Blackbird

Chapter 14: Noise

My entrance to the Great Hall wasn't a grand thing. People didn't even really notice when I sat down at the Gryffindor table between Sirius and James.

"There you are, I was beginning to-" James broke off as he stared, then blinked.

I'm sure he was confused. I'd kept the eyeliner I'd stolen from Sirius, paired it with a cute black skirt and boots. I'd undone the braid, pulling it into a half up half down tied with a red ribbon. And of course, there was the jumper. An old Gryffindor one of Sirius' that I found at home. But of course, no one else knew that.

"Is that mine?" Besides of course, Sirius himself.

"No, I got it from dear old Mummy."

Remus' guarded eyes told me he knew what I was doing. It was likely he could actually hear the rumors starting to form as people noticed who I was.

Sirius nearly pushed me into James as Veronica shoved her way onto the bench. She looked like a cat that had caught a fat mouse. "Well done Blackbird. I can almost guarantee you'll be the talk of the school for the next week. Might want to move into our dorm though, your roommates aren't fans."

Minette snorted from where she'd sat between Remus and Peter. "That's an understatement. The Parkinson girl is just about ready to start burning your things."

Willow sighed, not even bothering to sit. "I'll go move your stuff. Merlin knows Parkinson is insane."

Peter raised his hand as Willow walked away. "I'm still confused."

I could actually feel James' breath on my neck as he spoke, "So am I." I had to suppress a shiver. Salazar almighty he was too close. I narrowed my eyes at Veronica's smirk.

"Let me break it down for you." Minette was in full gossip queen mode, "Our little bird here was caught late to Herbology after a nice little stroll with Mr Potter here. He sits across from her at dinner the same night, and sure no one actually heard them talk, but who cares? Because they already know she didn't return to the Slytherin dorms last night, but conveniently shows up to breakfast in a Gryffindor jumper at least 2 sizes too big.

"Not to mention she's sitting next to aforementioned Mr Potter, who people have noticed hasn't hounded his normal prey Lily Evans since school started." I tried to stay cool, getting myself some sausage and muffins as I could feel James' eyes boring into the side of my head.

"Of course, the jumper could belong to her elder brother Sirius. But it was painfully obvious both Potter and Aquila weren't on talking terms with him until this morning." Veronica spoke casually, swiping a piece of bacon from Sirius' plate.

Minette picks up the train of thought from there, "Leaving people to wonder what exactly is happening with the youngest Black child, and more importantly, how is Ms Evans, longtime love of Mr Potter going to respond?"

Peter's brow is furrowed. "We ran into Lily when leaving the dorm. She only shouted a bit."

Veronica's smirk is back, and she gives me a look. I give her an innocent smile, and her smug expression deepens. "I see."

"I still don't understand." James speaks up, and Minette lets out a sigh.

"Think of it like quidditch. You, the seeker, have been chasing what seems like the snitch for a long time, yes? But now, it looks like you've given up catching that one and instead have scored 150 points in one goal." James looks confused again.

"How did I do that?"

Minette groans giving up, and Peter shrugs. "Don't bother trying to understand. I gave up a long time ago."

Veronica butts into the conversation, "It's now a matter of pride for Evans. Potter was seen as unattainable, fixated on the beautiful Lily flower. Now that it appears you've given up on her and found another girl, people are wondering how Evans is going to take this hit to her pride."

"I'll be taking nothing but 30 points from Slytherin for sitting at the wrong table." Lily is back, her face slowly turning the color of her hair. I take note of how James' expression doesn't lift out of its confusion as he looks up at her.

"Why? Me and Remus were sitting at the Slytherin table yesterday."

"It's not against the rules." Remus piped up, narrowing his eyes at Lily.

"They're causing a disturbance."

"If I had a galleon for every time we caused a disturbance I'd be richer than my own parents." Sirius was defensive, and I decided I could safely make my next move.

"It's no trouble really, we can leave if we're bothering Lily. We wouldn't want her to feel unwelcome at her own table." Minette catches on.

"Of course. We just wanted to stop by and talk to our friends but if you think we should go then it won't be a problem. I didn't know it was against the rules." She even started moving as though to get up, stopped when Remus caught hold of her hand.

"I'm sure it's fine. Stay." An honest to goodness blush, so red it had to be real, spread across her cheeks.

Interesting.

"Oh but we really don't want to be a disturbance. And Willow will be ticked if we lose the house points she earned yesterday." I start moving to get up, Veronica following my lead, when I'm pulled back, practically crashing into James' chest.

"They're really not doing anything Lily. Taking house points seems a little extreme." She was caught off guard you could tell, and I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling.

He called her Lily. Not Evans.

She huffed, and flounced farther down the table sitting as far away from us as she could get. The boys resumed eating like nothing had happened while me and Minette made eye contact across the table. I couldn't see her right hand, but I was willing to bet 5 galleons Remus was still holding it based on the way her blush had yet to fade.

I myself am extremely conscious of James' arm that he'd used to pull me back, now tucked around me.

Aquila: 2, Lily: 0