Unspoken || Sirius Black

44.

I leaned against the wall, grinning. I wasn't sure what was more amusing, watching James fumble around the room, a very determined look on his face or watching Peter as he sneakily tried to dip his finger into the bright pink cake we bought. Almost as if he could feel my gaze, Peter instinctively looked up and saw me staring at him, not amused. He quickly gave me a sheepish grin and he turned around, pretending to actually help James organize the 'surprise' birthday party he had planned for Lily Evans.

That's right, he had fallen for Hogwart's very own fiery red-head. We didn't know what happened exactly to trigger his love again for Lily Evans however, it had come to a certain point where we wouldn't even bother trying to tell him that it wasn't a good idea, nor that she hated surprises. We decided to all just play along and pretend that we were all having a good time organizing something for a girl who probably would hate the idea of a birthday party.

As usual, James put me in charge of creating an 'aesthetically pleasing atmosphere' by that he meant good music and food. Which was as boring as it sounded, Peter was in charge of decoration and Remus and Sirius had the best job of all, distracting Lily Evans for as long as humanly possible. Though, I was certain that wouldn't last long.

I glanced at the clock opposite us, there was only an hour to fix everything up and make it look nice before the party.

"Josie, where are the magic balloons?!" James said to me before he ran off to the side of the room, a banner in his hand.

"With Peter," I said, once again. This had been the third time he had asked me and I wasn't sure if he had heard me saying so the first two times. James nodded, clearly distracted. He quickly pulled out his wand and muttering the permanent stick spell to make the banner stick to the wall, I didn't feel obligated to remind him that the permanent stick spell was actually permanent.

That was before I read the words on the banner.

Happy 17th birthday

Lily Potter!

I raised my eyebrows at him, a surprised face etched across my features. Lily Potter? Really? Lily Evans was not going to be happy about that.

"James don't you think that'll kind of make her angry? I know you like to mess about but I don't think she'll like that." I said, unsurely. "Unless your goal is to anger her." I said, laughing slightly.

James wasn't paying attention, though. He was too busy giving instructions to Peter on how to properly tie the magic balloons to match the 'allure' of the room.

I coughed, "James?" I said louder, hoping that would catch his attention.

He raised his head higher, but his eyes were still fixated on the the table he was organizing. "Hmm?" He said, distractedly.

I rolled my eyes, feeling the anger boil inside me. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was being ignored. "James Potter! You listen to me right now or so help me I'll ruin this goddamned party!" I said, growling.

James jumped up from shock and turned around to me, covering his ears. His eyes alert and wide, "Merlin's blue trousers, you can shout. What, what is it? What do you want, Josie?" He said, an annoyed look on his face.

I pointed at the banner, without saying a word.

James Potter looked at the banner for a moment and then gave me a shrug, turning back to his work. He was obviously still distracted but he would get it soon, enough. I stared at his back, waiting for him to realise. In less than three seconds, his back straightened and he turned around. His face was clear as a sheet and the expression on his face was that of pure and unrefined fear. Fear of Lily Evans, that is.