{irreplaceable}

26

"KYLIE!" James hollered from the foot of the girl's dormitory. She hadn't been talking to anyone besides a few words to Lily every now and then. She would go to class, and as soon as the last bell rang she was gone. James wasn't even sure that she was eating. "EVANS!" He yelled even louder. Lily came down the stairs, an exasperated look on her face.

"She's not going to talk to you." James studied her face. There were bags under her eyes, and the normally sophisticated makeup was gone. James had never seen her without makeup before, and he took a moment to take it in before replying.

"I need to talk to her. She needs to talk to someone. We're all upset." Lily sighed, and rubbed her forehead. 

"Potter, you don't understand. Even before they got together, Sirius was her best friend. She didn't just lose her boyfriend, she lost her best friend. In... the most malevolent way possible." Lily shook her head. "I can't even imagine what she's going through." James looked down at Lily.

"Please. I need to see her." Lily sighed. 

"She's not going to come down here, you know that." James nodded.

"Then I'll go up there." Lily raised her eyebrows. 

"And how are you doing that? You have flying powers that I'm not aware of?" James winked and Lily groaned. "You're insufferable." She thought for a minute before sighing. "I'll need a hair tie." James frowned as she turned away to go upstairs. He dug in his pocket for a second before pulling one out. 

"I've got one." Lily turned around.

"You've got one." 

"Yeah." She looked at it for a second before shaking her head. 

"I'm not even going to ask." She twisted her hair up into a bun and then crouched down. "Get on."

"Get on." He repeated. She nodded. 

"We don't got all day, Potter. Get on." He stared at her for a second before awkwardly clambering onto her back. She lifted him up with surprising strength and adjusted to his weight. "I can't believe I'm doing this." James shook his head. 

"I can't believe I'm actually on your back right now." She laughed and began climbing the stairs. 

"Don't push your luck, boy. You're lucky I'm in a good mood today." James had always been long and lanky, so he tried to keep his limbs closer to himself. "How much do you weight, dammit?" She sounded slightly out of breath. "You're six feet of pure muscle." 

"Six one, actually." She pinched her fingers on his leg. "No comments from the peanut gallery. We're almost there." Once they reached the landing, Lily let James down onto his feet. There was no sliding or alarms, so Lily figured they were good. "I can't believe I just did that." She took the ponytail from her hair in one fluid moment, and James had to keep himself from staring at the way her long red locks tumbled down her back. She looked beautiful.

Lily walked in and James was quick to follow. He looked around curiously. He had never been in the girl's dormitory before. It was clean, but had a lived in air about it. There were little things thrown over chairs, and the beds were hastily made. Clean, but not too clean. 

"Kylie?" James whispered, sitting at the edge of her bed. She looked up from her book, ear buds in. She sighed and pulled them out of her ears. He heard faint music with heavy drums and electric guitar. 

"I told you I didn't want to talk to him." She seemed to be talking more to Lily than Kylie.

"You need to talk to someone besides me, Kys. You guys both got left by him. You're not the only one who's affected by it. Maybe he needs someone, too." Lily's voice was gentle, but it was also stern. She was tired of her sister locking herself up in the room all the time.