James and Lily Potter : Sixth year

Chapter 10: sixth year

Lily mentally scolded herself as she walked back to Gryffindor Tower slowly. She had just accepted Mark Goldstein on a date! She felt awful, and the thought of James made her stomach drop even more. How could she have been so stupid as to accept?

"Hey, Lily!" said Violet cheerfully, walking next to her.

"Oh, hey, Vi," said Lily distractedly. "Where were you?"

"Oh, I was—er—" She blushed.

"Don't tell me: off with Jackson again?"

"Yes." Violet was extremely red.

"Aww...were you two snogging?"

"Lily! Now, tell me what's wrong."

Lily sighed. "I—I'm going out with Mark Goldstein."

"What?"

"I'm going out with—"

"Yes, yes, I heard you!" exclaimed Violet impatiently. "But why? What about James?"

"Violet, please." Lily squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't know what came over me! I just accepted him when he asked me out!"

Lily, you're going out with Mark Goldstein, the Ravenclaw prefect who just broke up with the Head Girl of last year. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," said Lily desperately. "Vi, you have to help me!"

"What's going on here?" asked Sirius, coming out of the portrait hole with the rest of the Marauders. "I thought I heard a racket outside..."

"She's going out with Mark Goldstein!" shrieked Violet accusingly. "I was just telling her how perfectly ridiculous—"

"I know that, Violet!" snapped Lily.

However, Sirius was gaping soundlessly at the latter. "You...you're going out with that git?"

"He's not that bad," she said weakly.

"But—" He shot a glance at his best friend, who looked away.

"Sirius," said Remus sternly, "let her be. You aren't Lily's mother, and neither are you, Violet."

Everyone suddenly turned his or her attention to James, who was silent throughout the argument. Sirius crossed his arms and glared at Lily and Remus, while Violet stared at the floor.

"What are you looking at me for?" said James irritably.

"Aren't you going to say something?" said Sirius nastily. "About this whole misunderstanding?"

"It isn't—" began Remus, but James cut him off.

"Why should I? Moony's right, Padfoot: mind your own business. Lily can date whoever she wants to."

Lily gave a sigh of great relief. "Thank you, Potter." She said the password to the Fat Lady and went to her dormitory, leaving everyone else speechless outside.

Arabella smiled at her friend as she collapsed onto her bed. "Hey, Lily."

"Bella, please don't get mad at me. I have to tell you something."

She raised an eyebrow. "As long as you don't say you snogged Sirius, I really wouldn't care."

"I'm going out with Mark Goldstein."

Like she said, Arabella wasn't angry; in fact, she looked quite calm and serene. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"You know?"

"Lily, I'm your best friend. I know that Mark isn't the best for you, but I guess you had to go out with another boy in order to realise your true feelings for James."

"I feel so horrible for hurting him like that. He tried so hard..."

Arabella smiled widely, and Lily frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, nothing." She put on an innocent face. "I'm not looking at you."

Lily merely rolled her eyes in response. However, the thought of being Mark Goldstein's girlfriend made her cringe inwardly.

Good job, Evans, she thought to herself. What in Merlin's beard were you thinking? Mark Goldstein's an idiot, remember?

She went down the staircase, and collapsed into a comfortable armchair in the common room, where James and Sirius were playing chess by the fire.

"Hello, Evans," the former greeted cheerfully. The latter merely grunted in response.

"Hello, Potter, Sirius," called Lily.

"Why aren't you with your boyfriend, Evans?" spat Sirius bitterly. "I'm sure he misses you very much by now. Who knows, you can always sneak up in the Ravenclaw common room and up to his dormitory any time soon..."

"Padfoot!" hissed James, glaring.

"I'm trying to back you up here, Prongs, there's no need to get upset," he snapped back.

"All right, why are you angry, Sirius?" demanded Lily, tears pricking her eyes.

"I know you fancy James, but no, you just had to go with Goldstein."

"Sirius, I told you! It was an accident!"

"Huh! Yeah, right, it is."

Lily looked around at James for support, but he looked away, turning red and concentrating on his chess pieces. She shot daggers at him, but he wouldn't look at her at all after a while. A surge of anger ran through her, and she decided to pay Mark a visit.

She went out the portrait hole, hoping to have some sign of where the Ravenclaw common room was. After about ten minutes of wandering around the whole castle, Lily had no such luck. For one moment, she wished that she had the Marauders' skill of being able to find any place at Hogwarts, as she slouched to the library in defeat. To her delight, Mark was there along with his friends, Ulysses Boot and Samuel Corner.