Bleeding Heart | REMUS LUPIN

Chapter Fourteen

"What exactly did you do yesterday?" Lily asked Ivory, curiosity seeping through her voice.

Ivory shrugged. "I told you, I was with the boys."

Lily raised her eyebrows so high that they seemed to disappear in her hairline. "So... just to be absolutely sure... you were with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter?"

"Well, Evie, I wasn't aware that there was anyone else we referred to as 'the boys'."

"Oh, you know what I mean!" said Lily, playfully swatting her best friend's arm as they walked behind Alice and Marlene, towards the Great Hall. "You spent some quality time with them, did you?" She smirked. "May I ask what exactly you did? Where did they bring you?"

Ivory gave the redhead a pointed look. "It's a secret," she responded evasively, not entirely keen on revealing the boys' secrets to her; she felt like it was confidential. Lily definitely knew some of their secrets, but there were many things about them that she hadn't yet picked up on, or that they hadn't told her.

"So you have secrets with them now?" Lily asked, amused.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I suppose I do have secrets with them now. But don't become too jealous, Lils. You'll always be my best friend... my fifth best friend."

"Good—wait, fifth?!" the redhead exclaimed.

"Well, yeah; since yesterday, the four boys have somehow moved up on my best friend list," Ivory told her.

Lily laughed and gently shoved Ivory forward, knowing that she was only joking. She was happy to see her friend being somewhat her old self.

As the girls arrived at the Great Hall, Ivory suddenly slowed down her walking and began to hang back. Her eyes swept over the Hall and settled on the Gryffindor table. The large room was loud as students talked and laughed over breakfast. Watching her fellow Gryffindors, Ivory began swaying slightly on her feet and her head felt foggy. Lily noticed and was at her side again, giving her an encouraging smile.

It didn't make Ivory feel any better. She didn't want to see anyone, didn't want to have to face anyone. She just wanted to hide out in her room and not have to face her life ever again.

No, she couldn't... She had to be strong, and in a second she was reaching into her bag and pulling her notebook out. Running her hands over the cover of the small book, she felt as though it was anchoring her to the ground and she followed Lily towards her seat. Lily made a beeline straight for where the Marauders, Alice and Marlene were already sitting.

Lily brushed past James so that he'd turn to look at her. Smiling brightly at him, her emerald eyes shining with affection, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. She was the only person in existence who could make James Potter blush.

James Potter and Lily Evans had come a long way. From first year, Lily had absolutely despised the boy. Though James had pined for her since setting eyes on her, he had had an odd way of showing it. He had taken to mocking and bullying Lily's best friend, Severus Snape, who was in Slytherin. In fifth year, there had been a very bad incident involving James and Snape; Lily had tried to defend Snape. That had ended badly and Lily and Snape's friendship was severed. Snape had gone down the wrong path and would soon become a Death Eater if he wasn't already.

Since the bullying incident with Snape, James Potter had changed substantially. He had slowly weaselled his way into Lily's heart by proving to her that he was more than an arrogant toerag. She soon learned that the bespectacled boy had a heart of gold. It hadn't hurt that the two had become Head Boy and Girl together, forcing them to spend much more time together.