PMS: Pre Moon Sickness

Chapter Three

I cease my irascible pacing in the library and lean against the nearest bookcase. He's late. I'm not surprised. Why Dumbledore made him the Head Boy I'll never comprehend. Maybe the deities are punishing me for what I said to my horse-faced sister at her wedding. I could not resist the temptation, for she had insulted me, and I possess a fiery temperament to match my hair.

She'd said, "You should do some soul-searching. Maybe you'll find one. A normal one."

Consequently, I'd retorted, "Thanks for the advice, Sis." I examined her expensive wedding gown. "Oh, God!"

"I look fantastic, I know."

"Just look at you! Was anyone else hurt in the accident?"

I was merely defending myself. "Do I actually deserve to be punished for that?" I murmur aloud, not anticipating a response.

"Of course not." Merlin, I loathe that voice...Well, the voice itself is rather delightful; it's the individual that it belongs to that I abhor.

"Potter," I acknowledge, "you're late." I expect him to elaborate on the 'punish' remark by adding something to the effect of, "You've been a naughty girl? Go to my room!"

Instead, he states, "I'm sorry." Huh? What? James Potter apologising! "One of my mates and I had to discuss something important."

"A prank?" I sniff disapprovingly.

"Nope. Personal issue. Love life."

"Oh?" I am curious despite myself as a result of a hypothesis that was mentioned to me recently. "Were you talking to Remus?"

His hazel eyes gleam quizzically behind his spectacles. I never noticed the hue before. They're rather nice...Wait! NOTHING about Potter is attractive! "Why do you ask?"

"Sapphire told me-" I commence speaking and stop abruptly. I had promised not to tell anyone. Potter is one of Remus' closest comrades, though. Certainly he must already be aware of it?

"Told you what?" he prompts.

"Well..." I hesitate a moment longer. If Sapphire is correct, which is probable, Remus would require someone to confide in. I might not be fond of Potter, yet I know that Remus is. "She thinks Remus is gay." He grins like a maniac, looking much more pleased about it than is warranted. "Are you interested in Remus and only asking me out constantly to cover up your sexuality?" I believe Lupin promenades nude within the dark crypts of Snape's imagination on account of the fact that Remus attracts the most bizarre people. I never figured on Potter.

He chuckles. It's an amiable sound. "No, I'm definitely positive about who I fancy." Our gazes lock and I feel heat slowly creep up my neck. What is wrong with me? I disgust myself. Fortunately, I salvage some of my dignity since James - no, Potter - looks away first. "Are there any pressing Hogwarts matters to attend to?" He's focusing on work? At least he isn't focusing on Remus. That would be creepy considering that Lupin is his mother figure.

"Not right now. We just need to patrol the corridors."

"All right. Shall I start in the Great Hall?" Getting straight to business without any attempt at dalliance?

"I guess." My voice seems strange even to my own ears.

"Something wrong?"

"No," I snap without intending to.

He appears mildly offended, however, his concern for me outweighs his pride. "Something is." I cannot inform him. His ego would become larger than it already is. "Well?" I might as well tell him so he will go away and leave me to ponder my muddled thoughts.

"You haven't asked me out in three weeks, which is a record for you. Even in the summer you'd owl me."

James' - no, Potter's - cocky grin materialises. "Miss it?"

The problem is that I do. Yes, he infuriates me, but when someone flirts with you perpetually since fifth year you develop a familiarity with his or her attention. "Of course not. Don't flatter yourself."

The grin broadens. "You're lying."

"You're delusional."

"You're interested."

"You're arrogant."

"You're gorgeous."

"You're...what?"

"You're gorgeous. And brilliant. And kind." What do I say to that? "I shouldn't make such an angel suffer. If it means that much to you I'll hit on you again." Before my mentality can process a witty retort he strides closer to me. I can feel the heat from his body and it causes my heart to thud between my breasts with an emotion I fail to recognise, possibly because I have never felt it before. What's the matter with me? It's doubtless the fault of the hormones since my monthly cycle is forthcoming. Those darn hormones invariably result in me feeling peculiar. On one occasion I felt that doing the tango in a swimming pool on Boxing Day while eating a cheese factory seemed appealing. Not the cheese, the factory itself.

"You never give up, do you?" I meant for my comment to sound brisk, though it came it too breathy.

"No." He leans forward and his untidy black bangs brush against my forehead. Is it just me or is the room spinning? You must be able to feel it also! Just me? Oh no, that indicates he's having an effect on me! "I'm usually impatient, but some things are worth waiting for and worth fighting for." His fingertips brush against my hand. "Lily Evans, will you go out with me?"

I need to escape from whatever he's doing to me and I need to do it now. I push past him and gait out of the library without a backward glance. He calls after my retreating back, "So, this Saturday at eight, then?"

I don't trust myself to speak, thus I turn my head around and nod curtly at Ja-Potter - Oh, I give up! - James. I disappear from view to make my rounds. I hear a whoop of glee, yet that is most likely a fabrication.

I discover naught unusual, ergo I trudge back to the Gryffindor common room both praying and dreading that I'll meet James there. I do view Marauders as I amble through the portrait hole; however, he is not one of them.

"What do you mean macaroni is the root of all evil?" Sirius Black demands. "Everyone knows lasagna is the root of all evil because Garfield likes it so much."

Remus regards Sirius with curiosity. I rather like Remus. He is always courteous and never permits his temper to get the better of him. I need to work on that. "You know that isn't what I said. Why are you changing the subject?"

"Because I think your arse is fat."

"That's over the line."

"Don't talk to me about the line! You crossed it so long ago that the line is now a dot."

"By doing what?"

"By taking your inexperienced, pretty little self around and-"

"You think I'm pretty?"

Ignoring him, Sirius continues, "-getting yourself screwed by a slut."

His tone remains placid, though Remus' eyes harden. "I've told you to stop insulting Sapphire. I'm close to her."

"Oh, I've seen how 'close' the two of you are. Alone for a few seconds and I bet you can't get your Chudly Cannon shorts off fast enough!" The Chudly Cannons? The Weasleys will be impressed!

"It isn't like that. Even if it were you have no right to complain about it. I actually know Sapphire's name, which is more than you can say about most of the twenty-three girls you've shagged, but do I say one word to you about it? About how disrespectful it is to women? About how you're risking getting diseases? About how much it hurts me?" He stops as if he frets he said too much. Abruptly, he turns on his heel and walks up the boys' staircase.

What just happened? It resembled a lover's quarrel, though that's impossible. Isn't it? I recall James' reaction to Sapphire's deduction and everything clicks in my head and fits itself together like a puzzle. A miniature Dumbledore jumps up and down in the back of my mind waving a flag. "How could you be so unfair to someone that loves you?"

Black spins around, noticing my presence for the first time. "What?"

I elaborate, "Even James could've handled that better."

A smirk spreads across his face and he lifts one dark eyebrow, a display that would surely cause my dorm mates to faint. It does not affect me in the slightest bit. "Calling him James now, are you?"

That affects me. I am under the impression that Sirius considers the tinge on my cheeks worth the glare that I send him. "I'm going to find him to get him to talk some sense into you. No one else can." I exit the common room, determined.

Minerva's Note: If you couldn't figure out that this chapter was Lily I'll reserve a room for you in St. Mungo's. Anyway, I love my reviewers and want to know what they thought of this installment, so please drop a comment!