Part 1

The fire was slowly dying. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, but she didn't really care. It could have been two hours, or two days, but she wouldn't know. All she knew was the pain that was slowly killing her.

Not literally, but emotionally, of course.

She was really living up to the redhead stereotype - fiery temper, full of emotions. However, her overload of emotions wasn't caused by her own actions. Someone else caused them, and that person didn't even know it.

Her best friend had caused it. Her best friend was caught snogging Lily's boyfriend in a broom cupboard. Lily couldn't blame it all on her; she had never told her about her boyfriend. Thalia Jones was a pureblood witch, with long, pin-straight brown hair, and piercing green-grey eyes that you could stare into for ages. She was a Hufflepuff. In Lily's eyes, she was perfect - beautiful, funny, kind, smart, and charming. Any boy would love to have her on his arm.

Lily had been dating Luke for only seven weeks, but she liked him a lot. She didn't know if it would last, but she knew that at the moment, she cared for him. However, Lily and Luke had come up with an agreement: they wouldn't tell anyone about their relationship.

The reason why is because Luke was in Hufflepuff, and Lily was in Gryffindor. He was in the same year as Thalia and Lily, but house unity wasn't very common at Hogwarts. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had nothing against each other, but they weren't exactly allies. They were both worried for each other that they would be taunted and threatened because of their relationship.

Luke had mutual feelings towards Lily. He cared for her, but he didn't know if it was going to last. All he cared about was what they had at the moment. Luke wasn't aware of it, but he was starting to fancy someone else, while he was dating Lily. He was beginning to fancy none other than Thalia Jones.

Lily and Luke were pretty good at keeping their relationship a secret. They wouldn't show any signs of affection in public. No holding hands, no staring at each other, no kissing, and no sappy compliments. Neither of them realized that they weren't as close as they were before.

Their plan had backfired. Instead of allowing them a safe relationship, it had pulled them apart. It allowed Luke to feel stronger emotions about Thalia; it made him feel safe to fancy her. No one would taunt or tease Thalia and Luke for being together, because they were both Hufflepuffs. No one would look at them with disgust for liking each other.

And that's how it happened. Luke decided that it would be safer to persue Thalia rather than stay with Lily. However, he couldn't figure out how he was going to tell Lily. So instead, he chose not to. And head straight after Thalia.

It was Wednesday afternoon, Lily's favorite time of the week. She had no afternoon classes that day, so she walked to the library after lunch to finish her Potion's homework. Lily was happily skipping down the corridor, when she heard a small thud. It sounded like someone was being pushed against something. Her Prefect senses kicked in, and she silently walked towards the sound. It was coming from a broom cupboard.

Lily rolled her eyes. The noises were probably coming from some 7th years that were in the middle of a heated snog session. She pulled her wand out of the pocket of her robes, and approached the cupboard. With a flick of her wand, the doors burst open, and the culprits were revealed.

Luke Perkins and Thalia Jones were snogging in a broom cupboard.

Lily gasped and her eyes brimmed with tears. She suddenly found it hard to breathe. She wanted to yell at him, to curse him, to do something, but she couldn't. She was frozen. She couldn't say anything, and if she tried, she would just make small, pathetic choking sounds. Thalia and Luke jumped apart, their appearances disheveled. Both of their faces were flushed, their lips were slightly swollen, and their hair resembled something related to a bedhead. Luke looked pained and guilty, but he didn't seem remorseful. Thalia looked between Lily and Luke, confused. She didn't know that they were together, so she couldn't feel any guilt or pain for her friend.

Before any of them could say anything, Lily had bolted away from the scene the fastest she had ever ran. Along the way, she bumped into a few other students, and even sent a first year flying, but she didn't stop. Once she got to the portrait hole leading to Gryffindor Tower, she yelled the password, 'Mumbling Mandrakes', and ran inside. Everyone inside turned to look at the distraught redhead who was stumbling towards the girls' dormitories.

Lily's vision was blurred by her tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. She swiped at them before they could. She wasn't going to let people see her like this, so vulnerable and weak. She wanted to be strong and independent. She didn't want to be broken, but she was. She slowed her pace as she got closer to the staircase leading to her dorm.

James Potter was sitting with the Marauders by the fire when Lily entered the Common Room. He was the first to notice her pained expression and red, puffy eyes. He knew she had been crying, but he didn't know why. No one did. It hurt him deeply to see her like this, and it hurt him even more to not know what was causing her so much pain.

He watched as Lily stumbled up the stairs and into her dorm. He waited two minutes before he stood up, and walked away from the other three Marauders. Sirius was very confused.

"Oi, Prongs?" Sirius asked. "Where are you going?"

James didn't turn around to answer him. Remus immeadiately understood what he was going to do, and he answered for him.

"Sirius, he's going to try to comfort Lily. She seems really hurt, and it hurts him to see her like that. Just leave him alone," Remus said smoothly. Sirius nodded. He understood James' feelings for Lily. James had chased after Lily ever since first year. Actually, ever since their first day in first year. And it was now fifth year - that was five years. He knew that he felt strong, genuine feelings for her.

James stood at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. Boys weren't allowed up into their dorm, so in order to keep them out, the stairs would turn into a slide the moment a boy set a foot on one of the steps. James had no idea how he was going to get to talk to Lily. If he somehow got her to come downstairs, they wouldn't have any privacy. He knew Lily hated being comforted in public, heck, she hated being comforted. But, he also couldn't go up those stairs. He had no way of getting her to talk. Unless..

In just two minutes, James Potter was at the bottom of the stairs leading to the Girls' Dormitories, mounting a broom. Yes, he was going to fly up those stairs.

Continued in part 2...