beatrice.

PART 2- SIRIUS

(This also accidentally became “how Mary became the first person to know Sirius liked Marlene”)

As years passed Sirius and Mary became even closer friends. They trusted each other, loved each other. They both had ‘escaped’ their houses to live with their best friends, therefore they understood each other better than anyone. They spend so much time together— they practically knew everything about each other. They had talked about everything at their ritual late night talks in the garden of Potters. Usually along with Marlene and James. They’d watch the stars and talk until the sun came up. Well they knew everything except for one little thing— their crushes. Not that they tried to hide it from each other, it just never came up. This is how it comes out.

December 1975– Year 5

10:00 PM

Marlene was about to cry out of laughter. Sirius had already shed a few tears. God, neither one of them had this much fun in the longest while. Well, to be honest, they always had so much fun when they were together. They would completely forgot about the rest of the world and focus solely on that very moment. It came so natural to them. Just like how today, they spontaneously decided to sneak out to Hogsmeade. Just the two of them since everyone else had stupid excuses. “Boring people” as Marlene would say.

They took James’ invisibility cloak, the map, and sneaked out. Normally, Sirius wouldn’t even talk about the existence of the cloak near anyone who was not Remus James or Peter, but Marlene did not count of course. She knew James longer than anyone had, she knew about the cloak since she was a toddler.

1:00 AM

Time had literally flown. Marlene and Sirius just had so much fun. They drank the best butter beer of their lives -they swear it was different-. They tried to make a snowman that resembled Snivellus which then turned into a snowball fight that ended up with Marlene laying on the snow and Sirius on top of her, shoving snow in her face.

Now, they were back. Wandering around the empty halls. Laughing, pausing only when they thought they had heard footsteps.

“You know what Sirius, I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in a while.” Marlene confessed. “Oh so you’re admitting that spending time with me isn’t, well, how did you put it? Oh yeah, “a total torture and the twisted way of universe getting back at you for printing James’ naked baby pictures and hanging them around the common room 2 years ago” Quoting you, of course.” Sirius replied playfully, with a cocky smirk on his face that appeared with Marlene’s compliment. He never cared about what people thought of him, except for Marlene. He could never quite understand why, he just felt so blissfully happy. He wanted to freeze time and stay in that moment. God, when did he become a sappy poet? He never thought stuff like that. He was spending too much time with James. That had to be why.

“Nevermind, it sucked, I hope I never see you again.” replied Marlene, obviously regretting that she had fed his already huge ego. She tried to look fed up, but she couldn’t hide her smile. “Oh, you can’t even hide it, you adore me” Sirius said teasingly as he put an arm around her. Marlene rolled her eyes but did not make an effort to remove his arm.

When they arrived at the common room, it was completely empty. “Well then, we have a long day tomorrow, good night Black” said Marlene as she took off the jacket Sirius had given her when she was cold. She put a kiss on his cheek, winked, and walked up to her room. Sirius was frozen. This wasn’t anything new. They flirted with each other all the time. That’s how Marlene was— how both of them were. It never meant anything. Playful comments, teasing each other, winks and kisses.. It was all so ordinary. But why did it not feel like that at that moment? Sirius felt his heart pounding, his throat closing. Why was this happening? Why was he speechless? He couldn’t even open his mouth to say ‘good night’ back. He was standing at the same exact spot for the past minute, all frozen and thinking about the same moment. He could still smell her perfume and the feel the heat of her lips on his cheek.

Sirius suddenly heard a loud thud. That pulled him away from his thoughts. He was grateful for the distraction. He didn’t like how his mind worked at that particular moment.

The common room was empty, so the voices must’ve been coming from outside. Sirius decided to go out and find out where it came from. He wish he hadn’t. What the hell were Mulciber and his idiotic friends were doing in the hallway at 1 am? On any other day, Sirius would cause some kind of trouble. However, that particular night, he had much bigger issues. He ignored them and was about to get back in the common room through the portrait, when Mulciber yelled “Oh what a shame, isn’t the Mckinnon girl with you?” That was enough to make Sirius turn around. Mulciber’s friends were smiling cockily, they knew exactly what they were doing. “Come again?” Sirius asked impatiently. He could feel his blood boil. “Well, we all saw you sneak in with blondie.” Sirius was already walking closer to him, “Don’t worry, we won’t snitch if you set one of is up with her” That was it. Sirius became blind with rage. He lost all of his logic, his mind was completely blank. How dare he mention her name like that? “Fucking bastard” he muttered as he punched the boy in the jaw with a swift but strong motion. He realized he put too much strength into his punch when he heard the sound of his bones and the loud cursing. Sirius’ knuckles were all bloody, and Mulciber’s jaw was rapidly swelling. Sirius wanted to do more, he could feel all of his anger come to the surface. But he decided he’d deal with them later. Before they could even do anything, he got in the common room through the portrait.

He could still hear their voices coming from the outside. Inviting him to come outside and have a redo. But the voices in his head were louder.

Sirius was feeling a lot. He tried to focus on the anger, but he couldn’t deny his confusion. Why did the idea of Marlene dating someone else bother him so much? Was it because it was Mulciber? That must be why, right? Yeah definitely. That’s why he was so protective. But what about tonight? Sirius never felt like that when he spent alone time with Mary or any one of his girl friends. He and Marlene flirted all the time, but it didn’t mean anything— it wasn’t supposed to mean anything. So why could he literally hear the sound of his heartbeat when she kissed him? He was going to lose his mind. This wasn’t him. He never thought this much about anything. Merlin, he barely thought most of the time. What had gotten into him? Why was all of this coming out now? Had he always felt this way and repressed it like he repressed everything? Nah, this was James. He must’ve put something in his drink and that’s why he was losing his mind.

He had a long day. He cleaned up and went to bed. But there was no peace even then. He had a dream. Marlene was making out with someone. He couldn’t figure out who the man was, but he seemed handsome, tall and strong. Sirius just felt angry, so very angry.. and to his surprise, jealous. Suddenly, he punched the man and started kissing Marlene himself. Then, they were together. Pressed together. He looked happy— so happy.

Sirius woke up in sweats. Oh god. He had made out with Marlene in his dream. What kind of a twisted game was his mind playing to him? Sure, he had flirted with Marlene before. And he did found her attractive, but everyone did. He never dreamt of it. You were supposed to dream about people you had feelings for beyond just attraction— like how every dream James saw was either about Lily or quidditch (or like most of the time, something combining both.) Sirius had never felt this confused and overwhelmed before. He hated having to think about it. But he had no choice. Even falling asleep wasn’t safe.

He decided to go downstairs and have a cigarette. He couldn’t risk falling asleep again. He quietly left the boy’s dormitory. When he climbed down the stairs, he realized he wasn’t the only one awake at 3 am. Mary was sitting by the window, looking out until she heard Sirius’ footsteps. She turned around to look at him. Certainly, neither of them was expecting anyone else to be awake. “What are you doing?” they asked each other at the same time. Mary smiled lightly. “I’ll go first.” She felt like Sirius needed the push. Well, he did and he really appreciated it. She did not look the happiest either, yet she was still there for him. She always knew how to be there for him. Selfless as usual. Sirius preferred to be alone when he felt overwhelmed. He never felt like explaining— he was used to bottling everything up. However, Mary was an exception. She always knew what he felt, and she always knew what to do and what to say. Out of all the people he could’ve ran into, he was glad that it was her. After all, Mary knew so much about him.

“I couldn’t sleep. Having too much in my mind didn’t help. I’m assuming it’s the same for you.” Mary began sympathetically. “Yeah something like that” Sirius smiled lightly. But it was very clear that he was still pondering about what his dream- and the entire day- meant. Sirius rarely looked puzzled or thoughtful, so it was very easy for Mary to spot the difference. “So do you want to talk about what’s troubling you or are we going to tiptoe around it? I’m fine with either.” Mary said with a smile. Sirius knew that she really would be fine with either, although she’d prefer the first one. Maybe he would too. He couldn’t figure this out on his own, Mary could help. Sirius trusted her completely, but he still wasn’t sure. If he said it out loud, it would be too real. He didn’t know if he was ready for that, but it was better than keeping it to himself and losing his mind , right?

“Okay, well, um” Sirius began. He never really got speechless. Merlin, today was a first for a lot of things. He took a deep breath. Mary had soft eyes. She looked at him assuringly. “I don’t want to say anything and set it in stone. Because honestly, I still don’t know..” “And this is the first I’ve really thought of it- like really, just 2 hours ago- and you are the first person I’m going to tell.” Mary laughed. “I feel honored. Though I might need to be careful of a very jealous James Potter.” Sirius laughed too. “Oh yeah, I’m never going to hear the end of this.”

There was a momentary pause and Sirius knew he had to continue. “I think I might like Marlene” he mumbled so fast that Mary wasn’t sure the words actually left his mouth. “Okay now that’s over, let’s talk about you!” Sirius said, eager to change the topic and pretend like his confession didn’t happen. Mary just laughed. Sirius looked so desperate , she hadn’t seen him like that.. ever. She was having the time of her life. But she wasn’t surprised at all. No. It was actually funny to her that Sirius had just came to this “big revelation.” It wasn’t a big revelation. Everyone knew it but them.

“It was time, finally.” replied Mary. She laughed. “What? Why aren’t you surprised?” Sirius was confused. He definitely thought he’d get more of a reaction. This was huge for him. Mary continued smiling, “Honey, everyone knew. Well maybe not James, he’s a bit slow.” Sirius couldn’t help but laugh at that. James was truly unaware of everything happening around him if it wasn’t about Lily. But he was still confused. “What do you mean everyone knew?” “Well, the way you look at each other, the way you act around each other. It’s so obvious that it’s more than childish flirting. You guys bicker like a married couple, act like a married couple.”

Sirius thought about that. Was that true? Did he always like Marlene and had figured it out just now? And it hit him. How could he have been so blind this whole time? He always seeked an opportunity to flirt with her, tease her— just to be around her. He had always convinced himself that it was nothing. No, he did not allow himself to even think about it. But now it all made sense. Why he couldn’t stand the idea of Marlene being with someone else.

Mary watched reality hit Sirius. Well, better late than never. The sight of Sirius realizing that he had been absolutely oblivious amused Mary on a complete different level. “My pain entertains you, huh?” he asked dramatically. Mary just laughed. “Well, let me enjoy it. I’ve been waiting for this day for ages. We all had an ongoing bet actually. “What!” exclaimed Sirius. “You had an ongoing bet about me and Marlene? I thought we only had one about James and Lily!” Sirius said betrayed. Mary laughed at that “Oh Sirius, we have bets about everyone.” “You filthy gambler!” Sirius joked. They both started laughing.

It was incredible how they made each other forget about their troubles. But still, Sirius was very anxious. He hadn’t exprienced something like this before. The feeling was new to him. He didn’t know what to do or what to feel. Mary could see that. She wanted to help him. But she felt like a hypocrite. She was in the same shoes, if not worse. She had finally admitted that she liked Jason, but she couldn’t do anything about it. She just felt so confused and consumed by her emotions. That was one of the things that had kept her up at this hour. Her train of thoughts wouldn’t give her a break.

“Well, you know why I’m awake at 3 am. Why are you?” asked Sirius as if he had read her mind. Mary took a deep breath. She had always intended to tell Sirius. This was the perfect opportunity. Her confession would definitely help him feel less lonely, and it would help Mary very much too.

“It’s very similar to your situation.” Mary began. Sirius’ brows rose. He looked confused but intrigued. “With the exception that I’m not a complete idiot and I was aware of my feelings long before.” Mary couldn’t help but add. Sirius laughed. “Well, well, well. Mary Macdonald, who’s the lucky guy?” He asked with a smirk. Now, /he/ was amused. But Mary could see beneath that, he was just happy that there was someone who understood him. Someone he could share this with. She knew his secret, and he knew hers.

“It’s Jason.” Mary admitted after a long moment. “Jason?” practically gasped Sirius. “Shh” whispered Mary, and couldn’t help but laugh. Sirius looked so astonished. He did not know who he expected, but it certainly wasn’t Jason. Well, actually, who else could it be? “Sirius? Are you having a stroke?” Mary asked. Sirius laughed, “You wish. I’m just surprised. Have I been blind about this like how I’ve been blind about Marlene?” Mary laughed, “Oh believe me, you’ve been blind to so many things, I don’t know where to begin from.” Another wave of laughter. “Who else knew?” “Well, James knows” “James knew? That git!” Sirius exclaimed way too dramatically. “Don’t be jealous, you’re the second person I’ve told.” “Well, that’s not too bad I reckon.” he smiled proudly.

“Wait, I never asked you how you finally realized you had feeling for Marlene.” Mary asked. She had assumed that a rock had hit Sirius’ head and that’s how he came to his senses. Sirius looked out of the window and began very casually, as if he were talking about what he had for breakfast. “Well, Mulciber asked me about her and I punched him and then my knuckles were all bloody.” “What!” Mary yelled and laughed at the same time. Merlin, this boy. Mary would tease him endlessly. Sirius continued, “Then I dreamt of Marlene kissing another guy, and I got jealous. Then I started kissing her in my dream and I woke up in sweats.” Mary’s laughter continued. “Oh Sirius, your mind is a wonder.” Mary did not want to scare him more than he already was, so she would keep some of her thoughts for herself now— but Merlin, Sirius loved her. What he was telling was not an ordinary crush, especially considering his past. But he had to realize that himself.

Normally, Sirius would not be able to confess to such a thing. His dream was way too embarrassing to even say out loud, but for some reason, he did not even hesitate ro tell it to Mary. “You are the only one I would make such an humiliating confession to, you know that right? Not even James, he would never stop talking about it.” “Who says I won’t?” teased Mary. They both knew it would stay between the two of them just like many of their shared secrets.

Lily Evans knew there was no escape. Sirius would come out lurking, sing a stupid song trying to convince Lily to give a chance to James at any given time. James would come up with a big prop every single day, surprisingly still unwavering despite the endless rejections. Lily had no choice but to get used to it. But she definitely did not expect /this/ many people to get involved. Here’s a series of how very unexpected people tried to matchmake Lily Evans and James Potter.

CHAPTER 1, PART 1

THE PREFECT, THE HEAD BOY:

MARCUS MCKINNON

1972, January

It was late and Lily Evans was lost. Well, it was just 10PM, but that was late for the 11 year old girl who was still getting used to Hogwarts. She still hadn’t fully grasped the confusing floor plan and the constantly moving staircases. That’s when she heard another footstep. She froze for a moment. Was she going to get in trouble for wandering around at 10 PM? What were the rules? Her mind went blank when she saw a figure approaching. A tall blond man.

She knew him. Well, not personally, but he had introduced himself to all of her housemates a few months ago. But even if he hadn’t, Lily still would’ve known him thanks to Potter. He always talked about Marcus and how he was amazing at Quidditch and how they played together.. James actually begged Mcgonagall to allow him to play as a 1st year because “this was his only opportunity to be in the same team as Marcus since he’s on his 7th year”. That boy never shut up, especially about Quidditch.

“Is everything alright?” Marcus asked concerned. “Oh, yeah, everything’s alright.” replied Lily shyly, suddenly pulled away from her thoughts. “Well, not exactly,” she paused before admitting “I’m lost.” She thought Marcus would make fun of her like Sirius would (and did), but he didn’t. His eyes only showed sympathy. “Well, you do not need to worry, I’ll help you.” he said assuringly. And Lily trusted him instantly.

“What house are you in?’ he asked. She looked very familiar, but he could not put his finger on why and how he knew her. “Gryffindor” replied Lily with a little pride in her voice. She knew Marcus was in Gryffindor like most of his family. Marlene had told her that. “Well, how perfect! I’m in Gryffindor too.” replied Marcus happily. “You know what? I used to get lost all the time. This castle is so confusing. The moving staircases, the hidden common rooms. It’s almost like they want us to get lost” Marcus said warmly. To be honest, he hadn’t got lost a lot. He had been visiting Hogwarts with his parents ever since he was born. But he wanted the girl to feel comfortable about it. Assure that it was okay— and it worked. Lily did feel much better after hearing his words. She smiled “I’m relieved, I thought I was the only one”. “Oh you definitely are not, I’ve lost count of how many children I’ve helped. Especially the first years. You are in your first year, right?’ he asked. The girl nodded.

“I forgot to ask your name. I haven’t even introduced myself. I’m Marcus and you?’. Marcus added quickly and very humbly. As if not every single Gryffindor (and everyone at school) knew his name. “Oh, it’s okay. I already knew who you were. Mcgonagall told us at the beginning of the year” Marcus laughed at that “Well did she mention how much she loved me?” “She kept that part short” replied Lily with a warm laugh before realizing she forgot to introduce herself. “I’m Lily by the way, Lily Evans.”

Marcus paused for a moment. Ooohhh, that’s how he recognized her. The famous Lily Evans. The girl James had talked his ears off from the moment he saw her. Marcus had went up to check on James on his first day and congratulate him on getting Gryffindor. That’s when James first told him about “ the love of his life” He was convinced that he was going to marry her. Marcus had laughed of course. No one married the first girl they had a crush on, but it was hilarious to see James like that. However, James turned out to be more determined than he had thought. Marlene told Marcus about how James kept asking out Lily even though she has rejected him a dozen times already. When Marcus confronted to James about it, he’d say it was a “minor bump” in the way of their legendary love story and she was eventually going to agree. Then he’d continue to tell him about the intricate plans he had made with Sirius. Each more ridiculous than the other.

Marcus thought James would get tired of it. He understood that was definitely not the case when they went back home for winter break. James was with them as usual, and /all/ he talked about was this girl. Marcus was shocked that James found something he cared about more than Quidditch. Marcus, and the rest of the Mckinnon and Potter family, spent the entirety of their Christmas break listening to James. They were all surprised that James talked about something more than he talked about Quidditch. They had not believe that such thing was possible until then. He literally did not stop even to take a bite of his food. They had an ongoing bet about how long it would last. They all underestimated, but Adrienna Mckinnon was the closest.

And now, that very girl was standing in front of him. Marcus did not know what to do. James was like a brother to him, he should do something shouldn’t he? He wouldn’t want to embarrass either one of them -well, at least not Lily,- but he couldn’t just not mention it. “Oh, you’re Marlene’s friend right?“ Marcus asked to make conversation. Actually, they weren’t even that close. Marlene did not like how Lily was friends with some of the Slytherins, and the way she acted towards James. She had heard her mention her only a few times- all of it having something to do with James, but still. Lily nodded, looking very happy that Marlene mentioned her. “Yeah, Marlene is great. She told me about you.” “Oh is that so?’ Marcus smiled. A little pride on his face. His baby sister was not as embarrassed of him as she pretended to be. He then cleared his throat and began “Well, there’s another guy in your year that I really like— he’s like a brother, really. Maybe you know him.” He looked at Lily’s face to figure out her reaction before continuing. It was puzzling, really. It almost seemed like she was trying to look annoyed and repress a smile at the same time. Marcus continued as if he hadn’t noticed and was completely oblivious to the whole thing between them. “His name is James. James Potter. He’s Marlene’s really close friend as well — and such a great guy. Have you two met? I think you’d get along.” God, how did he get pulled into this?

Lily seemed to think about that “I have met him.” she finally replied, choosing her words carefully. Definitely trying very hard to keep a straight face. “And he must be a good friend.” she paused “Just, maybe, not for me.” Marcus couldn’t help but smile at that. He pulled himself together quickly. “Well, you never know. You might change your mind. You guys have 7 years ahead of you. Believe me, I’m speaking from personal experience.” Lily seemed to really think about his words. “Yeah, you’re right I suppose. I might.” she said genuinely. “You might” Jason repeated and they both smiled at that.

James was going to be over the moon when Marcus told him about this. A “good friend” and “I might” was better than James ever could’ve hoped for. Those few words would be enough to convince him that they were soulmates.

“Well, here we are” Marcus stopped in front of the potrait. “Thank you so much” Lily said warmly. “Of course,” replied Marcus “I’m glad that I could help.” He paused “With both of the issues.” He added with a smile. Lily smiled back “You really did.” And got in the room.

Oh, James Potter owed him big time. At the next family Quidditch game, /he/ was going to pick the teams

(Jason was officially the last person to know)

Part 1- James Potter

A) Background information:

James has always been close with Mary. It started because of Marlene. The Potters and the Mckinnons were neighbors, therefore Marlene and James were childhood friends. They grew up together and would spend all of their time together when they were back home.

Mary and Marlene have been inseparable since their first year. Mary would spend most of her summer at the Mckinnons. It helped her escape her own house, and she got to spend time with Marlene so it was a win win. Adrienna and Michael (Marlene’s parents) loved having another girl at their house. It was a good change since they had 4 boys.

So basically, James and Mary spent their summers together and became even closer. James loved her very dearly. (During summers, the four of them would spend all of their time together. Marlene, James, Sirius (he stayed at the Potters all summer long), and Mary. So the four of them had their own little group in summer until the rest of their friends arrived on July/August. They’d do everything together.)

B) Marson:

Mary has had a crush on Jason for a while now by the time of summer 1974. She didn’t do anything about it, she didn’t even talk about it; but James Potter noticed it during one particular day.

C) 4th year summer holiday (1975):

Sirius, Remus and Peter were at the Potters (Remus and Peter had arrived on July, Sirius was there the whole summer of course.) Mary, as usual, was at the Mckinnons and Lily hadn’t arrived yet

It was the end of Jason’s 5th year. His 5th year was very rocky, he had terrible (and a lots of) girlfriends. Marlene never understood why Jason dated them.

D) VERY random hc that’ll be mentioned later:

When James met Mary, he didn’t believe her name was “just Mary” He thought it was a nickname for a longer name (even though Mary is such a common name) like “Marisol, Marialle, Marigold, Maryl.” So James used one of those names (and many more) randomly as a nickname for her. Each time they got more ridiculous. When he ran out of girl names, he began with male names “Maryson, Marius..” Mary didn’t know what name he was referring to most of the time. Then there were the stupid rhymes “Mary berry, Mary cherry..” Mary thought it would end at one point since there were only so many names James could use, but after one point he started making up gibberish names. He’d use them so casually, in every kind of setting. One time, at an order meeting full of Aurors , James said “Okay, Maryladadido” Mary almost used muttered Crinus Muto and dyed his hair green.

And this is how that whole nickname incident started:

1971, Train ride to Hogwarts:

James went to check on Marlene. As he entered her compartment, he saw a dark haired girl he hadn’t met before. Marlene must’ve made a new friend.

“James, hi.” Marlene greeted cheerfully. “Meet my new friend” she pointed to Mary. James walked towards her to shake her hand. “Hi, I’m James.” he said enthusiastically. The girl was shyer than him. “Hi, I’m Mary.” she replied. Definitely calmer than him.

“Mary?” asked James, as if he was hearing the name for the first time in his life. “What’s that short for?” he asked. The girl looked confused. “Um, nothing. It’s just Mary.”

“Really?” asked James, surprised. “Are you sure? It could be Marigold, Maryanne, Marybeth, Martha?” Mary laughed at how ridiculous those suggestions was, but she still looked bewildered. Rightfully so, a guy she had just met was questioning her very simple name.

“Mary is one of the most common names in the world. Mary. Nothing more. This can’t be the first time you’re hearing of it.” Marlene jumped in as she rolled her eyes at James. “Sorry Mary, James is like that. You’ll get used to him.”

“Hey, Marigold and I are having fun. Why are you apologizing in my behalf” replied James. “Anyway, Mary is a very basic name. I’m not convinced. But if that reaaally is the case, I’ll find better ones for you, don’t worry.” James said to the girl.

“Well, It’s not like James is the most unique, interesting name there is.” Mary said sarcastically suddenly. Marlene laughed loudly. She hadn’t seen that side of the girl yet, but now that she had, she was sure that they were going to be best friends.

James laughed at that too. She liked this girl “You’re right Marisol, I’ll be sure to scold my parents about that.” He said playfully. “I might have to do that, as well.” Mary replied with a smile. They all laughed. Both James and Marlene was sure that this girl was going to stick around in their lives for a long time after that.

THE MOMENT JAMES FOUND OUT:

Mary was at the kitchen with Jason when his O.W.L. results arrived. When he saw he got an “O”, he got so happy and hugged Mary tightly.

That’s what pushed Mary over the edge. All of the feelings she had bottled up for an entire year threatened to come out spilling.

Keep in mind that 4th year was very rocky for Mary. She had to listen Jason talk about his girlfriends and she had to see him with them at every corner of Hogwarts. She sometimes wished she didn’t like Jason (because it seemed like a hopeless case) but she couldn’t help it. She was very confused about her emotions and Jason hugging him was the straw that broke the camel.

She decided to go outside and take a breath. She didn’t want to get emotional in front of everyone and get interrogated. She could feel her eyes tear up. She just needed a moment to clear her head. She definitely didn’t think James would be there.

James was alone in the garden. He had to grab something from his house, the house next door, and he was about to get in the Mckinnons when he saw Mary.

Though Mary tried to hide it, James immediately understood that she was upset. He always had a gift at reading her. James didn’t say a word, he just hugged her. He didn’t make her talk, didn’t ask anything.

After a while, Mary whispered “How does it feel to get rejected by Lily over and over again? Don’t you feel hopeless?”

James smiled at. that. So that was what this was about. “Well I do feel hopeless -and pathetic- sometimes, but it’s worth it. She’s worth it” he said honestly. His eyes lit up every time he thought about Lily. He quickly pulled himself together. “Why though? Do you fancy someone?” James added with a grin. Mary nodded her head.

“It’s Jason isnt it?” James asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

A laughter escaped Mary’s mouth. James always managed to make her laugh, even when she was at verge of tears “Is it /that/ obvious?” she asked “It’s not actually, but I know you. I see the way you look at him. I see how you get overwhelmed when he talks about his girlfriends” said James casually.

He took a breath, as he reached for Mary’s hand “Look, I know that you feel hopeless. But if you truly love him, you can’t stop chasing him Marisol.” “I didn’t”.

Mary laughed. Both at his words and the nickname. “Oh yes you still haven’t” She paused, now more serious “And I admire you for that. You are not an annoying git, you truly love her. You just um.. show it differently.” James laughed “Well Lily might not agree with that.”

“One day she will” said Mary without any hesitations. She meant it. She wasn’t trying to comfort James, she knew Lily would realize it one day. She had a feeling.

James smiled at that and they continued to sit under that big tree, talking and laughing about everything and anything for hours until it got dark and Sirius came lurking on them.