CHAPTER 5
The Library
The sun began to split in half on the horizon, the oranges, reds, and yellows mixing together above it that evening. Lily had gone through Potions, History of Magic, Transfiguration, Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. She yawned with exhaustion from this long first day. Not to mention the fact that her best friend hadn't made eye contact with anyone all day since her squabble with Sirius. When she was in Lily's classes, all she had done was sigh and pout, and every once in a while, whimper. Lily had never seen Ana worse. Peter had tried to cheer her up when they had Herbology together by suggesting that she could go play Quidditch with James and him if she wanted to, but to no avail. She had just shaken her head, and asked for a bathroom pass. Lily didn't know what to do, nor did Chloe, and certainly not Summer. It would be barking mad if any of the boys went to speak to her - they all were, after all, Sirius's friends.
Sirius acted quite differently. He laughed along with all of his friends, making jokes and telling stories. However, it seemed as if only James and Lily knew something was off about him. In those moments of silence in class where they were forced to pay attention, James saw his kind grey eyes grow melancholy, with his eyebrows furrowed together, thinking of what to do about Ana. It was no mystery that they had strong feelings for each other, but neither of them saw to it. Both of them dwelled on whether they liked each other, which caused Sirius to remember that he called her a foul word that he could never take back. Lily saw him grow moody whenever someone mentioned an inappropriate word that was usually used all the time between the Marauders and their pals. Sirius just snapped at the person who said it to shut up and never speak it again. By the end of the day, they were all tired of their most ecstatic best friend feeling down in the dumps, and they wanted to do something about it, but nothing came to mind.
The group of friends ended up scattered about the castle in different places at different times. Lily, James, and Chloe were in the Head Common Room studying for the upcoming Transfiguration examination. They all huddled together at the coffee table by the crackling fire on that brisk autumn night. At most times, all that could be heard was the sizzling of the fire and the scratching of their quills flying across the page.
"How in the hell does a bell turn into a watch, Chloe? It doesn't make any sense!" Lily said with exasperation, throwing her Transfiguration textbook to the floor.
"Calm down! It's quite simple, if you think about it. All the conjurer has to do is say the following incantation: campana exubitora. The witch has to do an extra flick of her wand to transform it properly, but all in all, that's how it goes," Chloe explained, as if it were common knowledge. James looked at her for a moment, and crumpled his parchment up into a ball.
"I am such a barmy! Now I need to write it all over again!" James said with annoyance, whipping out a new piece of parchment.
Lily perused her lengthy essay. She had worked so hard on explaining how to do it, but it didn't add up, and now she had to write it once more. She, too, scrunched her piece of parchment up and tossed it in the trash bin.
"This is such rubbish!" Lily complained, pouting a little bit as she grabbed some of Chloe's ink.
"How do you guys not get this? I knew it years ago," Chloe gloated. "But for god's sake, it was in the text the whole time! Look." She flipped to a page with a picture of a frail wizard with a bell in one hand and a watch in the other. He speedily transfigured it with one swift stroke of his wand. She pointed at the diagram, with the heading, Campana Exubitora. "It's so simple!"
Lily slapped her foreheadg, and James shouted, "Honestly, it was in there the whole time? We are officially plonkers, Evans."
Chloe laughed and shook her head. "No, you aren't. Next time, you should just ask for help!"
"Whatever," Lily murmured irritably, apparently offended that Chloe knew something that she didn't.
"Anyway...to get to the point." James sighed. " What are we going to do about Ana? She's making ol' Pads miserable!"
"Well, he should be the one to say sorry, Prongs. After all, he called her a...you know what," Chloe said, placing her quill down on her long piece of parchment.
"I personally think the girl has gone bonkers. All she does is mope around, and doesn't even speak to anyone over such a silly little thing. Padfoot didn't even do anything wrong," James argued, neglecting his incomplete essay.
"Don't talk about her like that! And she is not bonkers. That is complete codswallop! If you have failed to notice in our long friendship, Ana can get a bit sensitive. And Sirius was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Chloe insisted, crossing her arms, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders.
"Listen, before you two rip one another's heads off, I'm going to the library to speak to her. She's down there by herself, working on that DADA essay," Lily interrupted, jolting up and grabbing her creamy colored sweater.
"Good luck," Chloe said with sarcasm, waving her friend away.
"Are you sure you want to go there alone? I can escort you, if you'd like," James offered, clearly itching to spend some time with her.
"I will be just fine going alone, thank you," Lily replied, pulling her scarlet hair up into a ponytail and heading for the exit.
"Be careful!" James called after her.
"Don't worry your infamously large head about me," she vociferated as she slipped out the astronomical door.
She cursorily walked down the first stairwell she saw that led to the library, holding the stone railing as her shoes clacked down the stairwell. A myriad of students were lounging around at this time of day, either snogging or flirting.
My lord, I hope Ana will come to her senses. Sirius did nothing wrong; she deserved what she was called. She was completely overreacting, and it's just another one of her stupid ways to tell Sirius that she has feelings for him. It's not like we are blind! I mean, get real. Ever since sixth year, they've been head over heels for each other. Oh, I do hope that she puts this all behind her and that everything goes back to normal. Maybe at the Halloween ball next month they could get together or something! Maybe...
Lily suddenly stumbled into someone, and with a shriek, all of the girl's belongings flew across the staircase, sprinkled on all of the steps. Black ink splotches were here and there from the bottles of ink that were destroyed, and several quills were split down the middle. The girl quickly fixed all of this with the magic word, "Reparo."
Lily looked up at the girl to find that she was none other than the famous Scarlett, with her strawberry blonde hair perfectly sitting on her dainty shoulders. Her eyes seemed determined, which intimidated Lily just a bit.
"I am so sorry, Scarlett! I didn't know you were coming-"
"Next time, try not to muss my new skirt!" Scarlett whined, managing to straighten her purple skirt out. "Anyway, er...how's Sirius?"
Lily raised an eyebrow and cautiously replied, "He's all right. Why do you ask?"
"Well...I..." To Lily's surprise, Scarlett was not insulting her, but asking for something, and rather timidly at that. "I want you to hitch me up with Sirius."
"Er...sorry. I can't do that," Lily responded, awkwardly itching her head.
"Well, why not?" Scarlett replied tetchily, crossing her arms.
Lily struggled to utter, "I just can't. It's not in my place to do that sort of thing."
"Listen. If you do this for me, I can do so much for you. I can make you popular," Scarlett began. "Like me!"
Lily frowned at her, and shook her head. "I don't care about popularity, and under no circumstances will I 'hitch' you up with Sirius after the quarrel you had with Ana."
Scarlett let out a laugh, and answered, "Oh, Lily, Lily. You don't expect me to like that vulgar Wynne girl, do you? All she does is go out with boys, play Quidditch, and bat her eyes at every single male specimen that walks by."
"And you don't?" Lily challenged, enjoying Scarlett's frustrated glare in her direction.
"Look, she doesn't even like Sirius; she was just trying to get back at me. She doesn't know what she is doing with her life."
Lily looked affronted, her eyebrows raised, her arms crossed.
"Excuse me? I think I, of all people, would know whom she likes and whom she doesn't. And don't get started on her not knowing what she wants in life. Ana is the only girl I know who will stop at nothing to get what she wants," Lily retorted, her tone rising.
"That's something that we have in common," Scarlett replied coolly, as an evil smile stretched across her face. "Ta ta, Evans. You'll regret not accepting my offer."
Scarlett swooshed around and flounced up the stairs, chuckling to herself and whispering to no one in particular.
"No, I'm pretty sure that I won't," Lily called, before continuing down the staircase and strolling into the library.
She found Ana putting away books moodily, despite the many longing stares from the boys studying around her. A group of Ravenclaw boys were trying to follow her around without being noticed, before Lily caught them and sent them on their way.
Lily walked up behind her friend and said, "Hey."
Ana whipped around, her wand in her hand. Her hazel eyes were stone cold, instead of jovial and warm. Recognizing it was Lily and not another boy begging to go out with her, or even worse, Sirius, she lowered her wand.
Her expression was incomprehensible, not even a hint of a smile on her face. "What do you want, Evans?"
Lily felt herself gasp; her best friend just called her by her last name. That had never, ever happened before. Not even the time when they were in a fight in fourth year, or in the incident in sixth year. She couldn't believe her emerald orbs.
"I-It's me. I just want to make sure y-you're okay," Lily stuttered nervously, trying to catch her gaze.
"Clearly, I'm fine," she spat, ignoring Lily and putting another book away.
"No, you're not. I know you better than that; you know I do," Lily cooed, striving for a smile.
"Just stay away from me," Ana snarled, stomping away into the next aisle.
Lily put her face in her hand. The remainder of the daylight seemed to vanish in thin air, so the spare light that was reaching through the windows disappeared, causing the moment to be more depressing.
Lily looked around, hoping that someone would be sitting in here that could help. She was about to give up before she spotted Athena and her friends studying at a table across the library. Lily found herself running towards the young brunette, eager for some aid.
"Athena! I need you help," Lily stated, despite the girl's worried looks. Her friends looked at Athena and then to Lily curiously, before murmuring "We'll see you in the common room's" and "I've got to go's."
"What happened? Is it serious?" Athena asked in a low tone of voice, making sure no one could overhear.
"It's Ana. S-she is so... I don't know how to say this..." Lily started, awkwardly playing with her hands.
"Unusually sad? Lifeless? Cold?" Athena suggested, her merry indigo blue eyes morphing into a worried shade of dark blue.
"...Do you know what happened?" Lily asked, pulling the nearest chair towards her and plopping herself down onto it.
Athena peered at Lily as if she were mad. "Of course I know. I'm her sister, for crying out loud. She came to me right after her second class and sobbed into my shoulder for at least ten minutes." Lily felt her heart come to a stop. Her best friend didn't even come to her. No signal of help, nothing. "I've never seen her like this before. I-I don't really understand why she got so mad at him in the first place. Sirius seems like a funny and kind guy."
"I know. I really don't understand. Come with me and talk to her?" Lily asked, motioning over to the tall brunette across the room yelling at a boy for gaping at her.
"I guess," Athena agreed, before gathering all of her belongings and walking over towards her sister.
When they approached Ana, she didn't seem to notice the pair of girls creeping towards her, yearning to wheedle a reasonable explanation out of her. Why? Because she was talking to a handsome Gryffindor with shaggy brown hair, a great sense of humor, and a Marauder. Sirius.
Lily and Athena put their backs to the shelf of books right behind the pair. Athena yanked Lily to the floor, to make sure they weren't seen eavesdropping.
"Don't make a sound," Athena whispered under her breath.
Lily's heart rate began to race as they both pressed their ears against the nearest vacant hole between the dusty books to discover what the two Quidditch players were talking about.
"...Ana, I am so sorry that I called you that," Sirius said, looking more miserable than ever, his head down and his dark brown hair covering his expression.
Ana crossed her arms and blew some of her hair out of her face. She scowled. "Are you sorry that you said it, or sorry that I was there to hear it?"
"Sorry I said it. Honestly, you are not that at all. You are the most wonderful girl - smart, athletic, witty, fun. I just overreacted and I don't know what came over me," Sirius admitted, fearfully meeting her blazing hazel eyes.
Her angry expression morphed into one of sorrow, as she leapt into his arms to give him a hug. Ana whispered something into his ear that Lily couldn't decipher, but realized it was probably her apologizing. After letting go of him, Ana straightened out her skirt, a soft blush drawn onto the apples of her cheeks. Seeing her reaction, Sirius turned a shameful shade of red, and ducked his head to hide it.
"I think you are phenomenal, too, you know. I have never met a guy so hilarious. You always brighten up my day with one of your jokes that comes out of the blue," Ana began, nervously playing with her hands. "You are such a special guy, and I wouldn't trade you for the world."
Sirius smiled, and put his arm around her. "Same goes for you, Ana."
Ana flushed with more color by the second. "Thanks. You're too kind," she whispered bashfully, before returning to her normal state of mind. "You know, our mates are probably tired of seeing us moping around. Maybe we should tell them that we made up."
"Sure, that would be ideal. I mean, they can't possibly survive without the party of the group!" Sirius joked, his smile never faltering.
"But before we go and tell them, can I ask you some things about Quidditch? Who do you think is going to make the team this year?" Ana queried, bringing up a topic he loved to talk about.
Sirius perked up at the sudden change in the discussion. "Oh, yeah. I am almost sure that you will make Seeker again, and Prongs will be Chaser and Captain. I also think that Finnegan will make an excellent Beater if she tries out this year..."
Lily removed her ear from the opening, and let out a breath of relief. Athena had already done so, and was playing with her dark brown hair, waiting for Lily. She got up, and helped the Head Girl up to her feet as well. They tiptoed away from the bookshelf and claimed the nearest table.
"Thanks, Athena," Lily said, giving her a small smile.
"You're welcome, but you know I don't offer my services without a payment," Athena declared, holding out her hand. "You must have some candy in those pockets. Or maybe you could award me a medal or something..."
Lily rolled her eyes and laughed as she pulled out a chocolate frog from her robes and two copper Knuts. She tossed them to Athena, who caught them eagerly like a frog catches a fly.
"Let me know if you need any more help, okay, Lils?" Athena said with a grin.
"All right. Run along now. You have some studying to do," Lily said, motioning for the young girl to make her way back to her study table.
"Fine," Athena mumbled, as she trudged over to her seat, picked up her quill, and began to scratch in more notes.
Lily turned around and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She grabbed her jacket, and ventured off into the world of books, picking up at least ten. She later found herself researching some more on that puzzling Transfiguration essay that she was doing upstairs, and she stuffed the particular book into her robes to take upstairs.
Before she headed out of the library to go back to her common room, she felt a tug on her arm, and she was yanked aside by Ana. Her eyes were once again warm and free, her complexion once again flawless. She seemed to glow with happiness, and she couldn't wait to tell Lily about it.
"Lily, I am sorry I called you 'Evans.' I was just really angry. I was being a brat, and I know it," Ana confessed, pursing her pink lips together.
Lily sniffed, and said, "Okay, but Ana, don't do that again. Please? I felt as if I didn't even know you anymore."
"I know! I don't even know if I knew myself, either. And I am just really sorry. Please forgive me?" Ana asked, batting her eyes and making a puppy face.
Lily disliked her childish behavior, but was glad she was back to normal. She hated the way Ana had treated her before, and was overjoyed to have her best friend back. In a flash, Lily pulled Ana into a warm embrace. Ana pulled away a couple seconds later and gave her friend a watery smile.
"Hey, I've got to run. I have to finish my essay, and then we can hang out on the balcony and watch the stars like we planned," Lily said, remembering she had to completely rewrite her essay.
Ana tilted her head to one side, and observed her friend with a bewildered look. "What are you babbling on about? What balcony?
"You know, the one in my common room?"
"No, I don't know. You haven't showed it to me yet!"
"Well, come on, then. I am not going to wait here all day!" Lily giggled and pulled her friend out of the library and up the east stairwell, eager to show her the wonderful common room.
"What in the world do you want to show me?" Ana exclaimed excitedly as they reached the glimmering gold phoenix.
"The bathroom is amazing! Literally! That measly Gryffindor bathroom that I used to have is nothing compared to what I have now," Lily explained quickly, before gazing up at the phoenix and asking for a question.
"Wait, what's the password?" Ana whispered into Lily's ear.
"Oh! About that...we have to answer a question correctly in order to get in." Ana made a displeased face. "Trust me, though, it's not as hard as it looks."
The phoenix eyed the two girls balefully, which resulted in immediate silence. "What key ingredient is needed to brew the Draught of Living Death?" he boomed, the girls lurching back at the tone of his voice.
Ana kept tugging at Lily's sleeve, itching to know what the answer was. Lily, who was always the top of her class in Potions, immediately answered, "The Sopophorous Bean."
Ana let out a frightened squeal as the phoenix hovered into the air, permitting them to pass, and enter through the silver doors at the end of the dimly lit corridor. Ana's stomach seemed to tumble around. She hesitated as Lily began to stroll down the hall, but quickly complied and hurriedly followed her.
Lily began to pull on the silver handles as she conversed casually with her friend. "You are not going to believe this! It is truly..."
Ana let out a loud gasp. Lily felt her heart stop when she saw what was before her. She froze instantaneously. Her insides seemed to squirm inside of her, trying to claw their way out of her stomach. Her mind was whipping around in circles, confused and lost. Her legs wanted to collapse from under her.
"Oh, no..." they said in unison, timorously glancing at each other, and back at the room.
An eerie silence greeted them like an old friend, and the tension in the room was boiling to the rim.