For You

Secrets Out

James had no idea how to go about this.

He was standing across the library, staring at a corner one hundred feet away, where Severus Snape sat, pouring over some large, dull-looking books. On the one hand, as put by Remus, it all depended on how much he wanted to befriend Lily, which was a lot. On the other, as put by Sirius, if you befriended Snape in the process, that was just plain stupid and pointless.

"The git's got nothing but bad feelings for you, mate," Sirius had said when they'd discussed his predicament in their dormitory.

"I wonder why," James replied sarcastically.

"That doesn't matter now," Sirius had stated from his place on his bed. "My point is, you're fighting a losing battle. Now don't get me wrong, I don't blame you for wanting a piece of Evans - even if it is, as you claim, friendship -- but she's given you an impossible ultimatum. What does that say to you?"

"She wants me to prove that I really just want to be friends," James answered.

"No! She doesn't want to be friends at all. Why else would she ask you to do something so stupidly impossible?"

James had had nothing to say to that.

"Sirius, you prat," Remus had scolded, entering the room at the end of the conversation. "James, it's not impossible. Well, making friends with Snape is, but not the trying part. If you try, and make it well known to Lily that you tried your hardest, what will she have left to do?"

"Yeah- it's not your fault he hates you," Sirius chipped in, grinning ironically.

"All right, that's it. You're cut off from the conversation," Remus declared, pulling Sirius' hangings shut.

"Listen James, Lily isn't stupid. She just wants to make sure that you aren't still a giant prat, and you have to admit- she's got no reason to do otherwise. So do her and yourself a favour- just give it a shot."

James took a deep breath and began to walk toward Snape. He was aware of the stares accumulating in their direction- his approaching Snape usually ended up in some sort of entertainment on their part- but that was good; according to Remus, the more witnesses to his act of kindness the better.

"Cheers, Snape," James said cheerfully.

CRACK!

In a bright red flash of light, James was on the floor, out cold.

"Out cold, did you see?"

"Snuck up on him, I heard!"

"Nah- walked right up in plain sight. Snape's just a git."

"Got what he deserved though- detention for a month for using magic."

"Good."

"What'd Potter do when he came round?"

"Nothing, that's just it! He just said what he'd said in the first place; 'cheers, Snape,' and walked away. And get this part- he was smiling."

"You're joking!"

"I'm not! Got right up and walked away, didn't say anything!"

"I'm not surprised- he's so much better than that wanker anyway- it'd be beneath him to fight back."

"Oh, he's so tough and mature!"

"Honestly, you'd think he'd never provoked Severus Snape before," Lily snapped as she and Marla passed by a group of gossiping fourth years into the Great Hall. She was surprised to hear that Potter had actually tried what she'd requested, but she certainly didn't blame Severus for his reaction.

"Well, to his defence, he hasn't had a row with him for ages- maybe he was just trying to be kind," Marla shrugged.

"Leopards don't change their spots," Lily grumbled, sliding into a stool across from her.

"True, but they can try," Marla replied, passing her a tureen.

Lily took it and squinted at her friend suspiciously. "Are you defending James Potter?"

"Certainly not," Marla protested, a contradicting smile on her face. "It's just, well," she looked around to see if anyone was listening, and leaned forward, "I've been talking to Sirius Black-"

"What?!" Lily spat the mouthful of pumpkin juice she'd been drinking back into its goblet.

"- and he told me that James is trying so hard to impress you that he's decided to prove himself mature and as un-git-like as possible."

Lily snorted despite herself. "As if that's possible. I think it highly unlikely that James Potter could ever appear anything but a git to anyone but himself."

"You're so harsh on him," Marla said disapprovingly, "if you just gave him a chance-"

"Gave him a chance?!" Lily again was forced to choke on her juice.

"He's so good-looking Lily, and funny, and he likes you-"

"Good looking? Potter?"

"Well sure," Marla shrugged, handing her a napkin. "He's no Sirius Black, mind, but he's no Severus Snape either."

Lily had had enough. She stood abruptly, glaring at her friend just as Gretchen joined them from the Ravenclaw table.

"What's happening?" she asked brightly, sliding into Lily's place and looking at her expectedly.

"I was just leaving this table of madness," Lily said irritably.

"Oh, come off it Lily," Marla waved her hand dismissively. "You can't go on meeting up with a village boy forever-"

"Keep your voice down!" Lily hissed.

"-Sooner or later you'll have to marry-"

"What is this?" Lily said in a high voice, bending low toward Marla across the table, "Pride and Prejudice? Just because you want to snog Sirius Black and you think if I go out with James Potter he'll suddenly notice you!"

Marla rose too now; the few who had gathered for a late lunch were now watching with interest.

"You shut up," she snapped, gripping her goblet angrily, her face bright red. "Just because you're having a fabulous snog every night doesn't mean the rest of us get to!"

"Just because I get to snog doesn't mean you have to as well," Lily retorted. "Much less become just another one of Black's slags."

Marla responded to this by throwing the contents of her goblet all over the front of Lily's robes.

There was a stunned silence as the onlookers gaped. Lily, dripping and sticky, gazed, stunned, at Marla's flushed and furious face.

"I've had enough of this," Lily said, not wanting it to go any further. "I'm leaving."

"You know what I think?" Marla taunted after Lily's retreating back, "I think there is no boy from Honeydukes. I think you made the whole thing up and you just go off to the village every night to meet someone else. And I think I know who it is."

Lily turned, shocked, to see Marla's smirking face.

"Oh yes Lily," Marla said smugly, stepping slowly toward Lily, who was now too shocked to move. "I think it's someone from the school. Someone we don't know well enough to expect it, but well enough to think it absolutely foul."

"Marla, don't," Lily begged in an undertone.

"I saw you," Marla whispered maliciously. "You've been lying to me, and Gretchen as well. I can see why, of course, but honestly Lily- you're such a pretty girl... surely you don't think him fit? I must say, you're awfully proud to reject James Potter and shag Snivellus Snape!"

She'd said this close enough to Lily's ear that no one else, however straining, heard, but nevertheless, this provoked Lily to rear her arm back and hit Marla with a quick punch to the nose, using her knuckles as she tried to fight the urge to leap upon her and strangle the bitch right out of her.

Marla staggered backward, a hand cupping her nose, blood already beginning seep through her fingers, and stared, wide-eyed, at Lily. It seemed everyone else was too.

"Good luck snogging Sirius Black with that nose," Lily said bitingly, looking at her friend with the utmost contempt. "You won't be able to breath and snog at the same time if I did it right."

She turned then and left, heading straight for the large oak doors. Running to the lakeside, Lily stopped short, grabbing the limb of a tree, and stared into the waters. Would Marla reveal their secret out of this newfound contempt for her? What would happen to her relationship if she did? Lily found it all difficult to comprehend.

Later that evening Lily finally returned to the castle. Ignoring the stares and whispers from those she passed, Lily climbed through the portrait hole and headed straight for her dormitory.

When she opened the door, the first thing she saw was Marla hunched on her bed, knees drawn up to her chin and staring into nothingness. She looked up when Lily entered the room, the area around her mouth seemed strangely red, as if the blood from her nose had stained her skin.

"Lily, I-"

"Don't," Lily held up her hand, stopped before her bed and looking down at her with arms crossed. "Just tell me why. And how? How did you find out?"

Marla sniffed, touching her bruised nose gently.

"I want you to know it was completely by accident," she began pleadingly. "I went to borrow your Potions book because I'd lost mine and I- I found a note. I don't know how, but I knew. So I followed you. And Lily you just- you looked so happy and I hated you for it and I wanted so badly to be happy like that." Marla had begun to cry now, and it occurred to Lily that this had been a very uncharacteristic day for her usually confident and content friend. Perhaps she'd been hiding her real feelings about loneliness all along?

"I'm sorry Lily, I'm just so sorry, but Sirius wanted to talk to me about James and I've always liked him, you know I have, and all I could think of was how you can choose between men if you like, and I'm just trying to get one, who probably thinks I'm foul."

Lily sat next to her friend on the bed.

"Did you?"

"No, of course not. Not even Gretchen. It doesn't matter anyway," Marla wiped her nose gingerly, "everyone thinks I'm a complete cow now for being such a bitch to you."

"Marla," Lily put a hand on her knee. "Marla, you were a complete cow, but I understand, and I shouldn't have lied to you but surely you understand as well why I had to."

Marla nodded. "Yes. If it were Severus Snape I'd want to keep it a secret as well."

"It isn't like that," Lily said, slightly irritated.

Marla didn't reply.

Lily sat with her a little longer, then stood up.

"Don't worry," she assured her friend. "This will blow over eventually. I'm sorry for hitting you. It was terrible of me, but you did stain my blouse."

"I promise I won't tell anyone," Marla said, "although it might get out as a rumour. After all, I did announce to the Great Hall that you were sneaking off every night to snog someone."

"Yeah, yeah you did," Lily said with a grimace. "Try to contradict yourself on that as publicly as possible, will you?"

Marla nodded as Lily headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

Lily turned back to look at her friend. She probably wouldn't have made up with Marla so quickly if Severus hadn't been so directly involved.

"I have to go to Severus and explain to him what's happened. He's likely already heard the worst of it by now."

But Marla had one more question.

"Lily? Why him? Is he rich? Is he a handsome man taking a Polyjuice Potion?"

Lily regarded her with a quizzical air for a moment, then replied with a laugh, "Wow Marla. You are lonely."