Accio Evans

Chapter 38: Confusion

"So you actually slapped him? Right across the face?" Jessica questioned, her blue eyes glittering. Hestia nodded rather glumly. "I can't believe I missed it!" Jessica concluded, leaning back against the headboard of her bed, legs stretched so far they nearly hung off the end of her bed.

"Well that's what you get for going out for a solo fly when you're sulking." Alice teased, popping a Bertie Bott's every flavour bean into her mouth and recoiling at the taste of dirt that now filled her mouth, she offered one to Jessica who smiled appreciatively at the taste of banana.

"I wasn't sulking!" Jessica defended her bean only half chewed in her mouth. Sure, Hestia and Sirius had been insufferable at breakfast, completely soppy and cute but she wasn't sulking! Lily rolled her eyes, Jessica was the worst liar, Jessica had been sulking and everyone knew it.

"Oh I think you were." Remus countered, the boys had somehow ended up in the girl's room again, the common room was incredibly full and noisy so the seventh year girls had retreated to their dormitory, the boys had tried to stick it out but had eventually grown tired of the nonsense chatter that filled the air and had levitated it each other up to the girls dormitory a few minutes later. The group were spread out around the room, Jessica was laid out on her bed with Alice sat on the end of it, Lily was sat on hers with James sat on the floor beside it, her fingers idly playing with his hair – James doubted Lily was even aware she was doing it - Hestia had her bed to herself, Sirius was laid flat out on the carpet in the middle of the room, Remus was on the spare bed, and Peter sat on Alice's, Frank had appeared for a small while but had withdrawn to tutor a third year in Arithmancy, and promised he'd be back soon.

Remus grinned cheekily across the room; Jessica scoffed but didn't argue back, mainly because she had been lying, she had been sulking – not that she was about to admit that Remus was right. Jessica has gotten over her crush on Remus, or so she thought, whenever he was around, she still felt very conscious of what she was doing, what she was saying, how she looked... she had a soft spot for him she admitted, that was it – she was over her crush but a soft spot for the sandy haired Marauder still remained. She wasn't quite sure why she'd been sulking, she didn't think it was for Remus, or any other boy... maybe she just wished she could have someone like Hestia had Sirius, Alice had Frank and Lily had James, just someone to talk to when her friends were all off with their boyfriends, maybe it was just because she was jealous.

"Shame we had to dock points though..." James trailed off; Lily's arm was still leant over the side of her bed, her fingers still trailing through his hair, nails scratching his scalp lightly.

"It was only five points each!" Hestia defended. "And he shouldn't have started it, should he?! Git." she added, crossly folding her arms across her chest. Sirius smirked from his position stretched out on the floor; Hestia withheld a laugh that threatened to escape when she saw her boyfriend's face.

"I did want to give you fifty points for slapping him but Remus said that wouldn't go down too well when I would have to fill out a form to say why I'd awarded points." James replied with a shrug.

"That reminds me," Lily cut in "I have to fill out some point deduction slips, we can do that after rounds tonight James." James nodded, but was secretly hoping Lily would forget, the forms were so tedious and boring; he'd rather not fill them out and go back to bed, Lily was about to reply when the clock above the fire chimed 6 o'clock and Peter sat bolt upright.

"Time for dinner!" he exclaimed enthusiastically "I'm starving!" the rest of the group burst out in peals of laughter, Remus stood and pulled Sirius to his feet, James linked arms with Lily and Hestia and the other two girls followed as the group crossed the dormitory and trooped outside. At the top of the stairs, Peter placed his foot on the top step which at the touch of a male reverted into its slide form, allowing them to slide form the top to bottom, Lily wondered why the founders had put in the trick staircase when it was so easy to overcome, maybe they didn't think anyone would try, she concluded, clearly they'd never met anyone like Sirius Black she giggled to herself as she slid down the polished wood and landed with a thump on the soft carpet of the common room.