#3
“But, Lily, really, it’s great fun,” Sirius said, persuading. They were sitting in the Great Hall, having breakfast.
“But it’s Charms Club on Saturday,” Lily insisted.
“And who sets the meetings?” Remus chipped in. He was watching Sirius with growing interest. Why would he want to bring Lily to a Quidditch match where James was the star?
Sirius shot him a grateful glance and then turned to Lily, awaiting her answer.
“Well, it’s me, but Flitwick...” she started, however Sirius interrupted her.
“Lily! You should really show Gryffindor House your support.”
“Okay, okay,” Lily gave in. “I’ll reschedule the Charms Club meeting, but it'd better be superb or else…” she didn’t end the sentence deliberately.
“A Ravenclaw-Gryffindor game is always good; after all, it’s James against Shacklebolt,” Sirius said.
“Oh, yes, I forgot!” Lily said, but Remus didn’t believe her. He threw her a quizzical look, and Lily replied with a non-committal shrug of shoulders. In Remus’s opinion, it was hard to forget that she went out with Kingsley Shacklebolt at the beginning of their fifth year, even if that relationship was not a long-term one. Especially hard to forget, after the tantrum James threw when he learned of it.
“Who is his new girlfriend?” Sirius asked Lily, not noticing the interlude between her and Remus.
“Well, he wanted to go out with Tamara,” Lily replied.
“But?” Sirius asked, sensing a ‘but’.
“But Tamara said no,” Lily replied.
“Would it bother you?” Remus asked Sirius.
“No, she’s afraid of dogs,” Sirius explained.
“Oh, I see now!” Lily exclaimed after it suddenly dawned on her why Sirius had four dates with Tamara. “It’s a shame, really. You two would have been so cute together,” she remarked.
“And what about us?” Sirius asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but Remus noticed that his eyes betrayed his insecurity.
“We’re cool together,” Lily imparted. “I’m Head of the Charms Club and you are an unregistered Animagus,” she whispered to him so that only Remus and Sirius heard her words.
Sirius choked on his food and Remus held his breath back. What would she do with that information? He knew that Lily was by no means a nark, but this was something big. She could go to McGonagall with it. Meanwhile, Lily patted Sirius' back, almost knocking the air out of his lungs.
“There, there,” she said and watched Sirius’ face going red from purple.
“How did you…” Remus trailed off, eying her suspiciously.
“Find out?” Lily ended his sentence. “On our last date when he,” she said, pointing at Sirius, “brought me to the Shrieking Shack. Peter was there, too, or I should say the rat,” she corrected herself.
“What happened?” Remus asked Sirius.
“He spied on us!” Sirius shouted, and some heads turned towards them.
“He changed and chased Peter away,” Lily summarised the events of that day.
“That sneaky little rat! I’ll hex him into oblivion next time,” Sirius swore.
“Well, he was lonely, and...” Remus started, but was interrupted by Sirius.
“Don’t protect him! Have you forgotten why he was alone?”
“No, of course not,” Remus said and touched the skin under his eyes. He still had to apply a special ointment for his wound there.
“He has to learn that he is our friend, but when we don’t want him around, he has to stay put,” Sirius told Remus.
“You’re right,” Remus agreed and then turned to Lily. “And you know about me, too?”
“Since our fifth year, so that wasn’t big news, Moony,” she added his nickname in a whisper.
“The Defense O.W.L., yes?” he asked, with a painful smile.
“Yes, that's when I realized why you've disappeared every month.”
On the following Saturday, Remus woke up early and decided not to wake up his friends but rather go alone for breakfast. On his way there, he met two Ravenclaws, both fifth year prefects.
“And why did she suddenly postpone a Charms Club meeting?” the girl asked.
“I asked her the same,” the boy replied.
“And what did she say?” the girl queried.
“Well, she said she had her reasons. She told me we should show the Quidditch teams our support.”
“I was never interested in Quidditch,” the girl complained. “What will you do today?” she asked Nita, a Gryffindor sixth year.
Remus was awaiting the answer curiously. He knew that the Gryffindor sixth year girls were a close group of friends and that they would go to any lengths for Lily.
“Well, I’ll do what I should have done really a long time ago,” Nita replied. “I am going down to the Quidditch pitch today, and I will show Gryffindor House my support. And watch out for me because I will support my team with a bang.”
Remus accompanied Nita into the Great Hall, and they were chatting about the day's odds when Lily and Tamara joined them at the Gryffindor table.
“Lily, why was it so important to wake up so early?” Tamara whined. “You know I will be intolerable all day,” she said after stifling a yawn.
“Eat! We have so much to do before the match! Hi, Remus!” she finally greeted the indulgently smiling boy.
“So early?” Remus asked her, pouring himself another cup of tea.
“See? Even he thinks it’s too early,” Tamara said. “Let me go back to the dormitory, Lily,” she begged her. “I am awfully tired,” she added with a yawn.
“You can’t be tired; you went to bed so early! Besides, you have to help me.”
“I don’t want to...” Tamara started to protest, but Lily shoved a toast into her mouth.
“Eat!” she ordered her and then turned to Remus, a frown appearing on her face. “Where’s your pal?”
“Which one?” Remus asked, amused; he saw that Lily was not in her best mood.
“Sirius. He told me he would meet me in the Common Room at half past seven, and it’s almost eight o’clock!” she exclaimed, and Remus saw that she was getting really angry.
“I don’t know, he was still asleep when I left for breakfast,” he told her.
Lily sighed tiredly and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she found Remus staring at her.
“Oy, Tamara, it’s beginning to work,” she told her friend and laughed at Remus.
“So that’s intended?” Remus asked her, slightly worried.
“Yes, it is. I’ve cooked up the potion. My eyes and Nita’s will be golden, Tamara’s, Valerie’s and Celia’s red.”
“Now, that’s what I call Gryffindor pride!” someone called out, and after turning around, Remus spotted Sirius standing next to Lily. He didn’t see him coming, but didn’t dare to ask himself why.
“You should see Nita’s banner, too,” Lily told Sirius.
“What is it doing?” Sirius asked after sitting down.
“It’s red and it roars and blinks,” Tamara informed them; she was finally awake enough to participate in the conversation.
“There are seven numbers painted on it, and whenever she taps one of the numbers, the player’s name will blink,” Lily went on.
“And a lion roars whenever Gryffindor scores a goal,” Celia added as she and Valerie sat down next to Sirius. “And I don’t know whether she managed the other thing.”
“She and Lily did,” Tamara informed them.
“What?” Remus asked her.
“Well, it shows a Snitch every five minutes, and then Aurora’s name blinks in gold.”
“It was all Nita’s idea,” Lily informed them.
“And the ‘Go, Gryffindor!’ yells every fifteen minutes?” Celia asked curiously.
“Okay, that was my idea,” Lily admitted with a mischievous smile.
“And who recorded McGonagall’s voice for that?” Celia pressed on.
“That was for fun and I did that almost a year ago!” Lily defended her actions.
“What?” Sirius and Remus asked in unison after they digested the information.
“She didn’t say ‘Go, Gryffindor!’ of course. She said those two words separately,” Lily hurried to explain.
“Well, this will be the most interesting match in the history of Hogwarts,” Remus predicted, when two hours later the Gryffindor sixth years made their way to the pitch.
“Well, at least they will have something to talk about in the Staff Room,” Lily chuckled.
“I’ve always thought that they speak of us four,” Sirius admitted jokingly to Remus and Peter, loud enough for Lily to catch, who then let out a snort.
“Who will commentate today?” Celia asked, not noticing the conspiratorial looks exchanged between the three Marauders and Lily.
“I don’t know,” Sirius said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’ve told McGonagall that I won’t be able to do it.”
“You commentate?” Lily asked, surprised.
“Usually,” Sirius said with a nod and then added, “but not today.”
“I see. Although it would have been interesting to hear you, but then you could hardly call it a date, could you?” she said.
“You know what?” Sirius asked, after contemplating it for a moment. “If you really wanted, I could ask McGonagall to let me do it.”
“But she surely found someone―” Lily started to say, but Sirius interrupted her.
“I’ll bribe him… or her,” he added hesitantly. “And afterwards we can do something together. Agreed?”
“Okay,” Lily approved his plan.
Lily went with Remus and Peter while Sirius headed towards the teachers’ stands. Remus watched his friend talking to McGonagall agitatedly until the old professor agreed with a nod. Sirius then disappeared again, but Remus soon spotted him running towards the Gryffindor stands. The players left the changing rooms and now walked onto the pitch. Sirius arrived slightly out of breath.
“McGonagall gave her permission; you can come with me,” he told Lily and waited for her answer impatiently. Lily looked at the surrounding sixth years questioningly, and both Tamara and Celia nodded their approval.
“Sure, go on! That’s a once in a lifetime chance,” Nita said.
Lily hurried away with Sirius and Remus saw that they arrived back at the stands just in time. Sirius drew his wand and performed a spell so that his words would be heard in the whole stadium.
“And that’s the signal,” Remus heard Sirius’ voice. “And there is Gryffindor Captain Kendrick Shaw with the Quaffle! Ravenclaw’s Keeper Shacklebolt dodges a Bludger sent towards Shaw by Gilbert Linton. Shaw passes the Quaffle to Potter and Potter scores!” Sirius’ voice rang through the masses. “It’s ten to zero for Gryffindor!”
A lion’s roar accompanied Sirius’s announcement, and several heads turned towards Nita’s banner. After the short interlude, the match continued and soon Sirius could announce a second score for Gryffindor. Remus was borrowing Peter’s Omnioculars to watch what Seeker Aurora Foster was doing when Sirius’ comments suddenly stopped. A slight frown appeared on Remus’ face because the match was just getting interesting. Ravenclaw’s Seeker Felicity Greenleaf caught glimpse of the Snitch and she dived for it. Remus directed his binoculars at Sirius and saw him stealing a glance at his watch. A crooked smile formed on Remus’ lips, and he didn’t switch his view back to the pitch.
“Go, Gryffindor!” McGonagall’s yell came then.
It was as if time stood still. There was a collective intake of breath, and everybody’s eyes turned from Nita’s banner to McGonagall’s face. Remus watched her, pressing her lips together until they were a barely visible line. And then she let out a laugh. Lily was relieved, as Remus could see, and he finally averted his gaze from the teachers’ stand. Felicity didn't catch the Snitch, he ascertained while a furious Bludger rushed through his field of vision. He watched James scoring another goal, and that’s why he didn’t see that furious Bludger hit Sirius square in the face.
Fifteen minutes later, Remus watched as Sirius was coming to in the Hospital Wing.
“Hey, Sleepyhead,” Lily greeted him cheerfully. “Are you okay?”
“Well, it would be better to see only one of you, dear, no matter how beautiful you are,” he joked.
“He’s okay,” Lily said, turning to Remus, hiding her relief behind her radiant smile.
“Are they still playing?” Sirius asked them.
“Yes,” Remus said with a nod.
“And who's commentating?"
“Peter is doing it,” Lily told him.
“Good, good,” Sirius said, his eyelids fluttering.
Twenty minutes later, he joined Remus and Lily again and asked if they were still playing.
“Yes,” the same answer came again.
“And what are you doing here?” he asked, looking at them questioningly. “Go and support our team!” he ordered them. “Wait!” he said then, seeing that Lily really wanted to leave.
“Yes?” Lily asked.
“This was our third date…” he said, with no intention to end the sentence.
“Oh, yes,” Lily said with an unfathomable smile.
“So you don't think that this was meant to be, either??” Sirius asked her.
Lily’s face lit up and her eyes showed her relief. Remus looked at Sirius and saw sadness distorting his handsome features, but only for a moment.
“Listen, I have to confess something,” Lily started.
“Yes?” Sirius asked back tentatively.
“I only consented to go on that first date with you to anger James, to make him jealous. I know that it wasn’t one of my brightest or nicest ideas, but I was desperate. I’m sorry.”
“I understand,” Sirius said with a nod.
“I never thought it would be so much fun with you,” Lily said with one of her special smiles. “I had a very good time with you, and I’d like to thank you.”
“Me too,” Sirius said, barely audible.
“Okay,” Lily said with a nod. “Can I leave you with Remus, or….”
“No, you go. You have to show your Gryffindor pride,” Sirius told her.
“Okay, thanks,” Lily said and then bent down to kiss him a last time.
She left and Remus sat there silently, not wanting to embarrass his friend.
“Okay, shoot!” Sirius told him some minutes later.
“You lied to her. But why?”
“I knew about her intentions. I’ve noticed things; I’m not that blind. This last date…” he trailed off.
“You dragged her to a Quidditch match so she'd see James’ triumph?”
“Yes, she needed that last push,” Sirius said with a nod.
“You are very noble, my friend,” Remus said with admiration in his voice.
“Well, I’m an idiot. But let me assure you, Remus, if it wasn’t for James, I would have fought for her.”
“I know, I know,” Remus said with a sad smile.
“You, too, mate?” Sirius asked him compassionately.
They sat there in silence until Madam Pouch threw Remus out.
Epilogue
James stepped into the Hospital Room and went to Sirius’s bed. His friend was reading something and didn’t notice him.
“Hi, Padfoot!” he greeted Sirius.
“Prongs! Congratulations!” he said and stretched out his hand.
“Thanks. Are you okay?” he asked then, slightly worried.
“I’m okay, I guess. I don’t know why Pouch is keeping me here. How was the match?”
“I thought Peter told you about it,” James said, pulling a chair to Sirius’ bed.
“He did, but I wanted to hear it from you. Have you noticed anything that went on outside the field?” he asked with a mischievous smile.
“You mean the girls and their banner?”
“For example,” Sirius said with a nod.
“Yep, I noticed. How could I not? I asked Nita to give me the banner, and she did.”
“Have you seen Lily?” Sirius asked him, deciding that they should come to the topic.
“Yes, she said her congratulations. Her eyes were golden,” James said with a sigh.
“I know,” Sirius said with another nod. “Listen, James…” he wanted to say, but James interrupted him.
“Are you pretty sure that she isn’t your soulmate?” he asked Sirius.
“We weren’t meant for each other. But there are other girls at Hogwarts,” Sirius said, trying to sound cheerful.
James looked at him intently and decided not to say anything. First, he didn’t know what to say; second, he didn’t want to call his friend liar.
“Thank you,” he said, trying to sound casual. They locked eyes and James saw the sadness in Sirius’.
“You’re welcome,” Sirius said after tearing his gaze away. “Are we okay?” he asked then.
“Yes, we're okay,” James said and decided not to ask Lily out anymore. He didn’t want to cause pain to Sirius. He knew his friend gave up on Lily for him, and he thought it would be only fair if he did the same. No matter how he liked Lily, Sirius was his best friend. And this friendship meant a lot for him.
Of course, he didn’t know what their seventh year would bring. How persuasive Lily could be when she wanted to. How his friend would start dating Tamara again, just to make sure that James accepted Lily’s invitations. And how his heart would take control over his mind, after seeing Lily crying, when he turned her down one last time.
I'd be glad to hear your opinions.