A/N: Hey guys,

Thanks bunches for the reviews. This chapter is a little short, I know but things are getting hectic and I figured that it would just be better to update now instead of wait till i have more downtime. Hope you like it. R&R if you like.

Disclaimer: Though I love them, the HP characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

The three men hid their horses in the brush and snuck into the bushes just as the brown-hard girl and another girl in a cloak appeared. They settled themselves in the brush and watched the maids enter the clearing. One gasped. The brow-haired girl smiled.

"See? I told you it was beautiful."

"I never doubted you," came a soft, gentle voice. James felt his heart flip at the sound. They watched as the cloaked girl took in a deep breath. The brow-haired girl smiled. They both knelt. The cloaked girl never removed her hood. Finally the brown-haired girl sighed.

"Lily. It's ok to take off your cloak." The girl looked up at her.

"You know I can't Mer," she replied looking back at the dress in her hands.

"Come on Lily. She won't ever find out. I mean look at us. We're in the middle of the woods."

"I don't know Mer."

"I won't tell. Come on Lily. You've been cooped up for way too long."

"No I haven't." She looked skeptically at the cloaked girl.

"No, I guess you're right, three years isn't nearly long enough," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Glad to hear you agree," she replied.

"Come on Lily. Just this once and let down your hair too! I love your hair." The cloaked girl looked at her.

"Ok I guess." She slowly pulled back her hood. All they saw was her hair covered with a white cloth. She stood and hung her cloak on a nearby tree and slowly let her hair down. She hung the cloth on the cloak. Her long red hair fell in beautiful fiery tresses to the lower back. She was slim and curvy. Her friend gasped in and stared up, her eyes wide with horror. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth. The girl gently knelt back down beside her.

"Oh God Lily," she said gently touching the other side of her face. The girl winced and pulled back. "D-did she hit you again?" she asked.

"Don't be ridiculous Mer. I just fell down the stairs last night," she replied quietly as if trying to convince her friend.

"Let me guess, you've been increasingly clumsy these past three years?"

"Looks like it. Can't seem to keep my feet under me," she said quietly.

"Why Lily? Why does she hit you?"

"So you know? How long have you known?"

"I've always know Lily. I wish you talked with me more though."

"What do you want me to say? I wish I knew why she hits me, so that I can stop doing whatever it is I'm doing, but I can never figure it out."

"What do we do?"

"Nothing I guess. Pretty soon, I'll have chores in Fanny's room as well." Meredith gasped and shook her head.

"No, why?!"

"I don't know."

"You can't stay here any longer Lily."

"What are you going to do about it Mer? You can't stop it," she said.

"Get you out of here. Anything is better than getting beaten senseless everyday. I have to get you out here."

"To do what? To go back to him and get raped every night by every man that's seen me? I don't want that," she pleaded.

"I had no idea Lily," she whispered.

"I know, but trust me, I'd rather stay here than go back," she said quietly. Meredith sighed.

"There has to be something I can do." Lily grabbed her arm.

"No! I won't let you get hurt just to protect me. You're not going to get sucked up in my problems."

"How bad has it gotten Lily?"

"Promise me that you'll stay out of it."

"Show me and I will."

"Promise me!"



"Fine, I promise." She turned and offered her back to her. Meredith pulled her dress away from her back and looked down her dress. She clamped her hand to her mouth and screamed. Lily scrambled away from her.

"SHHHH!" she hissed. Meredith looked at her in pure terror.

"Oh my God Lily!" she said. "She did that to you today?!"

"Shut up Meredith! Someone will hear you!"

"Let them! Someone coming to take you away is better than what she's doing to you! Do you have any idea that damage she's done to you?!"

"Of course I do. I can feel it, but I can't do anything to stop it ok?! Just face it!" she turned and angrily began to wash the clothes. Meredith did the same.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while.

"Don't be. I should have known you'd react like that," Lily replied.

"I don't understand. How can she do this to you? You're not even doing anything wrong." Lily shrugged slightly and drew in sharp breath.

"I try to be perfect, but she still does it. I guess it's just something I'll have to live with." Meredith looked sadly over at her, but said nothing. They finished their work. Suddenly, dark thunder clouds rolled in and it began to pour. They continued to wash the clothes, until a loud rumble of thunder shook the ground. They gathered up the laundry.

"Let's get back as soon as possible. It's not safe out here," Meredith said over the rain. Lily nodded and quickly flung her cloak around her slim shoulder, but didn't bother with the hood or the cloth. They began to run out of the clearing.

"What are we going to do James?" Remus asked.

"We need to get them out that house. Let's get them and bring them back to the palace. Use the ruse that we were just trying to get them out the rain first, then we'll decide what to do afterwards." They nodded and hopped on their horses, They put their hoods up and began to run after the maids.

They heard the pounding of hoofs behind them and looked back. Meredith screamed.

"Run!" They began to run, but Meredith tripped in a puddle, pulling Lily down with her. Both laundry baskets went flying. Lily stood and desperately tried to pull up Meredith.

"My ankle," Meredith cried.

"Come on, I'll help you run," Lily said desperately as the horses were catching up.

"Go! I'll be fine! Just go!"

"Not without you!"

"Lily go! You'll be in bigger trouble if you don't come back! Now!" Lily hesitated, but Meredith pushed her away from her. She climbed out the puddle and Meredith began to pull herself into the woods. She ran at full speed. She heard the horses trying to wade through the puddle. She tripped and fell in other puddle, her dress weighing her down. She had just made it across when she heard Meredith screamed and suddenly stopped. She whipped around. The three men had reached her. One of the men kept coming for her. She turned and began to run still. She tripped and fell in yet another puddle. She heard the horse enter the water and tried to run faster, but her dress and cloak combined kept pulling her back. She fell and saw the horse near her. She screamed and splashed water up at the horse. It reared and she continued to run. She ran into another puddle, but knew that the rider had calmed down the horse. This time, the rider jumped off and went after her himself. She tripped again, but this time, she knew she couldn't go anywhere. She felt a pair of strong arms grab her. She screamed and tried to get him off of her. He instead pushed her under the water. She tried to fight her way up so that she could get air into her lungs. He pulled her back up and she took in a deep breath. He forced her back down. Again she tried, and just as she was about to pass out he pulled her back up. She was too weak to fight now. She felt him drag her to the edge of the puddle. Another man on a horse was there. She felt the man lift her effortlessly and sit her sideways on the horse, leaning her backwards against the mans muscular chest. His arm came around to hold her to him. He waited for the other man to climb up on his own horse before turning and riding back.

A/N: Hope you liked it...