She's the Girl | A Marauders Love story

Chapter 56

New Beginnings

"Thank goodness you're here! I need your help!" Lily said, pulling Hailey into her apartment. "Marlene told me she and Edgar got engaged! I want to throw her a party, so I need you to help me. I would have asked James and Sirius as well, but I wasn't sure if they were up for it right now." She said, becoming somber. Hailey nodded. Lily, though she still had trouble around Sirius, had managed to pull herself together well enough, and go back to her regular life. Hailey knew she was still upset, and a part of her would never be the same, but she was doing better, so Hailey supported her and did as much as she could to make sure Lily didn't slip back. James and Sirius tried to be strong, they still went to work and had weekly dinner with Hailey and Remus, but they had each separated themselves a bit from their friends and each other. Hailey and Remus had talked about it, and decided that they would be there if Sirius and James needed someone, but it wouldn't help anyone to try and push them back into their regular lives.

"Yeah, James is doing better, though. He moved back into our bedroom, and has dinner with me every day. I don't really know about Sirius. Remus has been checking on him, but I've just let them do their thing. I know Remus would tell us if he was really worried about Sirius."

Lily nodded.

"I was a little nervous to throw a party, you know. I wasn't sure if I could handle it, but I love Marlene, and I want her to know that we support her and Edgar, and I think I can do it. That's also why I asked you to help me. You've helped me through this whole mess."

Hailey smiled.

"Let's plan a party!"

~~~~~

"James, do you want to come with me to the party tomorrow? Lily and I have been working on it, and we thought it'd be great if you and Sirius came. If you don't want to, that's fine. Everybody will understand." Hailey said. James shrugged.

"It might be nice to get out of the house. And who knows when we'll see them again. It sounds like fun."

Hailey smiled and put the food in the oven.

"I would also appreciate it if you helped me with dinner, because I suck at cooking." She said. James chuckled.

"It's not that bad. You just don't have my natural flair." He said with a smile, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Sorry not all of us are great at everything, Mr. Perfect." Hailey said teasingly, kissing him. James pulled her tighter against him, deepening the kiss. Hailey rested her hands against his chest, pulling away.

"Well you need to get ready if we're going tonight. You haven't changed your clothes in a bit." She said, patting his shirt. James rolled his eyes with a smile and kissed her forehead.

"As you wish."

~~~~

"You made it! It's great to see you, James." Lily said, hugging them both. She took the bottle of champagne from Hailey and led them inside. Remus and Sirius were standing in the kitchen aling with some of Edgar's friends, and next to them was Mary Macdonald.

Hailey screamed and hugged Mary tightly. She heard Sirius say something about the noise level, but chose ignore it. She put her hands on Mary's shoulders, pulling away and looking at her.

"How did you get here? I thought people weren't allowed to travel into England right now."

Mary smiled.

"I have a few connections, and I couldn't miss this! It's an important day, she said, giving Lily a knowing look.

"I missed you so much! Last I heard from you was graduation. What's new with your life? Are there any boys?" She asked slyly. Mary rolled her eyes.

"No, there are no boys." She said, though she flushed. Hailey raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"We'll come back to that. I can't believe you're here! How long are you staying for?"

"Just the weekend. I have a meeting on Monday."

Hailey nodded.

"We'll have to make the most of it, then." Hailey said. She turned back to James, who was watching the encounter with a fond smile.

"James, do we have any plans this weekend?"

James shook his head.

"None that come to mind."

"Perfect!"

"Shh! They're here!" Lily whispered excitedly, peeking out the window. Everybody hid in the kitchen, Hailey ducking behind the counter, and waited for the couple to walk in.

"Hey! I'm so glad you could make it! Come in! It's cold outside." Lily said, ushering Marlene and Edgar inside. They walked in the kitchen, and Lily flipped the lights on. Everybody jumped up from their hiding spots and shouted 'Surprise!'. Marlene screamed, then looked around the room. When her eyes fell on Mary, she screamed again. She ran towards her and hugged her tightly.

"I can't believe you're here!" She exclaimed. Everyone laughed, Sirius once again complaining about the noise level.

~~~~

The rest of the night passed quickly, Hailey and James mingling with their friends, but Hailey noticed the longer the night went on, the more agitated James seemed. She mentioned his behavior to Sirius and Remus, who responded suspiciously.

"I didn't notice anything." Sirius said, taking a swig of butterbeer. Remus shook his head.

"Seems normal to me. I mean, he's bound to be acting a bit strange, after all, he is-"

Sirius stepped on his toe.

"Is still grieving." He said quickly. Hailey raised her eyebrows at them.

"Right. Well, I think we might head home in a bit. He doesn't seem to be enjoying himself." She said, gesturing to where he was having a conversation with Edgar and his friends. James looked stiff, and a bit uncomfortable, but Hailey knew he enjoyed the company he was in. Sirius shrugged.

"I mean, it's your call, but I think everything's fine."

Hailey rolled her eyes. Obviously, everyone was keeping something from her. She had always come to Sirius and Remus when she thought James was being weird, and they had agreed with her and tried to find a solution with her.

"Fine, lie to my face." Hailey said, half jokingly. Sirius rolled his eyes at her dramatics. Hailey bid goodbye to them and headed to where James was.

"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" She asked. James seemed surprised at her offer. "You just seem a bit on edge. We can go if you want."

James swallowed, then nodded.

"That does sound nice, actually." He said with a smile. Hailey nodded and went to say goodbye to Lily, Marlene, and Mary.

"We're going to head out, I'll see you guys tomorrow, does that sound good?" She asked. Lily, Mary, and Marlene looked at each other.

"Yeah! Our schedules are open, so if you need to reschedule or anything, don't worry about it." Marlene said. Hailey furrowed her eyebrows.

"Alright, thanks you guys. I'll see you later. And congratulations again, Marlene. I'm really happy for you."

She hugged her friends, then met up with James again.

"Ready to go?"

James coughed uncomfortably.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

Hailey narrowed her eyes. Something was up, and she was going to find out what it was.