The Girl who Survived (Fred Weasley)

CH 75. A New Marauder

A/N: Every story, tends to have a story before it. This is how one began, and other ended. A look into what was, before one moment, made the world come shattering down. 

~Lilies POV~

The unkind flushing of the toilet filled with an echo in the entirety of the fifth-floor girls' washroom. The crisp April air felt a bit colder today than normal, but then again, that could have just been my blood running cold. I grabbed a handful of toilet roll and whipped the rim of my mouth, hiding any evidence of what may have happened here. Madam Pomfrey told me to expect this, soon there would be no hiding it.

I stood up from my seat on the ground and heard an unkind rapping on the door. I ignored it as I went over to the sink and quickly rinsed my mouth out, all while moaning Myrtle was trying to place herself in my line of sight.

"There's no use in hiding it now. Last girl that tried left school about a month after finding out. You've been throwing up in here for how long now?" She said annoyingly as the knocking continued.

"One moment please!" I called over. "And that isn't going to be me Myrtle, so just... Can it," I said to her as I reached for my bag to leave the washroom.

Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall always left me in better spirits. Though having requested a meeting with her today made me a bit more nervous to go. Oh, Merlin's soul, what would she think of me?

"Well, it's about bloody time! I've only been knockin' and knockin' for ages!" Marlene said as I stepped out of the washroom. "You know it isn't fair that you keep this password to yerself, I had half a mind to go find James and ask him for it."

I looked at her through the corner of my eyes and then down to my feet. Oh, James. How had we both completely ruined this? How could I have let this happen? How could I even tell him?

"Well are you going to tell me what's got your wand in a knot? Or am I going to have to pry it out of you? Marlene pressed as we walked down the empty corridor.

"It's nothing, just another argument with James," I said brushing it off. It wasn't completely a lie.

"Another? Good grief, will the pair of you just shag and make up already? Even Remus and Sirius are acting tense when we're all together. Dorcus and I have both noticed it," She pointed out.

Little did she know that it wasn't us arguing that was the reason behind the displaced tension. The only one that knew was Remus, and that was only because I began crying at the end of it. It was embarrassing that I had to explain the situation wasn't about his talents in bed, but as a result over guilt for letting an argument with James get to the point where I sought comfort in both his rival and one of his best friends.

"You know, it's not good for the soul to keep at it like this. The both of you should really just sit down and kick up the conversation. I thought you two seemed to be getting on fine before the holiday?" She pressed further.

"Fine is a strong word. Things just got so messy it's hard to know where everything lies now. Whose court is the ball in, who should apologize to who, and is it worth it to stay together?" I told her trying to shine a vague light on the situation.

"Just say 'Hi', let the rest come as it seems natural. If you ask me, the both of you may need to apologize to each other. Seems only fair, no need to get balls involved," She said kindly.

"B- no. it's- just a saying," I said a bit bemused. "But you're right. And I know you're right. I just... I need more time, but I feel like I'm running out," I said as we entered the classroom. We were early enough that the boys weren't here, but that didn't seem to ease my nerves.