you give me something to talk about.

Lily shifted in her seat, lifting her head up briefly to look around the Gryffindor common room. A group of her girls around her own age had huddled around a recent Daily Prophet, whispering and giggling while stealing glances towards her. She didn't even need to look up to know that the headline was going on about the recent muggle-born controversies. She had heard enough from her own peers. With Voldemort on the loose, more and more students were starting to get scared. And when that happened, they tended to lash out at the easiest person around. And apparently, according to this particular group, she was the easiest target. Granted, she didn't really blame them, considering that she was of the minority here. And she did prefer that it be her on their crosshairs rather than a third year. So she settled back into her seat, trying - and failing - at forcing herself to study.

---

Sirius leaned up against the wall, his fingers tapping out a beat on his leg while he pretended to listen to something that Remus was droning on about. It was potions, or something? Maybe it was the proper technique for flicking a wand? He stopped listening at the first mention of the word 'professor', to be honest. His gaze flickered across the room, coming to rest on Fran Waldorf. He smirked faintly, just enough to grab Remus's attention. He felt his friend smack him on the arm and jerked away, scowling as he looked back over. "What could you possibly want now? I've been listening."

"No, you haven't. Would you stop staring at Fran long enough to focus on our group assignment?" Sirius went to retort when Remus held up his hand. "Don't bother, Padfoot. We both know it's true."

Fran put her book down and set it aside, raising a brow at Remus and Sirius. "Black," she spoke, her signature smirk on her face. "It's help if you took a picture. It'd last longer and that way you wouldn't embarrass us both." She then turned her attention to Remus. "I finished my half of the Transfiguration homework. We can go over it at breakfast tomorrow." Fran picked up her book and headed toward the girls dormitory, figuring she'd be able to concentrate on her book better in a more quiet area. And she'd probably fall asleep reading it-- so better to read in bed instead of falling asleep in the common room and having people make fun of your snore.

--
James entered the common room, his signature grin still on his face. He said hello to his friends before sitting next to Lily. "Hey, there." He said, wiggling his fingers slightly. "So, did you get anything done? Or have you been on the same page since this afternoon?" James smirked. Voldemort was on the loose, getting more powerful than ever. And muggleborns were growing more and more ostracized. Even though James was all for a good joke, it broke his heart to see people being made fun of for something they couldn't help. Well, except for Snivellus.