Under strange circumstances

Chapter 2

2021 EDIT: TW mention of sexual assault. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, please reach out to respective mental health lines and support groups in your countries. You are not alone, and your voice and experience are valid.

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Lily

I don't know why I'm still sitting here.

I suppose I'm just confused.....really confused. I truly believed he was going to kiss me.

I guess I was wrong.

My skin is still tingling from where he touched me. I'm craving his arm around my waist, the feeling of his shoulder under my hand. Merlin, I didn't realise I was in so deep.

My train of thought is interrupted by Peter storming down the stairs that lead to the boys dormitories. He looks up and sees me sitting on the chair by the fire, and I watch as a thought seems to cross his face. A smile then appears on his face, slightly too wide for my liking, and he comes over to sit on the arm of my chair. 'Hello, Lily.'

'Peter.'

'What are you doing out here so late?'

'Oh...uhm, well,' I struggle to come up with an explanation. 'Just thinking.'

He smiles sadly at me; 'I heard James talking about it. He's a little nervous, honestly. He just has spent so much time saying that he'll kiss you, and now that the time has come when he can kiss you, he's terrified, poor idiot.' I smile, feeling a slight blush come onto my face. 'What are you doing down here Peter?'

'They're being awfully noisy up there,' a thought freezes him. 'I don't suppose you could show me that muffling charm you know? I'd actually be able to block out their incessant yelling and get some sleep if I knew how to do it.' I nod, smile, and pull out my wand. 'You just wave your wand like this,' I show him how to do it. 'Then you say, muffliato.' The tiny sounds coming from the dormitories cease, and Peter and I are left with only the sound of our breathing and the crackling of the fire. 'And to reverse it?' His words seem louder than before.

'It eventually wears off, after a couple of hours or so.'

'Who taught you that spell, Lily?' My throat feels dry as I swallow, and I look away from Peter. 'Oh, I just overheard it from someone.' He nods, looking a little suspicious, then takes out his wand. 'So, tell me if I'm right? Muffliato!' The room now has lost the sound of the rain on the windows. I nod at Peter approvingly, and he lowers his wand, but doesn't put it away, I notice. 'If I walked up the stairs, would the sound from the dormitories still be muffled?'

'Until someone opened a door, yes. The staircases are essentially an extension of this room as they don't have doors separating them from it.' He nods again, standing up and walking to the fire. He pauses for a second, before turning around; suddenly his wand is pointing at me. I freeze, feeling confusion and slight fear pass through my body. 'Peter, what are you doing?' His face has lost all of the kind expression he had less than a minute ago. 'James and Sirius and Remus... They're all rather fond of you, James especially.'

'And?' I keep my voice steady, trying to calm my nerves.

'This could put them in their place, maybe. They'd learn to fear me..leave me alone...' He seems to be talking to himself, and he is frowning at the floor. I use the opportunity to reach inside my robes for my wand, but he notices and quickly says 'expelliarmus' before I can mutter any spell. My wand is now in his hand, and I feel my fear increase. He walks towards me at an agonisingly slow pace, causing me to wait in suspense, as I don't know what he's going to do. It suddenly occurs to me that I could yell for someone, but then I remember that he's put a muffling charm on the room; no one would hear me. I curse inwardly; he certainly isn't part of the marauders for nothing. He planned this out when he came down the stairs and saw me alone. He clears his throat and I look up to see that he is right in front of me, his wand sitting in the front pocket of his pants. 'If you could please unbutton your shirt, Miss Evans, that would be quite helpful.'