Courtships
The next few weeks were mostly spent in outward and return journeys between Grimmauld Place and the Evans House.
Mr Black seemed quite besotted with Marlene, Marlene was glowing with this knowledge, and Mr Evans was getting his hopes higher than the Tower of London.
At first, Lily was very disapproving of the whole ordeal, for Mr Black was obviously a flirt, quite pleasingly throwing charming smiles in the direction of any pretty girl he met. Or any girl at all, really. But several afternoon tea parties at Grimmauld Place (where only Marlene was invited, but she somehow always managed to drag Lily to when Remus refused) had allowed the man to grow in the red-haired girl’s esteem. Yes, he seemed a flirt at first, but his only defaults were really to be extremely charming and friendly to everyone he met, men or women, and to be aware of the peculiar effect his devastatingly good looks could have on any girl. But he was very open, and never tried to hide his feelings, be it by blurting out every bizarre thought passing by his head, or by shamelessly staring at Marlene at every opportunity.
As for the young woman, she was thrilled to be at the receiving end of such devotion, and reacted, as always, in a very coquettish way; happily flirting back, and very much bragging about the burgeoning relationship. Yet, in the intimacy of their bedroom, Marlene would not brag so much to Lily but confess coyly that she was, indeed, very much on the way of falling in love, and quite scared about that. Marlene. Beautiful, popular Marlene, who had enjoyed the adoration of dozens of admirers throughout the years, but never felt enough respect and admiration to accept any of them as her equal and partner in life. Marlene had found her match at last.
Lily, always the kill-joy of the family, advised her sister to be careful with the show of her affection; but Marlene was anything but careful. She was mostly left to visit the Black residence on her own and without any parental guidance, except for Lily’s reluctant presence. Their mother had more important things to do than visit those young idiots (her own words). Their father seemed to believe the absence of chaperon was the surest path to young love and, therefore, to advantageous marriages. Lily thought it was the surest path to heartbreaks, unwanted pregnancies, disgrace, ruins and painful deaths, so she continued to accompany her sister in her visits. It was more for the family’s reputation than for the sake of real success ; indeed, there was little if none at all that Lily could do to prevent her careless sister from disappearing, sometimes for hours on end, with her brand-new beau as soon as they passed the main door.
Every time she did and abandoned her to the rest of the household, Lily felt prone to violence.
If she could very well see herself a real friend of Black in the near future, and would not even mind becoming his sister, she had decided to hate his companions with burning passion for the rest of her days. They were the most disagreeable bunch of people she ever had the displeasure to meet, and each in their own way. The Malfoy couple thought themselves way above the rest of the human race, and never bothered to address their guests. Most of the time, they weren’t even in the same room when the Evans visited.
Miss Bellatrix Black obviously greatly enjoyed talking with their neighbours, but only when she could make fun of them. And God was she good at that. Each of her words was laced with unconcealed disdain and her smile, falsely sweet, made Lily’s stomach churn. She never bothered to hide the contempt the Evans and their lack of rank inspired her. Marlene, never one to care much for the opinion of others, was able to laugh it off, especially since her suitor was so very disapproving of his sister’s way; but Lily, deadly offended, only held her tongue and suffered the insults for her sister’s sake. Still, Miss Black wasn’t around either for most of their visits; and therefore, Lily found herself forced into spending most of her time with James Potter.
The bane of her existence.
For each hour Black spent walking the grounds or hiding in some secret alcove with Marlene, Potter was determined to make it up to the abandoned young lady by staying by her side. A noble sentiment, had his company not been so insufferable. Such a rich and single gentleman must be dreadfully bored with his life, for he seemed to never have anything better to do than finding new ways to get on Lily’s nerves, despite her constant rebuttals. He was a flirt, but to annoy rather than to charm. He was the kind of man who thought every thing funny and never failed to say so, and Lily was, more often than not, the receptacle of his amusement.
Lily’s promise to be nice was long forgotten, and she had made it a point to show him just how much she loathed everything he said or did.
Potter, who probably never had anyone disapprove of him, seemed to find it particularly refreshing and diverting. In fact, the more annoyed she grew, the more pleased he was. Soon, not a word falling off his mouth was not a jest made at Lily’s expense. He would coax her into a boardgame, beat her mercilessly and remind everyone of her defeat days after; and Lily was a very sore loser. He'd mock her attire, from the gowns dirtied after a walk to the cut of a neckline he had the audacity to imply was low for his benefit, or the way her cheeks would match her hair when he made a particularly crude joke at her expense. He said them with such a dazzling smile, though, and such good-humour that none but the victim herself saw the harm in his “playful, friendly teasing" (Marlene’s words, not Lily’s).
Lily couldn’t fathom why someone so easy going as Black would willingly spend time with all those disagreeable people; but Marlene had some answers.
“It’s such a dreadful story,” she said calmly, sitting at the vanity table while Lily braided her silky pale hair for the night. “The Black family; they were… bad people, apparently. I don’t know how bad, but bad enough that Siri- Mr Black chose to cut ties with them when he was barely sixteen, and they disowned him and made his younger brother, Regulus, the heir. Now, there were five of them, the children, just like us. It was Mr Black’s sister Andromeda, and then Bellatrix, Mr Black himself, and Regulus and Mrs Malfoy.”
“You seem to speak a awful lot with Mr Black,” Lily locked eyes with her sister through the mirror, raising a red eyebrow as she glared. “I’m glad you are both able to put your mouths to such good use when you are alone together.”
“Oh shut up,” Marlene rolled her eyes, but had the grace to blush. “Let me finish the story. So, the eldest sister, Andromeda, was Mr Black’s favourite sibling, he says – she had been disowned years before, because she had eloped with a very poor farmer and refused the horrible man the parents had chosen for her. How romantic, isn’t it?“
Lily snickered. The elopement was quite the grandiloquent gesture maybe, but she could already guess how this story ended – and there was nothing romantic about that.
“Anyway, the siblings were forbidden from contacting her at all, but when Mr Black left he tried to learn about her whereabouts, in the hope that she’d take him in and because he has missed her so. But it was too late, she had taken ill and died, alongside with her husband. Turned out she had written to her parents and asked for some money for the medication, but they had refused, and didn’t bother to write back or tell anyone even though they knew their daughter was dying, and Sirius only found out a year too late. Can you imagine?”
Lily shuddered, and the distant memory of Remus’ illness came surging through. No, she decided, there was nothing worst than loosing a beloved sibling, and that was the moment she really decided that Black deserved her eternal friendship.
“So it turns out that Andromeda’s husband, Tonks, was a farmer in Gryffindor and they had left a little girl behind. Mrs Potter – that is, James Potter’s mother-, who was a distant cousin of the Blacks but disapproved of their way, had been a friend to Andromeda and had taken the little girl in after her death, according to the parents’ will. Mr Black had been friends with Mr Potter ever since they went to school in Scotland together, and so, when he left, Mrs Potter took Sirius in as well.”
“Are you sure, Marley?” Lily felt the need to argue. For some reason, this story, painting the Potters in a better light than what she gave them credit for, made her uncomfortable. “It doesn’t look like the Potter I know, to embarrass himself in the company of someone banned from all acceptable social circles.”
Marlene laughed. “The Potter you know, Lily, really? Because you know so much about that man after all your deep and meaningful conversations? Are you putting your mouths to good use, as well?”
Lily was deeply vexed by the turn the conversation has taken, and pulled at the blond lock of her she had been brushing in retalation.
“Anyway, Mr Black’s parents died a few years ago, and left everything to his younger brother, Regulus – but Regulus died last year. In the absence of any other male heir, the estate somehow went back to Sirius, even though he had been disowned long ago. Imagine his surprise. That has taken a toll on him, I think. He’d spend the last ten years or so with nothing to his name, and suddenly he inherits the house he hates, a ton of money, two long lost sisters who loath him for it, while having to mourn the only two siblings he had loved. It happened just a few months ago. Here, in Grimmauld Place, it’s the first time in years he’s living with his sisters. He has hoped to rekindle their relationships. I think he was desperate for a family, you know; for what we have.” She took Lily’s hand in hers and squeezed. “But they’re terrible, especially Bellatrix, and that Malfoy man, ew!" Lily firmly nodded. "Sirius hates living with them. He’d rather be with his niece, but his sisters refused to even meet her, so they left her at Potter’s home, Gryffindor. He’s miserable in Grimmauld, I’m afraid.”
“Why is he still here, then?” asked Lily, slipping into bed. “He doesn’t strike me like the kind of man who’d do anything he doesn’t want to.“
Marlene joined her sister under the soft sheets and blew on the last candle. A comfortable silence settled between the two, and Lily quickly surrendered to sleep, barely registering the quiet answer Marlene gave : “For me.”