It's Nice To Have A Friend

18 - 3 Steps Back

Mallory walked down to the quidditch pitch with Alice for moral support. Alice happily walked with her and made her boyfriend, Frank, walk with someone else. "It's going to be alright, Mal. I'll be in the stands ready to hex Sirius if anything happens," Alice assured Mallory, wrapping an arm around her as they reached the locker rooms.

"Okay," Mallory awkwardly mumbled, looking at the door of the locker room.

Alice hugged Mallory. "Peter told me that he's sneaking some pumpkin cookies to you after practice if that gives you any motivation."

"Thank you, Alice. Truly."

"Of course, Mallory. We're all sisters now. If one of us is going through shit, we'll all be right there beside her." Alice pulled away slightly with a smile.

Mallory was about to respond when the locker room door opened. Both girls looked over at Sirius as he stared between them. His eyes flickered over both of them. "We've been waiting for you," he spat. "Are you going to come in?"

Alice rolled her eyes at Sirius and pulled Mallory into a hug. "Ignore him, Mal," she whispered softly. Mallory didn't give Sirius a second glance as she walked inside the locker room, feeling his eyes on her.

"Hey, Mal!" James immediately exclaimed as he pulled on his quidditch robes.

"Hey, Jamie," Mallory replied softly. She walked back to her locker beside Sirius's and started to get ready.

"She was out there flirting with Fortescue. Soon the whole damn dorm will be full of lesbians..." Sirius grumbled. Frank snorted. Sirius immediately snapped his head over to Frank. "Have something to say, Longbottom?"

Frank looked up at Sirius with a smirk. "You need to get your head out of your arse," he stated simply.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know what happened between you and Schmidt, but you need to accept it and move on. You're causing drama between everyone. Honestly, mate, you're worse than a teenage girl," Frank calmly told Sirius, not a glint of fear in his eyes.

Sirius started to respond, starting with several swear words. "I say we practice!" William (one of the chasers) exclaimed as he stood up. Mallory looked over at him as she pulled on her gloves to find him staring right back at her. "And if Schmidt is gay she wouldn't have shagged me in the broom cupboard by the Great Hall today," he added. Mallory stared at him in shock as several of the backup players started whispering.

Sirius turned his attention to William and laughed. His laugh was cut short as his eyes narrowed. "Schmidt would never shag you," he stated shortly.

"Oh yeah? How'd I get this?" William asked, pulling his jersey down, revealing his neckline and a hickey.

"Yourself," Sirius replied like it was obvious.

James walked up to the two boys and grabbed the collar of Sirius's jersey while setting his hand on William's back. "Let's practice," he told them quickly before things got more heated. "Mal, come outside when you're ready."

He pulled Sirius out of the locker room. Mallory quickly turned back to her locker, avoiding looking at William. Moments later, Mallory rushed out of the locker room with her beater bat and her broom. James instructed her and Sirius to hit the charmed bludger between each other.

"Are you gay?" Sirius asked Mallory suddenly. Mallory didn't respond and let him ponder the question by himself. "You are?"

"No, Sirius. I'm not gay," Mallory muttered, annoyed by him. Annoyed by how much he had changed since the new year.

"It was just a question. Merlin..." Sirius grumbled in response.

. . .

Mallory wandered down to breakfast the next day. She sat down and started piling food on her plate. "Mal!" James exclaimed. "Are you coming to our sleepover tonight?"

"Really? We're inviting Mallory?" Sirius asked. Mallory ignored him as she started to eat.

"She's the one who started it, moron," Remus mumbled, glancing up from his book and sighing, "But I can't make it. My mum is sick, and I have permission to visit her tonight."

The other three boys snapped their heads up at Remus and cursed under their breaths. Peter coughed. "Merlin, I think I'm coming down with a cold. You know what they say!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Mallory asked softly, watching Peter.

"Colds hit boys harder than they hit girls. Sexist little bastards."

Mallory stared at him in confusion as James gasped and touched his head. "Merlin! I'm burning up! Moony! Feel my head!" he shouted, pressing Remus's hand against his head. And that's when Mallory understood. They didn't want to hang around her. And here she had thought they were different.

"I think we're going to have to-" James started.

Mallory pushed her plate into the center of the table and watched it disappear. "I'm not hungry," she grumbled before getting up and leaving the Great Hall.

Mallory sobbed in the dorm, her back to the door as she laid in her bed. Someone walked in slowly and quietly shut the door behind her. "I saw you in the Great Hall, but the next time I looked, you were gone. Are you okay?" Lily asked quietly, sitting at the end of Malloy's bed.

"Yeah," Mallory quickly lied. "Just tired. Wanted to take a nap before classes."

"Mal, you hate naps. You told us," Lily immediately replied.

"Well, it is a new year."

"You told us yesterday."

"Doppelgangers are everywhere, Lily. Everywhere."

Lily groaned and pulled Mallory onto her back so she could clearly see the tear stains on her cheeks. "Stop lying. What happened?" she insisted. Mallory kept her lips sealed. "Was it Sirius?"

"No, Lily. I'm fine. Sometimes I just need to cry," Mallory grumbled.

"Fine. I'll ask James what happened with Sirius. He'd probably know, right?"

"I guess you're going to find out." Lily watched her for another moment as if she was waiting for Mallory to admit everything, but Mallory just smiled obnoxiously up at her.

It wasn't long after Lily had left before she came back. "It's no use, Potter! You can't get up here!" she yelled before turning to face Mallory and shutting the door. "He has no idea what happened. He said Sirius said something at breakfast but you didn't seem to have cared," Lily told Mallory in defeat as she walked over and sat down on Mallory's desk.

"Darn..." Mallory sarcastically mumbled.

"Mal, he's really upset. He's trying to get up here to see you. But I doubt you want to see him." She looked at Mallory for clarification as Mallory shook her head. "He tends to have that effect on people."

"I'm fine, Lily," Mallory muttered.

Lily pursed her lips. "James said that he wanted to reschedule the sleepover."

"They'll all mysteriously get sick again," she mumbled under her breath.

"The boys aren't sick."

"I know, Lily. It was a joke," Mallory grumbled, hoping that Lily would get off her tail about it. She just wanted to be alone.