Forgiveness

Lily,

I hope your summer’s going well…err, better than it started at least. I know you’re still upset about what happened with Alex and I wish I could say something, anything to make you feel better. Just say the word and I will hex his brains out, I don’t care how illegal it is. I guess you’re probably tired of talking about him, so I promise I won’t mention it again. I just… I hope you’re doing all right. Don’t take what he said too personally. Everyone else loves you just the way you are, especially Potter… kidding! I’m just kidding, please don’t send me a cursed hat for that. And I know you’re probably too busy at the shop to write back to your own best friend, but I’m taking your lack of response as a yes to you coming to stay here for the last week of holiday. See you soon!

XOXO - Mary

I smiled slightly at Mares’ letter and folded it back up, slipping it carefully back inside its envelope. I leaned over the counter, staring out the big front window at the boats that floated by on the river, golden in the evening sun.

Riverside Flower Shoppe, printed in bold red letters across the window impeded my view and I looked back down at the box full of letters sitting in front of me.  I was trying to sift through the pile that I had accumulated over the summer, deciding which ones to save and which ones to toss…

Lily,

Ok, I know you’ve gone all “troubled teen” on us, but I was kidding when I said I’d take your lack of response as a yes to you coming to stay. Can you please just owl me back already? Otherwise I’m going to think that that jungle of a flower shop your parents own has finally taken you prisoner and I’m going to come with a machete and rescue you from it’s flowery depths. Answer, pleeeease.

XOXO -Mary

 A small giggle escaped my lips as I set this letter on top of her other one and tore open the envelope that had just arrived today.

 Lily,

Thank Merlin you FINALLY answered. I had my machete in hand, just so you know. You thought I was kidding, didn’t you? Anyways, Amy’s arriving tomorrow and we’ll meet you at the train station on Sunday when you get in. Can’t wait to see your beautiful, smiling face!

XOXO -Mary

 I smirked and tossed this letter on top of the others. Amy had written to me all summer, too saying about the same stuff as Scarlet, hoping I was doing ok after what happened with Alex and saying she couldn’t wait to see me soon.

I had told them everything that had happened with Alex, from his list of reasons not to be with me right down to his infidelity. They were furious of course, and it took Amy and I quite a while to talk Mary out of marching down to the Hufflepuff dorm and beating the snot out of him right then and there.

Nothing like the loyalty of friends, eh?

I looked down at the counter, noticing one last letter that I hadn’t opened yet. I carefully ripped open the envelope and a small scrap of paper fell out.

Lily,

This is getting stupid. Please just talk to me… I can’t believe I have to resort to writing letters when I’m just a few streets down from you. Will you please just talk to me already? I just want--

I crumpled the letter in my hand before I had even finished it and tossed it in the bin. I knew whom it was from… It was from the same boy who kept showing up to the flower shop, begging for my forgiveness, but I still had no desire to speak to him.

“Lily?” a voice rang through the empty shop and I started, not even realizing how late it had gotten.

I scrambled out from behind the counter towards the staircase in the back corner of the shop that led upstairs to the apartment.

“Yeah?” I called up the dark staircase, and a figure appeared at the top.

“You can close up now.” It was my mum. “Dinner’s just about ready.”

I nodded and started flicking off the lights as I wandered around the shop, giving the flowers one last drink of water for the night. I locked the front door and flipped the “Sorry, we’re closed” sign over.

My parents had opened the Riverside Flower Shoppe when they got married twenty years ago and had run it fairly successfully ever since. Err, well, successfully enough to pay the bills I guess.

Makes sense now though, doesn’t it? That my parents would name my sister and I after flowers? Pretty clever, eh? No, I guess not…

The apartment upstairs was…. Well, small. Tuney and I had shared a room for a while but she took it over completely once I left for Hogwarts and she made it very clear that I wasn’t welcome in that room when I got home after first year. So I moved my stuff up to the attic, and I’d been there ever since.

It wasn’t exactly a glamorous place to live – Tuney was horribly embarrassed of it—but it was good enough for me. It could be a bit crowded at times, especially when Tuney invited her monstrous boyfriend over. He took up half the kitchen. Seriously. I wish I were kidding.

But I mean, how many people can say, “oh yeah, I grew up in the attic of a flower shop on the river, what about you? A house, you say? My, how predictable…”

After I made sure all the lights were off and the plants were watered, I hopped up the rickety wooden stairs to our small flat, glad to be free of the intoxicating aroma of a hundred different kinds of flowers.

“Hey Lils,” my dad called from the stove. “How was the evening?”

“Slow,” I said, dropping down into a chair at the table.

“Well, that’s ok,” my dad shrugged and I suddenly felt bad that not more people wanted to buy flowers tonight.

“I’m sure it’ll pick up again tomorrow,” I reassured him, watching as Tuney silently entered the room and threw me a dirty look.

Awesome. It was going to be one of those nights.

“I saw Severus stop by the shop earlier,” Mum commented casually as she brought dinner to the table. “Is he having a good summer? I haven’t seen him around much…”

“He’s been busy,” I shrugged, already tuning myself out of this conversation. My parents didn’t know anything about what happened between us at school. I doubt they’d understand… and Tuney would probably only tell me that I deserved it either way.

“Have you finished packing yet?” My mum asked, taking the seat across from me at the table. Tuney sat begrudgingly next to me, folding her arms across her chest.

“Not yet,” I said biting my lip. I hadn’t even started packing yet. Oops…

“Well, don’t leave it for the last minute,” my dad said, settling in at the head of the table. “Your train leaves early tomorrow and you don’t want to miss it.”

“Yeah, then we’d be stuck with you all year,” Petunia grumbled, stabbing a potato rather violently with her fork.

“Give it a rest, Tuney,” I muttered as my parents exchanged a resigned look. They had given up on getting Tuney and I to get along. It became very clear after my first year at Hogwarts that she wanted nothing to do with me.

“So do you have more of those B.I.R.D. tests this year?” My dad asked and I snorted into my stew.

“They’re called O.W.L.s dad,” I laughed loudly and my dad smiled unapologetically. Across from me, Tuney’s scowl was starting to burn holes in the table.

“And no, we only have to take O.W.L.s once at the end of fifth year, and then I’ll have N.E.W.T.s at the end of seventh year,” I explained and then remembered something. “Oh!”

I hopped off my chair and the floorboards creaked loudly beneath my feet as I flitted across the room, grabbing one of the letters from my stack and holding it out to my mum.

“Speaking of O.W.L.s,” I said slowly as my mum took the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside. “I got my results today.”

My mum’s green eyes scanned the page, and she frowned slightly, looking up at me. “I don’t understand… What does ‘O’ stand for?”

My dad looked over and me, his face expectant.

“It means ‘outstanding’,” I said, trying very hard to ignore the daggers my sister was shooting me with her eyes. “It’s the highest grade you can receive.”

“Lily,” My mum’s eyes twinkled slightly and I noticed that tears were forming in the corners. “You’ve gotten O’s in everything.”

I nodded eagerly and my mum jumped out of her chair, engulfing me in a tight hug.

“Oh, sweetheart,” She murmured, rubbing my back. “We’re so proud of you.”

“Proud of what,” Petunia hissed suddenly, slamming her fork down on the table and stood up, her chair falling backwards with a loud crash. “That she can levitate frogs? That she can turn turtles into teacups? What the hell kind of accomplishments are those?”

“Petunia,” my dad said, using his warning voice.

“We do more than that, Tuney,” I said quietly from where I stood with mum.

“Of course you do,” Petunia spat as she started to stride angrily out of the dining table. “That foul Snape boy talked about those Dementor things that suck your soul out. Do you also learn how to do that?”

“Petunia, that’s enough,” My dad said forcefully. “Sit back down.”

Petunia ignored him and paced across the floor. “I’m sick of this family acting like what she does is so great… like what she does is normal. It’s not normal!”

I stared at Petunia, her silky blond hair falling into her thin face.

“Tuney, I—“

“It’s bollucks!” Petunia shouted, cutting me off. “I’m sick of lying to everyone about where you go during the year. I can’t even tell my boyfriend where my own sister really is.”

“You’ll be able to tell him eventually,” I stuttered, not knowing what else to say. Even though I wasn’t crazy about Vernon Dursley, I couldn’t even imagine how hard it would be to have to lie to him about her own family.

 “Everyone thinks you’re some prodigy sent off to a special boarding school because you got a scholarship,” Petunia sneered. “But I’m the only one who sees you for what you really are… a FREAK!”

“Petunia Marie Evans!” My mother yelled and Petunia stopped pacing to stare at her, still seething. “I never want to hear you say that ever again. We realize this is stressful for you, especially considering how close you and Vernon are. But when you two settle down and get married, you can tell him everything you like. Lily has said so herself.”

“I’d rather tell him she were dead than a witch,” Petunia growled and I felt like I’d been slapped across the face. I silently watched my sister fume. The same sister that promised to be my very best friend forever and ever. The same sister who was always there for me. The same sister that I adored completely. Well, we were all that until five years ago.

“Go to your room, Petunia,” My dad said quietly, and I looked over at him. He was staring at his hands resting on the kitchen table; his eyes were tight with anger.            

“This is bollucks,” Petunia scoffed again, stomping across the small room to her bedroom and slamming the door loudly. “I can’t wait to move out of this dump.”

I stared at Petunia’s closed door, chewing on my lip. Had the entire world gone crazy? First Severus flips out at me, Alex cheats on me, and now Petunia…

Dear Universe, you win. Now can you leave me alone?

I always knew Petunia had a problem with what I was, but she’d never said it in so many words. I looked over my dad who was still staring at the table. My mum had gone to sit down next to him, her pale blond hair clashing wildly with his red hair… the hair that I inherited from him.

“Dad… I’m—I’m sorry,” I said quietly, not moving from where I stood.

“This isn’t your fault, Lily,” Mum said, glancing up at me. “Your sister… she just needs to learn how to control her temper.”

“I shouldn’t talk about school in front of her,” I muttered, dropping down onto the shabby couch in the corner.

“She’s just sensitive about it,” Mum said softly. “Do you want to finish your dinner?”

“I’m not really that hungry anymore,” I shook my head. “I think I’ll just go finish packing if that’s alright.”

Mum nodded in understanding. Dad was still staring at the table, his hands clasped together.

I walked down the narrow hallway past Petunia’s closed door to the end, where the door to the old linen closet had been removed. A ladder was stuffed awkwardly into the space, leading up to a square hole in the ceiling where my bedroom was situated.

I scrambled up the ladder through the hole into the attic that had been renovated as my room. A wooden hatch served as my door and I lowered it over the ladder.

The attic was small, the ceiling slanting down dramatically on either side but there was enough room for me to stand up straight in the middle. My bed was shoved unceremoniously against the wall by the large window looking out over the front of the store and the river.

The wooden walls had been bare when I first moved up here, and my parents didn’t have enough money to have it wallpapered or painted.

Severus and I had spent that first summer going all over town collecting old wallpaper sample books and pasting them onto the walls so that instead of one continuous patter, my room now contained several hundred, none of them the same.

It wasn’t fancy or glamorous by any means, but it was home and I loved it, though this summer the multicolored walls only served as a constant reminder of what Severus had done…

I dropped down into the chair in front of my desk that was situated at the opposite end of the room from my bed. A dusty mirror hung precariously on the wall and I stared at my reflection.

I wrinkled my nose at myself in the mirror, not satisfied with what I saw.

Ever since Alex had so nicely informed me of my lack of physical appeal, it was all I could see when I looked in the mirror. My freckles were too prominent, my hair was too red, my eyes were too green.

I looked like an alien.

Maybe he was right… would it kill me to brush my hair once in a while?

Ugh, listen to me! One guy tells me I’m not pretty and suddenly it’s all I can think about.

I stared at myself, my auburn eyebrows pulling together in concentration.

As Mary and Ames had said constantly the last week of the term, Alex had been an idiot for breaking up with me. I knew they were right… I was pretty and smart, the top of my class. So shouldn’t I have a line of guys waiting to ask me out?

No… I knew why I didn’t. Alex had been right about one thing, at least. I did take everything too seriously. Hell, even Potter said I should loosen up.

I couldn’t deny to myself that my life did seem rather dry and unexciting. When was the last time I felt that rush of danger from doing something against the rules? When was the last time I snuck out of the dorm after hours?

Well, never actually. I had never broken the rules. And look where a life of following the rules had gotten me…

“Maybe it is time for a change…” I muttered to my reflection.

I frowned at myself in the mirror, pulling the hair-tie from my hair and watching as my fiery red hair fell around my shoulders. My unruly hair was kinked and tangled from being left in a ponytail all the time.

Yikes, no wonder I always kept it pulled back…

I combed through it quickly with my fingers, watching as it smoothed out, falling into loose waves down my back.

If I truly adopted a laid back attitude, maybe I would have the same luck with boys that Mary and Ames did. I had always said I didn’t date Hogwarts boys, and that was true. I’d never had an interest in them before Alex. But maybe I just wasn’t attracting the right ones…

I sighed, suddenly wondering if I was only doing this to get Alex’s attention and then shook my head vigorously. That was stupid and childish and I had to promise myself that I wasn’t doing this for him. I was doing this for me…'

I pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk and drew in a sharp breath.

The drawer was stuffed full of letters that Alex had written me during our brief love affair, before things had gone wrong. I had re-read these letters several times this summer in the hopes of spotting exactly where everything had gone wrong…but to no avail.

I shoved the letters into the bin next to my desk on top of the letters from Severus without another thought. The last thing in the drawer, a magical moving photograph of Alex and I, made me hesitate. I looked at the photograph for a minute, overwhelmed with the image of Alex kissing me lovingly on the forehead while I hugged him. This had been taken just days before everything ended. Maybe even the same day he’d slept with Katie Bishop…

Hatred bubbled up inside me and threatened to overflow, I tore the photograph down the middle, tossing the pieces into the bin. Then I kicked the bin away from me as hard as I could.  

I nodded resolutely at myself in the dusty mirror and then busied myself with packing up my school trunk for the rest of the night, trying to make sure I didn’t forget anything. It was well after midnight when I finally finished. I closed my trunk and sank back on my bed.

Ugh my train leaves the next morning at seven. Can I pass out now?

I closed my eyes, not bothering to change into pajamas and my thoughts started to get fuzzy as sleep took over.

A tapping sound startled me back awake. My eyes snapped open and I stared up at my ceiling. The tapping sounded again and I sat up groggily, staring around my dark room.

The sharp tap sounded from the direction of the window right next to my bed and I stared at it.

The moon outside was full, illuminating the street below as I leaned out, trying to find the source of the disruption.

“Lily?” A voice called from below and I squinted into the darkness.

I recognized that voice. Ugh, not now please. I just want to go back to sleep.

“Lily, can you come down here, please?” Severus called up at me and I let out an impatient sigh into the darkness.

“I don’t want to talk to you Severus,” I hissed down to the dark street below.

“Please, Lily,” Severus begged, his voice heavy with emotion. “I’m prepared to sleep down here in front of your door if I have to.”

“Sev, you have got to stop making that threat,” I growled. “It wasn’t funny at Hogwarts and it definitely isn’t funny here.”

“Then just talk to me,” Severus pleaded.

I leaned my head against my window frame, thinking.

If I were really and truly going to try and be more laid back… wouldn’t it only be fair to start with Severus? Here I was, staring down at the boy I had grown up with, cast my first spell with at Hogwarts, cried on his shoulder when I got made fun of for being too brainy or having too many freckles…

He had made a mistake that was for sure. And I knew that I couldn’t just forgive him for calling me a mudblood…

But… would it kill me to just talk to him?

“Lily, please,” Severus said quietly, his voice breaking slightly.

I swallowed hard, the warm summer breeze blowing my hair into my face.

“Stay there,” I called down to him. “I’ll be right down.”

I climbed quietly down the ladder in the linen closet and stepped lightly across the floor, avoiding the spots where I knew it creaked.

I lingered at the bottom of the stairs in the flower shop, staring through the twisting stems and leaves towards the door where a dark shape was huddled outside.

The flower shop looked like a wildly overgrown garden in the dark, but it was oddly comforting, being surrounded by the sweet smells.

I turned the lock on the door, being careful to open it slowly so as not to disrupt the bell that normally would jingle.

I slipped outside quickly, letting the door close quietly behind me.

“What happened to you?” Severus asked sharply, taking in my appearance. My hand jumped automatically to my hair, remembering that I’d let it down for the first time in who knows how long…

“Is it bad?” I asked, completely forgetting for a moment that I was supposed to be ridiculously mad at him.

“No, it’s… it’s nice,” Severus muttered, his dark eyes lingering on my face.

I stared back at him for a moment, unsure of what to say next. He looked worn down, tired, and anxious as he stood in front of me. It was almost like the past two months had never happened. He still looked like the same boy I’d grown up with. He was still my Severus…

But he was also the same boy who had fallen so deep into the Dark Arts that it had caused him to lash out at me and to learn dark spells that no respectable wizard should ever know.

“What do you want, Sev?” I said tensely as memories of June filled my head.

Mudblood! Mudblood! Mudblood! His voice echoed in my head. I was starting to think this was a bad idea now.

“Why did you change your hair?” Severus pressed on, shaking his head.

“It just… it doesn’t matter,” I sputtered, thrown by his insistence on the subject. “I just thought I’d try something different.”

“It’s not because of him, is it?” Severus asked, his voice seeping with disdain. I knew which him he was referring to and it made my stomach twist uncomfortably.

“It doesn’t matter why I did it, Sev,” I huffed, growing annoyed with him. “Now, why are you here?”

“Look,” Severus said, his eyes dropping to the ground. “I am really sorry about what happened. I was just so angry and fed up with Potter and I lashed out…at the wrong person. You know I’d never intentionally call you a… a you-know-what in a million years.”

“But you did,” I said quietly. “Look, I know you were angry and lost your temper for a bit but…calling me a you-know-what was really…” I didn’t even know how to bloody describe it. An all-time low? “It wasn’t just a stupid mistake, okay?” I finished firmly.

“And I’ve regretted it every second of every day since it happened,” Severus said urgently, running a hand distractedly through his dark hair. I couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t have quite the same elegance that Potter did when he performed the same move. I wondered idly if Sev was trying to imitate him.

Like he’d ever admit to that…

“It’s just… you of all people, Sev,” I whispered, looking away from him towards the moonlit river so he wouldn’t see the tears welling up in my eyes.

“I don’t know what else I can do to make you believe how sorry I am,” Sev said anxiously, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

“You know, you can’t make me believe anything,” I said pointedly, crossing my arms.

“I didn’t mean… I wasn’t…” Severus sputtered apologetically and I giggled despite myself and the situation. The laugh didn’t sound like my own, it was foreign; I hadn’t laughed all summer and it felt good… normal. Only I wish it wasn’t Severus who was making me laugh. It made it all the more difficult to be mad at him.

“What is so funny?” He snapped, glaring at me from behind his curtain of dark hair.

“I forgot how flustered you get when you think I’ve misunderstood you,” I chuckled, tucking my long behind my ears. If I were to be completely honest, I really did miss him… But I knew I couldn’t forgive him for what he’d said. And yet, if I was truly going to start being laid back, I suppose I could give him a second chance, right?

“So glad it amuses you,” Severus pouted, his shoulders slouching.

I sighed and tugged on his sleeve, gesturing to the stone bench at the river’s edge. “Let’s sit down.”

Severus dropped ungracefully onto the bench while I curled my legs underneath me.

“Look,” I took a deep breath, my eyes finding his in the dim light from the moon. “I don’t think I’m ready to forgive you for what happened just yet.”

Severus closed his eyes in silent defeat but I pressed on.

“But… I’ll work on it,” I said and Severus opened his eyes to peer at me. “I’m not exactly known for keeping my cool around Potter either. We all do stupid things.”

“So… what does this mean?” Severus breathed, his dark eyes reflecting the moonlight.

“It means that I’m giving you a second chance,” I said slowly, watching as Severus’s face relaxed considerably. “But there are a few things I need to ask of you…”

“Anything,” Severus said quickly, his eager eyes not leaving mine.

“You cannot hex anyone from my house,” I said sternly and he frowned slightly. “And for Merlin’s sake, try not to let your friends do it either, alright?”

“Does that include—“

“Yes, that includes Potter,” I cut him off, and he scowled. “I know most of the time he deserves it, but I’m still a Prefect and I can’t allow it.”

“Fine…” Severus muttered through clenched teeth. I was surprised that he wasn’t putting up more a fight against the no-hexing-Potter rule.

“And one last thing,” I breathed, looking down at my fingers as they traced the cool stone bench beneath them. “I don’t care where or how or when you learned that spell you used on Potter by the lake, but if I ever see you do something like that again, then I’m sorry but I can’t be friends with you anymore.”

“It won’t happen again, I promise,” Severus said sincerely and I gave him a small smile.

I sighed and looked back towards the river, watching as two white swans floated past us with their heads tucked under their wings.

“So do you have to go to bed or… erm, do you maybe want to go for a walk or something?” Severus stuttered, dropping his dark brooding eyes to the ground. “Like old times?”

“I could go for a walk, I suppose,” I nodded. I was already not going to get enough sleep tonight, what’s another hour or two?

I pushed myself off the bench, heading down the street along the river.

“Did you get your O.W.L. results?” Severus asked tentatively, falling into step beside me.

“All O’s,” I nodded and his face split into a huge smile.

“Brilliant, of course,” He nodded and I felt myself blush. “I did alright. Half O’s and half E’s. But I’ll still get to take all the N.E.W.T.S. courses I wanted.”

“So I guess that means we’ll be in the same Potions class this year,” I said, glancing sideways at him and smiling. “That’s never happened before. We’ll be unstoppable. I wonder what kind of things we’ll be doing…”

“Slughorn told me at the end of the year that we’d be doing a Hate Potion, which sounds kind of complicated and I’m not sure why you’d want to ever brew a Hate Potion, but if Slughorn thinks it’ll be on the exam, it must be important…” Severus began rambling, barely pausing for me to respond.

I glanced behind me at the flower shop, making sure I’d closed the door and looked up to see the light in Petunia’s bedroom still on. Her face was silhouetted in the window and I realized she had been watching us.

“And then he also said we’d be doing Veritaserum which I didn’t think we would be doing until seventh year, but he said he wants us to get enough practice with it so it must be on the N.E.W.T.s too,” Severus continued happily.

I smiled at him, remembering how we used to spend hours during the past summers speculating about what the following year would bring.

At least some things were back to normal…

“Lily Evans, get your cute little arse over here!”  A shrill voice broke through the crowd of people at the train station and I looked up.

A bright blond head was bobbing towards me through the people and before I could prepare myself, Amy crashed into me, sending me sprawling backwards onto my trunk.

“Lily!” Mary squealed, diving on top of us and I let out a grunt as she landed on top of me.

Passersby gave us odd looks as Amy and Mary pulled me up from my trunk but we didn’t pay any attention to them.

“Tell us all about your summer! You barely said anything in your letters,” Amy scolded me playfully, looping her arm through mine as Mary grabbed my trunk.

“It wasn’t that exciting,” I told them, as we rode the escalator down to the underground. “I worked and Petunia kindly reminded me daily how horrible I’ve made her life.”

“She needs to get over herself,” Mary scoffed, as she dragged my bag into the subway car that opened its doors as it stopped in front of us.

“Look at it this way, you don’t have to deal with her for another ten months,” Amy said, pulling me down onto the bench next to her.

“That’s true,” I nodded steadying myself as the car lurched forward. I wasn’t sure if that thought made me feel better or worse. Either way, I didn’t want to think about my sister anymore.

“What have you been doing this summer?” I asked Amy.

“I think a more appropriate question is who has she been doing this summer,” Mary giggled and Amy rolled her eyes at her.

“You didn’t…” I stared at Amy, my mouth open.

“I didn’t sleep with anyone, Mares’ just exaggerating,” Amy said, leaning forward and scowling at Mary around me.

“Well?” I pressed when Amy didn’t elaborate.

“ I just had a few flings with the boys in my town,” Anna shrugged, her chocolate brown eyes twinkling deviously.

“A few,” Mary snorted. “Try eleven.”

“Eleven?” I shrieked, making all the heads in our car turn towards us, and Amy pinched my arm.

“Shhh, people will think I’m some kind of hussy,” Amy hissed at me and I laughed.

“Where on earth would they get that impression?” I snickered. “To be considered a hussy you would have needed to have gotten with at least twelve boys.”

“Oh, shut up,” Ames shoved me playfully as the Underground came to a screeching halt. Mary led us out of the car and up the stairs.

The stairs led us up to a small square. There was a park in the middle with a winding path covered by tall trees and dotted with gardens. Surrounding the park was a wall of townhouses, each identical. The darkened brick buildings towered over us as Mares led us down the sidewalk towards the end of the street.

She stopped in front of one of the dark black doors trimmed in gold and I stared up at the building. A giant golden “3” was mounted above the door and Mary quickly unlatched the black gate, beckoning us to climb the steep steps up to the front door.

Mary’s house had always fascinated me. Her family was obviously well off to live in this kind of area in London. The foyer was grand, an enormous wooden staircase winding up to the first floor to the left of us and the ornately decorated hallway stretching out before us that led to the kitchen and dining room.

“Mum! Dad! We’re home,” Mary called, her voice echoing around the large house. No one answered and Mary shrugged at us. “Well, they’re around here somewhere. We can say hello to them later.”

There was a loud crack and a poof of smoke and a small creature appeared before us, making Amy and I jump back slightly. Neither of us had a house-elf so it always startled us when we came to Mary’s house.

“There you are, Tiggy,” Mary said brightly, bending down towards the small elf that was sporting an orange and black tiger-striped pillowcase. “Can you take Lily’s trunk up to my room?”

Tiggy nodded happily, her tiny fingers hooking around the handle of my trunk and disappeared with another crack!

We spent the rest of the day catching up on everything that had happened during the summer. We wandered around the city idly, window-shopping and drinking coffee and we ended up in the park outside Mary’s house as the sun sank behind the tall houses.

The three of us were seated on a bench facing the street, just a few houses down from Mary’s and I had started telling them about my midnight visitor last night.

“I can’t believe you finally talked to him,” Mary muttered, her fingers scratching idly at her paper coffee cup.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore,” I sighed. “He showed up at the shop almost every day. What was I supposed to do?”

“I think it was good you talked to him,” Ames said and I glanced over at her.

“You do?” Mary and I asked at the same time though our inflections differed greatly.

“Yes,” Amy said slowly, glancing between Mary’s and me with incredulous looks. “I mean, you were friends for such a long time and yes, it was horrible what he said to you, but it was a mistake and look how hard he’s tried to make it up to you!”

“He called her a mudblood, Ames,” Mary reminded her breezily.

“They grew up together, Mares,” Anna answered for me. “It would be like you and Sirius not talking…”

“That’s completely different,” Mary said carelessly and her eyes flickered over to the space between the Muggle apartments 11 and 13.

“It’s not different at all and you know it,” Amy retorted, snapping her fingers in front of Mares to get her attention.

I glanced back and forth between my friends, taken aback by how passionate they seemed to be on the subject of my friendship with Severus.

“For one thing, Sirius has never called me a…a you-know-what,” Mary said and Amy glared at her. Mary was pureblood so no one had ever called her a mudblood. “And for another, Sirius isn’t in Slytherin.”

“Slytherins aren’t all that bad,” I said quietly and Mary and Amy both looked at me as if they had forgotten I was sitting in between them.

“Well, they’re not,” I said defensively. “Sirius’s brother is in Slytherin, isn’t he?”

“Have you met Regulus?” Mary scowled, flipping her long, dark, hair over her shoulder as she glanced down the street at the luxurious Muggle apartments with the large golden numbers 11 and 13 hanging from the roof. I knew that the Black residence was behind all of that.

“No, but he’s Sirius’s brother, how bad can he be?” I asked innocently, looking sideways at Ames who looked just as perplexed as I did. All I knew of Sirius’s younger brother was that he was in Slytherin. I’d never had any classes with him and only knew him by sight. He had the same shaggy black hair and piercing gray eyes as Sirius.

“His entire family’s been in Slytherin, ‘cept for him,” Mary explained, glaring up at the Black house. “They were really upset when he was put in Gryffindor. Wrote a letter to Dumbledore himself, trying to move him.”

“No way,” I said, not understanding how someone could be upset about a placement in Gryffindor.

Mary nodded. “They’re all about this pure-blood mania, his family. Sirius thinks its all bollucks though.”

I frowned, never having realized what kind of family Sirius came from. No wonder he and Potter reacted to strongly when Severus called me a mudblood. No wonder Mary was so sensitive about the whole Severus thing…

“What do they think of you? Since you’re in Gryffindor?” Ames asked. We knew Mary and Sirius spent a lot of time together during the summers, but she never went into much detail about it.

“I don’t think they care too much,” Mary shrugged. “I mean, they’ve always been friendly with my family since we’re purebloods, too. I think they just saw Sirius as a disappointment, him not being in Slytherin like the rest of his family.”

“That’s really strange,” Mary said softly, narrowing her eyes at the giant building.

“Let’s not talk about Sirius or Severus anymore,” I suggested, sensing that this topic was beginning to become a source of tension for Mary.

Mary gave me a grateful smile and turned away from the Black house.

Anna opened her mouth to say something but her words were lost as something exploded inside the Black house. We all wheeled towards the sound in surprise, gazing up at the ominous building. Lights illuminated the windows on the second floor and shouting erupted inside, though the words were unintelligible.

Ames and I glanced over at Mary, whose eyebrows were pulled together in concern.

The shouting grew louder and suddenly we heard every word they were saying.

“—Don’t know what it means to be part of the Black family!” A woman’s voice shrieked, piercing through the still summer air.

“I know what it bloody well means!” A voice shouted back and Amy and I snapped our heads towards Mary. We all recognized that voice… it was hard not to.

Mary’s lips were pressed into a hard line as she squinted towards the disruption.

“You can’t toe this line anymore!” The woman’s voice screeched. “You’re either in this family or you’re not.”

I heard Sirius’s voice shout something back, though I couldn’t understand what he said.

The Muggle mansions 11 and 13 split apart quickly and 12, Grimmauld Place pushed itself forward. The door burst open with a crash. 

A figure toppled out onto the porch, dragging something large behind him.

The porch lights flared to life and we all gasped as Sirius was illuminated, clutching the handle of his trunk in one hand, his wand grasped in the other.

He dragged his trunk, with some effort, down to the bottom of the stairs before the door slammed open again, the silhouette of a tall, statuesque man illuminated by the light within.

“Sirius Orion Black! Stop right there!” The man roared, stepping onto the porch where we could clearly see his face. He looked like an older version of Sirius, slightly taller with longer hair that was pulled away from his face and tied at the nape of his neck.

Sirius paused, turning back towards his house stiffly as the tall man descended the stairs towards him.

“Get back inside. You’re making a scene,” The man sniffed, his voice full of impatience and disdain.

“You heard her,” Sirius growled, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m either in this family or I’m not.”

“So you’re just going to leave? Run away?” The man, I assumed it was Sirius’s father, said evenly. His voice was haughty, as if he couldn’t care less whether Sirius stayed or not. “I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave.”

Sirius visibly winced at that and turned away from his father towards the street.

“I’m not running away,” He spat angrily. “I’m taking myself out a toxic environment.”

There was another loud bang and a flash of light from the second floor and Sirius glanced back at the window briefly.

“Besides, I think she’s made it perfectly clear that I’m not welcome here anymore,” Sirius said quietly, so quietly that I almost didn’t catch his words.

“You know what this means, then, once you leave,” Sirius’s father sighed as if he were entirely bored with the situation. “Don’t bother coming back.”

“I didn’t plan on it,” Sirius muttered as he picked up his trunk and yanked it forwards, dragging it after him as he headed down the street.

His father stared after him for a moment before turning hastily and closing the large front door behind him. One last explosion from the second story made the windows shudder and then everything was silent as the 12 slithered back between 11 and 13.

Mary hopped off the bench and hurried across the street towards Sirius who didn’t look too surprised to see us there. Sirius set down his trunk while she said something to him. She spoke quietly and Amy and I were too far away to hear what she said.

Mary let out a gasp at something Sirius responded and then reached out a hand, placing it comfortingly on his arm.

“Ames, d’you ever wonder if maybe… there’s more between her and Sirius than she’s telling us?” I whispered, leaning towards her.

Ames frowned, running a hand through her corn-silk hair. “I’m not sure…”

“I mean, they grew up together like Sev and I,” I said hastily, my eyes flitting back and forth between Ames and the couple talking under the streetlight. “And everyone thought Sev fancied me. Mares’ put up with a lot of Sirius’s problems over the years… I just wonder if she might fancy him a bit.”

“You’ve put up with all Sev’s crap… d’you fancy him?” Ames raised a sly eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes.

“Touché,” I replied blandly and Amy laughed quietly.

“Honestly, though?” Amy said quietly, leaning towards me. “I think she might… I asked her about it once, last year. She got really mad at me, told me I was off my rocker if I thought that.”

“Defensive, eh?” I peered over at Mary and Sirius who were still talking.

“Really defensive,” Ames nodded.

“Well, if she does like him, I wonder why she’s never told us,” I wondered out loud and Amy clucked her tongue impatiently.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, narrowing her brown eyes at me. “You and I both know the kind of person Sirius Black is… he’s worse than Potter when it comes to girls. She’s probably embarrassed.”

“Good point…” I chewed on my lip. “But I wish she would tell us. I don’t want her to feel like she has to keep secrets from us.”

“She probably would tell us if we didn’t act like we hated the Marauders so much,” Amy giggled and I let out a snort.

“It’s not acting on my part,” I laughed, tucking my legs up underneath me on the bench. “But I get your point… maybe we could ease up a bit.”

Amy and I looked up as Mary and Sirius walked towards us, the latter still dragging his trunk.

“Evening, ladies,” Sirius said cheerily to us as if we hadn’t just witnessed his parents kicking him out of the house.

“Are you alright, Sirius?” I asked tentatively, shooting a quick look at Mary who just rolled her violet eyes.

To my surprise, Sirius just chuckled and dropped down onto the bench next to me.  

“I actually feel better than I have in a long time,” Sirius said, glancing sideways at me with his entrancing silver eyes. “I’ve put up with their nonsense long enough. I’ve actually been planning to run away for the last two years.”

“But…where are you going to go?” Amy asked and I let out a grunt as Mares decided sit on top of me, seeing as there was no more room for her on the bench.

Sirius shrugged, seeming completely un-phased by this issue.

“I’m always welcome at the Potters. I’ll just head over there,” Sirius replied carelessly, ruffling his dark shaggy hair.

“You’re just going to turn up? Isn’t that kind of… rude?” Amy asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Ah, you’re right…” Sirius nodded and pulled something square out of his pocket. It looked like a tiny mirror, but what kind of help would that be?

I snorted, “I didn’t know you were so vain, Sirius.” He cocked his head at me and simply said, “Watch.”

“James?” Sirius said clearly into the mirror, his breath fogging up the surface.

I stared at him incredulously. Was he expecting it to talk back to him or something? Had Sirius Black finally gone insane?

“What’s up?” Potter’s voice answered from the mirror and I gasped as I saw Potter’s face appear in the tiny mirror.

“Parents finally chucked me out. Can I crash at your place?” Sirius said casually into the mirror as if it were perfectly normal.

“ ’Course,” Potter answered, sounding slightly surprised. “I’ll just let mum and dad know… they’ll be ecstatic. They’ve been asking about you all summer. You coming tonight, then?”

“Yeah, I’ll catch the Knight Bus,” Sirius answered, gazing down the street. “I’m with Mary, Evans, and Bones right now.”

Sirius flashed the mirror towards us and Mary gave a quick wave at Potter’s small reflection. I rolled my eyes and shifted uncomfortably beneath Mary. My legs were starting to go numb.

“Alright, Evans?” Potter jerked his head cockily at me and I stuck my tongue out childishly at him.

“See you in a bit,” Sirius said, tilting the mirror back towards himself and then shoving it back in his pocket.

It was hard to believe that he was so calm after what just happened with his family. I think I’d be falling to pieces if my parents disowned me.

“You have a two-way mirror with Potter?” Amy sniffed, idly braiding a small section of her blond hair.

“It’s ok to be jealous,” Sirius shrugged haughtily, a playful twinkle in his eyes. “We use it to keep in touch during the summer, chat during separate detentions, you know, that kind of thing.” I snorted under my breath, Black was as bad as that Potter, just that Potter had the grades.

“Err… bromance much?” Mary giggled, and I let out another grunt as she accidentally elbowed me in the ribs.

“Excuse me?” Sirius choked, turning towards us.

“You two kind of act like you’re in love,” I explained to him.

“We are in love,” Sirius frowned, his eyes flitting between us. “Just in a manly kind of way.”

“That’s a bromance,” Mary, Amy, and I said together, laughing.

“You’re just jealous,” Sirius sniffed, getting off the bench. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a Knight Bus to catch…”

Sirius thrust out his right arm which was still clutched around his wand and Mary hopped off me as a loud screeching sounded down the street, a purple blur streaking around the corner.

“Take care of yourself, alright?” Mary said quietly, trotting over to where he stood at the curb. She threw her arms around him and he gently hugged her back.

"Owl me when you've made it to James's?" Mary requested, letting her arms rest idly around his neck.

"I will," Sirius nodded and Mary unwound her arms from around him. She quickly brushed a hand across her cheeks where I saw tears twinkling in the light from the street lamps.

Sirius caught her hand where it lingered by her face, reaching up with his other hand to wipe away one last stray tear.

"Hey," Sirius said quietly, leaning towards her. "Everything will be alright. I promise. I'll see you in a few days."

Amy and I exchanged a meaningful look as Sirius kissed her quickly on the cheek before the Knight bus veered around the corner, halting abruptly in front of the pair.

The conductor hopped down the steps, snatching up Sirius’s trunk and he followed him onto the bus, waving at us quickly before he disappeared. In the blink of an eye, the triple-decker purple bus had disappeared around the corner.

Mary walked slowly back to us, her face unreadable but it was easy to figure out where her thoughts were. Her oldest friend, the boy she'd grown up with, and possibly the boy she fancied, no longer lived a few houses down from her. 

Looks like my life wasn’t the only one changing this year…

*                                  *                                  *                                  *

“I overheard Hannah Sanders telling Olivia Collins that she overheard Professor Kettleburn saying that we have to go into the forest and capture a Gytrash this year,” Amy said knowingly before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Oh, well if Hannah Sanders said it, it must be true,” Mary said, her voice rich with sarcasm. Amy glared at her.

We were sitting at a round table outside the Whitecrow Café in Diagon Alley. It was quite early in the morning and the streets were still relatively empty. I had somehow managed to convince Ames and Mary to head out early to avoid the swarms of students in the afternoon but in reality, it was because I wanted to get the best copies of our schoolbooks…

“Professor Kettleburn said we’d be doing Gytrashes in our N.E.W.T.s, so I actually wouldn’t be too surprised,” I said, watching the early morning light stream down in dusty rays around us.

“Yeah, but I don’t think they’ll have us romping off to the forest to capture one,” Mary said realistically, lifting her steaming coffee mug to her lips.

“Either way, I’m just excited to finally start on all of those things the teachers have been hinting at for years would show up on our N.E.W.T.S.” I said, a smile playing at my lips. “Professor Slughorn told me after the exam last year that we would be doing Veritaserum this year.”

“You would be excited to do all the difficult stuff,” Amy grumbled, rolling her eyes. “It’s a breeze for you, but it means a whole lot of extra work for us average students.”

“You’re not average, Ames,” I contradicted, glancing at her over the top of my mug. “You know you’re just as smart as I am… you don’t apply yourself.”

“Thank you, mum. But honestly Lily, I wouldn’t be as smart at you even if I did apply myself and do the extra work,” Amy said fervently and Mary nodded from behind her coffee.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Amy mused. “You remember things from first year that I don’t even think the teachers remember.”

“I know,” I said, a smile creeping onto my face. “Which is why I’m going to try to relax a bit this year…you know, not kill myself over classes, have some fun?” 

There was silence for a moment and I looked up to see Mary gazing open-mouthed at Amy, her eyes wide with surprise.

“You know, Ames, I think she’s been Confunded,” Mary laughed, turning her sapphire eyes on me.

“I haven’t been Confunded!” I laughed. “Look, I just… it’s our 6th year and I want to make the most of it, you know, before N.E.W.T.s really take over our lives.”

“What brought all this on?” Mary asked, narrowing her violet eyes at me.

“It’s not… This isn’t because of Alex, is it?” Amy asked carefully.

I winced at the mention of Alex.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t start with that…” I said slowly but held up a hand to stop my friends from interrupting. “But it’s not what you think.”

Mary and Amy exchanged a meaningful look that I didn’t miss.

“Over the summer I did a lot of thinking and some of the things Alex said were true,” I continued and was immediately met with angry glares from my friends.  

“Not everything,” I contradicted quickly. “I just mean they had a bit of truth to them. He said I took things too seriously, so maybe it wouldn’t kill me to lighten up a bit… oh, stop it Ames. You know it’s true,” I hissed as Amy sputtered angrily.

 “So you’re going to… what, come to parties with us this year?” Mary asked, her lips turning up at the corners as if she expected me to scoff at this idea too.

“When have you ever gone to parties before?” I asked and Mary frowned at me.

“The Marauders? They always invite us, and so far you have yet to join us at all,” Mary raised her eyebrows at me, her mouth twitching in a smile. “And the Quidditch party last year doesn’t count because you stay for a grand total of six minutes.”

“Mares, this is Lily we’re talking about…you know she won’t want to go to real parties,” Amy said, trying to suppress her own smile, her butterscotch eyes drifting between Mary and I.

“And for the record, I don’t avoid the Marauder parties because I don’t want to drink,” I clarified, narrowing my eyes at Mary. “I avoided them because I hate a good majority of the Marauders.”

“But you’re going to lighten up, right? So why not start with the Marauders,” Mary challenged me and I knew she was just trying to see if I was actually serious about easing up on everything. But I also wondered why she was so insistent on me getting along with the Marauders…

“That’s kind of a tall order seeing as I can’t even get through one conversation with Potter without one of us hexing the other,” I said, raising my eyebrows at her. “And why do you care so much?”

“Because the Marauders party a lot, and look how happy they are! They must be doing something right, you know?” Mary shrugged. “If you actually want to have fun this year, I’m just trying to point out that getting along with the Marauders will make that a whole lot easier.”

“She has a point, Lils,” Ames said quietly, raising an eyebrow at me and I recalled our conversation from the other night concerning Mary and a certain Marauder.

“I have to get along with the Marauders?” I asked meekly, hoping they would think of an easier way for me to prove how laid back I could be this year.

“Yes,” they said together and I sank back into my chair, defeated.

“Fine…” I sighed. “I’ll try. But if I end up hexing Potter into oblivion, you can’t say I didn’t warn you….”

“Excellent,” Mary smirked as she tossed a few galleons on the small table and followed Anna and I away from the café and down the street.

“This is going to be an interesting year…” Amy mused, looping her arm through mine as we made our way to Flourish and Blotts.

*                                  *                                  *                                  *         

The bookstore was mostly empty when we arrived which meant that we were able to get the best copies of all our books as I had hoped. I may be loosening up, but that didn’t mean I still didn’t look forward to school shopping. Mary had found a new book on her favorite Quidditch team and Ames was absorbed in a book on exotic magical creatures from Asia.

I had found the Charms sections and was just about to immerse myself in a book on advanced charms when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Well, well, well,” A smooth voice behind me said and I turned wearily to see Potter leaning casually against the shelves at the end of the row. “Look who took a trip to the beauty parlor this summer. Why the new look, Evans?”

I sighed heavily, crossing my arms. The only difference in my looks since the previous year was that I had started wearing my hair down all the time now instead of in my usual ponytail.

Stupid Potter. I didn’t need to go to a salon to take a hairband out of my hair.

“Just wanted something different,” I shrugged, trying desperately to remember newly adopted philosophy of not taking everything so seriously… including Potter. Especially Potter….

Potter stared at me suspiciously for a moment, his bright hazel eyes narrowed to slits behind his glasses. He seemed taken aback by my lack of reaction to him.

“Don’t you read enough in class? You’re seriously the only person I know who does extra reading,” Potter nodded towards the bookshelves, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Some people just like reading,” I said calmly. I gritted my teeth together, it was taking a very great amount of self-control to be civil to him.

He stared at me, his mouth slightly open, as if he wasn’t sure if he’d heard me correctly.  I smiled slightly at the look on his face. It was pretty amusing to see him look so unnerved like this.

“Why aren’t you yelling at me?” Potter finally asked his brow furrowed in frustration.

“You haven’t done anything for me to yell about,” I shrugged, and with a jolt I realized how true it was. Merlin, I really had been too uptight before...

Potter narrowed his eyes at me disbelievingly and I heard footsteps approaching the end of the row. Without even a backward glance, Potter aimed his wand behind him just as a figure appeared between the stacks.

The poor unsuspecting victim, who I recognized as a fifth year Ravenclaw, barely had time to react before Potter’s silent spell hit his feet. The Ravenclaw’s legs struck up a kind of speedy jig as the spell collided with him.

“What the hell? Who did that?! Make it stop!” The Ravenclaw boy sputtered angrily, bending over to try and hold his feet still.

Potter shrugged innocently at the boy and pointed towards me.

That rat!

The boy looked furiously at me and with an apologetic flick of my wand, I lifted the spell. The boy cursed under his breath at me and hurried away.

Potter turned back towards me, an expectant grin plastered on his face.

“That was quite a good silent spell you just did there,” I smiled serenely back at him and watched with satisfaction as his grin faded. I mean, it was impressive… we hadn’t even learned silent spells in class yet.

“What the hell, Evans! Why aren’t you tearing me a new one?” Potter burst angrily, his arms flailing as he pushed himself away from the bookcase.

“Are you actually mad that I’m not yelling at you?” I asked pleasantly. This whole easing up thing was becoming more and more fun by the second. Why hadn’t I tried this sooner? It was definitely worth breaking a dozen school rules to see Potter this aggravated.

“No, just confused…” Potter said slowly, as if he were trying to think of things that would warrant a normal reaction from me.

“How’s the boyfriend?” He asked and I scowled darkly. That was hitting below the belt and he knew it, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of pissing me off…

“Potter, you know we broke up,” I said sweetly, trying to disguise my anger as indifference.

“You’re really not going to yell at me, are you?” Potter smiled, amusement lighting up his eyes. A sly smirk was forming quickly on his face.

I shook my head steadily, making myself remain calm even though every fiber of my being was longing to give him a good smack on the head, a kick in the stomach and a hex in the legs.

“Dumbledore’s asked me to take over as Prefect this year,” He announced triumphantly, smiling as though he was sure he had won.

“What about Remus?” I asked, surprised by the news. He had done a perfectly good job as a Prefect and I couldn’t imagine why Dumbledore would sack him.

“Moony stepped down himself,” Potter shrugged.

I didn’t say anything to that. I would have to ask Remus about that later. I liked doing patrols with him, he was a good person to talk to. He had such a calming presence… I wonder why he stepped down?

“Aren’t you happy though?” Potter asked, a triumphant smile tugging at his lips. “Now we get to do patrols together.”

I grit my teeth, letting all the things I longed to say pulse silently through my head. How could Dumbledore have picked that…that git as a Prefect!? Was the whole world out to get me? How on earth was I supposed to endure an entire year of meetings and patrols with him!? Of the entire reckless, irresponsible, trouble making, womanizing prats, Dumbledore had to go and pick HIM.

“How nice,” I finally said, hoping that he didn’t notice the slight strain in my voice.

“Oh, come on!” Potter whined, breaking his victorious composure. “I thought I had you with that one.”

“You almost did,” I admitted, still smiling pleasantly at him.

“So what happened, then?” Potter asked, sounding like a sulking child.

I shrugged, finding it easier and easier to put off this ‘who cares’ attitude.

“I guess I just don’t see the point in getting mad about things that are beyond my control,” I said, realizing again that it was true. Potter continued to stare at me skeptically. “Look, I’m just trying lighten up a bit this year… have a little fun?”

“Seriously, have you been hit with a Confundu-“

“I’m not Confunded!” I burst angrily, as Potter let out a laugh.

“Ah, there’s the temper,” he flashed a heart-stopping smile at me that luckily I was still immune to.

“Brilliant, I’m leaving now,” I said, turning away from him, but a hand shot out and pulled my arm, turning me back towards him.

“Wait!” Potter said, chuckling lightly. “I have to know, are just messing with my head or are you seriously not going to chew me out for hexing that Ravenclaw back there?”

“Why would I chew you out?” I asked, shrugging. “It was funny.”

“Go out with me, Evans,” Potter said, not skipping a beat. I sighed, I knew he was going to play this card.

I let out a snort of laughter. “Never.”

“Oh thank Merlin, it is you. I was worried for a minute,” Potter said with mock concern. “But come on, you can’t give me the I-don’t-date-Hogwarts-boys excuse anymore. Give me one good reason why we shouldn’t give it a go.”

“Because I hate you,” I said simply, turning towards him. “And you hate me. That feeling, at least, is mutual. Why you insist on asking me out every minute of the day is completely beyond me.”

“Haven’t you ever heard? Opposites attract,” Potter smiled coyly. “And I don’t hate you… I just don’t understand you, and frankly its quite amusing to see how angry you get every time I ask you out. ”

“Oh, well then in that case, pick me up at seven,” I said, pretending to swoon.

“Now, now. No need for the sarcasm,” He chuckled appreciatively.       

“You know, you’d think my constantly rejecting you would deflate your head a bit,” I said, glancing over at Potter, who was still leaning casually against the bookshelf next to me.

“Hm? Sorry, I missed that. I caught sight of myself in that mirror. I’m having an amazing hair day, aren’t I?” Potter said, gazing through the rows of books at an antique mirror mounted on the wall and running his hand through his black hair.

“My goodness, you’re humble,” I muttered, thoroughly irritated now.

“Who’s being humble? It can’t be James…” A voice floated around the corner to us. Sirius Black appeared at the end of the row, his dark hair brushed casually away from his stunning face. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew flanked him closely.

“We were wondering where you’d disappeared to, Prongs,” Remus said, barely looking up from the book he was reading.

“Evans,” Sirius smiled cheekily at me, his eyes briefly flitting down, then back up to my face. I felt myself blush slightly at his inspection. “What happened to you? Did you accidentally walk into a salon thinking it was the library?”

I scowled darkly at him, clenching my teeth together.

“Don’t bother, Sirius,” Potter chuckled. “You won’t get a rise out of her.”

“Is that so?” Sirius’s silver eyes glimmered mischievously.

“Yep,” Potter said, leaning against the bookshelves next to Sirius. “I hexed a Ravenclaw right in front of her and you know what she did?”

Sirius waited for him to continue, his eyes darting to my face again briefly.

“She complimented me on my silent spell,” Potter chuckled, shaking his head like he still didn’t believe it.

“You’re kidding me,” Sirius said, staring at me in disbelief. He leaned closer to Potter and said quietly, “You sure she hasn’t been Confun—“

“I’m not bloody Confounded!” I shrieked and heard the entire store go silent at my outburst.

The Marauders dissolved into laughter and I glared murderously at them. 

I harrumphed and stomped past them towards where Mary and Ames were waiting just outside in the street for me.

“See you on the train!” Potter called after me and I fought back a smile as the image of the Ravenclaw’s flailing feet danced before me…