James and Lily: It Took A While

The Square Root of 81 Chapter

Chapter Nine
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I puzzled over how to learn Occlumency for the rest of the weekend, but even with the Marauders' help, I couldn't think of anything. In our textbooks, it said you need a wizard trainer to teach you how to do it if you wanted to be successful.

So of course I was stuck.

Until.

~

Monday came and I successfully taught Peter how to perform a simple Charm for Charms class, prevented Potter and Sirius from getting into trouble-again-in Transfiguration, and finished my Draught of Living Death perfectly in Potions. My last class of the day was double Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Potter having been stopped in the hall by Filch for turning the marble staircase into a slide, I walked to class with Sirius.

Looking back to check that Potter was nowhere near, Sirius turned to me. "He still really likes you, you know."

I nodded. "I figured."

"Well are you going to give him a chance or not?"

I wasn't sure. I really liked Potter as a friend, and he'd been really nice lately. And sometimes I felt... I don't know. Sometimes I felt a little different about him, rather than just friends. It was strange and everything about me rejected it, but I still felt it, and the weirdest thing about it was that I didn't care. I was okay with it.

"I'm not really sure Sirius. He hasn't asked me out in a while, so it'd be hard to give him a chance."

Sirius was so shocked at my answer, he dropped all his books. I flicked my wand and they flew back into his hands. "What did you just say?" He spluttered.

"You heard me," I smirked.

We walked the rest of the way to class in silence, Sirius's mouth still hanging wide open. He attempted to speak several times, but nothing came out. I laughed quietly to myself.

"What?" he was finally able to speak.

"Nothing. You're just in so much shock." I was still grinning, but I wasn't quite sure why. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation about BOYS with YOU."

That got him going again. "What? Who better to talk about boys than with the MAN himself. Sirius Black, at your service." He performed a sweeping mock bow.

"Shut up."

We reached the DADA classroom and took seats in the back corner of the room. Potter joined us minutes later, along with Remus. Elle finally rushed into the room, papers spilling out of her bag and her hair falling out of its low pigtails.

"Am I late? Did I miss anything?" she said frantically.

"Lucky for you, Elle, the bell hasn't rung yet," Professor Carson swept into the room, and not two seconds later, the bell rang, "so you are not late. Ahh, but you are, Snape."

Snape had just rushed into the room with about as many papers in his arms as Elle. He scowled at Professor Carson and took a seat in the back of the classroom next to Avery.

"If you're late again this week, Snape, it'll be detention for you. That's the second time since Friday."

I saw Snape roll his eyes, then lean towards Avery and begin speaking in a rushed, quiet voice. I gave Potter a pointed look and he raised his eyebrows. I nodded.

"All right class! Today we are starting the very complex arts of Legilimency and Occlumency. Open your books to page two hundred and sixty-seven."

The class obliged, and soon everyone was staring at two pages filled with pictures of a variety of things that had to do with Occlumency and Legilimency: a man and woman staring into each other's eyes, a man standing over another man who had succumbed to Legilimency; there were many other pictures depicting the two arts.