~Lavender Evans POV~
I woke up the next morning to the sun barley shining through the curtains. Who am I kidding, I'm always the first up in the mornings.
I'll be completly honest, I don't remember coming up here last night, I'm sort of on autopilot.
I walked into the bathroom and started to quickly run the straightener through my hair.
I'll admit that I straighten my hair a little too often, I just like my hair better straight then in curls.
When I came back out of the bathroom both Lily and Mary were up, Dorcas always sleeps as late as possible though, and I don't blame her.
Lily woke her up about 5 minutes before we were about to head down to the great hall, I'll never not be amused by how fast Dorcas can get ready.
It's also unfair that she can get ready in under five minutes and look good all day. Not fair in the slightest.
We made our way down to the dining hall and Marlene and the guys were already down there.
I sat with Lupin and started talking to him about the homework from ancient ruins last night, that I absolutely did, it totally won't be my study hall period today.
Luckily he explained it a little bit to me so I know it seems fairly easy.
Before I knew it the bell was ringing and I had to go to Divination.
"Okay everyone, we're gonna be working in partners today. Before anyone asks I have assigned them, and I'll announce that now" Our professor said.
Dear god I talk to no one in this class. But here's the worst part, knowing her, it'll be alphabetical.
"Okay, and it'll be, Abdella and Abramson, Cahall and Dane, Diggory and Evans, oh, my bad, Lavender Evans, and..."
Yeah that's what I figured. Today's really working in my favor isn't it?
I'll admit it, I let myself zone out for a minute until people started moving around the room.
I looked up and Amos was already walking towards me so I just stayed put.
"Quite the coincidence isn't it?" He joked, I nodded
"Shy?" He asked
"No, I just don't really talk to a lot of people" I said
"So, shy?" He joked
"I don't really know how to explain it" I said
"So... if I'm correct you have another sister other then Lily, right?" He said after a minute
"Yeah, Petunia" I said
"And what year is she in?" He asked
"Oh, she's not, shes muggle, both Lily and I were muggle-born, just an odd coincidence" I said
"Hmm, muggle-born twins, didn't know that was possible" He said
I didn't want to be rude, but I also didn't especially feel like talking to him.
Why is he suddenly interested in getting to know me?
And did he actually forget who I am, or is he pretending? Because if he's pretending it's a sick game to play, and he already knows all about Petunia.
He knows everything actually, he knows Lily and I have two muggle parents, he knows that Petunia resents us for it, he knows I try my best to just not step on anyone's toes, just, god I don't even want to think about this.
~James Potters POV~
It's safe to say that by the time the bell rang, I was ready to beat the shit out of Amos Diggory.
Yeah, I'm in Lavenders Divination class, and I sit a few rows back from her, apparently the guy can't take a hint because she's obviously been trying to ignore him all period but he keeps pushing it.
Like what sick game is this guy trying to play with her? You already made the poor girl cry over you, how about you just leave her the hell alone?
I guess he's lucky it wasn't Remus here because he would've lost his shit.
Lavenders like a sister to Rem, I would've caused a scene, but the twats right, Lavenders shy, she doesn't deserve for me to cause a scene like that.
Oh but don't worry, I wasn't just gonna leave this be.
The bell finally rang and like expected, Lavender got out of the room as fast as possible.
"Oi, Diggory" I said, he turned
"Hey, Potter, what's up?" He asked
"I'm just gonna say this once, leave Lavender alone, you're lucky it was just me here, I couldn't tell you what one of the other guys would've done, nonetheless Lily. She's off limits, enough is enough, and I'll make sure you stick to that" I said
"What are you talking about?" He said
"Lavenders too nice to speak up, but I'm not, it'll be a hell of a lot better for you if you just leave her the hell alone, you and I both know she deserves better then this" I said before I walked away.
"Wait, Potter-" He said, I just kept walking
I know if I didn't stop soon I'd do something to get myself in trouble, and it'd horrify poor Lavender, if she heard me say that she'd be pissed anyways, I figured to stop while I'm ahead, but I had to get to Minnies class anyways.
I walked in and took my seat next to Remus.
"Whats up? You seem off" He said
"We find a good prank for Amos Diggory tonight, I can't stand the twat" I said
"What did he do?" He asked
"Lavender got paired up with him by Trilomy last period, and he kept trying to like get to know her and she kept trying to nicely ignore him, he just wouldn't take the hint" I said
"Okay, well talk to Sirius tonight" He said
"Okay" I said as Minnie walked in.
Yeah we don't screw with Minnie, it's the safest bet.
~Lavender Evans POV~
I have a study hall second period, some days it's a blessing, some days it's a curse, I can't decide what it is for today yet.
I picked a fairly empty table and started working on the ancient ruins homework that I totally didn't forget to do last night.
And it was peaceful, until someone slid next to me on the bench.
I just tried my best to ignore it.
"Hey Evans" He said, I could tell by the voice it was Sirius.
"Oh, hey, sorry, I don't know where Lily is" I said
"I wasn't looking for Lily" He said, yeah that caught my attention, I finally looked up from my work to him looking back at me.
"Not to be rude, but why are you here then?" I asked
"What, I'm not allowed to talk to you?" He said
"Sorry, just whenever we talked before you were looking for Lily" I said as I went back to my work.
"And I'm not allowed to change that?" He asked, I turned to face him.
"What's up Sirius" I asked
"You seriously don't believe I just came over here to talk to you? You seem interesting Evans, I'm allowed to try to get to know you, so prepare yourself for that" He said before he got up and walked away.
That was...strange to say the least.
I couldn't tell you a time that any of the Marauders other then Remus talked to me for a reason other then Lily. Why the sudden interest?
~Sirius Blacks POV~
Am I supposed to be in Charms right now? Yes, am I? No, I got bored and told Flitwick I was going to the bathroom so I can walk around for a little bit.
I was aimlessly roaming until I walked past the study hall.
I took a shot by knowing teachers pet Lily never takes her robes off during class, and the redhead with her back to me was sitting with no robes on, figured it was Lavender.
"Hey Evans" I said, better to be safe then sorry. I was right though, it was Lavender.
"Oh, hey, sorry, I don't know where Lily is" She said.
It's sad that she goes right to that, no one should have someone come talk to them, and the first thing they say is sorry, I don't know where my sister is.
"I wasn't looking for Lily" I said, yeah that definitely shocked her a little
"Not to be rude, but why are you here then?" She asked
"What, I'm not allowed to talk to you?" I said
"Sorry, just whenever we talked before you were looking for Lily" She said as she went back to writing.
Okay, I'm a complete ass, I don't even remember talking to her before.
Yeah I need to change this.
"And I'm not allowed to change that?" I asked, she turned to face me.
"What's up Sirius" She asked
"You seriously don't believe I just came over here to talk to you? You seem interesting Evans, I'm allowed to try to get to know you, so prepare yourself for that" I said before I walked away.
I definitely confused her, but she can let that sink in, cause I'm gonna change this whether she wants me to or not.
~Lavender Evans POV~
After an excruciatingly long day, I was finally making my way back across campus to my dorm.
"Hey, Lav?" I heard, I could tell it was Lily so I stopped
"Did you understand what we did in Transfiguration today?" She asked
"Yeah, I can help you with it later tonight if you want" I said
"Thatd be great, thanks Lav" She said before she walked away.
I know Lily does the same thing I do, we both run tutoring sessions with younger years, if she's rushing off, it's to that.
I started walking back towards my dorm like I was planning on before, you know, just trying to make this day normal. I've been overwhelmed I'll admit it.
"Hey, Evans?" I heard, I could tell it was Potter, figured he was pawning after Lily though so I didn't think too much of it.
"Evans" He said again, and like normal, Lily was ignoring him.
"Evans wait up" He said one more time, just to my shock, he caught my wrist.
"You avoiding me or something?" He asked with a laugh.
"No, sorry, I was just talking to Lily before we split ways, I figured you were following after her" I said, he froze for a second.
"Every time I'm looking for an Evans, it's not only Lily. Just cause you happen to have the same last name doesn't mean you're not your own person. I see that. I see you Evans. I see all you do." He said, did I miss part of this conversation?
"Hey, okay, give me your hand" He said
"What?" I said
"Just trust me Evans, five minutes" I honestly just wanted to go back to my dorm, but the way he was staring into my eyes, there was no way to say no.
Hesitantly after a second I took his hand. Today's certainly odd, like I said, all the Marauders except Remus only talk to me if it's for or about Lily. I'm 3 for 4 today.
I don't know Potter super well, but it definitely shocked my when he pulled me to the dock by the black lake, on the safe side obviously.
"Okay, let me hear it, I'm all ears, what's on your mind, you're not yourself today" He said.
Is he just gonna keep shocking me? Okay, anyways.
"What?" I said
"Evans I pay attention, just because you're not as extroverted as Lily doesn't mean I don't pay attention to you, you're a bright person, that's been muted today, I'm allowed to worry about you, you've always been good to me, what's up bean?" He said, I didn't know he noticed that much.
I know he's just trying to be nice, and I've always thought he was a good person, I just don't have the energy to do this today, I'm just ready to get back to my dorm.
"Nothings up Potter, thanks though, I'll see you around" I said as I went to walk away. But much to my dismay he caught my wrist again.
"Evans, just talk to me, I'm here, just get whatever it is off your mind, I won't even say anything if you don't want, I think you just need everything going through your head to be heard, give it a shot, it helps me out" He said
"Please just let me go, Potter" I said, I'm not in a mentally good place and I'm not about to unload all of that onto Potter.
"Not when I know you're not okay" He said, why does he have to be a good guy when I've been on the verge of tears since first period?
"Potter, please, just let me go" I said
"No, I'm not just gonna let you walk away right now, Lavender" He said
"Please" I said, he didn't answer though, he just held onto my hand and didn't break eye contact.
Much to dismay my body decided it couldn't hold on any longer and a tear fell down my cheek, damn you, Potter.
"There it is" He said as he reached up and wiped the tear off my cheek, leaving his hand there, which of course just triggered more tears to fall.
"There we go, it's just us here, come here, bean" He said as he pulled me into his chest, resting his chin on my head. I forgot Remus said he can be a total softie.
"I promise it's just us here right now, nothing else in the world matters right now, it's just us here, it's just us." He said.
We stayed like that for a minute, just in silence before he spoke again.
"Take off your shoes" He said
"What?" I said
"Will you just trust me Evans" He said as he took my hand again and pulled me to the end of the dock. Why am I trusting Potter so easily?
"C'mon let's sit, put your feet in the water, it's oddly grounding, I find it makes the world stop spinning a little bit" He said, I followed his lead, sitting on the edge of the dock and dangling my legs off the end.
"Never mind, guess you didn't have to take your shoes off, I always knew you were small, Evans, but I didn't know you were this small" He joked
"Thank you?" I said with a laugh
"That's not a bad things, just, what are you like 4'11?" He said with a laugh
"Hey, give me credit, I'm 5'2" I said
"Wait hold on you're over 5 feet? Yeah I'll believe that when I have proof, Evans" He joked
I guess he does have a point, I guess I'm small compared to my sisters. Lily's like 5'5" and Petunias 5'7", both my sisters are decently tall, or at least average height, I don't really count as that.
"If it makes you feel any better I've always thought Amos was a complete twat, this just proved it" He said
"Wait, Lily told you?" I asked
"No" He said
"She was the only one that knew" I said
"You might not have noticed in that moment, which is okay, I wouldn't expect you to, I don't even want to imagine what was going through your mind, but Peter was there with you, he picked up on it right away" He said
"Oh..." I said. I honestly forgot Peter was there.
"And Sirius also told Remus and I again when he got back to our dorm later that night" He said. Okay that caught my attention
"Wait what? Sirius knows?" I asked
"Yeah, Lily didn't tell you? You fell asleep on her in the common room last night, she accidentally told Sirius the whole story because she was mad at herself at the fact that she didn't believe you, she made Sirius promise today that he wouldn't tell anyone. He carried you back up to your dorm before he came back to the room, he actually seemed pretty worried about you" He said.
That doesn't seem very, well, Sirius Black. You'd think Lily would've told me about that.
"He did that?" I asked
"Yeah, I know he seems like an ass but I promise he's not... most of the time at least, we're all on your side on this, Diggory's a twat, and you could absolutely do better" He said.
How is it that I missed after all this time that Potter notices everything, and Sirius is, well, human?
"Just a long day?" He asked after a minute
"Yeah, I guess so" I said
"Come here" He said as he wrapped an arm around me pulling me closer, it felt natural to just rest my head on his shoulder.
"So I don't get to beat Diggory's ass yet?" He said
"Not yet" I said with a laugh
"You better let me know when I can, it's been too long since I've gotten in a fight" He said, I couldn't help but laugh.
Only James Potter could say something like that.
'Let me know when I can beat the shit out of him, it's been too long since I've beaten the shit out of someone'
"Y'know, Marlenes right, you gotta mentally prepare yourself for attention, I know she's talking about in general because she wants to pull you out of your little bubble with your roommates, but I'm talking about with Sirius" He said after a minute.
If your keeping count thats 7 times now that Potter has utterly confused me tonight. I think he could tell he confused me though.
"I don't know when, but you caught his attention, and even if he just wants to be friends he's still gonna flirt with you, it's just how Sirius is, and even in general he'll try to embarrass you, and he doesn't give up, he's big on schoolyard mentality, if he doesn't mess with you he doesn't like you" He said
I said it once and I'll say it again, why are the Marauders suddenly taking interest in me?
"And you caught his attention, so he's not giving up on getting to know you anytime soon" He said, oh godric.
We sat for a few more minutes before we made our way back to the common room.
Right before I said the password to the painting, he caught my wrist again.
"Hate to break it to you, but there's no more crying alone now Evans, I don't care how small it is, you come find me, I don't care what I'm doing, I'll drop it, come find me, I don't care if I'm with Lily, come find me, no more crying alone, Evans, I don't care about the circumstances, you come find me, okay?" He said, I nodded.
But James being James, that wasn't good enough, he gently squeezed my hand.
"You got that?" He asked
"Yeah" I said
"So what are we doing, tell me" He said
"No more crying alone" I said
"Okay, good, there we are, c'mon bean" He said before he pulled me through the painting and into the common room.
He shot me a quick wink before he took the stairs up towards the boys dormitories.
"Hey, where were you?" Lily asked
"It's not a big deal, just, question, since when do all the Marauders actually talk to me?" I asked
"They've always talked to you" She said
"Only about you though, except for Lupin" I said
"I told you to expect attention this year, it was bound to happen Lav, you're hot, accept it" Marlene said, she hangs out in our room a lot.
"Did you tell them to talk to me?" I asked
"No, I wouldn't sick the Marauders on you, even if I tried they wouldn't listen, everything they do is in their own terms" She said
"What happened Lav?" Lily asked
"I don't know, it's weird, Sirius came up to me in second period and started talking to me, which isn't normal, and for the past hour and a half I was out at the black lake with Potter cause he realized something was off and was trying to get me to open up" I said
"Wait Potter did that? I didn't know he was...-" She started
"Considerate? I know, I didn't either" I said
"Are you guys seriously just noticing the guys you hang around?" Dorcas asked
"No, the guys are just noticing them" Marlene said
"Sorta unrelated, why didn't you tell me Sirius brought me back here last night?" I asked
"I didn't think it was a big deal" Lily said
"It's not, I just didn't realize Sirius was...-" I started
"Human? Yeah I didn't either til last night" She said
"Oh shit guys were almost late for dinner" Mary said
"Jeez, how long was I out there for" I muttered to myself as I followed them out of the room.
~James Potters POV~
I'm glad I took a shot on talking to Lavender. I was originally just gonna tell her I thought Diggory was a twat, but when I saw she had tears in her eyes I decided to bring her to the black lake.
I figured it was more then just Amos if she had tears in her eyes.
And don't ask me where the nickname bean came from, I couldn't tell you, it was just fitting in the moment, and I mean, I guess that's how nicknames develop honestly.
But bean just fits Lavender, I couldn't explain it if I tried.
I'm just glad she started to trust me, and also that she understands when I'm joking with her vs being serious.
I also expected her to be as stubborn as she was, thats just like a gene in the Evans family or something. Maybe it's in the water at their house.
Moral of the story, Lavenders actually pretty cool, not that I didn't expect her to be, just, I'm glad I talked to her, and I'm glad she trusts me,
even if it's just a little bit.
I made my way back to our dorm and the rest of the guys were there.
"Hey, where'd you disappear to?" Remus asked as I walked in
"Oh, I was with Evans" I said
"You were with Evans? And you're not flipping your shit right now? Where's the closest place to buy a lottery ticket?" Sirius said
"Not Lily, Lavender" I said
"How's she holding up?" Remus asked
"I don't have a good answer for that, I don't really know, I made her cry, she somehow has the nickname bean now, I thought she was 4'11", it was a weird time but we both needed it" I said
"Wait back track back track, you made her cry?" Remus asked
"Yeah, well, no, yes and no, when I walked up to her she happened to have tears in her eyes, she tried to get me to let her leave but I just didn't let her" I said
"Okay, that's the relevant part I guess, and I mean, I never really thought about it but bean is and oddly fitting nickname for Lavender" He said
"Yeah, she didn't question it though which is a lucky coincidence" I said
"Okay, and lastly yes she's small but she's not 4'11", she's not legally a midget" He said
"Yeah I still don't believe she broke five feet though" I said
"Okay so if you have to explain this to Lily, you got her to let out her emotions, found a nickname that comforts her, and joked around with her, you didn't make her sister cry, call her a midget, and give her a nickname after a gross food no one likes" He said
"That's a good point" I said
"Wait, what did I miss, whats up with Evans, not Lily" Sirius said
"Oh I snapped on Amos Diggory after first period because I watched her lose herself for the whole period while he tried to get to know her after pretending he didn't last night" I said
"So we have to find a good prank?" He asked
"Essentially" I said
"So he like actually made her cry?" Peter asked
"Well, that was probably part of it, I mean she didn't really cry, she just let out a tear or two after I stared at her for an extended period of time" I said
"You know what, we can figure out a few good pranks after this but we have to go to dinner and you have to pretend like nothing happened to Lily, because if you tell Lily about something that Lavender didn't tell her, you'll lose her trust" Remus said
He did have a good point there.
~Lily Evans POV~
Dinner was oddly peaceful, until 5 minutes in when the Marauders came in and sat with us.
They were talking about something that happened in potions when I happened to look up at the perfect moment to see Sirius wink at Lav.
The death stare I shot him probably could've killed him if he didn't break eye contact.
But I got distracted by the amount of sexual tension between Marlene and Dorcas. Lav mentioned that she noticed it and I told her she was insane.
But looking at it just now, it's obviously there. Like without a doubt.
I have to stop doubting Lav.
Before I knew it everyone was starting to stand up and walk out of the great hall.
On our way out I caught Sirius by the wrist and waited for our group to walk away a little bit.
"Whats up, Evans?" He asked
"What are you doing to my poor sister?" I asked
"What do you mean?" He asked
"I saw the wink, Sirius I thought I told you to stay away from her" I said
"Listen, Petals-" He started
"No, Sirius, you don't get it, she's broken right now, and I don't think you realize just how introverted Lavender is, she's just now getting to the point where she can hold eye contact with Remus without blushing, she's won't be able to handle player Sirius Black, not right now at least." I said
"I know you don't see it like this but it you flirt with her right now while she's at a low like this, you're gonna break her heart without even trying, and I know you don't really care, but this isn't some random chick, this is my sister Sirius, you don't get to just break her heart more cause she's already shattered over Amos Diggory being a..a"
"A twat, continue" He said
"A twat, just because you think her heart is fair game right now doesn't give you the right to break it. Sirius she doesn't deserve that-" I said, he cut me off
"Okay Petals hear me out for a minute" He said
"Fine, make it quick" I said.
"I'm not trying to break her heart, I'm not even in that vicinity. I wouldn't do that to Lavender, I couldn't tell you why but she caught my interest, she seems interesting. And I know she's introverted, that's the thing I know, and I know that my goal here isn't to flirt with her to the point that she wants me, I'm not even trying to flirt with her in general, I just want to pull her out of her shell a little bit, y'know, so she can make eye contact with a guy other then Remus without blushing" He said
"Just, you don't know Lavender-" I started
"But I want to, that's the thing, I'm not in this to break her heart, Evans, I'm in this to be her friend, to make her not hide behind you, Marlene, and Remus. I can tell she's her own person and she just needs help bringing it out." He said
I wasn't expecting this, I'll be honest I had no clue what to say.
"If either of you catch feelings, you stop, no questions asked" I said
"Deal" He said
"And nothing rash, and nothing in a super public area. I'm not lying when I say she's easily embarrassed, you'll never meet someone who get embarrassed easier then her, don't play with that, it's not a toy, she's not a toy, she doesn't deserve to be treated like that. That twat certainly didn't help her think better of herself" I said
"I just want to earn her trust, be her friend, Evans, and know that that will require pushing her comfort zone a little to pull her out of her shell, but I'll do it gradually, I won't turn the poor girl into a tomato, not in front of people" He said
"This doesn't mean I agree with this, just don't fuck around with her feelings" I said before I walked away.
I got back to my dorm and everyone was getting ready for bed.
"Where'd you go?" Lavender asked
"Oh, just had to talk to Marlene about something" I said
Luckily none of them questioned that.
Did I just make like a horrific mistake by letting Sirius 'pull Lavender out of her shell'
One could never catch feelings for the other, right?