For the following week, classes were the same as they normally were. Quiet, studious times with teachers talking”some monotonously, some jovially”while quills scratched away at parchment.
The main difference was that Lily was not herself.
She looked tired and solemn. Her hand rarely cut through the air and her essays were not quite up to the ‘Evans standard’. They received A’s and even P’s. Her cauldron even exploded once in Potions. She was very quiet at dinner; not talking and hardly eating. She looked slightly unkempt, and James knew that she took shorter showers. She either went to bed earlier, doing her homework on her bed, or sat in front of the fireplace, staring into the flames, a blank expression on her otherwise pretty face.
James watched on as he did his own homework, which”for once”wasn’t done the day before it was due.
His own mourning was still evident, but he felt that it was not quite as apparent as Lily’s. He took what Josey had said to heart, and agreed with her fully. People who don’t let go just end up missing out, and getting more things taken away. Like a little child who complained over a missing toy; they only lost more. Even now this theory was apparent. For Lily, she wasn’t letting go of her parents, and her friends, grades, and ideals were starting to slip away.
James did spend a lot of time on the floor though. It was something that always seemed to calm him down. The solid feeling on the ground underneath him just made him feel secure. Sirius always found it funny, but after Remus glared at him, he would stop teasing James. And if anyone noticed that the place where James’s head rested was slightly damp, no one mentioned it. He was entitled to a few tears.
He felt deep down that he was lucky, in a sense. His parents had died from an illness, not from being murdered by a fellow student. Not that he admitted it to himself more than once, and even after doing so he felt horrible, and shoved the thought aside.
All the other students, except the Slytherins, watched with pain and sadness as Lily walked into the Great Hall, when she did show up. Everyone had worried about her; how her grades had dropped, her spells, charms and potions were half-hearted, and her appearance was lacking its usual beauty.
The Slytherins reveled in her discomfort and melancholy.
All but Severus Snape.
At least, no one else knew why he wore a look of discomfort. They merely gave the diagnosis that he was sad that Evans hadn’t been killed as well, ‘the filthy Mudblood.’
Stacey Wilson had disappeared.
One thing that happened without Lily knowing was the maiden in the portrait that led to the hallway to the Gryffindor common room assigning a new password. Only, this password was for the Gryffindors that didn’t necessarily belong in the separate dorm. Sirius had wheedled the maid into opening for him so many times that she finally gave up, and gave them their own password. She had, however, set the stipulation that only once James or Lily gave permission would she allow someone into the dormitory. James felt that if Lily had been truly aware of what was going on she would have been all right with this new set-up.
With their password on their lips, Josey and Nikeia visited Head’s dormitory frequently, sitting with Lily beside the fireplace in silence. Alice sometimes joined them, when she wasn’t with Frank. They usually brought their homework, having found Lily unsociable. They did attempt to talk, but were rebuffed.
The Marauders visited a few times over the week, but if they would begin to talk too loudly or get too excited, Lily would gather her things and walk to her bedroom. There she would remain for the rest of the night. Ironically, the four boys would quiet down after that, feeling bad at making Lily move away.
Finally, at the end of a week of Lily’s odd and annoying behavior, James got fed up.
They were alone, sitting together at the desk in their common room, and Lily was staring blankly at her book. He noticed, and slammed his book on the table.
She hardly jumped.
So, he stood up, making sure that the chair tipped over and crashed against the stone floor.
She still didn’t start.
James’s frustration mounted.
“Lily,” he said, firmly, his hands planted on the desk.
She didn’t respond.
“Evans!” he shot, clearly and loudly.
She blinked this time, and started to glance at him, but stopped before her eyes had even left the page.
He exhaled sharply, dropping his head.
“Evans,” he tried again, grabbing one end of her book and shutting it in front of her face.
This time she did look up at him.
“James?” she asked, softly.
“That took you long enough.”
“What?”
He rolled his eyes. “It took me three times to get you to respond. We’ve switched places, Evans. I’m usually the one who doesn’t listen.”
“I was listening.”
He snorted in laughter. “Yeah, and I’m Merlin.”
She looked back down at the desktop. James sighed again, and knelt down beside her.
“Lily, I know you’re still hurting, but you have to snap out of this. Please.”
She didn’t respond again.
He tried again, but she remained frozen.
So, he took drastic action.
He left her for a moment, and went into the bathroom. He turned on the tap, letting it fall into the large bathtub.
Going back out into the common room, he saw that Lily was still motionless. So, kneeling again, he grabbed her knees, and turned her in the chair to face him. She gave him a questioning look, but didn’t react beyond that. He deftly undid the tie (which was sloppily knotted anyway) and then pulled off her shoes and socks. He noticed a gold bracelet on her wrist, which he undid, noticing it had “With love from Mum and Dad” on the back. The bracelet he placed on her book, and the socks, shoes, and tie he left in a pile under her chair.
“What are you doing?”
Without responding, he hoisted her over his shoulder. She murmured a few things, of which he really only understood “what” and “James”.
He stepped back into the bathroom, and saw that the tub was nearly full.
Easily, he shifted Lily from his shoulder to his arms, and held her for a moment. She was still looking at him quizzically, but not enough that he felt his “drastic action” was unnecessary.
“I like it when you hold me,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.
He smiled faintly, and whispered, “I like holding you. But I also like talking to you, and, honestly, I like being yelled at by you. You haven’t done either recently, and that worries me. I want my Lily back. If you get really angry with me for doing this, please… don’t be.”
And with that, he stepped forward, and dropped her into the tub of water.
He turned off the tap, and then remained bent over the head of the tub, watching the water beneath him. After a few seconds, Lily’s red, wet head emerged from the top of the water. She shook it, and swiped the water from her eyes. She looked up to James, nearly completely dazed.
Then, her expression changed, and she half-groaned, half-shivered, and sank back under the water. James gave a weak smile, and knelt down beside the tub, resting his arms on the side.
Lily came up again, and repeated the process of getting water from her face.
“James…” she said.
“Welcome back.”
She looked at him, a sick expression on her face.
“What have I done?”
“It’s really more what haven’t you done? And that would be a lot.”
The quizzical expression she gave him this time was”he felt”more deserved, and he smiled back.
“Why don’t you wash up, and we’ll talk later?”
She continued to breathe slowly, but nodded. James kissed her on the forehead once, then stood and left the bathroom.
He was surprised to see Josey and Nikeia standing the far side of the fireplace, having just walked through the portrait hole.
“James… we heard a splash,” commented Josey, slowing. James could tell that her body was tense.
“Yeah, what were you doing?” asked Nikeia, her eyes wide.
“Yes, you did hear a splash, because Lily just got tossed into a bath.”
They stared at him.
“Why don’t you go talk to her?” he asked. “I’ll wait out here.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question,” uttered Nikeia, also slowly.
“It’s enough for me.”
“But-” started Josey, before being cut off.
“Will you go see to Lily?” he asked, sounding slightly frustrated as he flopped onto the couch.
He waited, and sure enough he heard their feet walk across first the stone floor, and then the tile floor. Nikeia started talking to Lily first, and James didn’t hear anything beyond “Lily!” after Josey closed the bathroom door.
He smirked once, closed his eyes, and waited.
“Lily? What’s going on?” asked Nikeia.
Lily sighed, and rested her arms against the side of the tub.
“I’ve been out of it, haven’t I?”
“Well, yeah, I guess you could say that,” said Josey, taking a seat on the toilet.
Lily’s brow furrowed and she moaned. She slipped back down under the water.
Nikeia began to chuckle. She sat down next to the tub, shaking her head slightly. After at least half a minute, she plunged her hand under the water and pulled Lily up. Her red hair was all over her face in what looked like thick spider webs. Her uniform was soaked, and Nikeia could only imagine how uncomfortable it was.
“So,” she said, smiling down at her friend.
“So,” Lily responded.
“So,” Josey started. “You’ve been dumped by James Potter.”
Nikeia flicked some water at Josey, but laughed. Lily, too, joined in.
“Yeah, I guess I have.”
“He meant well, I suppose,” said Nikeia, shrugging.
“Of course he did,” responded Josey, somewhat sarcastically.
“No, he did,” sighed Lily. “I’m sorry for being… well, however I was acting.”
Both girls nodded to their friend.
“I think it’s understandable,” offered Josey. “Remember when my cousin died?”
Nikeia nodded, but Lily groaned. Her head thunked against the side of the tub.
“Oh, Josey,” she moaned, still speaking at the water. “I completely forgot that you… that you went through this!”
Josey shrugged. “Again, it’s understandable. I was pretty standoffish when Dan died. I don’t remember talking all that much.”
“But, I-”
“It’s okay,” urged Josey, reaching out to touch Lily’s arm. “It’s a lot to think about; a lot to deal with.”
Lily nodded slowly, and took Josey’s hand in hers. “Thank you.”
Nikeia smiled at her two friends, then reached over to the small vanity to grab a small bottle. She poured some of the liquid”which was a bubble bath potion”into the water. Bubbles instantly started to form, and soon spread across the top of the water.
“Why don’t you relax for a while?” she suggested. “We’ll wait for you outside.”
Lily gave another smile to her friends, and nodded. She began unbuttoning her soaking blouse as Nikeia and Josey left the washroom.
They sighed and smiled at each other, glad their friend was back. They both understood her lack of feeling, but had not enjoyed her lack of conversation. They looked forward to being able to talk with her again. They especially desired her help with a new essay.