The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix - Part One

Not Like They Say

After Mrs. Evans' death, the days seemed to go by slow and horribly long. The flat in East London was quiet, energy subdued, and everyone in their own thoughts. Lily moved about like a zombie, and though she went to her classes at uni and such, she didn't feel like doing much else. James or Sirius or Remus would suggest going for a walk or to the cinema or put on some music and try at getting her to cheer up, but she would either pass the opportunity up altogether or slip away the first chance she got to the bedroom. The curtains drawn, the lights low - Lily would simply lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in herself.

They each tried talking with her - after all, each of them had lost someone that they could relate to Lily's pain. James tried to tell her how much memories of Charlus helped him to cope, and Remus suggested they make some of her mum's favorite foods for dinner, recipes that would be comforting. Sirius recommended journaling, writing poems or songs, listening to music, and generally trying to distract oneself from the thoughts that clouded the mind. Of the four Marauders, though, it was Peter who helped the most.

"We don't have to talk," Peter said to Lily. "We can cry if you rather just have someone to cry with."

Lily held his hand and they sat in the dark together, not talking, for nearly an entire day. The funny thing was that as Lily held Peter's hand, she could feel his loneliness in her own palms. She looked at Peter, his round face and chubby body so different than the builds of Sirius, Remus, and James, and Lily realized just how different from the other three Peter really was - how much more quiet, how much more anxious. His anxiety ran through him like a live wire had been cut loose and all of the electricity moved as a strong current through him. It echoed in her own nerves as she sat with him. Peter, Lily realized, needed the Marauders so much more than they needed him. So she decided to be strong for Peter, and got on with taking all of the boys' suggestions.

"I've made a stroganoff," Lily announced.

"A whoosa-hoff?" Sirius asked, rolling to look up at her as she came out of the kitchen. He was laying on his stomach in the living room in front of a portable record player, from which came the sounds of Elton John's brand new single - Part-Time Love.

You've been seen running around

There's not much I don't hear of and still you try

Telling me all the things I must stay clear of
Don't tell me what to do
When you been doing it too
Because you, me and everybody's got a part time love

Lily repeated, "I made stroganoff. My mum's recipe."

"The bloody hell is that?" Sirius asked.

"It's a Russian dish," Remus said, without looking up from a book that he had balanced on his knee. "Beef, noodles, creamy sauce."

"I like beef," Sirius announced, pushing himself up from the floor to his feet. He flicked his wand with a limp wrist and the record shrieked to a stop.

"No leave it on," Lily said, "The music is nice. I like Elton John."

"Alright." Sirius flicked his wrist again and an album came flying from the shelf, "Let me switch it out though, this one's just a single..."

Captain Fantastic, raised and regimented, hardly a hero
Just someone his mother might know
Very clearly a case for Corn Flakes and classics
Two teas both with sugar please
In the back of an alley...

Remus and Sirius sat down in the kitchen and Lily piled food onto plates for them, as well as one for herself.

It was mid afternoon and though the stroganoff was a bit heavy for lunch, neither boy dared ask if they ought not wait for James to get home - they were just glad to see Lily up and about again. Remus ate with relish - halfway through the moon cycle and he was famished, seemingly unable to eat enough to satiate himself - and Lily happily spooned extra heaps of the stuff onto his plate.