Outward Appearances

Chapter 22: Conversations with Dogs

Lily trudged up the stairs to her dorm with more than her fair share of apprehension. She had no idea what was in store for her. If she were lucky, than Arabella would have bought that line that Sieranda fed her about a dress order.

Unfortunately, Lily wasn't a very optimistic person, and she wasn't exactly having the best of luck these days. Not to mention that her best friend tended to be rather perceptive.

She had been getting away with a lot for months, but lately, things had been crumbling down around her. Dumbledore had been aware the entire time of her little escapades, which definitely took the element of rebelliousness out of the equation. James and his stupid friends had also known all along, and even supposedly helped her out, subtracting any of the pride that she may have taken in continuing to get away with it. Most catastrophically, Sieranda had foolishly shown up at Hogwarts, which could very well mean the end of everything.

And what would that mean for her?

"Are you all right?" Mundungus asked, giving her a concerned look.

Lily laughed nervously. "Of course. Why would you even ask that?"

Mundungus raised an eyebrow at her. "You're pale, and you look like you're going to be sick."

"Well, thanks, Gus," she said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean," he said patiently.

Yeah, she knew what he meant. Lily gave him a sidelong look. She wondered what Mundungus would say if he found out about her. Would he laugh it off as a quirk, or would he be genuinely offended that his supposed best friend had been lying to him? What would Arabella think?

Did Lily really want to find out? She paused outside of the door, her hand on the doorknob. No, she didn't.

"Lily?" Mundungus asked.

She forced a smile onto her face for his sake. "Did you ever have one of those moments when your mind seems to go completely blank?" she asked.

Mundungus gave her an ironic smile. "All the time."

Lily nodded. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was empty.

Lily gave a disbelieving laugh. Arabella wasn't even there. She didn't have to face her questions, yet, after all.

"Lily? You're blocking the door."

"Sorry, Gus," Lily said, grinning genuinely with relief. She moved to collapse on her bed.

Mundungus closed the door behind him and went to sit next to her. He gave Lily a funny look. "You've been acting really strange lately."

"Not just me," she said dismissively, plucking at her bedspread. If he really wanted to get down to it, everyone had been behaving in a peculiar fashion, and for different reasons.

"Maybe, but we're talking about you," Mundungus said. "I still don't understand how you got together with Potter in the first place."

Lily suddenly realized just how confusing it must be from her friend's perspective. Hell, even she was confused.

"It's complicated," Lily said vaguely. She was still relieved that she didn't have to deal with Arabella, yet, but Mundungus was quickly deflating her high.

"Apparently."

"Hey, weren't you going to tell me about this new girl that you're interested in?" she asked, quickly diverting the subject to safer ground.

"You mean, before I was knocked flat on my arse?" he joked.

"Yup. Now spill."

Mundungus blushed and looked down at his hands. "Well, you know her."

"I do?"

"Yeah. She's actually your friend," he stammered.

Lily gave him a startled look. "Wait a minute! You aren't going to tell me that you're in love with Bella, are you?" she asked, horrified.

"No!" he cried, looking equally appalled.

Lily grinned in relief. "Good, because that would be really weird. Not to mention gross."

"Thanks a lot, Lily," Mundungus said, glaring at her.

She gave him an innocent smile. "Sorry."

"I'm sure."

"So, if it's not Bella, then who is it? Are you in love with me, Gus?" she joked.

Mundungus smiled at her affectionately. "Sorry, but redheads aren't my type."

Lily pouted. "Tosser."

"Yeah, yeah. But seriously, I really think that she could be the one."

"I'm just glad that you're over Vivian," Lily told him. "I don't think that you could do much worse than that."

"Isn't she supposed to be your friend?" Mundungus asked, frowning.

Lily shrugged. "Sure, but that doesn't mean that I'm blind and deaf to her ways. You're too good for that, Gus."

"I'm glad that you think so."

"Right." She took a mock deep breath and looked at him expectantly. "Okay, I'm ready. Who is she?"

Mundungus looked away from her and mumbled a name.

"I'm sorry. What?"

Mundungus gave her a nervous look and then ran a hand through his hair. He sighed. "I said Marcella."

Lily stared at him.

"I know what you're probably thinking," he said quickly. "She's Vivian's best friend, and I should probably--"

"Hold on," Lily interrupted him. "Mundungus, did you just say that you're into Marcella?"

"Yes," he said, giving her an anxious look.

Silence.

"Lily?" he squeaked.

More silence.

"Say something," Mundungus pleaded.

"Please excuse me," Lily said sweetly. She rolled over and began screaming into her pillow.

"Lily!" he cried in exasperation.

She lifted her head from the pillow and glared at him. "Mundungus Fletcher, have you lost your mind?"

"Well..."

"You think that she's better than Vivian? Marcella bloody well created Vivian!"

"That isn't nice," he said with a frown.

"Yeah, well, I never claimed to be nice. How did this happen?" Lily demanded.

He shrugged self-consciously. "It just kind of hit me. You know how I was the one who carried her to the hospital wing?"

"Yeah," she said grudgingly.

"Well, we kind of started talking after that, and I noticed that she has really nice hair, and she's really nice to talk to--"

"Enough," Lily groaned. "Do you realize what you'd be putting yourself through? She's--"

"Not stupid," Mundungus finished for her.

Lily swatted the pillow at his head none too gently.

"Oi!" he cried indignantly.

She hit him, again.

"I'm serious!" Mundungus cried, grabbing the pillow away from her.

"Just trying to knock some sense into you," she grumbled. "This settles it. Tomorrow, I'm taking you over to Hufflepuff house to fish for normal girls. I'm sure there must be some over there, because, judging by the other houses, Hufflepuff is your only hope."

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said, smiling slightly. "Just because you've had bad experiences, it doesn't mean--"

Lily held up her hands and shook her head. "Gus, be honest with me. Do you have self-destructive tendencies that you should be talking to a therapist about?"

"Be serious, Lily."

"I am!" she yelled.

"If you can't be mature, then I'm not talking to you about this," Mundungus muttered, standing up.

Lily quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "I love you, Gus," she said solemnly.

"I love you, too," he said, beaming.

"Which is why I am going to put you out of your misery!" she cried.

Before Mundungus could react, Lily pounced on him, knocking him back onto the bed. Straddling his waist, she grabbed another pillow and began to frantically whack him with it.

"Lily!" Mundungus cried in alarm. He shielded his face with his arms.

They were both distracted by the door slamming back on its hinges. Surprised, Lily glanced over her shoulder in time to see Arabella blaze into the room. She gave them a look of disbelief.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she cried.

"Nothing!" they both yelled. Blushing, Lily rolled off of Mundungus and sat up.

Shaking her head, Arabella slammed the door closed and stormed over to her dresser. Lily and Mundungus watched as she opened and slammed all of the drawers. They shared a look.

"Um, Bella?"

"What?" she snapped.

Lily blinked at the harsh tone. Surprised, she asked, "What's the matter?" She really hoped that this didn't have anything to do with Sieranda's visit.

"What's the matter? What's the matter?" Arabella shrieked. "I'll tell you what the matter is! That wanker, Darvins, just broke up with me!"

Lily's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You heard me!" Arabella yelled, throwing articles of clothing out of her dresser in a frantic manner. "I just went to make sure that he wasn't letting that git, Gallaway, get to him because you pushed him into the lake, and what do I get for my concern? A sharp kick in the arse, that's what!"

Mundungus and Lily shared another look. Judging from his shocked expression, Mundungus hadn't known that his roommate was going to do that any more than Arabella had.

Lily slid off of the bed and moved closer to Arabella, who seemed to be searching for something. "Are you all right?" she asked tentatively.

"I'm fine!" Arabella growled.

Lily frowned. "You don't look fine."

"Well, I am," she muttered. "What do I care, anyway? He was just a dumb git rebound board."

Lily highly doubted that. "Well, what did he say?" she asked curiously, watching as Arabella gave up on her dresser and moved on to the closet.

"A bunch of shite that he regurgitated from Gallaway," Arabella sneered, bending down so that she could start digging through the heap.

Lily barely avoided being impaled as one of Vivian's sharp-heeled shoes sailed by her head. She gave Mundungus a nervous look. He merely shrugged at her, obviously uncomfortable. Lily returned to her seat next to him on her bed.

"Where the fuck is it?" Arabella cried in frustration, standing up and placing her hands on her hips.

Marcella chose that moment to open the door. She hesitated to venture further when she saw the scene in front of her. "What's going on?" she asked, confused.

"Who said that it was any of your business?" Arabella snapped.

Marcella stepped back as if she had been slapped. Mundungus quickly jumped to her defense. He stood up and moved to Marcella's side.

"Calm down, Bella. Marcella didn't do anything."

Lily groaned and buried her face in the pillow that she had been smacking Mundungus with. She was itching to start hitting him, again.

"Sorry," Arabella muttered, not noticing Lily's reaction. She moved to the vanity and began sifting through the drawers.

"She just broke up with Greg," Mundungus explained to Marcella, who still looked stricken.

"You did?" Marcella asked, surprised.

"Are you deaf?" Arabella growled. "Gus just said that I did!"

Lily looked up from the pillow at her best friend. She never would have guessed that Arabella would take a split from Greg Darvins like this. The last break-up had constituted of lots of tears, but definitely not anger.

"What are you looking for?" Lily asked her.

"A stupid piece of-- Ah-ha!" Arabella triumphantly held up what looked like a silver bracelet. "Found it!"

"What's that?" Mundungus asked. He and Marcella both sat down on Vivian's bed, forcing Vivian's cat, Barnaby, to take refuge under the bed with Timberlie.

Arabella didn't answer. She just stared down at the bracelet.

Lily recognized it. Greg had given Arabella that bracelet sometime when they had first started going out. It wasn't exactly the most stylish piece of jewelry that the girl owned, so Arabella had politely worn it a few times and then put it away.

Arabella slowly sank to the floor, so that her back was pressed against Marcella's trunk. She continued to stare at the bracelet silently.

Concerned, Lily stood up and walked over to Arabella. She dropped down next to her friend and waited for her to talk.

"He gave me this," she murmured finally.

"I know," Lily said quietly. Without being asked, she put her arm around Arabella, who immediately leaned into the comforting embrace.

"I can't believe he did it," Arabella said, more to herself than to anyone else. The anger was gone from her voice, leaving her sounding tired. "I didn't think that he would."

"What happened?" Lily asked.

Arabella shook her head. "I don't know. I guess Gallaway's been talking to him about me. You know, trying to get him to break up with me."

Lily bit her lip. She didn't bother telling Arabella that she already knew that Gallaway had been talking about her.

Arabella continued. "He kept saying stupid things, like he'll never be Sirius Black, and all of this other stuff."

Lily didn't respond.

"I never talked about Sirius to him," Arabella said, sounding angry, again. "How did he know...?"

"Xavier," Lily told her. "He's been watching you and Sirius."

Arabella groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Gus," Lily called, taking control.

He looked at her expectantly.

"Go down to the kitchens and get as much ice cream as the house elves will give you. Marcella, you go with him and get as much chocolate as you can carry and get back here as fast as possible."

They both nodded, looking happy to be of help.

"Just tickle the fruit in the portrait, and you'll gain admittance," she told them.

Mundungus and Marcella both scurried out of the room.

"I guess we're switching into bitch-fest mode, huh?" Arabella asked sardonically.

"That's right," Lily said, tightening her arm around her friend.

Arabella sighed. "This is awful."

Lily smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know."

They were silent for several minutes, while they appropriately waited for the others to return before the "bitching" commenced. They both watched as the rest of the sun disappeared underneath the horizon. It would be curfew, soon.

Lily continued to hold Arabella, wondering what the hell Greg Darvins had been thinking, listening to Gallaway.

Best friend or not, that was just bonkers.

When Marcella and Mundungus finally returned, they both dropped a huge pile of sweets at Lily's feet.

"Good job, guys," she said appreciatively, releasing Arabella so that they could both properly binge.

Marcella wrinkled her nose distastefully. "Some of the chocolate melted on me," she complained, wiping her hands off on her robe.

Arabella ignored her and grabbed one of the ice cream containers. "Did you guys remember spoons?"

"Sure did," Mundungus said, pulling silverware out of his pocket. He handed a spoon to each of them, keeping one for himself.

"Well, sit down, already!" Arabella ordered grumpily. "Or do you expect me to eat this all by myself?"

Mundungus and Marcella obeyed, plopping down on the floor across from them.

They were silent for some minutes while the group contentedly stuffed their faces with junk food.

Arabella broke the silence. "Did we have one of these when you dumped Rosier?" she asked, piling two pieces of chocolate onto an already large spoonful of chocolate ice cream. "I can't remember."

Lily merely grunted, not bothering to respond. They hadn't, actually.

"I saw him snogging with McCoy just now," Arabella said casually.

"How nice," Lily said dryly. "Were they doing it in the middle of the corridor?"

"Practically," Arabella said, smiling slightly. "You know, I remember when it was you and Rosier making everybody sick."

"So do I," Mundungus said, looking disgusted. "You know, I never liked him."

"No kidding?" Lily asked sarcastically. "To think, I almost forgot about you and Arabella constantly gaining up on me to dump him. Hmn. Wonder why the relationship failed?"

"Don't blame us for the result of your nasty little burst of hormones," Arabella said smugly. "Don't think that we don't remember those particularly revolting public displays of affection you two put on. Potter's got nothing on Rosier in that department, and even that exhibit this morning was enough to threaten my breakfast."

"I never told you to dump him because of how sexy he is. But that was before I knew how bad Slytherins can be," Marcella said bitterly.

Mundungus looked more than a little bit miffed. "I guess he's attractive in a sleazy kind of way."

"We're supposed to be talking about Greg," Lily said quickly before anyone could continue to speculate about the state of Rosier's attractiveness. If anyone was familiar with Evan's allure, than it was her. "Hence, the bitch-fest," she continued.

"No, the purpose of a bitch-fest is for all of the participants to share their misery," Arabella told her sensibly, twirling the bracelet between her fingers absently. "Everyone has to be miserable or else it doesn't work."

"But I don't give a damn about Rosier anymore," Lily said edgily. Why hadn't she steered them away from the topic of Rosier sooner?

"McCoy sure does."

"How nice," she repeated.

"Look, Lily. You have to be miserable about something, or else the purpose behind the bitch-fest will be pointless."

"Well," Lily said thoughtfully, quickly sorting through all of the shite in her life for something suitable to contribute. "James is pressuring me to sleep with him. Does that make you feel better?"

Arabella snorted. "Why am I not surprised?"

Marcella immediately looked uncomfortable, and Lily mentally kicked herself. How stupid could she be? Using those words in front of Marcella...

Mundungus looked like he might be sick. "I really didn't need to know that."

"He's taking a cold shower right now," Lily muttered wryly, ignoring Mundungus. The traitorous part of her mind couldn't help but picture the shower scene. She shivered and shoved the mental picture away. That would not help her resolve, especially considering her already weak foundation.

"Men suck," Arabella scowled, stuffing a large piece of chocolate into her mouth.

Lily was suddenly reminded of her episode with the Melancholy Cures. She shared a look with Marcella, and they both shuddered simultaneously.

"I just remembered why I never participate in these appropriately-named bitch- fests," Mundungus muttered, glaring at Arabella. "The anti-men banter is more than I can take."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Arabella said, exasperated. "We consider you one of the--"

"Girls, I know," he supplied dejectedly.

"Have some chocolate, Gus," Lily said sympathetically, holding out a box to him.

"No, thanks," he said. "I'm good with my ice cream."

"It's your turn to bitch about Vivian, Fletcher," Arabella said suddenly. "So, I strongly suggest that you take the sweets."

Mundungus hesitated only a second, and then he grabbed the box out of Lily's hand.

"Vivian?" Marcella questioned, looking confused.

"Fletcher, here, is in love with Brenier," Arabella explained.

Mouth full of chocolate, Mundungus gave Marcella a terrified glance. "No, I'm not!" he denied through the chocolate.

Marcella gave him a small smile. "Oh, that's right. Sorry, I forgot. I guess that I've kind of gotten wrapped up in my own problems, lately."

Lily hoped that Arabella had the common sense not to force Marcella into elaborating on her problems. She really didn't think that their roommate needed to go through her ordeal all over again; especially since some people were still snickering behind her back.

"And your problems have earned you a place in the current bitch-fest," was all Arabella said.

Marcella smiled sadly, and then continued to eat her ice cream in silence.

Lily picked up the silver bracelet off of the floor and examined it more closely. "Are you going to keep it?" she asked Arabella.

Arabella's face immediately darkened. She stared down at her lap while she spoke. "He wants it back." She scowled and her cheeks flushed. "Like I care. It's a piece of shite, anyway. I told him as much."

Lily opened her mouth to comment, but she closed it when Arabella stood abruptly. Grabbing the bracelet out of Lily's hands, she marched over to the window. Lily watched with wide eyes as she unlocked the window and pulled it open. Arabella hesitated a moment, and then she threw the bracelet as hard as she could.

"If he wants it back, then he can go and find it!" Arabella proclaimed angrily. She came back over and returned to the floor.

Seeing that Arabella hadn't bothered to close the window, Mundungus stood up to do it for her.

Lily remained silent as she watched Arabella tear a sweet apart with her fingers with a furious scowl on her face. Mundungus and Marcella tried to pretend that everything was fine and continued to eat.

"Are you all right?" Lily repeated, already knowing the answer.

Arabella gave a self-depreciating snort. "Oh, I'm just peachy," she muttered.

"It's all right to be upset," Lily whispered, putting her arm back around her friend. "You liked him."

"I did," Arabella admitted. She shook her head, looking sad, again. "He was fun, and he listened."

"You talk about him like he's dead," Mundungus mused.

Arabella's eyes narrowed and Mundungus gulped, looking as if he regretted ever opening his mouth.

"I wish he was," she retorted, once again switching moods. "Bloody bastard doesn't know what he gave up." The girl was changing moods faster than a pregnant woman.

Lily gave Mundungus a sympathetic look. It had to be awkward for him to be there, since Greg was technically his friend.

"I really hate Sirius," Arabella whispered suddenly, causing everyone to pause.

"Me, too," Lily said, smiling. She suspected that they were finally getting to the root of the problem.

"Why couldn't I just forget about him? If anyone knows that it's not going to happen, it's me," she said, sounding lost. "So, why did I let myself ruin a perfectly good relationship over something that could never exist?"

Lily held her tongue. Arabella didn't need to know that the possibility wasn't fully unattainable. Sirius Black had done enough damage as it was.

The door opened, again, and Vivian came in, dragging her boyfriend behind her. She looked confused at the sight in front of her. "What are you guys doing?"

"Bitch-fest," Marcella told her, giving a small wave to the boyfriend. Lily still hadn't bothered to learn his name.

"What for?" Vivian asked.

"Arabella and Greg broke up," Mundungus said, although he refused to look at her as he said it. Lily felt sorry for him. Marcella or not, he couldn't be completely over his crush on Vivian.

"How come?" Vivian asked, moving further into the room.

"Not one more step!" Arabella yelled suddenly, causing everyone to look at her in surprise.

Vivian and the boyfriend froze. "Huh?"

"You're going to have to go somewhere else for a while, Viv," Arabella told her. "We're rather busy right now, and frankly, you're not welcome."

Vivian blinked at that, obviously caught off guard. "Why not?" she asked confusedly.

"Because you have a boyfriend, and right now, us singletons are complaining. Hi, there, by the way," she said to the boyfriend. "I've never caught your name."

"Uh, Rob," he said, obviously baffled.

"Hello. Now, you're going to have to be a nice little Ravenclaw and take your girlfriend somewhere else."

Lily couldn't help but snicker. Poor Vivian.

Vivian looked affronted. "This is my room, too!"

"Not right now, it isn't."

"Wait a minute!" Vivian cried. "Lily isn't single! Why does she get to stay?"

"Lily has many issues, Potter being only one of them," Arabella said somberly.

Lily glared at her.

Vivian frowned. "I just wanted to get something!" she cried indignantly.

"Don't care. Out!"

"Marcella!" she attempted, turning to her best friend.

Marcella merely shrugged at her. "Sorry, Viv."

Vivian pouted. "But it's almost curfew!"

"Why don't you go hang out in the common room?" Lily suggested. "Mundungus can walk back with Rob."

"But..."

"Out!" Arabella ordered. She picked up a piece of chocolate and hurled it at Vivian, who barely managed to dodge it.

"Bella!" she cried.

Arabella threw another one that hit the wall behind Vivian's head with a splat.

"You're crazy!" Vivian yelled. But she was unwilling to get chocolate stains on her clothes, so Vivian quickly pulled Rob out of the room, being sure to slam it on her way out.

"Was that really necessary?" Marcella asked.

"You're going to have to stop throwing things at her, Bella," Lily said, struggling not to laugh.

"It's hardly my fault that projectiles are naturally drawn to her," Arabella said dismissively.

"From your hand?" Mundungus asked, looking skeptical. Nonetheless, he looked relieved that Vivian had left.

"We're wasting time talking about Viv. We only have a few minutes left before curfew!" Arabella cried, tossing some sweets to Mundungus. "Now, let's see how much bitching we can fit in before that!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Once Mundungus had left, and Marcella had gone down to the common room to collect Vivian, Arabella and Lily began to change into their pajamas.

Realizing that she had forgotten to bring it up before, Lily asked her, "Did you know that Gus is into Marcella?"

Arabella gave her a startled look, pausing in pulling her arm through the sleeve. "Please tell me that I just misheard you."

Lily shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. He told me before you got here."

Arabella pulled a face. "What happened to Vivian?"

She sighed. "No idea. You can ask him tomorrow, I suppose."

Arabella finished pulling her arm through the sleeve and mock shuddered. "I think I'll pretend that you never told me so that I'll never have to hear about it."

Lily smirked and climbed into bed. There was still a mess on the floor, but she didn't feel like cleaning it up. The house elves could deal with it.

Marcella and Vivian returned, each walking to their own bureaus so that they could retrieve their pajamas. No one spoke, and Lily suspected that Vivian was giving them all the cold shoulder. She rolled her eyes and snuggled deeper under the covers. Vivian would get over it.

Lily lay awake for a while. She could hear the soft breathing of her roommates and assumed that everyone had fallen asleep. She wished that she could be sleeping, but Lily had a lot of things on her mind.

It had been a very eventful day.

This had been day one of her attempted relationship with James, and they were already fighting. Well, Lily thought that they were fighting. She wasn't exactly sure.

She wondered what exactly Gallaway had said to Greg that had made him finally sever the relationship with Arabella. She had hoped that Greg wouldn't let himself be influenced by his conniving friend, but unfortunately, it seemed that he had.

Or had Greg already had reservations of his own? Maybe Greg wasn't as naïve as he seemed, and he had known what he was getting into with Arabella from the beginning.

But if Greg had been aware of the role Sirius Black was playing in Arabella's mind, what had been the final straw?

Or maybe Lily was just giving him too much credit.

The one good thing to come out of this was that Arabella seemed to have completely forgotten about Sieranda. But for how long?

She sighed and rolled over. Sleep sounded really nice about now.

"Lily?" Arabella called softly.

Lily raised her head from the comfy support of the pillow in surprise. Apparently, everyone wasn't asleep after all. "What is it?" she whispered.

"Do you think that I'll ever get over Sirius?" she asked sadly.

Lily bit her lip. "Yes."

Arabella didn't say anything else, and Lily eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The following weeks crawled by, and soon Christmas was looming in the horizon.

Since they were together most of the time, the snogging sessions between Lily and James increased dramatically. Although, they sometimes got carried away, but James had been extremely careful about not pushing her, for which Lily was grateful.

Now, her only problem was herself.

Once it became apparent that James had learned to control himself, it became twice as difficult for Lily to remember why she was pushing him away to begin with. The more familiar she became with James's touch and technique, the harder it became to stop each time.

Much to her surprise, James had even been the one to put a stop to the snogging a few times. Despite telling herself that it was for their own good, it still aggravated Lily to a hilt whenever he did that.

She couldn't help but be worried. Was he getting bored with her? How long before he dumped her and moved on to another girl who might not be quite so prudish?

And since when had Lily started to consider herself a prude?

Her fears were slightly assuaged when she overheard Kingsley make a joke about James taking so many cold showers, lately, that pretty soon there was only going to be hot water left for Hogwarts to use.

Well, at least James still wanted her.

And Lily liked the fresh soap smell that James seemed to constantly be sporting these days.

Halloween, which had previously been a day when Lily had been forced to walk around in a constant state of alert for the pranks that the idiot boys in her year insisted on performing in extravagance every year, had been relatively uneventful.

James had stayed by Lily's side the entire day, ignoring the mournful looks that Peter kept sending him. Lily assumed that the lack of pranks were due to James' friends realizing that it wasn't the same without him. Why else had they all, James included, looked so depressed?

Not that Lily didn't love having James around her constantly, but it was becoming increasingly harder to deny that her company just wasn't enough. Everybody needs friends, and her boyfriend was definitely no exception. Before their blowout in the common room, James had basically been connected to his friends at the hip. Now, he was completely cut off, and Lily could see the strain that it was causing him.

The only thing that kept Lily from intervening was that she secretly got a perverse pleasure in seeing Sirius Black moping about. It was only fair that he suffer, since he was the cause of Arabella's misery.

Thankfully, Peter was at least making attempts to talk to James occasionally. Lily had been present at most of these conversations, and it had been a relief to see James brighten up when he was joking around with his friend. Her respect for Pettigrew had risen greatly.

Why couldn't he have been James' best friend?

But even her dislike of Black didn't blind Lily to James' need for more male companionship than the occasional repartee with Peter. So, she finally did something about it.

Although it went against her every instinct, she began hanging out with James' Quidditch friends. Well, technically, her version of hanging out was to drop James off in the company of Kingsley, and then to make a break for it whenever one of the groupies came too close.

Hey, she was trying.

But to Lily's chagrin, James still seemed unhappy. He never said anything, but Lily knew.

As it turned out, she wasn't the only one who noticed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lily got the note in Potions.

She was sitting next to James, separating rat tails into individual piles for their project, when it suddenly appeared in front of her.

Surprised, Lily stared at it. She shot a look at James, but he was distracted, and he hadn't noticed the note. Confused, she glanced around the room, hoping that the sender would become apparent.

Unfortunately, nobody was looking back at her.

Unsure of what else to do, Lily finally picked up the note and hesitantly flicked it open.

Meet me outside after classes end.

Lily instantly looked at James, again, but he still hadn't noticed that anything was amiss. Severely perplexed, she reread the note to make sure that she hadn't misunderstood the first time.

The note still said the same thing the second time, and Lily shook her head. Meet whom outside? And why?

Even more confused, Lily looked up and did another quick search of the room. This time, somebody was looking back at her. Black raised an eyebrow at her and nodded subtly before turning back to his cauldron.

Oh, hell no.

Lily immediately tore the note up and threw it into the fire underneath her cauldron. She didn't know what the hell Sirius Black could possibly have to say to her, but she had no intention of finding out, either.

"How many beetle wings were we supposed to get?" James asked, drawing Lily back to the task at hand.

"Um, enough for five piles of fifteen," Lily answered. She glanced discretely underneath the cauldron to make sure that the note had been completely destroyed.

Satisfied that it had, Lily stood up right, again. She froze.

Another note was sitting on the desk.

Annoyed, Lily considered not even bothering to read it. But her curiosity got the better of her, and she opened it.

It's about James.

Lily gritted her teeth. There was nothing that Black could possibly say that would interest her. She quickly disposed of the note and resolved to ignore him.

Lily picked up another disgusting ball of rat tails and returned to separating them. When the next note appeared, she instantly destroyed it and continued to go about her work.

A few minutes later, there was another note. Frustrated, she turned around and glared at Black. Waiting to make sure that she had his full attention, Lily pointedly tore the note in half and threw it into the fire.

Shaking his head, Black grabbed another piece of parchment and began scribbling on it.

"Lily?"

Startled, she jumped. "Uh, what?" she asked quickly. Had he seen?

James gave her an amused look. "I said that we don't have enough beetle wings."

"Oh," she said with relief. "I'll go get more."

Stuffing the latest note into her pocket, Lily stood and made her way to the back of the room to retrieve more ingredients. Sirius Black could send as many notes as he damn well pleased, but that didn't mean that she had to acknowledge his existence.

Lily hesitated for a moment when she saw that Rosier was at the same cabinet, but she quickly decided that there was no way that she was going to retreat just because of him.

Just her luck, Rosier was blocking the beetle wings.

She waited, but Rosier didn't seem to have any inclination to move. Scowling, she asked, "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he replied with a smirk.

Lily pursed her lips, her temper flaring. "You're blocking the beetle wings," she said through gritted teeth.

"So, you're with Potter now?" Rosier asked casually, ignoring her. His dark hair fell into his eyes as he tilted his head and gave her a sidelong look.

Lily was surprised at the blatant question, but she attempted to mask it behind indifference. "Who told you that?" she asked casually.

"Snape," he answered, turning around so that he was leaning against the cabinet and facing her. "Plus, I saw Potter groping you in History of Magic." Rosier scowled. "You guys looked pretty cozy."

Lily glared at him. She didn't like the idea of being watched without her knowing about it. "If we were bothering you, then you could have tried actually taking notes for once."

Rosier sniffed. "Who was bothered?"

"Definitely not you," she replied sarcastically.

"I didn't know that you went for the brainless, athletic-type, Lily," Rosier said calmly, choosing to disregard her last comment.

Her annoyance mounted at the undeserved stab at James. "Apparently, you did," she said dryly. "I seem to recall that you told Snape that I was only after reputations. That was you, wasn't it?"

Rosier shrugged, looking bored. "Snape hears a lot of things."

"Oh?" Lily asked bitingly. "And did he also hear that I'm bad in bed? Now, who do you suppose would have told him that?"

Rosier grinned. "I never said that you were bad in bed, Lily. As a matter of fact, I don't recall ever mentioning a bed."

"Aren't you clever?" she snapped.

Rosier gave her a veiled look and moved closer so that their sides were touching. "You used to think so."

Lily was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Arabella. Whatever else that he was, Evan was definitely attractive in his own right. Unlike James, who had an innocent, albeit misleading, look to him, Evan had the dangerous bad-boy look down to a T.

But he was still slime.

Lily forced herself to laugh coldly, and she moved away from him. "No, I didn't. You were just good with your tongue." But not as good as James, she thought with satisfaction. "That's all."

That wiped the smirk off of his face. "Please. You were just an inexperienced bookworm before I got my hands on you," he snapped.

Her eyes narrowed at the insult. "The only thing that you taught me, Evan, was that handy little spell to light cigarettes without a lighter. Other than that, you might as well have never existed."

It wasn't true, as much as she wished it were, but Lily was aiming to bruise.

Rosier actually flinched before his mask immediately flew back up. "Ouch, baby," he said lightly.

Before Lily could reply to that, McCoy suddenly appeared in front of her. She gave Lily a cold look, and then she turned to Rosier. "How long does it take to get a jar of magpie wings?" she asked with poisoned sweetness.

Rosier smirked at Lily. "Sorry. Evans here was distracting me."

So, now it was Evans, again. Lily shook her head in disgust. "I wouldn't if you would get the hell out of my way," she said in the same syrupy tone as McCoy.

"Why didn't you just say so?" he asked, feigning surprise.

"She probably did."

Lily felt the hand on her back before she glanced over her shoulder and saw James glaring at Rosier. Oh, boy.

Rosier's face instantly became stony. It was McCoy's turn to smirk.

"Hi, Jaime," she purred.

Lily instantly felt an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. She did not like that.

James ignored Veronica. Continuing to hold Rosier's glare, he reached behind Evan's head and pulled the jar of beetle wings from the shelf. Without another word, he took hold of Lily's hand and dragged her back to their desk.

It was a possessive, not to mention barbaric, gesture, but for once, Lily didn't particularly mind. The look on Rosier's face had been worth it, and James' cheeks were that funny pink color, again.

But hearing that little nickname from McCoy had reminded her that she had yet to pursue the topic with James, and there was definitely no time like the present.

Lily watched James silently for a moment as he attempted to unscrew the top of the jar one-handed. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Um, James?"

"What?"

"You can let go of my hand, now."

"Oh! Err-- right." Flushing, James released his grip on her hand. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, quickly getting back to work.

Lily continued to watch him until James finally realized that he was being stared at.

"What?" he asked nervously.

"How do you know McCoy, James?" she asked seriously.

James frowned and began to pull the wings apart, not meeting her gaze. "We do attend the same school, Lily."

"I know that, but I meant personally."

"Who said that I know her personally?" he asked, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

Lily narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "James, she just called you Jaime, and you are not seriously going to stand there and deny that you know her, are you?"

Irritation became evident on his face. "I never said that I don't know her. I just don't understand why it's so important all of a sudden."

Lily pursed her lips, displeased with James' responses. "Will you just answer the damn question?"

"Fine!" he snapped. "I know her. Happy?"

"That's not the question I meant!" Lily said, exasperated. "I want to know how you know her!"

"Has she been talking to you?" James asked anxiously.

"What would she be talking to me about?" Lily shot back. Why was he acting this way?

James finally set down the wings and looked directly at her. "Are you asking if we've ever dated?"

"Bingo, genius," she muttered.

"Lily," he said warningly.

"Well, did you?" she asked worriedly.

James didn't reply immediately, and Lily got her answer. She felt that sick feeling return to her stomach. "Oh," she said quietly.

James watched her reaction apprehensively. "Look, it wasn't anything!" he said hurriedly. "Plus, it was a very long time ago. Ancient history."

Lily glanced over at McCoy, feeling a rush of different emotions, none of which were pleasant. Veronica was combing her fingers through her long, disgustingly perfect hair, unaware of the turmoil she was causing. Or was she?

She looked back at James' uneasy expression. "Did you two...?" Lily couldn't bring herself to finish the question. She never would have even thought to ask, but Arabella had rightly pointed out that McCoy was a slag. Also, James had been rather eager to...

Lily felt doubly sick. Her insecure emotions returned at full speed. He wouldn't, right? Not with somebody like that. Not with McCoy.

Right?

James' face became tomato-like. "No!" he said quickly.

Lily immediately felt a huge sense of relief. "Never?"

"No," he repeated, staring down at the desk.

She felt the sudden need to hug him. "Oh."

"Are you happy?" he asked softly.

"Yes."

And she was. Not only had James not slept with McCoy, but also there were no more notes from Sirius Black. What more could she ask for?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

James had Quidditch practice after classes that day, so Lily immediately went in search of her friends.

Unfortunately, her friends had quickly disappeared off to separate parts of the castle. She sighed and decided to take advantage of the empty room to get her homework done. Lily had barely seen her best friend during the past few weeks.

As if to prove that she didn't need Greg Darvins in her life, Arabella had immediately begun to date a seventh year from the Hufflepuff house that had been receiving all of her attentions, recently. Lily was glad that at least one of them had finally scoped out the pickings in that house, but she couldn't help but be worried that Arabella was making the same mistake with him that she had made with Greg in the first place.

Unable to stand waiting in suspense for Arabella to bring Sieranda up again, Lily had bitten the nail and brought the subject up herself. She had twisted the truth somewhat, telling Arabella that she went into several stores when they were in Hogsmeade, and she just happened to have spiked the interest of the crazy woman in the dress shop. The issue of the upcoming ball had completely slipped her mind.

Arabella hadn't questioned her further or really shown much interest, for which Lily was grateful. But she couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty, because she assumed that Arabella wasn't quite as alert as she usually was. Her own problems were somewhat more prominent at the time when Lily had conveniently brought it up.

As she passed a group of Ravenclaws, Lily automatically searched them for Mundungus. He wasn't among them, so Lily shrugged and continued on her way.

Mundungus was probably following Marcella around somewhere. True to her word, Arabella had avoided asking him about his new infatuation, but unfortunately, that left Lily with the torturous job of listening to him gush about Marcella.

Not taking Lily's pain into account, it was a good thing that Mundungus had been seeking out time with Marcella. The blonde girl was mostly alone now that Vivian was still going strong with Rob, and Lily and Arabella were busy keeping their own boyfriends company.

The common room was bustling, but Lily didn't see any of her year-mates. When she reached her room and saw that it was empty, Lily realized that she wasn't going to have an excuse not to do her homework. Damn.

Dropping her books onto her bedspread, Lily sat with her legs crossed and began her essay for History of Magic. She had barely completed her opening paragraph before she was distracted by loud voices on the stairs.

Annoyed, Lily waited for them to pass, but they halted outside of her door. The curiously male voices stopped for a moment, and then there was a knock.

"Evans?"

She froze. Was that Black? What was he doing outside of her room?

"Evans?" he repeated.

Lily stubbornly kept her mouth shut. Maybe he'd go away if he thought that she wasn't there.

"Nice try, Evans. But we saw you come up here."

Damn. "Go away!" she yelled.

There was quiet, and Lily assumed that they had left. She fumed angrily. First the notes, and now this? What was Black playing at?

Well, this settled it. Tomorrow, she was going to put a binding spell on him to keep Black the hell away from her.

With this in mind, Lily was finally able to calm herself down. She was just returning to her essay when the door flew open. Mouth agape, she watched as Black burst into the room with a reluctant looking Remus in tow.

"What the hell?" she cried.

"Such language, Evans," Black teased. He dropped down onto Vivian's bed and crossed his arms behind his head as if he owned the place.

Closing the door behind him, Remus hesitantly took a seat on the edge of Arabella's bed. He neatly folded his hands in his lap and fidgeted nervously.

"What are you doing?" she shouted, staring at both of them in disbelief. "Get the hell out!"

"Not until you hear us out," Black said calmly.

"No fucking way. Get out!"

"Honesty, Evans!" Black said with mock incredulity. "This behavior would be truly shocking if I didn't already know that you're a phony."

Lily gritted her teeth. "I don't know what you're insinuating, Black, but I don't give a damn. I just want you to get out."

"We're really sorry about this, Lily," Remus said apologetically. "But we really needed to talk to you."

"Since when?" Lily snapped.

"We need your help," Black told her.

"I don't know what you could possibly want from me, but I feel fairly certain that the answer will be no," she said dryly.

"Are you always this charming?" Black asked with a lazy grin.

"Are you always such a pain in the arse?" she shot back.

"Yes, he is," Remus said lightly.

Black gave him a cocky grin.

"Look, I thought that I made my point with the notes," Lily said, attempting to stay calm.

"Why do you think we're here?" Black asked. "If you had just agreed to meet us, than we wouldn't have to barge in on you like this."

"I didn't meet you because I don't want to talk to you," Lily said slowly, enunciating every syllable so that neither of them misunderstood.

"What did I tell you Remus?" Black gloated. "I told you that she'd be difficult."

Remus gave him an annoyed look and turned back to Lily. "We were hoping that you'd talk to James for us."

Lily stared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "And why would I do that?" She didn't care how attractive Remus looked in his dark blue jumper that highlighted his gray eyes. She just wanted him to get out.

"Because you owe us," Black said simply.

"I don't owe you a damn thing!" Lily spat, forgetting her attempt at being calm.

Black grinned smugly. "You don't honestly think that you got away with sneaking out of the castle all of those times on your own, do you?"

Ah, shite. It was bad enough knowing that she had been assisted, but to have Black throw it in her face was more than she could take. "I never asked for your help," she said angrily. "Now, get out."

"Maybe not," he said, ignoring her. "But James did."

"Not my problem." She was getting very tired of these men ignoring her.

"Oh, so this is the thanks we get!" Black snapped. "Do you think that I enjoy hanging out in dark passageways at four in the morning? Do you think that I was singing your praises when I fell asleep during that particularly heinous Potions quiz?"

"I would have gladly taken a detention over your help," Lily muttered.

"Look, Lily," Remus said patiently. "We wouldn't be bothering you unless we were out of options. This is the last resort."

Lily wasn't sure whether to be assuaged or insulted. She settled for insulted. "I'm still failing to see why I should give a damn about your problems," she said, purposely ignoring how positively edible Remus looked with that eager expression on his face.

"Merlin, why are you being so annoying, Evans?" Black growled, obviously frustrated.

"Because I don't like you," she said simply. And it was true. Sirius Black was the reason that James was cut off from his friends. He was also the reason that Arabella's relationship with Greg had failed. Not to forget the whole issue of a certain Mr. Lupin.

Rather than being insulted, Black actually laughed. "No, I don't suppose that you do," he said amusedly. "But I'll tell you something, Evans. I don't like you, either."

Lily was instantly indignant. He didn't like her? "You've never been anything but an arse to me, and why is that, Black? I've always been curious. Notwithstanding the last few minutes, you've had absolutely no right to dislike me!"

"Well, let's see." Black held up his hand and began counting off on his fingers. "You've been the source of my best friend's pointless pining for years. You played with his emotions like they were insignificant toys. Not only did you date Evan Rosier, who is no friend of mine, but then you also rubbed Xavier Gallaway, Quidditch-queen that he is, in James' face. Who do you think had to listen to his endless rants during that particular episode of this endless drama that you call your life? You've shown absolutely no gratitude for what we've done for you, despite the fact that it's cost us all plenty of sleep and very possibly depleted any of our chances of becoming a prefect next year. Oh, and you also publicly pursued my boyfriend, here."

Remus and Lily both blushed at this and avoided each other's gazes.

"So, what's to like?" Black asked innocently.

Lily opened her mouth, but she was too furious to reply. Where did he get the nerve to talk to her that way?

"But I'm willing to call it even," Black continued. "If you help us out, now." He smirked at her livid expression. "Look, Evans. We're going to have to get along, eventually, if there's any chance that you're going to last with James. So we might as well start now."

Lily gave him a nasty smile. "I don't see why I'd have to get along with someone who James isn't even speaking to."

"I told you, Remus," Black said angrily, crossing his own arms across his chest.

"Sirius, shut up for a second, will you?" Remus said crossly.

Black scowled, and Lily couldn't resist a scornful laugh. "Are you going to take that, Black?" she asked tauntingly.

He glared at her, and Lily continued. "I see who wears the pants in this relationship. I guess that leaves the dress for you, huh, Black?"

"Why, you little--"

"Sirius!" Remus snapped. He took a deep breath and tried again. "All we're asking is that you encourage James to talk to us. We'd handle this ourselves, but every time one of us tries to talk to him, he blows us off."

Lily raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "And why do you think that he'll listen to me?"

Remus smiled softly. "Because you're you."

Oh, no. Lily struggled past the lump in her throat so that she could reply to that. "What does that mean?"

Remus shrugged. "You're obviously a significant person to him, Lily. Do you honestly think that James would voluntarily undergo extra tutoring lessons for anyone else?" he joked.

Lily was mid-blush when Black snorted.

"How fucking sweet," he said grumpily.

Remus groaned and rubbed his hand over his face tiredly.

Lily frowned. "What makes you think that I want James talking to you, anyway?" she asked quietly.

Black obviously didn't know what to say to that. He shared a confused look with Remus.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, as we've covered, I don't like you. So, why would I want to help reunite you with my boyfriend?"

"Because we miss him," Remus said honestly. "And I think that he misses us, too."

Damn. "Well, where's Pettigrew?" she tried. "Doesn't he miss James? Why don't you have him play as your advocate?"

"We thought that it would be better if we left him out of this conversation," Remus said carefully. Lily noticed that his hands were once again folded in his lap.

"Oh, that's right," she said mockingly. "He doesn't know about you two, does he?"

Remus blushed and looked down at his hands. "No, he doesn't."

"How nice to be him."

"We don't even know why James is being this way, and just in case it had to do with... Well, it was a precaution to not involve Peter," Remus said, still looking at his hands.

Just in case James was upset about their relationship. Well, that would make three. James, Arabella, and of course, herself. She wasn't quite sure if Snape counted, since he seemed to take pleasure in having more ammo to torment them with.

"We're getting off topic, here," Black said, giving Lily a nervous look.

"It doesn't matter, because we're done," Lily said. She was suddenly very tired. "You can leave, now."

"Lily--"

"No," she said quickly. Enough was enough. She had already had her share of confrontations for one day. Lily walked over the door and held it open for them. "Get out."

Black looked as if he was going to protest, but Remus silenced him with a look.

"Okay, Lily," he acquiesced. "All we ask is that you give some thought to what we talked about."

"Give some thought to James," Black added, strolling out of the room.

Lily glared after him.

Remus gave her a small smile. "We really do miss him," he said softly.

"Goodbye, Remus," she said quietly.

He nodded and went after Black. Lily closed the door after them and leaned against it.

Like she really needed this right now.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *