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*James POV*

I raced into Divination, quickly seating myself beside a curious Padfoot.

"You alright mate?" Sirius questioned, turning his head in my direction.

"Lupin's got a date with Nicholas this weekend," I admitted solemnly, reaching for my Prophecy Reading textbook I hastily shoved into my bag this morning.

Sirius was silent for a few minutes, his eyebrows furrowed. "Moony is gay?" He asked confusedly, tilting his head to the side much like his animagus form.

I stared at him unbelievingly, mockingly answering, "Yes Padfoot, Moony is gay."

"I honestly did not see that coming," He shook his head, appearing to be upset. "I just can't believe that he didn't tell me - I mean I totally would've been his wingman." He pouted.

"Didn't see what coming?" Lilah asked, taking the last seat at the round table covered by a white tablecloth.

"Moony's gay," Sirius blurted out.

Way to go Sirius.

Lilah began choking, spluttering out, "What? There's no way, I know my D- I know my cousin. He's not gay."

He's not! I wanted to yell but I couldn't very well explain to Sirius that it was Lilah I was talking about in front of her.

"He is," Sirius nodded, sympathising with her confusion, as he too didn't know.

Lilah sat there, her fingers stressing over the curls on her forehead.

She seemed worried - more like fearful. Was the possibility of Moony being gay that much of a problem for her? There's no way it could be that. Maybe she was apprehensive about the rest of their family finding out, about how they would react?

"He has a date this weekend," Sirius continued, Lilah nodding along with the new information she was receiving.

"Really? So do I!" Lilah laughed.

It was then that I knew it clicked, Sirius' look of confusion transforming into one of understanding and slight embarrassment.

"Oh uh really?" He replied, "Who with?"

"Nicholas Livingston," She replied, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear whilst she searched for her pen, only taking a moment to glance up at Sirius as she answered.

Sirius looked at me, unsure how to proceed with the current predicament.

"Please turn to page 7," Miss Trelwaney instructed, awkwardly stumbling into the classroom. "Today we will be reading our tea leaves."

After collecting a teapot and three cups, I returned to the table.

"Got the tea?" Sirius asked, having collected the hot water.

"Got it!" Lilah chirped, handing over our portion.

"Peppermint?" Sirius asked, disgust evident in his tone.

"It's the best!" Lilah and I chorused at the same time before we looked at each other and laughed.

"We can't be friends," Padfoot stated jokingly.

"Like we'd want to be friends with the likes of you," Lilah joked back.

After forcing the tea down Sirius' throat, we got started on our predictions.

We examined Sirius' first, his appearing to be a disconnected circle on either side.

"What could that be?" I asked.

"Let's check the book," Lilah suggested, flipping through the pages until page number 7.

"Do not disturb? Is that seriously my prophecy?" Sirius grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he sulked into the back of his chair.

"No, I don't think so." Lilah mumbled, "It has two disconnections, not just the one."

"Sleep," I read from the textbook.

"Sleep? Now that I can do," Sirius grinned.

"My turn!" I yelled excitedly, eager to find out my stupid prophecy.

We stared critically into my cup, inspecting the weird shape the tealeaves had formed.

"It kind of looks like a key," Sirius quizzed.

"Oh yeah, I can see that." Lilah agreed.

"So what does that mean?" I asked them.

Lilah and Sirius looked down to scan the textbook, Lilah's nimble fingers slightly skimming the page as she read.

"Caution," Lilah said aloud.

"Well, at least that's better than sleep," I shrugged, receiving a cry of protest from Pads. "Caution of what, though?"

"Who knows mate," Sirius answered, grabbing Lilah's teacup. "They're kinda just lines, they don't really form anything."

"Three lines?" I asked him, looking down at the textbook.

"Yeah," he replied.

"It means change," I said, looking directly into Lilah's soft eyes.

"Change, huh? There's been a lot of that, that's for sure." She mumbled, Sirius and I only catching her words due to our enhanced hearing.

We all began to pack up our things, the end of class drawing near.

"James? Lilah? Sirius? Would you mind staying behind for a little bit to clean up? I've got to meet with Headmaster Dumbledore." Professor Trelwaney asked politely, stacking her books into a neat pile.

A yellow headband held her frizzy hair back and her tall figure was clad with a long maxi skirt and a coat that she was currently tugging on.

"Sorry Professor, I've got a meeting with dear ole Minnie," Sirius explained, gripping loosely on one strap of his bag.

Minnie was what the Marauders and I called Professor Minerva McGonagall. She was by far our favourite teacher.

The Professor waved at Sirius, claiming it was fine before returning her attention to Lilah and I.

"That's fine with me Professor," Lilah smiled shyly, playing with the end of her tie.

"Yeah, sure thing," I agreed casually, internally delighted at the chance of spending more time with Lilah.

The Professor exited shortly after that and Lilah and I quickly got started on tidying up.

"So caution, huh? What do you think you have to be cautious of?" Lilah asked, initiating a conversation.

You finding out about our animagus forms. You finding out about Moony. You and my developing feelings.

"Not quite sure," I replied instead. "What about you? What do you think is going to change?"

I subtly glanced out her out of the corner of my eye, noticing the slight twitching of her fingers as she answered, "I'm not too sure either."

She was lying.

Why would she be lying?

I rinsed the teacup I was cleaning with hot soapy water, pondering over the possible reasons why.

"Ah," Lilah cried out, dropping a cup on the stone floor.

She clutched her finger, looking disdainfully down at the broken teacup.

"Shit, Lilah!" I exclaimed, rushing over towards her. I gently held her injured hand in my palm, examining the wounded finger. "It should be alright, it doesn't look too deep. Make sure to keep it clean and bandage it. It'll sting but it'll be fine."

It was then I looked in her startling brown eyes that were staring into my own.

"Thanks," She whispered, her eyes seeming to melt into my own.

I became all too aware of how close we were then; the only thing separating our bodies were our hands.

"Anytime, Love," I whispered just as softly.

She coughed, withdrawing her hand and stepping back.

She shifted her gaze around the room awkwardly, looking at everything other than me.

"You can go ahead, I've just got to clean this up." She suggested stiffly.

"Are you sure?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to leave after our moment just before.

"Of course," She nodded. "I'll see you at dinner."

I took the hint, turning around and grabbing my bag off the desk.

"Alright then," I replied, walking out the door without a single glance back at the girl who continuously tore at my heart.

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