Chapter 59

                                    

                                          
A couple of days later and I was stood behind the counter of Frobishers book shop, holding the fort while Garrick discussed Percival's theory of the mind with a customer. I was moping because Sirius had gone away with the Potters for a few days and I hadn't seen him in what felt like forever. In reality it was four days...
The bell above the door tinkled and I looked up to see a familiar face entering the shop. 
"Lily" I called out to my friend and she looked up in surprise. 
"Trudy! I hadn't expected to see you here" she made her way over to me and leant against the counter conversationally.
"I'm working here for the summer" I told her. "What brings you in?" 
"Looking for books" she replied. "We're staying in London for a few weeks and I want something to read. My sister's driving me insane".
"Oh really? I didn't know you had a sister".
Lily nodded in return, "Petunia. She's a year older than me. We used to be close but... Well, she doesn't like all this magic stuff and tries to make my life a misery whenever I'm home" I gave her a grimace to show I understood. "But the worst of it is that she seems to have gone out of her way to find the worst, most muggly muggle of a man to date! I swear she's done it just to spite me" Lily continued. The words seemed to flow from her and I could only assume that she had really needed to vent because there seemed to be no stopping her. "Craig, his name is. She's staying down here during term time with our aunt and attending secretary school. That's where she met him. And he's just the worst example of.. of all the worst traits there are. He's arrogant and self important and so judgemental. He's racist and homophobic and just ergh! But she won't shut up about how great he is and how he has such a great job overseeing people at the factory. It's all Craig this and Craig that and I just can't anymore" I chuckled as she started to physically bang her head against the counter in front of me. I put a hand on her shoulder in sympathy but I could feel a smile tugging at my lips as I spoke. 
"Hey, you're here now. You're in our world. You can have a few Craig free hours to yourself." She looked up at me over her arms and smiled softly. 
"Thanks Trudy. You're right". 
"And hey, you can hang out in here for as long as you need. How long are you staying with your aunt?"
"Another ten days" she grimaced. "Then we get to go home and it'll be bye bye Craig. Though she'll likely be worst when we get there and she misses him". 
"Eh well, you're welcome to stick around here for as long as you want".
She smiled at that. 
"Thank you" she mouthed. "I think I just need some different company. I hadn't expected to find anyone around really. Mary is up north with Justin and Alice is away with her family in Dublin. I thought you lived in Yorkshire?"
"I do. But I needed a job for the summer, so I travel down every day".
"Every day?" Lily gasped. 
"I use the flu network so it's really not too bad" I explained. 
"Have you seen anyone else much?" She asked. 
"Not really. My lot are all scattered around the country with their families. I've seen Sirius a couple of times - he's working at Florian Fortescue's Ice-cream parlour so I see him every now and again for lunch. And I've seen James once or twice. But that's about it." 
"Does this mean you're optionally hanging out with James?" She asked. I fought hard to hide my smile. I knew she had tried to ask very casually but I couldn't help but catch the intrigue in her voice. 
"Yeah, I tend to do that" I replied a little sarcastically, then laughed at my own joke. "He's really not so bad Lily. I think he's grown up alot this last year, even since I've known him. I think doing his N.E.W.Ts has had that affect on him, and he seems to take responsibility seriously. He doesn't feel like he has to prove anything anymore".
Lily thought for a bit. "He is quite fun. And easy to get along with".
"You know better than most. You've spent the most time with him this year." I paused and chewed my tongue, unsure if I should say what I was about to. "Maybe... Maybe what you guys need is a fresh start? Just, pretend like he hasn't been... Well... James. And maybe try him out as a new friend instead? Get to know the real him?" 
She bit her lip and watched me under her eyelashes. "Maybe" she said. 
At that moment Garrick appeared back around the end of the book shelf. His eyes lit up when he saw Lily. 
"Miss Evans" he cried. "To what do we owe this pleasure?" His quick bright eyes roamed her face, noticed the blush, flicked to me. And before she had had a chance to reply he burst out "a good gossip I see. Discussing your various gentlemen?"
I froze to the spot. Eyes wide. I gave him the slightly shake of the head to indicate to him to stop talking. Quaffles I had never told him that people didn't know about me and Sirius. 
Lily however, just blushed deeper. I decided to go for a tactful change of subject.
"How come you two know each other?" I asked instead.
"Lily's been coming in here for years" Garrick explained, trying to hide his own embarrassment at his faux pas. 
"It's the best place to get second hand books on this street" she added.
"So what can I help you with today?" He asked, and the two of them moved off towards the books, falling quickly into deep discussion. I breathed a sign of relief and leant back down against the counter, my head in my hands.
When Lily came back to pay for the books clasped tightly in her hands, she gave me a warm smile. 
"Found everything you wanted?" I asked her almost automatically. 
She nodded. "Yeah, I did. Look, Trudy, did you want to go get lunch? Mr Frobisher said you could go now". 
I grinned at her, "sure".
And so it happened that for the rest of the week, I had my lunches with Lily Evans. It was good fun getting to know her. I had counted her a friend, but not necessarily a good one. Not until I missed the bench when I went to sit down and ended up on the hard baked ground. Lily laughed so hard that she spilt her packed lunch. And we both laughed so hard at that that she fell off the bench and I rolled around on the earth. We looked like such a ridiculous pair when we trudged into the leaky couldron ten minutes later, still grinning, and asked for a table. It was nice to find another like mind and she appreciated having someone to rant to. When Sirius got back from his holiday with the Potters he started joining us for lunch, and the three of us would sit outside Florian Fortescue's with massive ice creams, courtesy of Sirius, discussing whatever came to mind.