Chapter 4: Complications and Alterations
A/N: I just wanted to remind everyone that this fiction is AU. I wrote this in one sitting, and I think this is my most well-written chapter so far. Enjoy!
(Oh, and by the way, Katie Vane is Romilda Vane’s aunt. Just wanted to clarify that!)
Peter sighed as he looked out the dormitory window. It was now entering the last week of November, and Peter still couldn’t get rid of his feelings about Lily. He was distraught, and didn’t know what to do. By blowing on the window, he caused it to fog up. He drew a small heart in the condensation and sighed. Deep in thought, he was startled when James and Sirius barged into the dormitory, quarreling loudly.
“YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FELT! I DIDN’T HAVE TO FIND OUT THIS WAY!” yelled James, his brows furrowed.
“WHAT WAY, THROUGH A BLOODY RUMOR? HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW IF IT’S TRUE, JAMES?” Sirius screamed back, his vein popping out of his temple and his face a deep red color.
James sat down on his four-poster, burying his hair in his hands. “I just want to know, Sirius. What is it that you feel about my Lily?”
“Nothing, James, I feel absolutely nothing remotely romantic towards her.” He was looking James hard in the eyes, but, looking away at the last moment, unintentionally revealed his guilt to James.
“Don’t lie to me,” James said, teeth gritted, “The least you could do is tell me the truth. You owe it to me.”
“I don’t owe a thing to you, James. I didn’t do anything with Lily, no matter what the rumors say.”
“But do you love her?” James got up and walked over, looking Sirius straight in the eyes.
At that moment, Sirius noticed Peter watching them from the window seat. “Peter, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, just thinking,” came Peter’s reply.
“Peter, I want you to forget you heard any of that, okay? Just ignore it. Pretend it never happened,” James begged.
“All right,” Peter said, “I guess I’ll leave you two alone…” He got up and began to cross the dormitory towards the door.
“No. It’s all right. Sirius and I will talk to each other later. You were here first. It’s just not right to make you leave.”
With a final fuming glance at Sirius, James stalked from the room.
***
At lunch the next afternoon, Lily was talking about that morning’s Charms class with Remus when she felt a soft tap on her shoulder.
Katie Vane was standing behind her, her dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Katie lived with Lily in the Gryffindor’s sixth year dormitory. She and Lily were acquaintances, but they had never really gotten to know each other.
“Hi, Katie, how’re you?”
“Hi, Lily. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to come with me into Hogsmeade this weekend. My parents got special permission from the Headmaster, since I don’t have any dress robes to wear to the dance.”
“Sure, that would be quite nice,” Lily replied. Of course Katie would be able to get special permission. Her parents are rich and have such a long history of donating to the school. It would be quite nice to go with her, and maybe we could become closer. She really does seem like a good person, albeit a bit spoiled.
“I have permission to go on Sunday from ten o’clock in the morning until four o’clock in the afternoon. A coach will pick us up at the entrance at about nine-thirty."
“That seems very fun. Yes, I’ll go!” Lily smiled.
Katie smiled back, and said, “All right, I can’t wait!” She then flounced away, leaving Lily smiling happily after her.
That was surprising. I would have thought that Katie would have asked someone other than me to go… I wonder what she thinks of me? Does she want to be my friend? I really do hope so.
“So, Lily, what did you think of yesterday’s Herbology lesson?” asked Remus, and Lily was pulled back into the present.
***
Later that evening, James and Sirius were sitting in the Common Room together, on the same sofa, but on different ends.
They were both lost in thought, staring at the fire, wondering what they should say to the other. They had never fought before, and naturally, they were uncomfortable in the present situation.
Finally, Sirius broke the silence. “I do like her.”
James said softly, “I know you do."
“You knew?” Sirius said, confused.
“Of course. I could tell from the way you look at her. It’s been bothering me for some time now, and I just thought that starting a fight between us would have been an easier way to find out the truth.” James sighed, “I just wish you would have told me.”
“What was I supposed to say? ‘James, I’m in love with your girlfriend.’ How well would you have taken that?”
“Not well at all I suppose.” They were silent. “How much do you like her exactly?”
“You want my honest answer?”
James nodded.
“A lot. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with her.”
James sighed. “I hope that we can stay friends through this, mate. You know as bloody well as I do that we can’t both have her."
“I do. And it’s only right that you have her. She’s your girlfriend, after all, James. I’ll just have to stop liking her. It’ll be hard, but I’ll try. I think I’m going to go to bed now though. I’m really tired, mate. So, I’ll see you in the morning.”
Sirius got up and left the Common Room. With a sigh, James stretched and stood as well. But instead of heading for the dormitory, he grabbed his invisibility cloak and went on search of his favorite spot in all of Hogwarts, the Room of Requirement.
***
After narrowly missing three teachers and a prefect patrolling the hallways, James reached his destination.
He nervously did what was required to get inside, and when the door appeared, he hastily stepped inside.
He had been wanting to find a place to bury his feelings, but instead, it appeared, he had found a room where people put things they didn’t want anyone to see. Several cabinets, statues, weird birds in cages, and many other oddities cluttered the room. As he wandered around, James touched many an object, but didn’t find anything of interest.
Suddenly, he noticed a small dark blue velvet-covered book peeking out from amidst a collection of quills and parchment. Curious, he reached for the book.
On the cover were the words A Record of My Life.
“If someone wanted to hide this book that badly, there must be something in here worthwhile reading,” James mused aloud.
He looked for any evidence of whose diary it was, but didn’t find anything until he reached the seventh or eighth page. Scrawled at the bottom were the words Love, Peter. James only knew one boy named Peter, and so he flipped through the pages. On one page, there was a large heart, scrawled sloppily across the page, with P.P. & L.E. scribbled inside.
James’ heart began to beat faster as he discovered his other friend’s secret feelings for Lily. “I love her as I’ve never loved anyone before,” were the words on one page. The most recent entry read, “I need to tell her how I feel before it’s too late.” The entry was dated Thursday, November 20th. Today’s date was the 26th of November, a Wednesday. He had written this entry a week ago, James realized. James snapped the book shut and shoved it back onto the shelf.
Ashamed of himself for reading one of his best friend’s secret feelings, he threw the cloak back on himself and ran from the room. Little did he know that during the whole time he was there, Peter was hunched in the corner, with tears streaming down his face as he watched his best friend read his deepest, darkest, secrets.
A/N: Again, please review and tell me what you think about incorporating Peter in a way that most fanfictions do not. Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!! =)