"home is just another word for you"

*

When James concentrated, his forehead scrunched up. If a messy black lock fell into his narrowed hazel eyes, he wouldn't bother brushing it away, focused too deeply to care. He tended to play with his tie absentmindedly, loosening and tightening it again.

Not that Lily noticed any of that, of course. And if she did notice it, it was only due to the fact that she was simply that observant with everyone.

Of course that was it.

"I think I'm doing something wrong," he muttered, staring at a torn leaf sitting on the coffee table with an irritated gaze. "It's not working."

"You've just got to keep trying. Healing spells are tricky."

"Are you sure this spell works on plants?"

"Yes," Lily said patiently. "That's how Professor Slughorn taught me. I've been working on a special course about healing with him all year. It's good to learn healing spells on plants. Then you aren't accidentally hurting an actual person if something goes wrong."

"There's got to be something wrong with that leaf, then."

The redhead laughed and scooted closer to him on the couch. Placing her hand on top of his to guide his wand motions, she raised her eyebrows in a teasing manner, challenging him to try again. James groaned like a little kid but obliged, mumbling the spell under his breath. The leaf knitted itself back together and his face broke into a smile.

"That was good!" Lily praised, a smile on her own face. "See, you're not bad at this. You just need to focus."

"Thanks, Evans."

Remus walked past the pair, straightening his tie with one hand and holding a cup of tea with the other. "You guys coming? We've got a prefect meeting in ten minutes." Then he smirked, noticing how close the two sat and how Lily's hand still covered James'.

"In a minute, Moony," James said disinterestedly. "Look, I fixed a leaf!"

He held it up in triumph and Remus grinned. "Nicely done. Is that Francis?"

James stared at Lily, a terrified expression on his face. "This better not be Francis. I want to live a long life, Evans!"

"Merlin, of course it's not Francis. I'm the smart one around here." Lily tilted her head to the side. "What are you smiling like an idiot about, Remus?"

"Nothing," Remus replied, still grinning broadly. "Hey Prongs, are we still on for tonight?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course we are. Ten thirty, right?"

"As always. Well, I'm off. Don't be late to your own meeting, kids." Remus waved and left the common room with a smug expression. Lily turned to James, a frown pursed on her lips.

"What's tonight?"

"A strategy meeting," he answered vaguely, grinning as he examined the leaf. "So this spell can heal cuts?"

Lily nodded, but she wasn't deterred from her own curiosity. "What's the meeting for?"

"Lilyflower, you're not a Marauder, so I can't disclose that information to you." He winked and stood, rumpling his hair out of habit. "I will say that it has to do with an annual event coming up in the next few weeks, but that's all I can share without risking my life."

Lily brushed off her skirt as she stood, her mind whirring until she landed on what must be the event. "Halloween?"

James drew a finger across his smiling lips, all but confirming her suspicions. The realization didn't exactly surprise her. Believing April Fool's Day was too obvious and cliche for mischief, the Marauders generally picked their best prank for the last day of October. "My lips are sealed. I didn't tell you anything."

A loud crash interrupted their conversation and Lily backed away from him, a deep blush creeping up her neck. Now she noticed how close they were.

James frowned momentarily at her behavior, then laughed when he saw the source of the commotion.

"All right there, Blondie?"

Eva picked herself up off of the bottom step, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you could suggest a ski lift at that prefect meeting of yours."

"Maybe you could learn how to walk," he retorted.

The blonde shrugged playfully. "Nah, I've survived this long. Have you guys seen Sirius?"

"Room of Requirement," James supplied.

"Okay, I'll try. What did he want there?"

"The place where he likes to go," James said. "Just think that, and I think it should work. Probably. Don't quote me on it, though."

Eva nodded and slipped out of the common room, a smile on her face at the thought of James and Lily finally getting together. Finally. It wasn't happening, not yet, but the wheels were in motion.

After a few minutes of dodging students and another unfortunate tumble down a set of moving stairs, Eva found herself standing in front of a wall on the seventh floor. She bit her lip, hoping it would work.

I need the place where Sirius likes to go.

A tall black door materialized, and she gripped the big handle, pushing it open and closing it gently.

The room looked oddly familiar, although it wasn't a place she had ever seen before. Then, with a jolt, she began to recognize pieces of it. A roaring fireplace reminiscent of the one in Gryffindor Tower. A couch she knew belonged in the Potter basement with a gold and scarlet banner draped over it. A small window similar to the one in his apartment. A Bohemian Rhapsody poster was tacked to the far wall.

She was so caught up in her surroundings that she didn't even think to look for Sirius. Then, the soft tinkling of classical music reached her ears, and she spotted him in the corner, his back to her, hunched over a piano.

"Sirius?" She asked softly, hoping not to startle him. He only flinched slightly, then turned around, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Oh. Hey." The two hadn't spoken for two weeks beyond a passing hello. She half expected him to just turn around again, but he bit his lip and moved over on the bench, making room for her to join him. She sat so that their shoulders were brushing. Sirius began to play something faintly familiar on the piano, speaking as he did. "Who told you I was here?"

"James," she answered. "So this is your place, huh?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's a good place to escape. People I don't want to see can't get in. It's quiet. I don't need quiet a lot, but sometimes it's nice when I need to think."

"If you wanted quiet, you should have picked out different friends. We're not introverts around here, Black. Except maybe Kriss, but even she's got a mouth once you get to know her." Instead of bringing up the reason she came in the first place, Eva watched his fingers move over the keys with interest. "I didn't know you play the piano."

"I've been playing since I was five. It was just one of those things my parents expected Reg and me to learn. You know, all the good stuff for high society. Dancing, languages, instruments - the whole nine yards." He frowned. "I don't play that much anymore. Only when I'm stressed out."

"I don't play any musical instruments. I wish I could."

"It's not that hard. Here, you put your hands like this." He placed her hands in the correct spot on the piano. "And if you knew how to read music, we could do that, but you don't, so just copy me."

Sirius moved his hands up an octave and played a few bars of simple Beethoven with ease before gesturing for her to take a turn. Eva attempted to replicate his notes but forgot what she was doing halfway through and flubbed the end. He grinned and shook his head.

"You were close. It's a matter of concentration. Here, watch closely this time." He played it again, and she failed again, giggling at the wrong sharps and flats. "You might be hopeless, Blondie."

"You have twelve more years of experience," she shot back. "Almost thirteen. Or I might be hopeless."

"We'll call it a combo." Sirius smiled softly at her, but the brief happiness faded. "Listen, are we okay?"

Eva played with a ring on her finger, for some reason embarrassed to look at him. "Yeah, we're okay."

Nothing else was said about it. Neither wanted to relieve the unfortunate events that led to their fight or get into a worse argument. There was forgiveness on both sides, and that was enough for the two of them.

"Do you only know classical music?" Eva asked him curiously. Sirius considered, then winked. Mozart morphed into something more familiar as he switched tunes. A medley of current songs began to fill the room, brought to life in a completely different way with a piano.

"I taught myself all of these," he admitted while playing. "My parents would have flipped if they knew I was playing Muggle music in their hallowed house. I stuck to the classics when they asked me to play."

"Know any good ones?"

He hesitated, thinking through the ones he knew. Then, he switched the placement of his hands and began to play.

Eva instantly recognized 'Let it Be,' one of her favorites by the Beatles. She laid her head on his shoulder as he hummed along.

"Oh, by the way, the boys and I are going to need to borrow your Beatles cassette tape until November first. If it gets broken or stolen, we'll replace it within thirty days guaranteed."

"Why?" She asked, scrunching up her nose in the way he loved.

"Absolutely no reason. I will say that I have a very important meeting tonight and if I don't show up with it, I might get attacked by a rabid stag." He winked. "You don't want anyone messing up my pretty face, do you?"

Eva laughed, picturing the scene in her mind. "I might just let that happen."

"Evaaaa," he whined, giving her big gray puppy-dog eyes until she relented and agreed. He returned to the music, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Sirius?"

"Hm?"

"Don't leave me." The request startled him. Her voice sounded more desperate, and his fingers faltered on the keys before he found the melody again. "Please."

"That's not in the plan, Blondie," he replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but her question worried him. Why would she even ask that? "Is there a reason you're bringing that up?"

"It's just..." She exhaled. "I missed you. A lot."

"I didn't want to push you," he said, genuinely concerned that he had messed up even more. "Should I have talked to you? I thought that-"

"No, no, you're completely fine. I needed that space to cool off, but I missed you anyway. It was lonely. You've been here for me for so long now. And I was just thinking about how when we graduate, all of this might change."

"What do you mean?" He asked, a crease growing between his eyebrows.

Eva let herself fall into the comfort of the music and him, revealing her more vulnerable side. "I don't know what I'd do without you. And I'm scared."

"Of what?" He asked gently, giving her the time to gather her thoughts.

"Being alone."

His fingers stilled and he turned toward her. "You don't need to worry about that. I promise that it's not going to happen."

"No, I just worry," Eva whispered. "I used to worry about my mum all the time. I don't have to write letters home anymore assuring her that I'm okay, but if I could go back, I swear I'd never complain about her pestering again."

"Eva, we don't need to talk about her if you don't want to," Sirius said quietly, remembering the shell she'd become over the summer after her mother's death. He was determined for her to never suffer a loss like that ever again. She didn't just lose her mother that night. She lost part of herself.

"No, I want to. The thing is, she was my only close relative. All I have left is you guys, and you're more than enough, really, but it just makes me that much more scared to lose you. And I just wanted to get it out in the open, because I don't think we need secrets."

"No, we don't need any secrets. Hey, come here." Sirius pulled her closer to him. She leaned into his chest and closed her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. None of us are. We're a family, and we're a stubborn bunch. And as for me, I'm the worst of all of us. You've got me forever if you want me that long. Deal?"

She smiled at him. "Deal."

He began to play the piano again, this time 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac, yet another one of her favorites.

"I ran into James and Lily on my way here. Merlin, I saw the way they look at each other and I wanted to slap Lily for being so blind. It's only a matter of time for them."

"Yeah, Prongs has done some growing up this year," Sirius admitted. "It's a shame."

"Shut up, Sirius," Eva joked, grinning.

"Okay."

They sat in silence for the longest time, Sirius taking occasional song requests from Eva, who just enjoyed listening to the music and playing with his hair.

"We don't have a song," she said, thinking out loud.

"Yeah, we do." Eva looked at him, confused, and he elaborated. "I mean, we kind of do. Unofficially. I have a song that reminds me of you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course." He repositioned his hands on the piano and started to play softly. "Do you listen to any Billy Joel?"

"Don't tell me your song for me is 'Piano Man.'"

"No," he said, chuckling. "Give me a little credit, Blondie."

Sirius didn't sing often, except during screechy Queen jam sessions with James. Listening to him, though, she wondered why he didn't, because she thought his voice was wonderful. Not technically perfect, but calming and safe.

"I love you," he said abruptly, stopping right in the middle of the song to catch her chin and pull her in for a kiss. They separated long enough for him to whisper "I love you so damn much" in a hoarse voice before closing the distance again.

"Finish the song," she mumbled in between kisses. "I want to hear the rest of it."

"In a minute."

She's got a way about her. I don't know what it is, but I know that I can't live without her.

hello!!! greetings from someone who finished her exams!!!

jily AND evarius? i must have been listening to love songs again

also, i highly recommend any song mentioned in this chapter

qotd: favorite song?

aotd: so many, but currently it's either 'hey there delilah' or 'ophelia'

anything you guys want to happen in this book? let me know! i love hearing from you all :)