The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Eighteen

“No,” she answered simply.

“No?” he asked, his face crumpling in confusion. “No what?”

Lily rolled her eyes and said, “No James, I am not going to do Sirius’ dirty work for him. Rob’s a perfectly nice boy and he likes Cassie; he could even make her happy. If Sirius likes her that much then he should tell her and see what she says and if she chooses him over Rob then fine but I’m not going to be treated like some go between. You ought to know me better than that Potter.” She was stopped as she turned to go by James crying, “Wait!”

Lily turned around slowly and crossed her arms in front of her chest, books tucked underneath them. “Why should I wait Potter?” she asked. “You lot are all as bad as each other; you’re not always the best around you know?”

James gaped at her in even more confusion as he searched his mind for anything to say. “Wait, I don’t know when this conversation turned into that, I mean I thought we had both decided to be civil to each other, but I’m not asking you to ‘do Sirius’ dirty work’ or whatever you think I had in mind. I’m just asking as one friend to another if you could see what’s happening. Look Lily,” he said as he moved towards her, his hands spread out entreatingly, “I was with him on the Hogsmeade weekend and it was horrible! He was so jealous. I can’t deal with that Lil! I need you to help me… please?”

Lily shook her head and rubbed the toe of her shoe along a crack in the stone of the floor. “I’m sorry James but it doesn’t work like that. You can’t just- People don’t exist to be won, if you want someone you have to show them that you’re the one they want and then wait for them to come to you. Personally I think he should just tell her and see what happens but if he decides not to… Well then he has to just accept that this could happen and if it does… he’ll have to live with it. You can’t control anyone, life doesn’t work like that. Anyway,” she sighed, “people change and thoughts, feelings, opinions change. Nobody is ever the same as they were the day before but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; everything which happens to us shapes us as a person and can show us a bit more about ourselves. Sometimes it’s those changes which mean that someone might love you where once they didn’t and this could be the change which does that for her. In any case you should make sure that he doesn’t just mope over her because there’s a fine line between obsession and wanting to be with someone and loving someone despite their faults and only one of those is ever really rewarded with love.”

“So you’re not going to help?” he said.

“I don’t think that there’s anything to help with James,” she shrugged. “If Sirius doesn’t realise that he isn’t the centre of the world and that other people lead different lives then perhaps it’s time he learnt. Like I said, you can’t control people. I suppose that’s part of what makes life… life, even if it means you’re sometimes steered in different directions. Besides, I’m sure you can handle him.”

“I don’t think it will be particularly pleasant,” James muttered as Lily set off up the stairs. He jogged after her and fell into step beside her, wordlessly climbing each one at the same time that she did. They were two floors up before James said, “I’m sorry Lily; I didn’t realise that it’d make you angry.”

“It’s fine James, I’m not angry,” she replied tiredly. “I just think Sirius needs to think about what’s best for Cassie.”

“What about what’s best for him though?” he asked. Lily fixed him with a pointed look and said, “I don’t know James but if he really does like her then I’m sure he would rather have her be happy than anything else.”

However, it didn’t look like Sirius would have to worry too much; after the one trip into Hogsmeade and a couple of hours spent chatting to each other in the castle their relationship seemed to peter out. Rob was not, for some unknown reason, invited to Slughorn’s Christmas party and in the days coming up to it the four girls discussed what to do.