Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I JUST, DON'T EXACTLY KNOW HOW I FEEL!" THE MARAUDERS gave the girl a puzzled look, trying to comprehend a word she was uttering out of her mouth. The day after Slughorn decided to pair up the Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins, Caroline has been rather frantic about it. And so she asked for advice from none other than the four infamous boys of Hogwarts, who she was apparently friends with. She met with them under a tree on the school grounds, expecting a rather decent chat with them. Also hoping to get a piece of advice. She'd rather not confront the twins at the moment since she knew that it would be a never ending session of teasing and jokes about her certain "attraction". "Hold on, I'm confused. What are we talking about again?" Peter said, placing his chin on his hand.
Sirius scoffed and stood beside Caroline, putting an arm on her shoulder. "What our little drop of sunshine was trying to say is that she kind of fancies my brother!" The four laughed, which made Caroline unsatisfied, nudging her elbow unto Sirius's ribs. "Ow! What was that for, Goldie?!"
"Ugh not you too, Sirius!"
"What? Don't tell me that the Jones twins have been pulling your leg too! Or are they? Is that why you came to us?" Sirius looked down at the blonde, mischievously smiling at her. Caroline kept a straight face. This was not going well as planned.
"Quit making Carol furious, Padfoot. Besides she's too young to have wrinkles growing out on her forehead!" James giggled, making the rest of them laugh as well. Caroline was clearly not having it, and was very close to shouting at them. They instantly noticed that her face turned scarlet in her anger, and the laughter slowly died down.
"Ah, c'mon, Caroline! Ease up. We were only joking. Why do you think we stick to the words, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good?'" Remus chimed, and looked at her sincerely. "You came for advice, and advice you shall have. All you got to do is work on that potions assignment of yours, peacefully with Padfoot's little brother and try not to crush him with that heavy arrogant arse of yours."
Caroline scoffed. "Did you just call my arse heavy, Lupin?"
Remus lifted his shoulders and pouted. "Maybe, maybe not."
"Alright what's going on here?" A familiar red head approached them suddenly. All eyes were now on her, and they instantly realised that it was none other than Lily Evans. "Caroline, are they bothering you?"
"Nonsense, Evans. Apparently Caroline needed some advice." James lovingly looked at Lily. Looking like he was about to swoon over the very sight of her.
"Oh. Then why didn't you say so, Carol? If you're looking for advice, might as well talk to the right pack of Gryffindors." Lily looked at Caroline, with a hint of sarcasm in that small, sweet smile of her's. Caroline crossed her arms and nodded.
"Yeah, actually, I would really like that, Lily." The red head genuinely smiled once more at the Hufflepuff, held her hand, and walked away from the Marauders. "See you around, boys."
"Ah, Lily. Lovely Lily. With that beautiful heart of gold." Remus spoke up, as he and his mates watched the two girls leave. "Probably the reason why Prongs right here is head over heels for her."
"Oh well, looks like she got swept away and is out of your presence again, Potter." Sirius laughed, earning a light punch in the arm from James.
"I finally understand why Caroline was so furious a while ago!"
"Awe c'mon, Prongs, you don't mean that!"
"Ah no, but I do, Padfoot!"
The four mischievous boys continued to joke and banter back and forth, drowning each other's ears with melodious laughter.
—
"So what you're saying is, you're afraid to do this potions pair assignment, with Regulus Black?" Lily Evans wanted to laugh, but let out a giggle instead. For she didn't want to neglect the girl's feelings or hurt her in some sort. Caroline nodded and pursed her lips.
"I know it sounds ridiculous. But I am, and I don't know why." The blonde and the red head now walked in silence, side by side. Lily was thinking about how to respond, and smirked, finally understanding what Caroline's feelings meant.
"These...feelings, per say, can you describe them for me, please?"
The Hufflepuff huffed in defeat and looked up, thinking some more. "It's like, this feeling of anxiousness, along with the other emotions of excitement and...joy. All together, it makes this feeling of warmth in my chest, and somehow it feels, good. Despite the fact that it's hard to breathe because my heart races whenever I think about the situation," Caroline paused as her cheeks were now painted a color of pink. "About...him."
Lily smiled genuinely and held the younger girl's shoulders gently. Looking into her eyes, she said. "Hate to actually agree with those four insufferable boys, but I think they are right. You kinda have some sort of, please don't take this the wrong way...but you do have some sort of admiration, towards him." Caroline wanted to argue, but Lily cut her off nicely. "And before you get mad, please, just hear me out? I'm not here to tease you like the others, I'm here to give you advice, right?"
"Hey, it's alright to admire somebody, it's totally normal to feel this way. You're growing up, Caroline. We all are. And these things you are feeling at the moment, are valid. You need to embrace them, no matter how odd that sounds, I mean it." The red haired girl finally gave her her word, while running her fingers through the Hufflepuff's blonde locks carefully. "Now, my final advice to you is to do the project. Finish it with him and try to at least...be good? For once. C'mon, Caroline, it doesn't hurt to be gentle."
Caroline didn't know what to say, and gave Lily a half smile, sighing, "You know, I must admit, you're a better older sister than my real older sister."
"Hey, Agatha is a great older sister."
"Oh, you want to argue about that?"
The two girls argued playfully back and forth, arm in arm, while walking the hallways of Hogwarts, like every other student did. As they walked, they saw a familiar Slytherin boy who caught both of their attention. Caroline earned a slight nudge from Lily.
The blonde nodded and approached the boy, tapping his shoulder lightly, she said,
"Hey, Black. Ready to work on our potions assignment?"
