Author's Note: Sorry this is a shorter one. It's chaotic for me around Christmas, which is partly why it's my least favorite holiday. Lmao, anyway...yeah I don't think you guys wanna hear me bitch. lol enjoy.

James was laying in bed at the hospital wing after Madame Pomfrey had helped with his injuries. He was unconcious, but Madame Pomfrey insisted that he was fine and could probably leave when he woke up. She'd cleaned up his face and put a bandage over his eye that he'd have to wear for a few days. But other than that, there wasn't much harm done. Even though everyone was sure he'd be okay, Lily stayed by his side, even after Sirius, Remus, and Peter left, in case he needed anything. Madame Pomfrey walked by and smiled.

" I'll leave you alone. I can see Mr. Potter is well taken care of. " she said, then she left the room.

Lily sat in her chair, worried. It was in her nature to worry, because she was naturally a very caring person. A few minutes passed, and James began stirring and groaning. Then he opened his good eye. The one that was bandaged just wouldn't open. His vision was blurred, but he could see that Lily was there next to him.

" Lily. " he whispered, weakly.

" Yes! I'm here, James. " Lily responded, eagerly.

James turned his head to face her and extended his arm.

" Hold my hand, Lily. " he requested, sounding as though he was nearly choking on his words.

Lily immediately obeyed, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tight. James smiled.

" You're so sweet, Lily. You're just always nice to everyone. Some day, you're going to make a man so happy. I just hope whoever it is, he deserves a girl like you. " James declared.

Lily giggled.

" Thank you. " she said, awkwardly, not wanting to accept the truth in James's compliment.

And James desperately hoped that man was him. He couldn't stand the thought of Lily ending up with someone else, especially Snape.

As James was in deep thought, Lily dipped a cloth in cool water and gently layed it on his forehead. Then she kissed him on the cheek where one of his bruises was. James and Lily stared into each others' eyes for nearly half a minute before either of them spoke.

" Thought that mark could use one of my kisses. " Lily explained.

James laughed.

" Feels better already. " he responded.

Lily hated to admit it, but she was beginning to have feelings for James. Then again, she had second thoughts because of all the trouble he'd given Snape over the years. He'd been downright cruel. And he still was, just not to her. When she was alone with him, he was beyond kind. But she wondered if he truly liked her, or if he just wanted to sleep with her. Either way, she couldn't help having feelings for this boy. She just didn't want to fully admit to herself yet. In addtion, she hadn't come to terms with how she thought of Snape. Was he just a friend, or was he more? She didn't have the answer to that.

A couple days later, Lily was in the library looking for some books. She liked to read. It took her mind off things. And now that James had recovered and he was up and around, she had a little more time to herself. Although her and James had been seeing a lot of each other the past few days. And lately it was impossible to keep Snape away from Bellatrix. And on the off chance they weren't together, he talked about her constantly until he saw her again. Lily and Snape hadn't been spending much time together recently. They hardly ever talked anymore. And when they did, it wasn't the same. Hell, all he could say was ' Bellatrix this ' and ' Bellatrix that ' and ' my Bella '. Quite frankly, it really got on Lily's nerves. Despite all of the time she spent with James, she was still jealous to see Snape so happy around Bellatrix. Not only did Lily possibly want Snape for herself, she also didn't want him getting mixed in with a girl like Bellatrix. Lily knew she was trouble.

Lily was browsing through a book about the founders of Hogwarts when she heard Snape's laughter. She knew it was him. She'd recognize his laugh anywhere. Lily looked around as she followed the sound of him talking now. Then, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw him. She quickly regained her composure and darted behind a shelf so he wouldn't notice her, pushing books aside to peek through it. Snape was sitting at a table, concentrating on an advanced potions book. Bellatrix was standing behind him, leaning so her chest was against his back. And her arms were loosely wrapped around his neck. Seeing this made Lily sure that something was going on between them, that Snape hadn't told her the truth. Recently, a bunch of people told her that after she'd left to help James when he got hurt in the fight, Snape was kissing Bellatrix. And there was a rumor going around that Bellatrix and Snape were fucking. Macnair supposedly walked in on them one night.

Right at that second, she saw it. The proof. Bellatrix pulled Snape into a long kiss.

Then Snape said " I know you can't resist me, but I'm trying to focous, my dear. "

Bellatrix looked at him in disbelief.

" Oh shut up. That's what you said last night before you jumped on top of me. " she said, giggling.

Lily's heart sank. For once, the rumors were true. She looked away in disgust when she saw Bellatrix's hand go for Snape's belt buckle. ' This shouldn't suprise me. Of course Snape would go for her. She's pretty and easy. ' Lily thought, hopelessly.

Snape responded to Bellatrix by tensing up and dropping his book on the table. Her hand went to the button on his pants next. His eyes widened.

" Who's is it? " Bellatrix demanded, pressing her hand between his legs.

" Oh jesus, Bella! We're in the library, someone will see us. " he blurted.

" But I thought you'd want everyone to know you were fucking me. " she said, slyly.

" I do, just not in the library. " Snape replied, with a wide grin.

Lily couldn't take hearing any more of this. Her best friend was with the biggest whore in the whole school, he'd lied about it to her, and he was acting like she meant nothing to him. Worst of all, she still wanted him. It seemed that the more time he spent around Bellatrix, the harder Lily was falling for him. Tears cascaded her rosy cheeks as she ran off into the bathroom.

She hurried to the nearest stall, slammed the door shut, and locked it. She leaned up against the wall, and slid down to the floor, sobbing with her head buried in her knees. She swore she could feel her heart ache as she cried her eyes out. Snape made her hurt inside, but she couldn't just cut him off and forget about him. She had James, but it wasn't enough. It only felt half right. Becuase she was torn. Torn between James and Snape. And she'd finally let herself admit it. Lily sat there for what felt like forever to her, but was really only a few minutes.

Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open, and the click of high heels echoed the room. Lily held her breath, and tried her hardest not to make a sound. Whoever it was, she didn't want them to see her like this.

" So? What's the deal with you guys? " asked a girl with a high-pitched, nasally voice.

Lily was sure she'd heard the voice at least once before, but couldn't place who it was.

" What are you talking about? " said another girl.

Her voice was very feminine. Low, sensual, and husky. And it was unmistakable. That was clearly the voice of Bellatrix Black.

" I mean why are you hanging out with Snape so much? He's not exactly your type. Not to mention, he's a half-blood. " the girl with the high-pitched voice said.

Lily looked through the crack in the stall door, and quickly recognized the other girl as Narcissa Black, Bellatrix's youngest sister who was in her second year. She was slender, pretty and blonde.

" Well, a half-blood's a big step up from a fucking mud-blood. It's not like I'm marrying him or anything. And look, I know he's a dick and everything. But, he's also got one. " Bellatrix spat.

Narcissa laughed loudly, amused and slightly grossed out.

" Bella, you pig! " she exclaimed.

" What? I'm just stating a fact. Some boys in this school appear to not have dicks. Or brains for that matter. " Bellatrix responded.

Narcissa laughed again.

" Okay good point. So talk. What's he like? " she demanded.

" Cissy. " Bellatrix said, crossing her arms.

" I wanna know! " Narcissa argued.

" And what makes you think I'd know? " Bellatrix asked, faking a look of innocence on her face.

" You were the one talking about his..." Narcissa murmured.

" I wish I could just have that between my legs all day. " Bellatrix said, with a satisfied smirk.

" Ha! See, I knew you fucked him! Andromeda owes me two galleons. " Narcissa boasted.

" Cissy, you whore! You bet money on my sex life? " Bellatrix asked, sounding slightly impressed.

" Yes. And may I point out that technically you're the whore? " she said, sweetly.

" Not nice, little sister. " Bellatrix stated, simply.

" Well, are you going to lie about it? " Narcissa asked.

" I like sex, is that such a crime? " Bellatrix responded.

Narcissa rolled her eyes.

" It is if you lost your virginity at thirteen, and every week you have a new guy to fuck. " Narcissa pointed out.

" Okay, I did lose it at thirteen, but you're exaggerating. I don't fuck a new guy every week. " she explained.

Narcissa tried hard not to laugh.

" Allright, every other week. At least. " she insisted.

That was when Bellatrix flipped her off and started walking away.

" Bella! Wait up! " yelled Narcissa, chasing after her.

Lily slowly stepped out of the stall. She looked around and saw the bathroom was empty, then walked toward the sinks, standing in front of the mirror. She took a deep breath, then washed the tears off her face.