitted.

“Really? He said that? No he didn’t...” Lily denied.

“Yes, he did. Think about it. He’s been trying so hard to get back together with you ever since you guys broke up. I don’t think you can see it, but he looks at you as if you are the world to him, and you probably are,” Mari acknowledged. Lily looked amazed. ‘I can’t believe that I mean that much to him,’ she thought. ‘It’s almost overwhelming. I know that I like him a lot, but I never realized how fully the feeling was reciprocated.’ She smiled.

“And speak of the devil - here he is!” Lily exclaimed.

“That’s where you went! I searched all over the school before realizing I had the map in pocket. Aren’t I an idiot,” James said, laughing slightly.

“Perhaps,” Lily agreed. “But you’re my idiot, and that’s all that matters to me.” She kissed him lightly, before detecting a sour expression on the librarian, Madam Hardarker’s face as she glared at them.

“Miss Evans and Mr. Potter,” she said sharply. “There will be none of that ‘hanky panky’ as it is called now. Not in my library.” She stared at them, as if expecting an answer.

“I would classify that as a simple token of my affection for James. Nothing more, nothing less. I am thoroughly sorry if you are offended by that,” Lily replied sarcastically. She had heard plenty of stories of people who had been yelled at by Hardarker, and in each case, the librarian had never reported anyone to Dumbledore. Due to these stories, Lily’s fear of getting in trouble was none existent.

“Well, I suppose it is good to have someone to care about,” the librarian admitted. James was shocked. Hardarker, in his past six years, had never agreed with anyone regarding any physical contact between males and females, but Lily seemed to have a way with teachers, instantly winning them over.

“I certainly agree. You know, with the rise of that new dark wizard, you never know what tomorrow might bring. We must make the best of our time here, today,” Lily stated seriously.

“You definitely have a point, Miss Evans. Carry on then, but do try to keep it down to a minimum.” Madam Hardarker flashed a rare smile at the couple. James just looked bewildered.

“How did you manage to do that, Lily? She’s never allowed anyone to... I don’t even think anyone has seen her smile!” he exclaimed.

“I’m not exactly sure... I think I’m just good at playing to people’s sympathies. But what I said - it is true. With Voldemort rising...” Lily trailed off, shivering. “And he’ll be going after people like me first. It’s common knowledge that he wants to “purify the world,” wants to get rid of all the muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards.” James pulled her into his arms.

“He won’t hurt you while I’m alive. I swear. You mean too much to me.”

“Thank you, James. You wanna get out of here?” she asked. James nodded. The two walked out of the library, arms still wrapped around each other. The four girls, who had witnessed the whole scene from their table, sighed in unison.

“She really is the lucky one, isn’t she?” Mari thought out loud. There was no answer to this rhetorical question. They already knew that she was. Copying James and Lily, the girls packed up their things, and left the library, making their way back to the common room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as they got there, Sirius walked right up to Arabella.

“I’m sorry, alright?” he said grudgingly.

“No, I don’t think you really are. You wouldn’t have said that you were mad at me if you didn’t mean it. I don’t believe you,” she replied haughtily. All she got was a glare.

“Arabella, why the hell can’t you accept me for who I am?” Sirius yelled, his face turning red. “I try to talk to you, and you refuse to listen! I try my best for you, but it’s never enough, is it?” Arabella glared at him.

“That’s enough, Sirius. I don’t want to make a scene in front of everyone, alright?” she said calmly, but her anger was present.

“Then we are leaving, and we can go talk somewhere else.” Sirius grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the room. He pulled her into an empty classroom on the seventh floor.

“What the hell, Sirius? What makes you think you can just drag me in here, like you own me?” Arabella was furious with him.

“Why do you think, Miss ‘I don’t want to make a scene.’ It’s not very hard to figure out. I bend over backwards to keep from fighting with you. I try so hard, just so you will like me. But that’s not good enough for you.”

“Well, if I’m such a problem, why don’t we just break up? It seems like that’s what you want,” Arabella retorted curtly.

“I can’t do that, alright?”

“Yeah? And why not?” she challenged. Sirius sank to the floor, burying his face in his hands. He muttered something unintelligible and Arabella leaned down. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” she said sarcastically. Sirius looked up at her.

“Because I love you, damn it. I love you so much, and I can’t do anything about it. It’s been just one bloody month since I asked you out, and I love you, alright?” He got up and began to walk away.

“Do you mean that?” Arabella asked quietly. He turned around.

“You think I would lie about something like this? I know that before, I never really cared about any of those girls. But then you came along, and... oh never mind. It doesn’t matter to you anyway. Why would it matter if I loved you when that can’t be good enough. I’m sorry Arabella, but I’m not going to change anything about myself to make you like me. Goodbye.” With that, he exited out the door. Arabella stood their in shock for a moment, then hurried after him.

“I love you too, Sirius!” she shouted at his retreating back, just as he was about to step through the portrait hole. “I love you! I’m so sorry... Please forgive me... You don’t need to change anything. I love you just the way you are.” She ran up to him and flung herself into his chest, sobbing. He looked down at her sincere face, running his fingers through her short black hair.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” he asked softly, staring into her chocolatey brown eyes, almost a mirror image of his. He smiled at her, before placing his lips on hers. The two stumbled into the common room, before falling down onto one of the chairs, still kissing.

“Well what do we have here? A couple of lovebirds?” Remus asked loudly. Everyone who had been in the room had heard the whole exchange between Arabella and Sirius. After all, they had been rather loud.

“Remus, just let them be,” James said softly. “Come on, everyone. Let’s give them their space.” Everyone slowly filtered up to their respective dorms, or exited the common room quietly.

“I love you so much, ‘Bella,” Sirius murmured as they curled up together. He planted a kiss on her neck before the two drifted off to sleep, holding each other tightly.