Magic

18: James x Lily ~ The Jealousy Plan Part 2

"Here you go, Flower." Sirius said, smirking and handing Lily her book. Lily held back from snatching it out of his hands and glaring. Instead, she smiled sweetly and thanked him in what she hoped sounded like an honest tone.

Sirius's smirk disappeared. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"Marlene's mad at me, you know." Sirius began.

"I thought that's what you wanted. I thought you wanted her to get angry so that she'd confess her feelings for you." Lily said slowly.

"I dunno. It sort of doesn't matter to me anymore that she's angry."

Lily stared at him with a bewildered look.

"What?!"

Sirius sighed deeply again and turned to face her. His expression was serious, which was rare for him.

"Flower, I think I'm falling in love with you."

Lily's jaw dropped. She heard James storm out of the common room. She expected Sirius to drop the act, but he didn't. His expression remained serious.

"W-what?" she stammered. Her heart began to beat quickly. He was serious?! What would she say to him? Would she have to explain that she'd unwillingly fallen in love with his best friend?

"S-Sirius—" Lily began. However, she stopped talking when she saw Sirius begin to laugh. Her lips curled into a scowl, and her eyes narrowed.

"You should have seen your face!" Sirius said in between laughs. He laughed so hard that his stomach became sore and his eyes began to water. When he finally finished laughing and wiped his tears away, Lily hit him on the arm as hard as she could with the book.

"Oi! What was that for?!" Sirius yelled, still laughing slightly.

"For being a git. I reckoned I was going to have to reject you!" Lily groaned. Sirius started laughing again. Lily couldn't help but think that his laugh sort of resembled a bark.

"What if I was James? Would you reject me then?" Sirius asked, winking and smirking. Lily huffed and stood up.

"I'm going to bed."

"Someone doesn't want to answer my question. Wonder why that is." Sirius said sarcastically.

"Shut it before I throw the book at you." she snapped. She spun on her heel and walked toward the girls' dormitory, leaving Sirius smirking.

A girl with curly brown hair and dark green eyes approached Sirius and took the seat where Lily had previously been.

"Hello Sirius." she said. Sirius couldn't help but think that she was very beautiful, but her voice sounded cold. She sort of reminded him of his cousin Bella.

"Hello." he replied. He was already beginning to dislike this girl, just by looking at her.

"I'm going to go straight to the point. I don't see why you're with Lily Evans." she snapped. Sirius scowled. Even though Lily wasn't his girlfriend and they sometimes fought, he still considered her his friend.

"And why not?" Sirius asked. He thought his voice had grown cold, too. His gray eyes turned dark and stormy.

"Why should you be with her when you could be with someone like me?" she said, leaning in closer to him. Just before she kissed him, he pushed her back roughly and stood up.

"I don't appreciate people like you." Sirius spat. He walked toward the boys' dorm, but she spoke again.

"She's just a filthy little mudblood."

The words made Sirius's blood boil, not only because she was talking about Lily, but because she was just like the rest of them. She was just like Walburga, and Orion, and Regulus, and Bellatrix, and Narcissa, and most of the other members of the Black family. He clenched his fists so hard that he drew blood.

"She may be a mudblood, but she's worth a million times more than you." Sirius spat coldly. Then, he stormed into the boys' dorm before she could say anything else.

As soon as he walked into the boys' dorm, he saw James glare at him. However, the glare disappeared as soon as he saw how angry Sirius was.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked gingerly.

"Nothing." Sirius said coldly. Then, he sighed. It wasn't their fault.

"Sorry. Just leave me alone right now. I need to think." he said in a softer tone.

He threw himself down on his bed without bothering to change out of his robes and squeezed his eyes shut tightly. The girl's words rung through his head. She was just like the rest of them. He lifted his hands slightly and saw the dark red blood leaking from them. He'd lost control again. He couldn't afford to do that anymore. It seemed that when he lost control, he not only got hurt but also hurt the people around him. Sirius silently reprimanded himself. He didn't want to lose his friends, his only friends, the only people that had been with him when he needed someone. His real family.