004. CHAPTER FOUR
nothing like a mad woman
THE Great Hall was big. It's not an exaggeration. The large foyer held five tables, one for each Hogwarts house, an extra for the faculty. Hundreds of students sat at their determined tables, all decked out in their selected house colors in forms of jumpers and t-shirts. The ceiling above was enchanted to look like the night sky when in use, the dark blue oblivion sitting, looking infinite above the occupants. Thousands of candles were invisibly strung above, burning eternally.
It was about five days since the intensely awkward study group session, the party deciding it probably wasn't a good idea to meet up again.
It was a sunny Sunday morning, the students at the four tables basking in the peaceful ambiance of an early weekend morning. Saiorse Evans was placed at the end of the Hufflepuff table, holding her favorite Muggle book, Fahrenheit 451 in her hand while taking a bite of her croissant. The people around her thought it was an oddity that the girl wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw, taken by creativity and curiosity. She was always found with a book in her hand, or studying the latest assignment in different subjects.
Truth was, she didn't have anything else to do.
As she read the enigmatic tales of Guy Montag and his dystopian society, the tall, long windows of the Great Hall opened to reveal dozens of owls with parcels in their hands. Although the Post was closed on Sundays outside of the wizarding world, inside was when the mailing system most fluctuated. Saiorse was used to the chatter of new mail around her, but what she wasn't used to was a letter falling onto her plate from her sister's owl.
Saiorse hadn't received any mail since the middle of fifth year after her parents caught light of her affairs. They called her a disgrace; told her that Lily had always been the model child. Saiorse felt the pain of the insults they sent her deeply, she didn't even have the people that were supposed to love her unconditionally by her side. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a pang of hope at the sight of the beautiful cursive writing that read her full name on a wax paper envelope.
She tentatively grabbed the letter, breaking the wax seal on the back. It was from someone she would've never expected; it was someone who didn't turn on her for the reason that everyone else did.
To: Saiorse Josephine Evans
Dearest Sister,
You probably weren't expecting this letter, correct? Thought so.
Let me get straight to the chase without the stupid 'how are you' bullshit. I ABSOLUTELY, 100% BELIEVE YOU ARE A FREAK OF NATURE. You and Lily's abilities have always made me so uncomfortable, so unnatural! Nonetheless, I have a proposition for you.
I've been engaged, Josie. To a sensible, practical man named Vernon Dursley, a man I think I love. Well, I have to love. We're getting married in January, and I wanted to invite you.
Mother and Father forced me to invite Lily, but they have no clue I'm inviting you. As I said before, I still think you're a freak for your magic, but you've always been my favorite sister. I know that I've got a stick shoved up my arse, but I like your guts. I like that you stand up for yourself, Josie. It's a good trait to have.
Anyways, I have a small catch. I know you're in the social reject phase, but I need you to bring a date. Please, just do it for me. Me, your favorite/glorious older sister.
Please come. You're one of the only people I tolerate in our family.
From your fabulous sister,
Petunia Evans (Soon-to-be Dursley)
The younger Evans smiled at her sister's slightly narcissistic writing, the brown barn owl still looking to Saiorse with hopefulness it's large, orange eyes. She turned the envelope upside down, seeing a smaller card with the letters "RSVP" written in bold letters inside. The two students closest to her watched with curiosity, not seeing the girl with mail for a while. She glared at them.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." She hissed to the two. They whipped their heads back to their plates, honestly terrified of the girl. She smiled, placing a check in the box. Sealing the letter back up, she hooked it back onto the owl, sending it out to Cokeworth.
When the Evans girls were younger, they were close. Though Petunia was very small-minded when it came to magic and the the twins' abilities, she never abandoned Saiorse like Lily did. Honestly, Saiorse thought it would be the other way around. She thought that Petunia would've stuck to her uptight ways, but in reality, she told Saiorse that she admired her. It truly surprised her.
Two tables away, a certain Marauder watched her with puzzlement. "What do you think she got?" He asked James, who was excitedly rambling about the quidditch game that was going to take place that Tuesday.
"Who? Saiorse the Skank?" He asked with amusement. He watched as the girl formed a rare smile on her face, writing something on the small card in front of her.
"Yeah." Sirius replied, not bothering to correct him.
"It's just Saiorse, Prongs." Remus told him from the right of Peter. Though Sirius, James, and occasionally Peter partook in ridiculing the poor girl, Remus never said a word about her situation. It was both a good and bad thing to do, for he never stood up for her either. Being a bit of a git, he decided that since he didn't know her personally, he didn't feel the need to defend her against his friends. He felt horrid about it.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." James shrugged. "If you want to know so desperately Pads, why don't you go ask her?"
Sirius felt a surge of confidence when his friend had said the words, standing up to brush off his pants. He figured the conversation they had that night in the Room of Requirement had gone well, so how different would this be? "You know what, Potter? I will."
Sirius sauntered over to the table the girl was sat at, placing himself directly beside her. She jumped at the sudden movement, flinching away from the contact he had made. "Hello, midnight buddy!" He greeted, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulder. She glared at the boy harshly, his greeting drawing attention to the two.
"First of all, Sirius, 'midnight buddy' is not a name that I would like to be called." She told him, pushing his arm off of her shoulders. "And I am most definitely not your buddy anyways."
"Oh, come on. We can't not be buddies. We had study group and we hung out in the Room of Requirement. That's literally buddy material!" Sirius cheerfully said, trying to convince the girl of friendship.
"Sirius, please just leave me alone." Saiorse grumbled, putting her hands over her eyes. "You've done enough."
"What?" He asked. When speaking to the girl, there were times when completely forgot about the constant emotional peril he contributed to. He was absolutely obsessed with the idea of befriending her.
"Oh, please, don't play dumb with me, Sirius." She sneered, remembering the way she felt after the two boys had completely humiliated her. "I do not want to be your buddy, nor will I ever be your buddy. Got it?"
The girl gathered her stuff from the empty seat beside her, trying to get away from the talkative boy as fast as possible. But, to her discontent, he followed her.
"What do you want?" Saiorse whispered harshly. Sirius was taken aback. He wasn't expecting her to be so cold to him. "God, you're like a lost puppy."
"Just wanted to say hi." He smiled. "Also, I wanted to know what you got in the mail."
"I really don't think it's any of your business." She told him, narrowing her eyes. "Honestly, I don't know what possessed you to think you could come over and talk to me like everything is just completely fine. The only reason I put up with you in the Room of Requirement was an adrenaline rush and the fact that I was emotionally distraught. Nothing more, nothing less. Now please, try not to speak to me again if you can help it."
"Saiorse, wait —" He began, touching her forearm before she wrenched it away.
"Don't touch me." The girl snapped, glaring harshly at Sirius. "I'm not the forgiving type, Black. You know exactly what you did to me, and I won't forget it. Ever. Now go tuck your stupid tail between your legs, and waddle back over to your pathetic little friends."
The Hufflepuff girl stormed away from Sirius, leaving him dumbfounded outside of the Great Hall. He was baffled at the way the girl had just spit fire at him, completely hostile.
The students left inside of the Great Hall weren't oblivious or anything. They watched the entire interaction between the other two students. The people became curious.
Then the assumptions came.
People put two and two together, assuming she had slept with the famous Sirius Black. People started wolf whistling over to Sirius, almost like they were congratulating him. Albeit confused, Sirius simply smirked at the people whistling to him, accepting any and all high fives he was offered by other students. Sirius wasn't the brightest star in the sky; if you couldn't tell already. He truthfully didn't register what people were congratulating him for; no one blatantly told him that they thought he slept with the school's designated slut.
"THAT was hilarious!" Marlene cackled in the Gryffindor common room later that day. Around her sat Dorcas Meadowes, Alice Fortescue, and Lily Evans. They had been discussing what had gone down between the latter's sister and Sirius Black, wondering what had caused it. "The look on his face was priceless."
"I honestly didn't expect that." Alice smiled.
Dorcas giggled at the thought of Saiorse's words. "I mean, I know she knows how to retaliate, but the way she destroyed him was amazing."
Marlene's smile dropped. "I do not want to talk about that whore. She slept with Sirius!" She hissed. "Everyone and their mother knows that Sirius and I are meant to be, Dorcas."
Lily kept silent, twisting the diamond ring that sat on her right ring finger. The same one that her sister had. "I do not know how that slutty abomination is your sister, let alone your twin, Lils. I would never show my face in public again if I were to be known to be even slightly related to that." The blonde girl scoffed. "You really are brave to be able to do that."
Lily just shrugged, the deep feeling of guilt building up in her gut again. "I don't feel like talking about her right now."
"No wonder. I wouldn't want to talk about that bitch if she was my sister either." Marlene laughed. If Lily had the right to, she would've punched Marlene in the face then and there. But she didn't. She didn't have the right to defend the sister that she left.
"So, have you decided to go to your sister's wedding?" Alice asked Lily, trying to change the tense subject. Lily shrugged once more.
"I have no clue." Lily sighed. "I mean, I don't want to disappoint my parents and not support my sister, but on the other hand, Tuney most likely invited Saiorse. She always liked her better than me, which is a bit awkward, you know?"
"Well, whatever you do, we're here for you." Dorcas smiled, knowing how much stress Petunia caused Lily.
Lily was extremely grateful for the people and friends around her, thankful for their support in almost everything she did. Although Lily was very put together and orderly on the outside to strangers, if you knew her even a little bit, you could see through her facade. She constantly stressed out about almost everything, exploding on people if they had gotten too pressing. It was a good thing that she had people like the girls, people that can help her get out of that dark place.
In all honesty, Lily was an extremely guilty person. She hated herself for what she had done for Sairose. When she had thought about it, she just thought she could apologize to the girl, and all would be how it was. But it couldn't. Lily had waited too long to save her sister, abandoned her when she needed her most.
Lily would regret it for the rest of her life.
"I don't even know what I did, Moony." Sirius sighed, leaning back on his comforter in the dormitory. The four boys were contemplating the events that just played out a couple hours earlier. "She just like, exploded on me."
Remus laughed. "Well, Padfoot, I can probably compile a list on why Saiorse hates you."
"Well, Moony, can you?" Sirius asked the boy. "Because it's torturing me that she doesn't like me. I mean, everyone likes me."
"First off, you spray painted a painfully overused nickname that will stick with her for her entire life on the third floor hallway for the entire school to see." Remus stated, placing a hand under his chin. "Second, the first time you actually speak to her, you use the same condescending nickname when she was obviously on an emotional rampage. Third, you continuously bother her when she obviously wants nothing to do with you. Fourth, you've ignored all of these actions, and haven't at least apologized for them."
Sirius listened to the boy intensely. "Oh, don't act like a saint, Moony. It's not like you're exactly best mates with the girl either." James cut in.
"I admit that I didn't try to step up, try to stop the crap from happening. That's my fault." Remus admitted. "But if you really want to be this girl's friend, or even have a chance at it, you need to learn to understand what she went through, and is going through."
"Like a gentle approach?" Peter asked Remus. The latter nodded.
"Exactly, Wormtail."
a/n
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holy shit, you have no clue how much i wanted to hit someone during this chapter
anyways, i just wanted to talk about character development, redemptions, and flaws for a quick min
so it's obvious that saiorse, lily, sirius, james, and marlene have their own issues. some sprouting from different events, some sprouting from traumas. saiorse and sirius are not just going to magically come together. james is not going to just become a completely attentive and understanding dude all of a sudden. he still needs to mature. lily isn't going to mope the entire time, and isn't going to be a coward when it comes to saiorse. we just have to be patient. saiorse has been through a lot. a lot. shes not going to immediately befriend the marauders, and its going to take a while for her to even get close to forgiving sirius and james for the humiliation they caused. just be patient :)
anyways do yall want a happy or sad ending? because i cant decide what imma do yetahdjcjmcm
anyways, thats it :))