Chapter 17: The Changes Between Them
A/N [in a sing-songy voice] I'm Back. Sorry for the very long wait for a new chapter my fellow Potterheads and wonderful readers. I've been a bit obsessed with NCIS and its fanfiction of the time being as well as focused on my classes. That being said, after this chapter, it might be a while before I find another chance to finish and publish the next one. It isn't complete just yet, but it's getting there. I'm thinking 2 or 3 more chapters after this one, but we will see what happens when I get inspired. Now on with the story. 😊
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters or anything Harry Potter related. I do own the OC Jasmine and the plot of this story.
They had all just been dropped off on Platform 9 ¾ by James' parents. They had helped them get their things onto the train before saying goodbye to them all. They hoped to see Jasmine and Lily again sometime soon. And the girls promised to stop by sometime over the summer if they could.
Aboard the train, the four would have went their separate ways just then, but Lily didn't leave them. Instead, Lily walked and talked with all three of them until they reached the Marauders' usual compartment. She had insisted that she didn't need to find her friends right away. Lily didn't mind tagging along with them, especially if it gave her more time with her cousin, or so she claimed as her excuse. So, Lily had went along with the boys and her cousin to find the two missing Marauders in their compartment, with Jasmine holding Sirius' hand the entire way there.
Upon reaching the compartment, the three of them said their goodbyes to Lily before they entered the compartment together. At this point, Jaz had dropped Sirius' hand that she had been holding on their walk to the compartment. The reason for this being that Jasmine and Sirius, or as James had been calling them "Sazzy", had talked about telling the rest of the other two boys the previous night. They both decided they would definitely tell them on the train ride back to Hogwarts, but them being the people that they were, they were going to have a little fun with it. They were pranksters after all, so of course they weren't going to straight up tell the others that they were dating now. So, "Sazzy" had come up with a brilliant plan to drop a bunch of hints around the two boys until they figured it out (or something like that). They did make sure to tell James about their plan, so that he wouldn't mess it up.
James, though, had a different plan. He would let the couple do their plan until they fell asleep, which James knew they would. They were up late last night.... talking. James only knew this because he had gotten up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. He happened to pass their rooms on his way to the kitchen, and he could hear them talking in Sirius' room. He is pretty sure nothing happened, otherwise he would probably kick Sirius' ass. Jasmine was like a sister to him, so no matter the fact that Sirius was his best friend and practically his brother, he would not tolerate it if he hurt her. Plus, Lily would help him kick Sirius' ass.
Anyway, James had a plan of his own that once the two fell asleep on the train ride, they would definitely get all cuddly and coupley and cutesy and stuff. Obviously, their other friends would notice, so that was when James planned to tell them all about how the plan they had come up with, as well as anything the two of them had left out when they told the other boys about their breaks. And this is exactly what would have happened on the Hogwarts Express that day, but alas, both of their plans fell through.
Upon entering the compartment, Jasmine and Sirius began initiating their own plan. They sat on the same side together, while James sat next to Remus who was sitting next to Peter on the other side of the compartment. Once they were all settled, Sirius and Jasmine went about executing their plan, but it didn't last long when the topic of what happened over break came up.
"So, how was your guys' break? Me and Peter were just talking about ours, but nothing really interesting happened during mine." Remus asked the trio that had entered the compartment only moments ago.
Sirius gasped dramatically. "How could you say that Moony?! You same us three over the break and we are anything but boring."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Get over yourself Padfoot. I said my break was overall uninteresting. And my time at Potter Manor was fun, but nothing all that exciting happened while I was there."
"Oh Moony, if only you had come a few days earlier. You missed all the interesting and exciting drama by a couple of days." Everyone turned to look at James. Both Jaz and Sirius were glaring at him both mentally telling him to shut up. He was ruining their plan, as well as his own, but they didn't know that. James, on the other hand, decided to throw away his old plan and just tell the other two right then and there what happened over the break. The reactions from Sirius and Jasmine were just too good to pass up.
Remus, meanwhile, was looking at James curiously wondering what he could have possibly missed and why they didn't tell him about it when he was there. He voiced his first question, "What are you talking about Prongs? What did I miss?"
James flashed the couple a smirk, which was met with glares from both of them, but he didn't care. "You see my dear, Moony, the planets aligned and just for one moment, Lily actually agreed to let me escort her to the annual Potter Christmas Ball this year. I even got her to dance with me."
Jasmine and Sirius stared at James in disbelief. They were so sure that he was about to ruin their entire plan that they had come up with last night, but then he didn't. They both let out a sigh of relief, but it was a bit premature as they weren't exactly out of the woods yet.
Remus and Peter were also staring at James in disbelief, but for an entirely different reason than the other two. They were both astounded that Lily had actually gave James the time of day after everything that happened with them. But after shaking off the shock and disbelief, Remus remembered that James had said he should have come a few days earlier, but the ball would have been a few days after he had come to Potter Manor. He knew that what James told them, although surprising and probably pretty dramatic knowing the two of them, that the ball was not what James originally wanted to say. And Remus wanted to know what had happened the days leading up to him coming over, so he voiced his thoughts once again. "Well, that in itself sounds like it was filled with drama, but you said, 'if you only came a few days earlier' and the ball was after I came over to Potter Manor. So, what happened in the days leading up to my visit, James?"
"Oh, I did, didn't I?" James had a mischievous glint in his eyes that the couple clearly saw. They knew they were doomed now. There was no way that James wasn't going to tell them now. He had planned for Remus to realize his mistake. "Well then," James continued, "I guess I should tell you happened before you came over, but I think the new couple, Sazzy should tell you. Don't you think, Sazzy?" With that last question he turned to Sirius and Jasmine to get their response.
Sirius and Jasmine knew it was hopeless to get out of this situation without telling them what happened over the break. There was no way that James would let them either. So, they turned to each other and agreed that they would both tell the story starting from the day before which is really what started it all in the first place. Although during their silent conversation, Jasmine was still hesitant to tell the other two boys about her family life prior to moving in with Lily, but Sirius grabbed her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. He would be there for her no matter what. Plus, Sirius believed the boys would be very understanding of what happened in Jasmine's life. They were understanding when Sirius told them about his home life, well the parts that he had told them.
Anyway, while Sazzy was having their silent conversation, the two boys out of the loop were looking very confused while James was smirking. Remus and Peter had caught on to the fact that James had called their other two friends a couple, but they didn't understand why they hadn't just come out and told them. Remus in particular was confused and a little hurt that Jasmine and Sirius hadn't told him while they were planning on getting James and Lily together. And not that he thought about it, Remus would have to ask how the plan went over later. He didn't think it ended with James and Lily together as they had hoped, but things seemed better since Lily willingly walked with them to the compartment.
Before Remus got lost any further in his own thoughts, Jasmine spoke up. "I guess the cat is out of the bag now, thanks James." Cue glare directed at one James Potter. "Anyway, James is right, Sirius and I are a couple now."
Before she could say anymore, Remus finally spoke up. "Finally! I can't believe how long that took. I mean seriously, you two really know how to beat around the bush. What I can't understand is why didn't you tell me when I was over at Potter Manor? I mean I spent almost the entire day with you guys, and you didn't say anything to me. Why?"
"Oh, um, sorry Moony. It wasn't anything personal. We actually didn't mean to hide it from you at all. It wasn't until later that we even realized we were 'hiding' our relationship. And once we did realize, we decided it was best just to tell you and Peter at the same time. I didn't want Peter to feel left out anyway." Jasmine gave the mousy boy a smile to show that she just wanted to include him. Jasmine thought that Peter felt excluded and that was the reason he wasn't hanging out with them as much anymore. She just wanted him to still feel like he was a part of the group."
"I see. I understand guys," Remus replied. "But now you have to tell us how it happened. It's only fair since you left us out of the loop."
The couple was not shocked by his demand. They were expecting to have to tell them the full story, but Jasmine was still hesitant even if she were sure they would all be understanding. She just didn't want to seem weak. So, Sirius decided to start. "Well, first off it all started the day before we actually got together. How we got together is not nearly as interesting as what lead up to it." Sirius glanced at the girl beside him before turning his attention back to the others. Though, before he continued, Sirius draped his arm over Jasmine's shoulders in order to offer any support his girlfriend might need. "It all started when Jasmine got a letter from her other cousin and Lily's sister, Petunia."
Jasmine interrupted her boyfriend. "I'm not sure if you guys know this, but Petunia is not the nicest person on the planet. She's been jealous of Lily and I since we found out that we were witches. That jealousy resulted in Petunia actually hating us for having powers while she doesn't. So, she has said some really harsh things to both me and Lily over the years. I won't get into that though."
This new information came as a shock to Remus. He didn't expect the girl he did rounds with to have such a terrible sister. He wanted to ask more about it but didn't get the chance as Sirius picked up the story again. "Yes, Petunia is not a great person or, so I've been told. Anyway, Petunia wrote some really nasty things in a letter to the girls that sent Mare to her room crying. I wasn't there when it happened, but from what Lily told me and James, the letter led to Mare locking herself in her room. Apparently, Lily usually would comfort her, but she told us that Mare wouldn't let her in to comfort her this time."
Jasmine interrupted again. "Actually, Lily never asked to come in. She never knocked on the door or anything. Huh. I wondered why she only turned the doorknob." Sirius gave her a confused look, and seeing this, Jasmine explained her thoughts. "Obviously, she was trying set us up again. Lily was the only one who knew about both of our home lives, so she knew this would be the only chance we would both reveal them."
Understanding appeared Sirius face. "Wow, the things that girl did to get us together. I am grateful though." Jasmine gave him a curious look. "Well without her, I wouldn't have you right now." Then he gave Jaz a kiss on the cheek.
Their moment was interrupted by a cough from James. This drew the two back down. They remembered that they had been in the middle of a story, which Jasmine decided to pick up this time. "So, anyway, Sirius came to comfort me. He told me about his home life, as I am sure you are aware of. Then I told him about mine." Jasmine paused to take a deep breath before continuing. She needed a moment to prepare herself for the other two boys' reactions. "Here's the thing. Before I came to live with Lily, I lived with my mother. My father died just as I had started at Beauxbatons, so I was only 11 years old. And he was my absolute favorite person. I loved him so much, and it hurt a lot when I found out he died. I loved my mother too, but it just wasn't the same, especially after I came home for the first time after my father died. When I came home for Christmas that first year, I found my mother drunk. Then she started calling me all these names and everything. It was the last Christmas I spent with her, especially since it continued over the summer. And I didn't tell anyone not even Lily who I still saw every summer. Instead, I kept it all to myself because I could handle it." Jasmine could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes, but she could also feel Sirius' arm wrapped around her for support. "Then the worst happened. On my fifteenth birthday, I found my mother dead. She had drank herself to death. It was the worst birthday ever. Thankfully, Lily and her parents had been there at the time. It was then that I told Lily everything that had been going on at home. I should have told her sooner. Maybe if I had, my mother would still be alive." Then Jasmine broke down into tears.
Sirius pulled his girlfriend into a tight embrace. He did his best to calm her down and comfort her. He kept whispering into her hair: "You aren't alone, Mare" and "It's okay, Mare. I'm here." His comforting and encouraging words were exactly what Jasmine needed and wanted to hear.
It was long before Jasmine stopped crying and had fallen asleep in Sirius' arms. Not wanting to disturb her, Sirius didn't move, but he did continue with the story. He was speaking much quieter this time. "Well, after we confided in each other, we ended up falling asleep and cuddling in Jasmine's bed. It wasn't until the next day that I had the courage to tell her how I really felt about her. She made the first move, though. She kissed me first, but I kissed back. Then we talked about our feelings for each other and such. By the end, we were snogging on her bed, which is where James found us. And that, my dear friends, is how we got together. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to follow Mare's lead and take a nap. Wake us up when we are close." And soon after Sirius was asleep.
While the couple slept, James took the time to gather Remus' and Peter's reactions from the story they were just told. It was clear they were both just as shocked as he had been when he first found out from Lily that day. James could tell the boys (mainly Remus) also had questions, but since Sazzy was now asleep they would have to wait. "Though," James thought, "I know just as much about them, so I could answer their questions for them." So, James decided he would help his best friend out this time. "Well, boys, I'm sure you must have some questions for the happy couple, but since they are asleep, I would be happy to answer any questions."
"Actually, James, I have a question for you." Remus was going to find out what was going on between him and Lily. This was the perfect time to find out how the plan had panned out.
James cocked an eyebrow to show he was listening. "What is it my dear Moony?"
"It's now or never." Remus thought. "What's going on with you and Lily? Because before the break she despised you. Now she actually tolerated you long enough to walk with you to the compartment. You two were not like this when I saw you over the break, so you better tell me what has happened before I ask Lily during rounds."
"Woah, woah, woah. Hold your horse Moony. No need to threaten to ask Lily. I'll tell you exactly what happened." Remus doubt that, but it would be best to hear James' side of the story before he asked Lily about what really happened. "Moony, it was actually rather intense. I escorted her to the ball where we danced and laughed and overall had a great time, until I asked the wrong question. Then she got all mad at me, and we started yelling at each other. Finally, Lily ended up storm off out of the ballroom all because of a stupid question."
Remus was surprised. He hadn't expected James to sound so hurt that Lily got mad at him for asking a question. She got mad at him all the time for asking her out and such. He usually did stupid stuff that mad her mad at him, but it sounded different this time. Remus wondered what the question was that made Lily so mad, so he asked, "What was the question?"
"I just asked her why she wasn't calling me James when clearly she has called each of you by your first names. It just didn't make sense. It still doesn't make sense." James let out a sigh. Though him and Lily had gotten closer over the last several days, he still didn't understand the girl at all. They were friends now, but that didn't mean that James understood the girl's motives or thoughts at all.
"Wait. Since when has Lily called Sirius by his first name. Last I checked, she was still referring to him as Black."
"Oh, yeah. You probably didn't notice since you spent most of your time with Sazzy over there, but it started after they got together." James gestured at the sleeping couple. "I think she is trying to be supportive of their relationship or something, so she started to refer to Sirius by his first name instead of his surname. I really don't know why she started calling him by his first name, but it was really frustrating and confusing. I had to ask. How else was I supposed to ever have a chance with Lily if she still referred to me as Potter?" Remus shrugged in response, but James didn't really notice. He just continued to ramble and rant about the events of the ball. "So, I asked her a simple question and she got all mad and didn't really answer my question. Then I got mad that she didn't answer, which led to us yelling at each other. That led to Lily yelling at me and then storming out of the ballroom altogether. It was ridiculous. She left me standing in the middle of the ballroom dance floor with everyone staring at me. We made quite a scene. I still can't believe she left me in the middle of the dance floor. And I still don't understand why she was so upset by my question. It wasn't like I said something rude or mean. It just doesn't make any sense." James continued to ramble on about how he could never understand the female mind, let alone Lily Evans.
James continued to rant and ramble for a several minutes before Remus finally stopped him. "Prongs, what are you even talking about anymore?" That shut James up as he lost track of what he was even saying. It was quiet in the compartment then, which Remus appreciated. He needed some time to run through what James had just told him. It appeared that their plan hadn't exactly panned out, but still somehow James and Lily still ended up as friends. Then, if what James said happened, there was the issue of why Lily got so angry at James. Remus had to agree with his friend. It did not make sense that Lily got so mad at him. Remus would have to figure that part out later. He would have to talk with Jasmine and Sirius later to figure out what they knew. They would know more since it was their best friends that they were all trying to get together.
The quiet didn't last, sadly. Much to Remus' dismay, James got finally realized what he was talking about, but didn't get to say much before Remus interrupted him. Remus didn't want to listen to James ranting about Lily anymore. He had to find out how James and Lily actually ended up as friends after all that. "Prongs, wait. Before you start on another tirade, what happened after Lily stormed out? And how did you end up friends after all that. It doesn't make any sense."
"Oh, um, well, initially I was in shock, but once that wore off, I followed her out. Then I searched the whole Manor for her and finally found her in Jazzy's room. Not sure why she was in there since Jazzy was still at the ball. That's another thing that didn't make sense." James paused for a moment before continuing. "Well, anyway, I tried to get her to open the door for me so I could apologize in person, but after my first request she didn't respond anymore. Eventually I gave up on my pleading and tried other methods, but it seemed she wasn't coming out of that room any time soon. So, instead of completely giving up and going to my room, I decided to wait outside the door for her to finally come out. She eventually did, but we ended up talking in her room instead of Jazzy's. She didn't want Jazzy to interrupt us or anything. We ended up talking in her room. I apologized for making her mad. Then we ended up agreeing that we would work at being friends from then on. And we've been hanging out more since. It was nice to have a friend while Padfoot ditch me for Mare over the holiday."
Before James could say anymore, Remus stopped him. "So, wait you're telling me that Lily just forgave you just like that. No bodily harm or anything?" James nodded his head. "That is actually quite impressive. I'm surprised she didn't do anything more."
"To be honest, so am I. Lily can be scary when she wants to be. I guess she wanted to be my friend as much as I wanted to be hers, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have ended up injured in some way."
Remus decide then that he definitely needed to get Lily's side of the story. There had to be more to it because the Lily that Remus knew was stubborn and wouldn't usually forgive James that easily. Plus, Remus wasn't exactly sure why Lily had gotten so mad in the first place. He had his suspicions, but the only way to confirm them would be to corner Lily when they had rounds together. It would be the only time he could get her alone.
For the next several minutes the boys were silent. Remus didn't respond to James' assumption because he was stuck in his own thoughts and suspicions about Lily's reasons for forgiving James so easily. Meanwhile James was caught up in his own confusion about the events. He had been hoping that Remus would be able to help him understand the girl's motives, but it seemed that James was out of luck on that end.
It wasn't long before they were getting close to Hogwarts and needed to wake the sleeping couple. James told Remus he would do it, but Remus had been wary about letting him do it. He eventually relented when he realized that there was no way that he was going to be able to talk him out of it before the train got to Hogwarts. So, instead, Remus went to change into his robes. It was then that he finally realized that Peter was no longer in the compartment. He brushed that off though. He figured his friend had gotten tired of hearing about James' exploits with Lily over the break and went off to wherever he went to when he wasn't with the rest of them.
By the time Remus got back to the compartment, both Sirius and Jasmine were awake and in their robes. James was also in his own robes. The only thing that told Remus that James hadn't woken the couple up gently was the fact that they were both angrily glaring at the boy in question. Meanwhile, James had on an innocent look as if he didn't do anything wrong, but Remus wasn't fooled. He knew James well enough to know he probably shouted at them to get up, which would have startled them awake as well as piss them off.
Remus entered the compartment hoping that his presence would help calm down the new couple. Unfortunately, it seemed to make it worse. Instead of just glaring at James, after Remus came in, they started to glare at him too. "Woah, hey guys, I'm not the one who decided to wake you up the way that you were woken up."
"No, but you were the one that let him wake us up." Jasmine angrily pointed over at James. "How could you Remus? You knew exactly what he was going to do to wake us up and you let him do it. Ugh. I don't understand you boys." And before Remus could even begin to state his own defense, Jasmine stormed out of the compartment. With her gone, the tension and anger that had been in the atmosphere suddenly dissipated. Sirius was no longer glaring at them, but instead looked resigned. He knew exactly why Remus didn't stop James and he had been expecting James to be the one to wake them up. So, Sirius wasn't actually all that angry at either boy. Sure, he had been pissed off at James when he first woke up the way that he did, but he knew his best friend and he hadn't expected anything different from them.
"Aren't you going to go after her, Pads?" James finally asked after several moments of silence.
"Nah, she needs to cool down. I don't need her getting angry at me now."
Remus looked between the two. "So, what did you do James?"
"Oh, you know, the usual."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Of course, you did. You know you could have just shook them instead of yelling and shaking them awake."
"But where's the fun in that?"
Remus rolled his eyes again. "Forget it. You are a lost cause." Then Remus remember that Jasmine was mad at him as well. "Ugh. Damn you James, now Jaz is mad at me too because you were too stubborn as usually to just let me wake them up. You are an absolute moron."
"Hey, it's not my fault she got mad at you too. I just woke them up the way that I wake everyone up."
Sirius could sense an argument coming, and he didn't think he could handle another one after just going through one between Jasmine and James. "Stop. Damnit guys just stop. I will talk to Mare later. Right now, will you guys just shut up. I really don't need to hear another stupid arse argument right now."
Both boys turned to Sirius with stunned expressions on their faces. They had not been expecting that outburst. And because of their shock they immediately apologized to each other and moved on to another topic. It wasn't long before they arrived at the Hogsmeade station. Jasmine hadn't come back, but none of them had been expecting her too. Although, Sirius was a bit nervous about this fact. He hadn't necessarily expected his girlfriend to come back to the compartment, but he wasn't sure if she had expected him to follow her out of the compartment. He was worried that he should have followed her, but the boys convinced him that it was the right decision. Afterall, as James pointed out, they had been spending a lot of time together lately. They couldn't be together all the time or else they might just actually kill each other.
So, as they three of them (none of them concerned about where Peter might be) rode in the carriages up to Hogwarts, they talked about the possible pranks they could pull in the coming turn as well as their classes. They knew soon, they would have to start thinking about what classes they wanted to take next year for NEWTs. They also knew that McGonagall, or Minerva as James and Sirius sometimes liked to refer to her as, would be pulling them aside for meetings about what they wanted to do after Hogwarts. Each boy still not sure what they were planning on doing but hoping that they would all at least stay in contact with each other. So, as the carriages came to a stop outside of Hogwarts, each boy had a grin on their face as they stepped into the school that would bring them one hell of a second term that none of them would have ever expect let alone see coming.
A/N And I finally finished this chapter. Hooray. I hope you all enjoyed it. And if you did enjoy it, please review or comment or whatever. Just let me know what you think. Plus, I enjoy hearing all of your guys' thought. They inspire me. And also, if you have any ideas for the story, I'm all ears. I would love to hear them. I can't promise that I will use them, but I could always use some inspiration.
Hope to see you all sooner rather than later,
😊 Knk6700 😊