It felt like all eternity had passed before someone finally came over to Lily and touched her arm gently. Lily was so immersed in her own pain and self-pity that the sensation of the person's cold fingers against her naked upper arm barely registered in her mind.

"Evans," the voice said, but Lily only started sobbing louder. Evans was what he always used to call her back in the days when he was hopelessly obsessed with her, asking her out on dates every single day. She always rejected him but he always came back for more humiliation. This, she supposed, was karma; she was humiliating herself the same way James had always humiliated himself in front of everyone when asking for a date. Even though at that particular time she was annoyed by James's actions and the boy's entire persona, his desperate attempts at getting a date with her seemed ever so endearing and charming in retrospect. Where was that James now? Why did he leave her?

She started wailing loudly; the pain was stronger than her. The spectators, the entire rest of the world, seemed unreal to her now. The only thing that registered in her mind, and what she perceived to be real, was the indescribable emotional pain she was experiencing.

"Evans!" the voice said sternly, shaking her roughly. Lily was forced to snap back to reality from her reverie and looked up at the brunette, with her big, green tear-filled eyes. The brunette whom Lily recognized to be Reid Martins looked like she didn't know whether to be stern or kind in this situation – they were not close, and she had no idea how to relate to the crying Lily Evans in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she said awkwardly, her blonde Hufflepuff friend standing next to her. Lily recognized her too – she was in James's year too, a girl whom James had allegedly slept with. Catherine, the blonde in question, looked surprisingly compassionate, though on every other occasion before she had glared at her as though she was responsible for everything that had ever happened in her life. Lily gulped – she didn't know how to relate to her. She had never looked down on her, had always considered her a strong, modern woman – she knew she wouldn't be able to stand being a one-night-stand to anyone –, but had been thoroughly annoyed by Catherine's attitude towards her. It was not her fault James had been an ass to her, to put it mildly.

She felt so sorry for her now. Feeling like she understood her pain, gripped by a sudden inspiration and a need and hunger for love to fill the gaping void in her heart, she hugged Catherine to herself. She barely reached up to Catherine's shoulders. She buried her face in the older girl's sweater and couldn't help crying.

Catherine and Reid exchanged meaningful glances over the redhead's shoulder. They had been friends for so long that they could communicate using only their eyes. They nodded at each other, acknowledging the other's opinion, and then said, "Come on; let's get you outta here,"

"T-thank you," Lily said.

Catherine and Reid led Lily away from prying eyes.

"Is she OK?" a girl asked when the three of them got to the entrance of the Castle. Lily felt annoyed by the question – it felt like the girl, though well-meaning she was, was adding insult to injury. She didn't have to specifically point out that she was an emotional mess; it was already crystal clear to anyone with eyes and ears.

"No, not really," Reid snapped, continuing to lead her out of the way. Lily buried her face in her palms, and tried to stop crying but didn't succeed. The pain was keeping her from moving on.

"Sssh, stop crying, girl," Catherine said, rubbing her shoulders. "You'll be fine. Where are your friends? In your dormitory? We gotta find them,"

"Where the hell is the Gryffindor Common Room, anyway?" Reid asked. "I've never been there,"

"It's up on the seventh floor in the West Wing," Lily managed to say in between quieted, weak sobs. She sniffled. "I'll lead you there,"

Even though she was acting civil, Lily couldn't help being slightly mad at the girls – she felt like they were trying to brush her off. She knew they had been kind, but it felt like they had been kind for about four minutes, and then decided that their good deed for the day was done, and who really cared about Evans anyway. But perhaps she was overreacting and they just wanted to ensure she was with people who knew and also knew how to console her. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Oh well, she would never find out.

"All right," Catherine said, nodding, surprised at the younger girl's sudden and unexpected strength. They walked in an awkward silence for a moment, Lily leading the way and occasionally wiping her nose with her hands.

"Do you guys have a tissue by any chance?" she asked, turning back suddenly.

This was when she noticed that behind her, the girls were exchanging glances that obviously meant a lot to do them but one she could not possibly decipher. She felt even angrier – they pitied her, of course they pitied her, who wouldn't pity her. She had made such a scene, oh God – she was the one responsible for all the attention their breakup would eventually get. Though it would have gotten enough anyway, considering the fact they had been considered an it-couple; half the school hated them because James was a jerk and they were sure he was only going to use her, the other half loved them because they thought she was the girl who had finally made James turn good and who doesn't love a love story like that? She gulped as she remembered the rumors of how fast she had slept with him… but he was pressuring her, and she was in love, for God's sake, and when one's in love, it's completely natural for one to give up her own happiness for the sake of their beloved. And she had been very, very much in love with James Potter.

They had won, she thought angrily, directing her wrath at those who had been right about their relationship instead of addressing the root of her problem: James Potter.

I had given everything up for him, and he still left me, she thought after her anger dissipated and a fresh wave of sadness washed over her. But this time, she fought to keep her emotions at bay instead of letting them run free. She didn't burst out crying again. She didn't know where her newfound strength came from but supposed it must have been her aversion of being pitied that inspired her to struggle to keep her cool.

"Sorry, we don't have one," Reid said. "But I can Transfigure your hairclip into one, if you really need one now,"

Lily just stared blankly at first than laughed. "Of course, a Ravenclaw," she said jokingly, referring to the brunette's great knowledge of Transformation. Reid just stared blankly, then laughed, and Catherine giggled too. "Whatever," Lily said, shaking her head, feeling like they didn't truly get her sense of humor. The gratefulness she had felt started ebbing away until she was left with mere annoyance. She knew it was wrong – but she was inexplicably filled with anger at their actions. Perhaps it was misdirected, but she couldn't help the feeling. She was a mess of emotions, and she felt like they were doing this out of obligation rather than the goodness of their hearts and genuine concern.

"Thank you so much, but I don't want to waste your time anymore," Lily said, suddenly stopping in her tracks. Startled, the two older girls followed suit. They both seemed surprised and worried. "Thank you so much, really, I'd probably still be crying at the Lake if it weren't for you two," the gratefulness returned and she finally felt like her normal self without the all-consuming pain and anger. "Really. But I don't want to waste your time anymore. You probably have to pack too,"

"It's just two minutes with a wand," Reid said. "C'mon, we can walk you there,"

"Oh, well, then, thank you," Lily said. "I just thought I was wasting your time,"

"No, not at all," Reid said. "I felt sorry for you; that jerk shouldn't have done that. I heard half of it. What an asswipe. People like that should get their dicks cut off." Catherine laughed at that. "Oh, sorry, fifteen-year old here," Reid added as an afterthought, referring to Lily.

"Doesn't matter," the redhead said. I've already slept with him. I already know about those kinds of things, she thought but decided to not to voice these thoughts, feeling impure and ashamed at the memory of their first night together, and all their other nights together after that.

"Oh," Reid said. "All right, finally a cool fifteen-year old who doesn't act like they're the Virgin Mary. You're cool, I already like you,"

Lily and Catherine laughed. Reid was good at cheering people up. Lily smiled at her gratefully. Reid seemed happy that she was finally feeling better; her smile broadened into a relieved but genuinely glad grin.

"Isn't it, like, embarrassing?" Lily asked timidly. She suddenly felt so ashamed by her own impure actions that she needed to hear that what she had done was OK. That she wasn't alone in sleeping too soon with someone and then being left all alone by the guy she had given everything she had to.

"No," Reid asked, seeming genuinely shocked by the question. "Sex is sex. It's not like a huge deal. Love makes it better but when it all comes down to it, sex is just sex. You really shouldn't glorify the act itself; without love it means nothing and it isn't beautiful, and it should be forgotten," Catherine smiled encouragingly at Lily.

"Oh… OK," the redhead said; this was not quite the answer she had expected and wanted to hear, but it sufficed.

"Was it at least good with him?" Reid suddenly asked.

"Reid, you shouldn't ask that!" Catherine said, elbowing her. Then they both laughed at each other as though making fun of the social rule of not divulging one's sex life to strangers. Lily however, could see the reason behind the rule, but she judged the girls to be trustworthy. Even if they weren't, at least people would know James was bad in bed but Lily had still stuck through with him because she was a good person.

"No, it's whatever," Lily said. "And no.. he wasn't very good. Though I don't really have anyone to compare him to," she added sadly, and she almost burst out crying when once again she was reminded – this time by her own word s – of how much she had given him and how little she had gotten in return. It wasn't the fact that he gave her little that saddened her; it was the realization that he had given her little not because he had little to give, but because he wasn't a genuinely good person and he, presumably, hadn't truly cared. She struggled to keep her emotions at bay and she succeeded.

At her confession, the two older girls burst out laughing loudly. Catherine wiped the sides of her eyes and said, "I'm so sorry. We're not laughing at you, just at him. Like seriously, you should have heard that manslut when we were having sex. I mean… not like that, but when he stormed out of the room," Catherine corrected when Reid burst out laughing. Despite everything, Lily was grinning at the story too. "But like it's really funny because he was a bad fuck in my opinion too," Catherine explained, "And Reid knows it! She actually heard him storming out of my room all huffy and puffy. Really, you should have seen that walk. He was like a gay wannabe diva," Reid did an imitation of his "walk" and Catherine burst out laughing.

"That was almost exactly like the way he walked out, honestly, you should have seen it," Catherine wiped the sides of her eyes again. Lily grinned. "Like he couldn't even get me off. Seriously. What a bad fuck. And he calls himself a ladies' man. Ridiculous! Ladies men know how to get girls off. He's nothing but a joke,"

"Yeah, and then he blamed the whole thing on her ex, you know, Adam, who graduated?" Reid said. "Cause apparently he was too 'feminine in bed' with her, meaning he actually paid attention to her and knew what turned her on and got her off, you know."

"And knew what generally turned girls on, you know, cause he actually was a ladies' man," Catherine added. "Anyway, enough about him – but if you don't mind my prying, did he ever get you off? Because we were always wondering if he was even capable of taking anyone there,"

Lily blushed crimson.

"Yeah, you're being to forward again, Catherine," Reid surmised.

"It's fine," Lily said. "I'm just not used to talking about this. My friends aren't really… so they haven't really… they didn't have serious boyfriends before,"

"Ugh, James wasn't serious either," Catherine said. "He was just a joke. You're better off without him,"

Lily looked somber again. Reid nudged Catherine, who hissed in pain. "Look, I know you probably have your own support system and friends of your own… and we really don't want to intrude or meddle with your private life, but… you know, from my experience people can always do with a little empathy, and not sympathy, because empathy is actually knowing how the other person feels. And I know how you feel. Trust me, I do," Reid said. "So if you ever need anyone to talk to, just come to us, or – well, come to me if you want to cry about it, and if you want to laugh at that jerk, just go to Catherine, she has some stories to tell, some from her own experience, some from that of others,"

The three girls stopped in their tracks. Lily's heart melted. She felt more grateful than ever to these two strangers. She sincerely hoped they were honest, but judging by the fact they were the only ones to help her after her public humiliation, she chose to trust them – or at least, thank them for their support with a hug.

"I know we don't really know each other and I don't want to invade your personal space," Lily said, talking in the same manner Reid had previously done so, making the two other girls grin. "But I honestly think you seem really nice and I do have to thank you for your support and kindness," Lily was already spreading her arms, preparing for a hug.

"Aww," Reid said, opening her arms wide and hugging Lily close to her. Both girls were taller than Lily and she felt awkward and small, like a younger sister. She was used to feeling tall, being the tallest in her group of friends and being taller than most of her classmates. Reid patted her back and Catherine grinned too and opened her arms wide for a hug. Lily was surprised at first but thought hey, why not, and hugged the girl back. After all, the blonde had been nice to her too; it would have been rude to refuse her embrace.

"Anyway," Lily said. "We're here. This is the portrait of the Fat Lady," she said, motioning to the now empty portrait.

"Oh," Reid said. "Well, at least now I know where Gryffindors reside,"

"You've really never been up here before?" Lily asked. Gryffindors showed their Common Room to all their friends from other houses; they didn't make a big secret out of it like Slytherins did.

"Nah, don't have many Gryffindor friends." Reid said, shaking her head. "But I guess I have you now,"

Lily was looking around in other portraits to see if the Fat Lady was near enough for her to call out to her to let her in. Reid noticed where she was looking and misinterpreted the signal. She felt awkward but wasn't sure whether she was misunderstanding Lily's looking for the portrait by thinking it was a subtle and polite sign of Lily's annoyance with them, or whether she just didn't want to stand there for the rest of the day waiting for the Fat Lady. She guessed it was a little bit of both, but alas, unless she learned Occlumency, she would never find out just by guessing.

"Oh, she's there," Catherine said, pointing to a portrait in the corner. The Fat Lady was talking animatedly with a buck-toothed, big-nosed witch. The Fat Lady, naturally, was too invested in her own story to notice the three girls staring at her, but the portrait of the witch did and pointed them out to the Fat Lady. The latter, huffing and puffing and complaining about being interrupted, returned to her own portrait long enough to open it for Lily.

"Thank you," Lily said, before stepping over the portrait with genuine gratitude.

"No prob," Reid said, and Catherine winked at her in a way that suggested comradeship that Lily didn't feel was between them, but it was obvious she was much more forward than most; Reid had made allusions to that throughout their entire conversation.

"See you," Lily said hopefully before stepping into the portrait. When it closed behind her she was still smiling with gratitude and disbelief at having been lucky enough to be 'rescued' by the two coolest and most fun girls at Hogwarts. They seemed genuinely cool and as though they didn't care what the rest of the world thought about them; she obviously didn't care what the boys she slept with thought about her nor what they said about her behind her back. As she said, sex was just sex, and all the boys she had slept with would have to agree. So, apparently, sex was just sex to everyone except Lily.

She gulped and suddenly became aware of the looks the others in the Common Room were giving her; curious stares, hushed whispers behind palms… of course. She had made a scene and James had been a jerk; this would give the gossipmongers something to talk about for at least the end of the school year. She was mad at herself but she was also mad at James.

I have to keep my cool, she told herself. Reid and Catherine, though she didn't know them, inspired her to be strong. Moreover, she had to get back at James somehow for humiliating her. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking down in front of him again. He's had enough of that already.

"Hey," Lily called over her shoulder nonchalantly, smiling confidently when she passed by James. His friends looked even more stunned than James – Lily briefly wondered what story he had told them, what lie he had fed them to make himself look cooler.

Lily was torn between sadness and hatred. She chose hatred for the time being, for it gave her strength, even if it consumed her. She walked up the stairs to her dorm room, where she collapsed onto her bed and started bawling loudly. She wasn't over it, but of course she wasn't over the breakup as it had only happened hours ago. Catherine and Reid had given her a tremendous amount of strength, but left to her own devices, she was a mess and getting closer and closer to hysterical with each passing moment that James didn't come to apologize. She still loved him even if he didn't deserve it, and still missed him even if he didn't miss her. Her love for him was as pure as it was unrequited.

The first cut is always the deepest, she thought, but wise words failed to heal the pain. It would take much more than that to help her get over the loss of her first love.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I tried to make this chapter longer than the prologue but still not too long to read on a computer. Wouldn't want to harm anyone's eyesight obviously. .

Just because I try my best not to beg you for reviews doesn't mean I'll cut my veins open if I get one. But I will if I don't. Just kidding. Or not. ;) haha

If you have any thoughts for upcoming chapters or any about this one, please share it with me; I'll reply to each and every review that I get that aren't anonymous.

I have a few thought concerning this chapter though, which I'd like to share haha. ;) I imagine most people are on an emotional roller coaster after a breakup, men and women alike, and this is especially true in Lily's case who had been very emotionally invested in her relationship with James. That is why I didn't make her get over the breakup in a matter of seconds just because two girls who obviously never get this invested in relationships anymore showed up, even though she is a strong person. Love can weaken us no matter how we are assertive we are in general. It all depends on who you fall in love with and how they treat you, imho.

What do you think of Reid and Catherine as characters, by the way? I would love to hear your thoughts on them.

Also, if you have any suggestions in regards to how the story should continue, I am open to receiving them haha. The chapters aren't pre-written, so if I like an idea I'll try to incorporate it into the rough draft of the story that I already have if possible. Of course this isn't a necessity, I have ideas of my own (duh), but if someone would like to contribute to the story (as I used to as a reviewer back when I didn't write too many stories), I won't tell them to f off.

Anyway, thank you for reading and sorry for the super long author's note! ;) xoxo