Cats and Dogs

As we walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, I blocked out everything Lily, James, and Sirius were saying. All I could think about was Remus. How could I have not noticed all those smiles he always sent my way, and all the times he made me blush? Do I have feelings for Remus? My eyes widened at the thought and I looked over at Sirius to see he had James in a headlock, and was laughing at James’ red face who was looking up at Lily who was rolling her eyes.

I bit my bottom lip. Do I have feelings for Remus? I thought back to his smiles… it didn’t give me any kind of flutter in my stomach. Then I remember all of Sirius’ smiles…. No flutter, but it did me a sick feeling of wanting to wipe that arrogant smile off his stupid little face- Whoa. Even in my head I’m still chewing him out! Why am I going out with him?! I frowned, now I’m just more confused than before!

“Are you alright? You look like you’re constipated.” Sirius said as he put an arm around my shoulder.

I glared at him and shrugged off his shoulder, “I am not constipated, you idiot. I’m thinking. Something you probably have never done before.”

He frowned, “Jeeze, last time I ever show you any concern.”

My eyes widened, “That was you showing concern? I wonder what you’re going to say if I’m crying, ‘hey, suck it up’.” I shook my head and he rolled his eyes. “And, don’t you care at all that your best mate is pissed off at you? How could you do that to him? If you knew how he felt…”

“I didn’t do anything, you asked me out, remember? And he knew how I felt and how bloody persistent I am, I even warned him that we would be going out soon, I mean, I knew you couldn’t resist my charm and charisma for much longer.” He smirked and winked.

I glared and gagged.

He shoved my playfully, “I’m joking… and to be honest… I was getting worried that we would never go out.”

“Yeah… well, we probably wouldn’t… but that night, when we-“

“Kissed passionately under the stars?” he swooned.

“We were inside.” I shook my head, “but yes, when we kissed. I don’t know. You seemed different.” I frowned, “why can’t you be like that all the time?” I looked up at him with a smile and was looking down at me with an annoyed face.

“Because, if I acted like that all the time, you would be throwing yourself at me all the time.” He shrugged and folded his arms over his chest and I rolled my eyes.

“Gather round, gather round!” Professor McGonagall called to all of us the next day when we were ready to go to Hogsmeade. “Have all of you given me your permission slips?” there was an annoyed eruption of ‘yes’s and ‘yeah’s. “Good, now, let us be off.” The large group of 6th years began their way to Hogsmeade.

“Where shall we go first?” Lily asked happily.

“Where ever you want, my Lily Flower,” James said with a goofy grin.

Lily groaned, “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”

“Hey, I have an idea,” Sirius said, grabbing Lily and James’ attention. “James, er, can we-” he nudged his head, signaling to James to go and talk to him in private. Except James wasn’t catching on.

“Wha? Somethin’ wrong with your neck? Oh, well I can fix that!” James pulled out his wand and Sirius’ eyes widened in horror.

“No, no, no, no!” he said quickly grabbing James’ wrists, “I meant, can I talk to you over here in private?” he then dragged James away.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Lily asked crossing her arms over her chest in suspicion.

I shrugged, “I’m not sure, but whatever it is it can’t be good for us, they’re grinning like idiots. Oh, here they come.”

“Alright, ladies, shall we go?” James intertwined his arm with Lily as they walked in front of us.

“What were you talking about?” I asked.

“Well, if we wanted you to know, we would have just talked about it in front of you.” Sirius said shaking his head in a you-know-better kind of manner and I scowled.

As Lily and James walked in front of us Sirius grabbed my wrist and twirled me around, “What?” I asked.

“Lets get some ice cream,” he nodded towards the ice cream parlor.

My eyebrows pulled together, “It’s nearly 60 degrees.” I stated dryly.

He nodded, “True, but that doesn’t take away the flavor!” he smiled.

“No, it doesn’t. It just takes away the feeling in your tongue…”

He rolled his eyes and pulled me towards the parlor…

LILY

“Hey, where did Amilia and Sirius go?” I asked as James and I made our way to the Hogs Head.

“Oh, er, I’m not sure… Lets go inside!” he put his hand on the small of my back and opened the door and pushed me in.

I was immediately greeted with warmth and the faint smell of alcohol. James and I walked to a corner booth and sat down next to James. “Um, Butterbeer?” James asked nervously and I nodded quickly as he got up and went to the bar and got us both Butterbeer. “Here you go,” he said handing my mine and he sat down.

I took a small sip and then looked around, trying to avoid this awkward moment. “Look, Lily,” James began, “I know I might seem like a git sometimes-”

“Sometimes?”

He sighed and smiled lightly, making my heart flutter slightly, “Okay, most of the time, I don’t mean to be-”

“Oh? You don’t mean to be mean to Severus? Was all those times you teased him an accident?” I asked crossing my arms and scooting away to get a better view of him.

He sighed, “Okay, no, I did mean to make fun of him… but that’s only because… well, iwasjellet.” he said the last part low and rather quickly so it was hard to make out.

“What? I didn’t understand-”

“I was jealous! Jeeze, you should be a spy or something! You know how to get information out of a guy like that!” he snapped his fingers.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I said recollecting what he just said. “You were jealous? Of who? Severus?”

He sighed and frowned, “Yes.” he stated and took a sip of his Butterbeer.

I shook my head slightly not really understanding, “Why?”

His shoulders fell slightly and he shrugged and pouted like a child and I rolled my eyes, “Oh, alright!” He took a deep breath, “Because from the very first moment I saw you I liked you but you were always hanging out with Snivill- I mean Severus and I knew he liked you so I thought you liked him so I thought if I picked on him and started being around you more he would back off - which he did. But, I’m sorry. I never meant for it to hurt you in anyway, I guess I was being selfish and insecure because I wanted you for myself!” he said rather quickly in one breath. He gasped and then calmed down quickly and took another sip of his Butterbeer.

“Oh,” was all I said and then slowly took a sip of the Butterbeer. He looked uneasy so I spoke, “Well, you should have just told me from the beginning how you felt. It probably would have saved you a lot of trouble.” I smiled at him lightly and he grinned.

“Yeah, it probably would have. Though I didn’t have to go through as much trouble as Sirius, for heaven-sakes, he had to give her a love potion! At least I didn’t-”

“What?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“Hm?” he asked, stopping his rant.

“Did you just say Sirius gave Amilia a love potion?!” I asked, my voice rising slightly.

His eye widened, “N-no!”

AMILIA

I laughed at Sirius as he stuck his face into the bowl and began to lick up every morsel of the ice cream.

I lifted his head and had a cute smile on his face and then shrugged, “What can I say? I love ice cream.”

I nodded, “Yeah, I can tell.” His smile faltered slightly and I couldn’t help but frown at that, “What’s wrong?” I raised an eyebrow, “You want more ice cream don’t you?”

He smiled weakly and then shook his head, “No, well, yes, who wouldn’t? But, that’s not what I’m wondering.”

“Oh,” I leaned forward slightly across the table, “what are you wondering?”

“If you’re having a good time.” he asked, his eyes hopeful.

I smiled, “Oh, yeah. Yes, surprisingly… I am. You’re a bit more calm when you aren’t around a lot of people.”

“Oh,” he raised an eyebrow and smirked, “is that you saying you would want to be alone with me more often?”

I rolled my eyes, “Sure, but not in the way you’re hoping for.” I laughed lightly at his frown and puppy-dog eyes.

He shrugged and then looked serious for a moment and then leaned forward over the table, “Well, I would rather be alone with you and doing nothing than not be around you at all.”

My face reddened, my stomach churned, my heart fluttered and practically begged to be released, my head became fuzzy, and I was leaning forward… “Sirius…” I breathed a moment before our lips would touch.

“SIRIUS!” I pulled back and looked up at Lily who marched in and quickly walked over to us with James behind her trying to pull her away and frantically saying that he was just joking.

“Lily what’s wrong? What did James do to you?” I asked standing up.

“Hey! I didn’t do anything-”

“It’s not what James did to me,” she looked at Sirius and crossed her arms over her chest, “it’s what Sirius has done to you.”

Sirius stood up, and stammered for words.

“What did he do to me?” I asked, confused.

“He somehow made you drink a love potion.” she stated.

My face flushed, my stomach twisted, my heart fell and lost its desire to escape my chest. I turned to Sirius, “It was that night after James woke up… That was why I kissed you.” I raised my hand to slap him but then stopped.

“I’m sorry! I-I ju-just-”

He stopped trying to explain when he saw a smile slowly form on my lips, “Amilia?” Lily asked, a bit worried.

“That’s why I kissed him! Not because I like him!” I turned to him and said so coldly it shocked me for a moment, “Now, I don’t have to try and convince myself that I care for you.”

His eyes widened in hurt, sorrow, and horror and he slowly sat down and his hair fell in his eyes. I knew I didn’t mean that. But I would rather me mean to him then cry over him. “I’m going to go. Homework.”

I stated and then left, the last thing I heard in the Parlor was James’ voice saying, “I’m… so sorry, mate.”

I raced back to the dorms right after leaving the parlor. I felt sick, like I was going to throw up at any second. When I made it to the girls dorm room I was surprised to find tears on my face and I let out a frustrated scream and kicked my trunk. I shook my head in denial that I was crying over Sirius. How could I waste an emotion other than hatred on him?! I kicked my trunk a few more times and then threw myself onto my bed and covered my face with a pillow and screamed again. I should have cancelled the date! Why did I still agree to go?!

I threw the pillow off and sucked in a sharp breath and wiped the remanding tears away and then quickly got out of my bed to head out to the Quidditch field and practice a bit. I grabbed my broom and quickly left the tower and raced down to the field. I sighed when I felt the cool air hit my face when I got on my broom and flew up into the cool fall air. Halloween is in three weeks. I smiled at the thought of the feast I knew we would be getting and all the sweets I would eat. I hovered around with my eyes closed for a few minutes, just enjoying the cool breeze, and the feeling of freedom so high up.

“You really shouldn’t fly with your eyes closed-”

I let out a scream and my eyes flew open and they landed on a familiar face. “What are you doing out here?” I asked, a bit coldly.

He raised a dark eyebrow and pursed his lips, and then finally answered, “What does it look like? I’m flying. Practicing for Quidditch.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “You made the Quidditch team?”

He smirked slightly, “Yes. Is that so hard to believe?”

“Its just you don’t seem like the Quidditch type.” I answered truthfully.

“Oh? Then what ‘type’ do I seem like?” he asked, his eyebrow once more arched as he hovered a bit closer.

“Like a prissy boy who’s too afraid to take a risk. Someone who would rather other people do the hard work for you. Like I said; a prissy boy.” I shrugged my shoulders at my bluntness.

“Hn… Really? I’m really quite the opposite. I love doing the work myself… I can never really trust people to do it correctly. And,” he slowly flew closer to where the tips of our broom were almost touching, and he leaned forward, his black eyes smoldering as they held my gaze with heat and intrigue. His smooth lips moved slowly as he spoke, “I love risks, it makes life a bit more adventurous.” a smirk formed on his perfect face when I sat there on my broom, silent. Not knowing how to reply to him. “Well, it was… somewhat interesting speaking to you, but I must go now. People to see… Risks to take.” he smirked once more and then flew down to the field and I watched him as he walked off the field and back to the main grounds.

After a few more minutes of trying to compose myself I left the Quidditch field and when I got back to the Gryffindor Tower, Lily and James were sitting on the couch, arguing, of course. “Why are you guys arguing?”

Lily and James jumped slightly and they quickly turned around to se me walking over to sit on one of the chairs. “Oh, Amilia! Are… Are you alright?” Lily asked as she slowly got up.

I rolled my eyes and smiled, “I’m fine! Honestly! Scouts Honor!” I smiled and then frowned, “Okay, maybe not Scouts Honor, seeing as how I was never in the Scouts…”

“But what about what Sirius did to you? About the love potion…” she sounded a bit unsure, like she was afraid to talk about it.

I rolled my eyes once more, “I actually find it quite flattering! He was really that desperate to go out with me? Hn…” I smiled. “But Lily, really, don’t be mad at James-”

“But he knew!” she yelled angrily.

“So! If I did that to Sirius, would you have told?”

She was silent for a moment.

“No, you wouldn’t, because we’re best friends and when a best friend asks you for a favor or to keep a secret you keep that secret! And that’s what James did for Sirius… Because he’s a good friend, Lily. He’s loyal.” I winked at her, “Remember, that’s a good quality.”

She huffed and rolled her eyes, “Lily…?” I asked, it now dawning on me. “Why… why are you trying to find any reason not to be with James?”

Her eyes widened at the question, “I-I don’t-”

“Yes.. Yes you do!” James said, speaking and standing up and looked angrily at Lily. “For years you’ve done that! You’d always give me stupid petty reasons not to go out with me! We… We were having a good date! You know that! I know you like me, you know I’m crazy for you, so why are you trying so hard to push me away?!” he yelled. I was surprised by his anger and I was looking at him with wide eyes.

I looked over to Lily who was shaking her head, “Tell me!” James yelled, “One day… You are going to push me away, Lily, and I’m not going to come back again! If that’s what you truly want, then tell me! And I’ll leave you alone for good! But give me the honest reason to why! Why?!-”

“Because I’m afraid you’ll break my heart!” she finally screamed.

James’ breath caught in his throat and I just stood there in awe… and then sat down to watch the rest.

James looked at the ground for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Lily shook her head and then ran past him and would have made it to the girls dorm if James hadn’t had grabbed her wrist. “Wait,” he spoke lowly.

I chewed on my bottom lip in anticipation.

James slowly turned around as did Lily, “James, let me go-”

She was cut of by James’ lips which had found Lily’s. His left arm quickly wrapping tightly and protectively around Lily’s waist as his right hand found Lily’s face and held it closely to his as his thumb gently brushed her cheek in comfort.

My eyes were wide, my mouth was ajar, and I felt all giddy inside! I bit my lips and grinned and squealed on the inside and I slowly got up and crept up to the girls dorm.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said when I made it to the bottom of the stairs.

I looked over and saw Sirius standing there, a faint smile on his face, “So… that was dramatic.” he chuckled softly, but stopped when he noticed I wasn’t laughing. “I… I’m sorry. I am… I shouldn’t have tricked you into kissing me and “falling in-love” with me. I know it was wrong. I wanted to tell you the next day! Really, I was trying… but then you said… You still wanted to go out… So, I just thought that it would be better if you never knew…” he bit his bottom lip and waited for me to speak.

I said nothing.

I just turned and continued on to the girls dorms.