Oh Jesus, what's going on? I thought breathlessly. I was pinned to the wall by a Slytherin with foul breath who was closing in. I couldn't help but think of how it all started...


I'd had been swimming in the Black Lake towards the middle. People who saw me warned me to come back. "Why should I?" I finally shouted. A soft tentacle gripped my leg and I was pulled under. How ironic, was all I could think, I'm going to be eaten by my favorite sea food. Suddenly a strong arm pulled me out of the grip as I began to blackout. I hope its James... were my last thoughts.

As I slowly regained conciseness, I felt the warm breath pumping into me and the fingers pinching my nose. When the person pulled away I coughed up the last bit of water in my system and looked to my rescuer. Save me anytime, I remember I thought when I saw his handsome face. It wasn't pale, but just barely tanned, giving him a glow. His eyes were gray, or maybe blue, it was very hard to tell. His hair was a navy blue- almost black. It fell in soft waves that I longed to run my hands through. "Are you okay?" he asked in a husky voice. He had an accent; the farm kind that was sort of an Aussie-Yorkshire cross. Wonderful.

"Fine." I responded with a small laugh. I blushed and looked away, not wanting him to see my sudden crush. I tried to stand, but fell. I saw all the people watching as he caught me in my stumble- more importantly, James. Their friendship had become promising; I'd been waiting for him to ask me out.

He was green with jealousy and my blush deepened with shame. How could I lead him on like that? If I could, I'd certainly choose this new person over James. "You're not fine; I'll take you to the Hospital Wing." He pulled me close to him and we went up the hill to the castle as everyone stared. "Name's Kevin, by the way. What's yours?"

"Lily. My name is Lily."

"Nice meeting you Lily." we didn't speak again till he laid me down on the Hospital Wing bed and I saw his House Badge. He must have noticed me staring.

"Please," he said. "I didn't ask for this House. I'm not a pureblood."

"Oh! I'm, I'm sorry." We didn't speak while Madame Cara worked on me. She was moving quickly up and down my body, checking my pulse and what not. Finally, she left.

"I'd really like to be friends." he said.

"OKAY!" I answered much too quickly with too much excitement. He just laughed to himself.

"I'll come visit you tomorrow, alright?"

"I don't think I'll be in here that long, honestly."

"Alright, tomorrow, at noon, we'll take a walk around the grounds?"

"Sure." I smiled what I hoped was a non-flirty smile. Judging by his grin, I'd say not.

"Great. Meet you at the front entrance." I should have known by his strut that this would be bad.

I looked out the window and then at my clock. I ran my hand through my auburn hair- a habit I'd picked up from James. It was 11:50 and the rain showed no signs of letting up. It actually began beating my window as I left for our walk. If only I'd seen the signs. "Hi." I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and blushed, looking at him. He smirked and greeted me with a flirty tone. Darn it! More flirting. (Though, I couldn't say I wasn't pleased he flirted back.)

"Well, since it's raining, I guess we'll have to walk around the castle." He nodded in the direction of a corridor I'd never been down before. Still, I followed. Why shouldn't I trust the guy who saved my life? He talked and I listened as the hall sloped downwards.

The walls closed in around me as I longed to get away from Kevin. The things he said! He was brutal! "The stupid girl had no idea I hadn't been making an antidote at all. I was testing one of my own potions. It was supposed to give people measles, but it turned out to be the poison everyone else was making the antidote for. Lucky for her."

"Who was it?" I asked carefully.

"Mara."

"Carly Mara?"

"That's the one." Carly was one of my best friends! (And a Ravenclaw, I might add, just to make him look foolish for calling her stupid). The touches went out.

I slowed my pace and once he was completely past me I turned and ran. "You know Lily, I like you. But you shouldn't run." He was in front of me.

"Why not?" I asked much more boldly than could have possibly been intelligent for the situation.

"Because" now he was behind me, whispering against my neck. "I can move more quickly than you could possibly imagine."

"Let me go." I whispered dangerously.

"No." My heeled foot went straight up into his weak spot. He howled in pain and let me go. I shot off like a bat out of hell. Suddenly I was pinned against the wall. Oh Jesus, what's going on? He closed in on me and whispered in my ear. "Normally, I feed on animals in the Forbidden Forest. But I saw you and just had to have you."

"What are you?"

"Lupin isn't the only night creature at Hogwarts. Only I come out every night."

"A vampire?" I shuddered.

"This will be quick and painless. But, it isn't night, so you'll just die." He reeled back and just as I felt his teeth on my neck, he was knocked away from me by an incredible force. A wand tip lit and I saw my savior- James Potter.

I looked to where Kevin had been knocked and saw, not a handsome man, but a bald, black, grotesque thing. To think it had been touching me...well, my eyes were white in comparison. Its head shook and it attempted to stand only to fall again. James had hit him hard. James conjured a patronus and whispered something in its ear before turning to me.

He grabbed my arm and dragged me through the corridor like a child. "What" he finally whispered once we had left that horrible place "were you thinking? That corridor doesn't even-normally-exist! Why would you go down there with a Vampire?" Once again, I was ashamed.

"That vampire was Kevin. He saved my life just yesterday! I had no reason to not trust him!"

"He was a handsome guy who'd done you a kindness who was trying to lure you into a secluded place you probably hadn't noticed before because it didn't have heavy traffic. What reason did you have to trust him?"

His eyebrow was raised like he'd said the most obvious thing and that I was simply foolish to not know.

"I wasn't thinking about that." I muttered; my eyes low.

"'I wasn't thinking about that'" the mock stung. "You could have died! Maybe you should think a little more, huh?"

"Okay! I'm sorry! I don't know what else to say!" My fire had returned. He smiled and hugged me tightly.

"I'm so glad you okay." he whispered to me. "And you might try a thank-you." I laughed.

"How about this for a 'thank-you'?" I pushed him against the wall and kissed him gently.

"It works." He said breathlessly. And we kissed again

Up Against The Wall


A/N: no comment. call the newyork times, the chatterbox has nothing to say. questions, comments, concerns? call 1-800-reviews (1-800-738-4397) I'll send you a cookie! Yes, they are in the oven right now (yum!)

OH! I came up with something to say! Read my other story "The Mask We See". yeah. BIE! waves over-enthusastically from cookie hyper-ness over drive)