“Am I disturbing you?” Black asks coldly.
“A bit.”
“Would you like me to breathe more quietly too?” he continues. ‘Why I don’t I stop breathing altogether? How does that sound?”
“Sounds perfect,” Lily snaps. She turns, expecting to see rage on Black’s face, but she only sees contempt and an odd, cynical twist to the mouth that she immediately recognises as self-loathing. It shocks her. And then Black notices her looking and drops his head, hiding his expression.
Fine. Be like that.
Where is Flitwick? This is intolerable. She hadn’t wanted to see him, but now she can’t wait, because it will rid her of Black’s unwelcome company. Perhaps she can persuade Black to leave? That might work.
“So, what are you doing here?” she asks casually.
“Trying to work,” Sirius replies shortly.
“But why here? Why not in the dorm or the common room?”
“Too noisy.”
“The library then.”
Black looks pained, and Lily is amused by his vanity. “Oh, I forgot,” she taunts. “Sirius Black wouldn’t be seen dead in the library.” And yet he’s working, which is strange enough.
“I’m working here,” he says slowly, “because I need to use some of Flitwick’s books, and I thought I may have to prepare a spell map.”
“You’re not allowed,” Lily hears herself say; it sounds stupid even to herself.
“Ooh, what’s that?” He points to the floor. “Oh look, you dropped your halo.” And he returns to his book, scowling.
It occurs to Lily suddenly that there is no pleasantness in Sirius’s voice, as there normally is, and it surprises her. She realises that although he’s trying to hurt her now, he never has before. It’s only ever been teasing. The uncomfortable feeling that she may have misjudged him rises once more.
“What are you doing?” she asks, in a half-hearted attempt at an apology.
Black sighs at this further interruption. “I’m doing James’s homework. He’s got Quidditch. And yes, I know I’m not allowed to. I don’t care. He needed my help, so I’m helping him. That’s what friends do.”
Lily is a little chastened by this, quailing under Black’s derisive stare. She can’t explain it, but she finds it depressing that Black has such a low opinion of her. Hatred she could deal with, but contempt? She realises she misses the old, light-hearted Black. He was always annoying, but he was rarely cruel – at least, not to her. And even when he was cruel to others, he wasn’t particularly malicious, just careless, or angry. She finds a little bud of respect growing in her chest, mingled with a powerful exasperation – why does he have to be such an enigma? Why can’t he make up his mind whether to be sweet or an idiot? More importantly, why can’t she make up her mind?
“Look, could you just read a book or something?” Black asks a little wearily. “This exercise is hard enough without you staring at me.”
And BAM! she’s angry with him again.
“I wasn’t staring,” she snaps, although actually she was. She’d been looking for the real Sirius Black, trying to work him out. She hadn’t succeeded, but she had noticed the ink- and potion-stains on his collar, the deep grey of his eyes, and the irritatingly tanned patch of skin at the base of his throat – irritating, that is, because Lily never tans, no matter how hard she tries. Perhaps it’s dirt, she thinks. Wouldn’t surprise me. But Lily is nothing if not honest, and she’s forced to admit that actually, Black isn’t dirty. And although he’d gone through the requisite phase of over-indulging in aftershave and after Quidditch he could be a bit whiffy, he doesn’t really smell either. She remembers that horrible time when she’d had to sit next to him in Transfiguration back in fifth year and he’d hummed A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love at her for what felt like hours – she had been grateful then that for all his faults, there was no miasma of sweat and feet and teenage boy around him, just a clean smell with just a hint of cigarettes (which should have been disgusting but wasn’t).
And luckily Flitwick appears just then, before Lily goes any further down that disturbing mental path, and it is with relief that she follows him to his de-Peeved study.
~*~