SECURE — CHAPTER 18
[ "Hold up a 'GO POTTER' flag at the game then I'll be happy." Katie's eyes sparkled, just narrowly ducking from the pillow Lily attempted to hit her with. "Oy! Violence is not the answer Miss Evans!" ]
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The girls' dormitory was decently quiet when Katie had finally made it up the long trudge up the stairs. Her legs ached with each push upwards, her body far more fatigued than she thought it was. She had the fleeting thought to just collapse on her bed and possibly miss the game, but James' scolding face appeared at the forefront of her mind before she could even entertain the thought.
She made little to no noise pushing open the door and was immediately welcomed with the familiar scent of roses, mint, and oranges. As much as she loved to spend time with the boys, spending time in their dormitory was among the very top of the list of things she despised doing. She would gladly never step foot in that room if she could.
Well, it wasn't entirely too horrendous, she mused as she let her fingertips touch the pleasant feeling fabric of the sweater. It took all her self restraint not to take hold of the collar and push it flush against her nostrils just so that she could commit all the intricate scents that were interwoven in the sweater to memory.
She blinked, attempting to quell whatever desire had overcome her, refusing to think much about it. Not today, she told herself, Not when there's a game today. You've got to stay focused.
But that statement had played itself in her head so many times that the meaning of the words had lost its meaning. It would always go like that. A thought that shouldn't have been thought about her best friend and the excuse that she'd finally dwell on why the thoughts were there in the first place when she had the time. But she'd been using that excuse for the past two years, and even now it was still the constant mantra of 'Not today.'
Even on days where their lips would come so close that all her brain could think about was what it would be like to just take one step closer, that mantra didn't change. It didn't change because for as much talk as she was, she'd step back before her mind went into overdrive.
Because if she didn't, she wasn't too sure she had enough restraint to quell her natural impulsiveness when it was paired with desire.
Katherine Hart was a creature of habit, and that meant that she didn't easily welcome change. So it was always 'Not today' because who needed change when life flowed smoothly?
Her thoughts were broken when her mind was vaguely made aware of the sound of running water shutting off. The sound gently reminded her that she was merely standing in the middle of the room, doing nothing but holding onto the sleeve of Remus' sweater.
With light footsteps, she strode quietly to the trunk that sat against the headboard of her bed, unlatching the locks. Not today, she repeated in her head. That was usually enough to put whatever thoughts she had to rest, but now in the dark she couldn't quite get the image of Remus' hair and the scars that littered his chest out of her mind.
It was a vague feeling, but it was slowly becoming obvious that whatever she felt wouldn't so easily go away this time. She'd felt that pull especially strong in the dark, crowded broom closet that they were trapped in not so long ago; the chilling feeling of his breath against her neck having become a catalyst to her thoughts. Since then something had felt changed, as if this wasn't something she could run from the way she tried to for all these years.
Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of the washroom door coming open. From it stepped Alice, clothed only with a towel draped over her body.
"Hey," Katie said, her breath hitching ever so slightly. This was the first time that the two had been alone this year, and the distance between them almost felt suffocating. She attempted a weak smile.
"Morning," Alice replied back, her tone gentle. Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes the way Katie was used to seeing when they spoke. But it'd been a while since they truly kept a conversation, she reminded herself.
Alice walked to her bed, dressing behind the red drapes that surrounded her bed. The silence that surrounded them pulled at Katie's edges, and so she carefully put her thoughts to finding her quidditch gear in her truck.
"Your bed was empty when I woke up and you weren't in the washroom, so if you don't mind me asking where you were?" Alice called to her, now dressed and pulling her socks on.
Not bothering to look up, Katie shrugged as she easily lied about the real reason as to why she wasn't present. "Nothing much, James just told me to see him early to discuss any play changes for the game."
Alice merely nodded. "Right, hope that my thumb will be well enough to get at least a goal in," she joked.
Katie let out a breathy chuckle, but didn't say anything. It was odd, after so many years of friendship, she couldn't think of anything to say. This new silence was comforting to her, but she was well aware of Alice's tells, and the way she was fidgeting and glancing at her told Katie that her friend didn't feel that same comfort.
Finally, after a few more moments of silence, Alice spoke. "Katie." Katie looked up from her trunk when she heard Alice's gentle tone. She looked up to meet guilt in Alice's eyes.
Alice fiddled with her thumbs. "Are you feeling alright?" Katie's brows furrowed, but Alice continued on before she could reply. "I know yesterday that James and Remus were freaked over you disappearing somewhere and I can't help but feel guilty that I haven't spent much with either you or Lily enough to know if everything is alright with you two."
Katie stopped rummaging, placing her hands at the sides of her trunk momentarily.
It was now her who stomached a feeling of guilt. If she'd been completely honest with herself she hadn't even noticed Alice's absence in her life. Sure, she felt it in moments like these where the feeling of the empty space that Alice's steady friendship used to be felt so encompassing that she couldn't ignore it, but in times where she was alone with Lily or waving goodbye to Alice after she wrapped up her project with James, she hadn't quite noticed.
They were a far cry to the close group of friends that she and Lily used to be, slowly drifting apart since the later half of fifth year until they rarely held more than a "'hi' 'hello'" conversation.
She blinked before dropping the items she was holding, and walked over to Alice.
Katherine always had a natural talent for comforting others, though she wasn't really sure why. It seemed that the right words always seemed to find their way out of her mouth, even if some were white lies here and there.
So Katie took ahold of both of Alice's shoulders, mustering as much of a beaming smile as she could. It only faltered slightly when she felt that while she missed how easily they used to talk, she didn't quite yearn for her friendship back. They had all grown accustomed to this new estrangement, and it
seemed that their lives went along just fine.
"Now don't you go around feeling guilty, it's perfectly understandable," Alice opened her mouth to interject but Katie put up a finger to hush her. "You and Frank are still in that phase where you two only want to be with each other and that's okay. Don't worry about us."
She didn't mention how Marlene and Alice seemed to still be on very close terms despite how far Alice, Katie, and Lily had drifted apart - the only bitterness Katie felt about this all.
In the back of her mind a voice nagged at her and told her that this wasn't really the fault of Alice's relationship with Frank, but that it was always going to be this way eventually, that the four sixth-year girls would pair off and eventually drift.
One corner of Alice's lips quirked upwards, seemingly taking the words Katie had given her. She wrapped her arms around Katie and squeezed tightly. Katie hugged tightly back, glad that things hadn't gotten too awkward between them.
"I have no idea how you're so understanding, Katie. If I found out you started dating - I don't know... Gideon Prewett and just went off to ditch Lily and I, I know I'd be angry."
Katie rolled her eyes, laughing quietly. "Well it's a good thing I'm never gonna date Gideon now isn't it?"
"Really? Not even a chance? The boy's been smitten over you for years!"
Katie just shook her head. An image of a certain sandy-haired Marauder came to her mind, but she shook the thought away before she could dwell on it.
For the next few moments they talked comfortably with one another, better than they had in the past few months but not nearly as comfortable as they used to be with one another.
During a lull in the conversation Katie lit up, suddenly grinning widely. "Wanna have a little fun waking the devil herself?" Katie's eyes twinkled in mischief as her eyes suddenly took notice of Lily's sleeping figure.
Though she'd never truly taken part in the Marauders' pranks, she often enjoyed pulling a few small pranks of her own every now and then. They weren't nearly as good as the Marauders' and never truly funny to anyone other than herself, but it was something she'd always enjoyed, no matter what others thought of it.
That side of her had disappeared completely over the past month, but the familiar tug of the desire to cause just a little bit of trouble brought a warming feeling to her stomach.
Alice's eyes widened almost comically. "I think I'll sit this one out. I'd like to still have my limbs attached before the game."
She usually never passed up an opportunity to help Katherine out on her endeavors, but dealing with a sleeping Lily was something Alice had been deathly afraid of since an incident in second year.
Katie smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Suit yourself."
She wandered over to Lily's bed, taking in the sight of her. Her red hair was spewed messily over her pillow covers, her lips parted open as a pool of drool situated on her pillow. She grinned at the sight.
Whatever anger she felt the night before for Lily, though minuscule, had dissipated completely. Even though she still didn't quite understand why Remus hadn't told her in the first place, she did understand why he felt comforted enough by Lily to tell her in a time of panic.
It was one of the many things Katie loved most about Lily - the way that her presence in itself was calming. At least for her it was. She doubted that Lily yelling at James was anything close to calming for him, but somehow she didn't doubt that in some odd way it was.
But right now she was about to release a side of Lily that was anything but calm. Katie loved this side of Lily as much as she loved her calming demeanor. Even though these sides were on opposite spectrums, they were important to what made Lily, Lily. The Lily that Katie held so dearly.
"You reckon cold water'll do the trick?" She looked up at Alice for approval.
It wasn't her best idea - no rather it was the worst idea she'd had in a while, but it'd still be worth seeing the look on Lily's face. Bad idea or not.
Alice merely shrugged, attempting to strap her protective gear to her shins. "It's worth a try."
Katie strided to the washroom, nearly tripping over a dropped tie on her way there. She quickly conjured a small bucket and filled it with water. Before turning to head back out, she stopped suddenly, deciding to place a cold charm on the water to make sure it never warmed up to room temperature.
She stepped back into the dormitory, a triumphant grin on her face. Quickly, she walked over to Lily's bed, careful not to drop the contents of the bucket.
Grinning at Alice, Katie emptied the contents of the bucket all over Lily and in turn, her bed as well.
Lily's reaction to the icy water was instant. She sat up instantly - almost faster than lightning - and let out a loud shriek paired with a few choice curse words that Katie could barely hear in her jumbled shouting.
The only clear phase that Katie could decipher was "Katherine Hart, you've lived your last goddamn day on this earth," which was followed by a few more mumbled curses.
Her usual dark, auburn hair was now an even darker shade of red, sprawling over her face with some strands standing out at awkward angles, soaked with water.
Bringing her hands up to her face, Lily slowly parted her hair at the center. Her eyes were closed at first before she turned to glare menacingly at the girl laughing at her bedside.
"Kate I swear, if you ever do that ever again, I will end up in Azkaban for using an Unforgivable Curse on you." She continued to glare at Katie, who in turn, continued to laugh. Alice was laughing heartily in the background and since Lily's shriek had woken up the entire dormitory, Marlene also joined in with a fit of giggles.
Katie smiled at her sheepishly, pleading innocent. "I reckon you woke the entire school with that screech."
Lily scowled at her, moving to pull her blanket back over her head. "Shove off, I'm going back to bed." She was already moving to lie back down underneath her covers when Katie caught her by the shoulders, not allowing her to settle back into the bed.
"No you don't." Katie wrestled with Lily's limbs, which were surprisingly strong considering how early it was. "You're gonna get your arse out of that bed so we can get to the quidditch game."
Lily stopped struggling. She let her arms fall onto the blanket, her face red and covered with strands of hair. "Do I really have tooooo," she whined, pouting at Katie. She pulled her best pouting face, her eyes widening.
Katie let out a laugh and swiped her hand on Lily's pouting face. "Nice try." She laughed even harder as Lily made a huffing noise and crossed her arms. She looked much like a tiny child as she did. "Still not winning me over." Katie took hold of her arm again.
She tugged at Lily's arm, managing her own pouty face. Playfully she pretended to struggle with tugging her, putting Lily's arm over her shoulder and heaving in place, as if pulling something heavy with a rope. "Come on, you're gonna go and scream your lungs out everytime James or I score a goal and you're gonna have fun doing so."
"And what if I say no?" Lily replied, her chin pointed to the ceiling.
"Funny. But we both know you won't," Katie challenged back.
"Is that so?"
"Yes I believe that's what I said."
"Oh, I'll prove you wrong."
"Sure you will, Lils."
"Watch me!"
"All I see are your soaked clothes," Katie smirked, only infuriating Lily further. She hated the way Katie smirked - it was far too similar to the way James smirked.
"Fine!" Lily flipped the covers off of her body. "Happy now?" She fixed a sulking stare at Katie, who merely smiled innocently.
"Hold up a 'GO POTTER' flag at the game then I'll be happy." Katie's eyes sparkled, just narrowly ducking from the pillow Lily attempted to hit her with. "Oy! Violence is not the answer Miss Evans!"
Lily groaned loudly in frustration, falling heavily back onto her bed and using a pillow to cover her face. After a few moments, her face peeled out under the pillow, still glowering at Katie. "You're a downright wanker you are. An absolute loon."
She shoved the pillows off of her and stood up.
"Yet, you still love me," Katie remarked proudly.
"There's a very, very, very fine line between love and hate, Kate. Very fine!" Lily shouted over her shoulder, heading to the washroom.
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an; first ten chapters were remus figuring out his shit when it comes to feelings and now it's kate's turn haha!
an #2; kate isn't mad at lily just because i said so,,,, jk she's not mad bc nothing was technically lily's fault and bc kate luvs lily too much to be mad for long ok thanks