Chapter One... Not me?

Vara:

Lily and I walk into the Great Hall, very conscious of the fact that 'Tiny Tina' is still trailing after us. She absolutely loves us to death and doesn't seem physically able to part with us. I can see Lily smiling at a group of first and second years as we make our way past them, and they just smile back in awe. She can always make a person feel important, just by that smile of hers.

Oh, did I introduce us? I don't think I did- so my name is Vara Markson. I am sixteen years old and in my sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I've got brown hair that goes to my chin, and these really annoying blue eyes- Lily's are green and I really do wish mine were like hers...but back to me- I guess I could be considered pretty- decent, at least- until you put me next to my best friend, Lily Evans. She's... one of a kind. I don't think I'm jealous... but now I'm ranting. I'm in Gryffindor House- which is known for being brave... am I brave? I must be- to hang out with Lily. Not that she's dangerous, or anything, it's just that to hang out with her means that people will have to see us right next to each other, and compare us- which -honestly- is my worst fear.

But back to what I was saying... I'm telling her about my Aunt Jill's Christmas Ball that she's been planning for over a year, and she laughs when I tell her about Jill's husband, who wants to put out these short, ugly muggle 'Santa' things that are supposed to look like gnomes, or something. And everybody hears her. Which makes them all smile, of course. Everybody smiles when they hear Lily laugh, it's like hearing... a veela, or something, I don't know... but everybody just likes to hear her laugh.

We sit down; Lily immediately pulls a plate of eggs towards her. She can't go without eating; she loves breakfast but hates mornings... she can put away the food though, small as she is and won't gain a single pound from it. She has about the weight of a baby kneazle- which isn't much.

Everyone laughs when 'Tiny' sits down on Lily's other side. Can't she go bug another person for once?! She drives me crazy. Lily of course, doesn't mind. At least she acts like she doesn't. I can hardly even stand to look at Tina sometimes. She's a bit bulky, with long arms, short, bristly hair, and broad shoulders- which aren't very attractive in a woman... ever. She is in sixth year, too- which, I am sad to say, means she shares a room with me and Lily... And Marietta, only she doesn't count- she's hardly ever in our dorm- she has a habit of snogging all the most eligible bachelors... and the unavailable ones. The only ones she hasn't gotten her dirty little paws on are the Marauders- the sixth year boys. By that I mean she hasn't snogged Remus, James, or Peter. Sirius, she has, because, well- who hasn't? He's the Sex-God. Remus is a good person- even Lily likes him. James- he's the most popular guy in pretty much the whole school and of course, he likes my best friend, leaving him unattainable to me... even though Lily doesn't like him- or says she doesn't. But really I think she does- only I'm unsure why she always refuses him. I wouldn't have the will power to tell him no.

What was I talking about before I got off on James? Er- the Marauders? Oh... Tina...she is always copying off everything Lily and I say, or do, or wear, and she likes to act like-

"Guess what colour robes I got?"

Speaking of the devil...

"Hmm?" Lily grunts. She hates being interrupted while she's eating- and can be quite the grouch when you do. I've learned to let her eat in silence unless it's really important. Tina must be really thick if she's got the nerve to get on Lily's bad side this earlier in the day.

"Pink!" Tina says loudly. The more excited she gets, the louder- always a scary combination. Especially for a creature so much like a giant ape.

Lily chokes on her pumpkin juice, spilling it all over the table in front of her- which, in my opinion, was very graceful.

"Oh-er-that's good, Tiny-uh- Tina, I mean..." I say. Oops, almost slipped up, didn't I? That's the twins' nickname for her. Tiny. I think it fits. Lily forbids us to call her that to her face, which is kind of stupid, because she did the other day. But the twins were forced off the some bloody school in America, and they were the ones who like to pick on Tiny, anyway.

"Um- Tina? Why exactly did you buy dress robes in the first place? Are you going to a ball?" Lily asks rather bluntly. She doesn't even try to say it nicely- which is out of character for her. She is never mean, if she can help it. Wow. Maybe she really does have a bit of backbone.

"Always good to have an extra pair, don't you think?" I say quickly. Wow, out of character for me, too. I think Lily and I have changed souls, or something. Me, being nice? Geez, something has got to give. She doesn't honestly think she's invited to my aunt's Christmas Ball just because Lily is, does she?

"Oh- of course... I forgot, what colour robes did you get when we went shopping, Vara?" Lily asks. Much better, now I'm not so scared. At least Lily is trying to make up for her crudeness. She knows perfectly well what colour robes I got- I know she does. They're light blue- my favourite colour.

"Um... anyway, I think I'll wear my hair down, and curly...what do you think?" I ask. Tina starts assuring me how beautiful I'll look, but I ignore her- I want my best friend's opinion...

Now, don't get me wrong here, I'm not a snob or anything... But unless I look extremely spectacular James, or any other boy here at school for that matter will never give me a second glance.

Lily isn't stuck up at all, either. This, really, if you think about it, is a bit strange, as she is the most beautiful witch at Hogwarts. I don't guess she really knows just how pretty she is- and even if she did, I'm positive she'd be completely modest about it. But really, most of the boys here do think she's the prettiest with her long, red hair, and bright, green eyes. All the girls want Lily's eyes.

"Lily, will you do my makeup and hair for the ball?"

"Well, I-"

"PLEASE?"

Remus:

Peter and I walk down between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, to where Lily and Tina are sitting. Both are turned in their seats, looking at the floor, and laughing. I can't see what they're looking at, until we get closer, since we are on the other side of the table. Vara Markson is kneeling on her knees, clutching Lily's robes, who is shaking with laughter.

"Please, please, please, please?!"

"Vara! Get up!" Lily chokes.

"Morning, ladies." I say loudly, hoping Vara will see me. I feel I look quite good this morning. I've liked her for a long time, but she never notices me. I'm not daring enough to try James's method, bugging the hell out of her, like he does Lily, so I figure I'll just wait until the perfect moment...if there ever is one...

Right, so she does look up at me, and kind of blushes. How cute. Peter sits in front of Lily, and I take the seat in front of Vara, who slides back into her seat and picks up her goblet to hide her flaming cheeks.

I open my mouth to ask her out, oh-so-smoothly, but the doors to the Hall swing open, and James walks through them. Everyone watches him make his solitary way up Gryffindor table- I mean Everyone. With a capital E. Everyone. Even the professors. We all want to see how Lily plans on refusing him today.

Lily starts shifting through her bag, and looks up briefly to see James grinning confidently at her. She rolls her eyes, and goes back to her bag. As he strolls between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, I pull out a long roll of parchment- the dates of every time he's asked her out. Quite a list, I can tell you.

James smiles his lopsided grin at Lily. She looks up at him expectantly and the rest of the Hall sits with bated breath. I chew on the end of my quill and wait.

He speaks. Hmm... Like the true god he is. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend, Vara?" James asks, still staring right at Lily.

Um... that's not good...

Vara drops her spoon, and stares open-mouthed at James. Everyone else is still looking at Lily, who continues to flip through a stack of parchment. She had stopped briefly, when James had asked, almost as if trying to decide what fresh insult she was going to use today, but then she had continued to shuffle through her belongings.

I drop my quill and stare at James. "Prongs..." He shakes his head.

James knows I like Vara.

And I know he likes Lily.

WHAT is wrong here?

IT COULDN'T BE JAMES, COULD IT?!

Not fair. Vara is supposed to be mine... isn't she?

She finally closes her mouth, and says, "Sure, James," in a very quiet voice. Damn it.

Lily throws the last of her books in her bag and picks up a stack of toast... even though she just ate two pieces... and bacon...and eggs. Her cheeks turn a bright pick (a quite pretty bright pink) when she glances back up at James and Vara, sitting together.

She mutters something about needing to finish an essay, and stands up. I jump up and go with her. Heck, I don't want to stick around to see my best friend with my crush... maybe Lily feels the same way...

Again, everyone stares. I'm not sure whether it's because James didn't ask her, or if it's because she left Vara- which has never happened, or maybe it's a combination of the two. The two are never seen apart- not even once since the first time they met on the Hogwarts Express in first year. She tries to talk with me, tries to smile, but I see that she is somewhat hurt... confused.

"Lily- isn't it weird... he didn't ask you-"

"Oh, who cares? I would've told him no again, right?" Lily says, shrugging her shoulders and flinging her long curtain of red hair over her face. I can tell she isn't being honest... but I know her too well to argue with her... she always wins.

"Ah- well, okay..."

So that's where I am now, making the long walk up to the library, to finish my essay when I finished said essay the day we got it...

Lily:

So now, here I am, walking all the way up to the bloody library, when I really finished my essay ages ago...

While Remus and I walk, I submerge myself into one of my, as Vara, oh, I mean, The Traitor, titled 'A Lily Zone'. How dare she go out with James Potter! She knows that I like him, from that ever-so-not-like-Lily slip in fourth year... I told her that I'd liked him from the day I met him on the Hogwarts Express... In my 'Lily Zone' I remember that fateful day on the train...

"Oh-er-hi, my name is Lily Evans..." I said shyly from my seat at the window. I remember having my long red hair pulled into a very neat ponytail, and I think I was already wearing my Hogwarts robes. I was sitting with my legs curled up under me, and a massive book spread across my lap.

The boy in front smiled warmly at me, and stepped forward. He was tall, with brown hair, and grey eyes. He looked like the type of person that was always acting the peacemaker. "Hi-I'm Remus Lupin." he said, and held out his hand. I took it gladly, and I'm sure they all saw my face visibly relax- I was very relieved to finally see someone who seemed like a nice person.

I knew instantly I'd found a friend in Remus. I liked the way he smiled, and the way he acted already- I could clearly see how very mature and smart he was.

Remus was staring into my eyes-which, I've noticed, seems to be hard for people I hardly know, Mum is always telling me that it's hard not to... But he told me later he'd never seen eyes like mine- that just looking into them was enough to make you feel like you were being read like the open book that had been in my lap. Remus made himself look away. He pulled his trunk after him, and stowed it in the luggage rack overhead, and took a seat next to me. I'm sure my smile grew, and reached my ears, as I happily closed my book.

I know James felt my 'searching' eyes (as he calls them, now) slide onto him next, but he was looking intently at the hills out the window.

"Oh, right, this is Sirius Black and James Potter... my best friends." Remus said. "But apparently, they are incapable of speech right now, so it looks like I'll have to talk for them! Strange- usually I can't get either of them to shut up... but they are glad to meet you, too."

James' and Sirius' eyes snapped to Remus, who grinned cheekily at them, then turned back to face me. We immediately started talking about how nervous and excited we were to be going to our first year at Hogwarts.

"We can talk!" Sirius said, just a bit too late, as he and James took seats across from Remus and me, leaving their trunks by the door.

Oh, man did I have trouble keeping that smirk off my face.

"Oh, sure, but you can't look either of us in the face when you say that, now can you?" Remus said. He was still grinning at them, like he really thrived of making them miserable. Good job, Remus.

I had to try harder than ever to keep my face straight. Then I turned my attention to Sirius. He had black, shoulder length hair- which is what really makes him handsome... very handsome, I'll admit. But that doesn't mean it excuses the fact that he is as stubborn... and thick as a horses' arse, and probably always will be. Actually, he is pretty smart, but still. He had his grey eyes glued to the floor, but when he felt me watching him, he looked slowly up and gave me a very small, nervous smile. And I returned it.

James was running his hair nervously through his hair, a quality I've come to adore about him, when I looked over at him. His hair was black, too- so black it made Sirius' look brown- and it was very messy. Sticking up at every angle... kind of cute... His dark brown eyes were sparkling at me from behind his black-rimmed glasses. I loved that sparkly-look right off. Not that I'll ever admit that to him, of course. He blinked a few times before I smiled shyly at him. Why it had to be a shy smile, I'm not sure- but it was. I got nervous all of a sudden when he looked at me... He grinned back, and I swear, I thought I was going to melt from the niceness of it all.

"Hi," he said.

I just smiled back, and glanced at Remus. "So- what house do you lot hope to be in? I think Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, would it?" I asked.

Anything to ignore that nervous, shaky feeling that was fluttering around in my stomach when he smiled at me...

I sighed. I knew then that it would take quite a lot to get James Potter.

"I didn't really need to come up here," Remus and I say at the same time and then laugh.

"Well, then, I guess we should go back down to the classroom?"

"Sure, Lily-flower," he says. Merlin, I love it when one of the Marauders calls me that. Except Peter- I'm sorry, but that's just a bit creepy... he looks so much like a wilted mouse, or something. Eww.

In Ancient Runes, I, of course, take a seat to myself. Vara doesn't like to sit near the back in this class, THANK MERLIN, but I can see James and Sirius sitting in their usual seats, a few desks ahead of me. They're talking quietly... quietly- the Marauders?! Something is obviously wrong.

And I have a sinking sensation in my stomach... I must have had too much toast... That... or the Marauders are talking about me. I can't concentrate on my work. Usually, I'll admit, I'm one of the best in the class, but right now, I can't think clearly. Why did James ask Vara? This is crazy... Merlin does my head ache... Why did Vara say yes? Is she out of her mind? Ugh... I think I'm about to faint... Thoughts are swirling around in my head like this, confusing me...

"Professor, may I go to the Hospital Wing? I've got a headache."

I know it's not good for a prefect to be skiving classes, but I cannot be in the same class as Vara Markson...

I sit in my dorm with the curtains drawn around me, counting the ways I can get revenge on the Two Traitors, angrily wiping away the few tears that manage to slip down my cheeks. After lunch, I move to the common room, my list of insults and revenge tactics growing longer by the minute... Jelly legs... Bat Bogey... Leg lockers... Is the Cruciatus still illegal?

I stay in the common room, until people start to come back from dinner. Then I hide in my four-poster, and put a charm on the drapes so that the next person to touch them from the outside would have their skin turned silver and green- Slytherin colours. Anything to keep The Traitor 2 away.

The Traitor 2 does come up and try to talk to me, but I ignore her, until she pulls back the hangings of my four-poster. She finds it empty, turns back to her bed, and screams.

"What is it?" Marietta cries from her four-poster.

Heehee- Revenge Tactic 1 executed.

I leave just as Vara starts crying, "It was L...Lily! Sh-she did...this t-to me!"

"It couldn't have been her- she wasn't in here! There's no way she could have left without us seeing her, alright? Vara, its okay... calm down..." Marietta says.

When I leave the common room, I can hear people talking... "What a beautiful cat! Did you see how tiny it was? I wonder who it belongs to!" A second year girl named Kambrie Alex says to her friend, Nora Thomas.

Hmm...

It takes two days until I feel brave enough to stay in the Common Room again. Vara is still in the Hospital Wing, and Merlin am I glad. I know for a fact that James hasn't been to see her... Revenge Tactic 2 executed.