Another chapter finished. Sorry for the wait. Reviews please!

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Chapter ten- Green Flames.

The day I finally decide to become single, Sirius gets himself a girlfriend. It's not like he hasn't had girlfriends before but they were few and far in between. And he actually seemed to like this one. She was cute too, short brown hair, big chocolate brown eyes, and a smile with small dimples in her cheeks. She was small, barely coming up to his shoulder, where as I, myself, would have towered over her. I was instantly irritated but I reminded myself that we were best mates and that there was absolutely nothing I could do.

"Hello." I said interrupting the pair as they sat by the fire. I held my hand out to the girl. "Katarina Meadows."

She placed her hand in mine and shook it once. "Melanie Abbot." She said with a slight Irish accent.

I give her a smile and turn towards Sirius, "Sneaking girls into the common room are you?" I asked referring to her Hufflepuff robes.

"Of course, don't act as if you haven't done it."

I smirked. "Guilty as charged."

"Anyway, he's treating you okay right?" I ask Melanie, trying to keep her in conversation.

"A perfect gentlemen." She says, as the two share a sickenly sweet smile that makes my insides squirm.

"He better, just let me know if he begins to act up." I tell her. "I'll kick his arse for you."

"As if you could." He snorts.

I reach out a smack the back of his head.

"OW!" He complains.

Melanie laughs and pats his head. "Don't tempt her, love. I think she can take you."

It was hard not to like such a genuinely sweet person, even if she was Sirius' girlfriend.

"Listen, don't listen to what anyone says. They always try and start rumors about Sirius and I because we're best mates and are with each other a lot. But don't mind them at all. We're just friends. I promise you that."

She smiles at me. "Thank you for telling me, but I could already guess that you too are close. I won't let it bother me."

"Good."

"You know," She begins pensively. "You're pretty nice, everyone always says mean things about you but I just don't see it."

I swallow thickly, unable to take the compliment but I give her my thanks anyway. "I'll be going now."

"Where?" Sirius asks, eyeing my outfit which consisted of tight skinny jeans and a glittered tank top. "Isn't a bit cold out for that?"

"Of course not." I mutter, even though he was probably right.

"And you're going where?" He prompts.

"You're acting like her father Sirius." Melanie inputs.

I smile at her but answer Sirius. "Tom and I are going out for drinks."

"Tom?" She asks in surprise. "But I thought you two broke up a few days ago."

"We have, and it was a complicated break-up, one that was completely mutual, but he's one of my best friends."

"That's sweet." She murmurs.

"Yeah real sweet." Sirius says loudly.

I roll my eyes. "Well I'll see you both later." I lean down and kiss Sirius on the cheek. "Fancy keeping this from James?"

He sighs. "Of course mate."

"Wicked." I say walking towards the door. "Good bye Melanie!"

"Later!"

She calls back just as the door slams shut behind me.

XX

"She's a bleeding Hufflepuff!" I say later that evening to Tom as we sat in the Hogshead for drinks. "And I can't even hate her, she's so bloody nice!"

Tom snorts into his cup. "Yeah, I've met her a few times. Real friendly girl."

"Aren't they all?"

"Who?" Tom asks.

"Hufflepuffs."

He begins to laugh. "Oh, right. Actually there is one Hufflepuff by the name of Georgina Anderson and she is downright one of the meanest girls I've ever met!"

I cringe. "I forgot about her, that abdominal bitch." I take back a long shot. "James dated her once, maybe fifth year."

"Did he? I don't remember."

"It was very brief, I believe she hexed him pretty bad because he hooked up with another girl and she walked in." I recall. "I was so proud of him."

"I am too." He agrees, taking a sip of his firewhiskey. "She's deserved it."

"James has detention with Lily, tonight." I tell him. "They had a bit of a row on their first night."

"What about?"

"Something about him being a bighead and that taking his family for granted or something. Didn't really hear the whole story. Just that she told him that she hated him."

"Ouch." He murmurs as he waves the barman down for more drinks. "Well James was always a bit, well he is cruel sometimes-Thanks," he says to the barman as he sets our drinks on the table. "You already know that though." He says picking right up where he left off.

"James." I start hesitantly. "James has some problems that he won't work through and yes it does tend to make him cruel. He just, sometimes he tries so hard and others time he just-" I stop.

"Doesn't?"

I nod. "Yeah, basically." I shake my head and take another large sip. "How are you and Katie?"

"Wonderful I suppose. She told me that she was glad we split. Was real quick to say that too."

I raise an eye brow.

"I did that too and once she realized what she said she said no disrespect towards you. She told me that she actually liked you. She was just happy that I was single. Glad to hear it was mutual."

"You have this in the bag." I tell him with a smile.

"I bloody well hope so. I mean don't get me wrong, we had a great relationship but I'm ready for something real."

"I don't have time for something real." And then I finish off the rest of my drink in one gulp.

XX

-Lily's POV-

James and I walk back to the common room in complete silence. I walked slightly ahead of him, and he walked behind me at a leisurely pace that I envied more than anything. His effortless good looks drove me mad and I wondered how someone like him should even deserve effortless grace.

"Eager to get back to the common room, Evans?" James asks as I speed up my pace.

"It's our last detention, I'm just excited it's over."

"Yes, well, I am as well, but it doesn't mean I'm excited to be back in the common room." He tells me. "It'll be empty anyway. I'm sure everyone is in bed."

I make a noncommittal noise.

"Are you tired, Evans?"

"Not particularly." I say not bothering to tell him, that I haven't really slept since my parents were murdered.

"Well I'm not either, let's go to the kitchens." He adds quickly.

I turn around to face him, "What?"

He had a confident look on his face. "I said, let's go to the kitchens."

I didn't comment on the fact that he didn't really ask me and that it sounded more of a demand than anything but still I turned my back on him and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Well come on then." I say when I realize he wasn't following me.

He jogs to me, slowing down to a walk when he reaches my side. "You know the way to the kitchen."

"Of course I do, Potter." I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. "I am a know it all, after all."

He snorts. "You don't really believe that do you?"

"Of course I do." I answer easily. "I enjoy knowing things most people don't."

"You're being sarcastic right?" He asks, a little unsure.

I roll my eyes. "Yes, Potter. Merlin, I'm not a big-head."

He doesn't answer and it stays quiet until we reach the portrait. I place one finger on the pear and tickle it. It giggles quietly and then the portrait swings open, I step through, Potter right behind me. Instantly I'm swarmed by House Elves.

"Miss Lily! Miss Lily!" A particular one calls.

I lean down and pat her head, "Hullo Tipsy, how are you doing tonight?"

"Just fine Miss, Tipsy is just fine." She squeaks up at me. "What can Tipsy do for Miss tonight? Tea, hot chocolate, or coffee."

"Tea, thanks Tipsy."

The small house elf scurries away.

I looked over to where James was taking to Minky. He was being very polite to the elf which surprised me greatly. He was bent down so they were eye level and the little elf looked thrilled. I couldn't help but smile. Though my smile quickly faded when he looked up at me. He stood then and walked over to the table. I joined him.

"How is it that you know Tipsy?" He asks, his eyes stuck right on mine. "Do you come here often Evans?"

"Oh yes, sir." Tipsy says placing my tea in front of me. "Miss comes in almost every night, and when she doesn't she calls Tipsy up to Gryffindor tower and Tipsy brings her tea!

He raises an eye brow towards me. "You call her up to the tower?"

"Tipsy does not mind sir, for Miss Evans is under lots of stress. She is doing important things sir, very important things." She bows deeply towards me and then walks away.

"How did you swear her to secrecy, she's a Hogwarts Elf." He asks, leaning forward slightly on his seat. I can see every speck of color in his eyes as they glittered from the dim lightly. The amber stood out more than hazel, the very cold hazel and once again I find myself asking, how can such a warm color be so cold?

"She enjoys company and I give her that. Like she said I'm here all the time. I'm not using her Potter." I say stiffly. "If that's what you're asking. I enjoy her company too."

"Because no one else is awake at say, three in the morning?"

I stiffen. "Maybe, but does it matter? It's really none of your business."

"Just like the "important things" you do with my sister isn't any of my business."

I smile slightly at his frustration. "In fact, it's exactly like that."

He picks up his tea but doesn't drink it. "Kat is reckless. You know that."

I take a small sip of my tea. "I do." I say wondering where he was going with this.

"Obviously I don't know what you two do, but I'd like to ask you to watch her. She tends to think before acting and I don't want it to get her in any trouble."

"James." I say the sound of his first name coming from my mouth felt strange. It left an almost bitter taste. "I do watch her, every time. And maybe she should be the one watching me because I did just lose my parents, but I guess it's nice the other way. Gives me a distraction. I don't let her get into any trouble. Trust me, I'm always cleaning up her messes." I say thinking about the time Katarina ran into the burning building to save a muggle. I went in after her to save her. She came out unscratched. I came out with bad burns all down my back, when a piece of the house fell on me.

Merlin, was that only last night? I thought as my back gave a little twinge of reminder.

"What?" James asks.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asking why your face suddenly went all." He waves his hands toward my face.

I straighten up in my seat and finish off my tea. "Nothing. Everything's fine. You ready to head back?"

He glances down at his tea before nodding.

"See you tomorrow night, Tipsy!" I call as I begin to walk through the portrait.

"Tipsy will be waiting!" I hear her call back. I smile slightly.

"You four get up to something that Kat doesn't know about." I say, half way back to the common room. "Don't you think it's only fitting Kat doesn't tell you what she does?"

I'm not really sure why I brought this up, probably looking for something to say.

"Yes, well-" He stops. "Snape."

"What? What kind of answer is that? Snape?" I look past his shoulder. "Snape." I say finally seeing the black haired boy. My eyes narrow and I push past James. "What are you doing up here in Gryffindor territory?" I snap, my wand falls out of my sleeve and into my right hand. "A little Slytherin like yourself could get hurt."

"Don't Lily." He pleads. "I only came to talk to you. You don't understand-"

"No, you don't understand." I poke my wand into his chest. "Remember what happened last time you tried to apologize. I bound you to the wall and you-"

"How did you know that spell anyway." He asks his eyes curious. "That spell it's nothing something you should know."

"Why? Because I'm a Mudblood!" I yell.

James cringes beside me.

"No!" Snape says quickly. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Why not? That's what I am. Don't act like you haven't called me that before, once to my face and probably a million times behind my back to your so called "friends"."

"Lily I never told him where you lived."

I took a few steps back my right hand shaking. "So you admit it. You are loyal to him. To Voldemort!" I spat.

"Lily-"

"Just go." I tell him. "Get out of my sight. I despise you, Severus. So just leave before I change my mind and hex you."

"Lily-"

"Go!" I scream and point my wand at him. With a jet of blue light he's thrown back a few feet, slamming hard against the stone floor. He looks up at me once before jumping to his feet and running away.

My hands start to shake and suddenly all I see is red. My heart is pounding quickly in my chest. My wand slips from my hand. "Dammit!" I scream and then punch the wall next to me.

"Evans?" I hear James ask from me behind me.

I whirl on him. "Oh, now you finally speak. What about earlier? Couldn't you have stepped in and maybe, I don't know, hexed him for me?"

He regards me calmly. "This wasn't my fight, it was yours." He tells me. "But I'll probably hex him in the hallway or make his potion blow up in his face, or something equally as painful."

I snort out a laugh, despite myself. I look down at my hand and cringe at the blood and the purple bruises already forming. I tap my wand to my hand once and the blood is removed, I tap it a second time and the bruises and cuts are gone.

"You can do healing charms?"

"Of course not." I say looking back up at him. "It's a concealment charm."

"Makes me wonder what else your concealing, Lily."

I stop at the sound of my first name coming from his lips, remembering that I too, earlier, had called him by his first name.

"Nothing." I lie, thinking of the black eye and split lip, that no one could see. "What would I need to hide?"

He doesn't answer, instead he turns towards the Fat Lady. "Wracksprut."

The door swings open and he steps inside. He turns back towards me. "Coming Evans?"

So I'm Evans again, am I?

I hesitate only a second before following him in. I glance around the empty common room and my eyes widen as I see an owl sitting on the table near the window, written on the letter was my name.

"How did an owl get in here, Evans is that for you?"

I ignore Potter and move towards the letter, quickly opening it. I recognized Emily's elegant script right away.

They're coming.

I pull my wand out, muttering incendio and the letter burst into flames.

"Evans, what are you doing?" he grabs my arm to make me drop the burning letter so, I don't burn myself. "Evans, what's wrong? Answer me?"

I turn to him and just stare at him. They can't be- how could they know?

I push away from James and swish my wand again. "Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery doe appears in front of me and I lean forward in it's ear. "Katarina, they're coming." And then it's running. I stare after it's figure into I can't see it anymore and instantly I'm cold again.

James grabs my shoulders. "Evans, what is it?"

I close my eyes once and when I open them, I take a step back. "Nothing, Potter. Everything is fine."

He looks shocked. "What? You were just incoherent for like 5 minutes."

"It's nothing, I was-"

The common room door burst open and in runs Katarina. "Lily, I don't-"

"Where were you?" James demands noticing instantly that something was off.

"Are you drunk?" I ask, before she can answer.

"Yes, but-"

"Then you're not coming. I can't have you going there drunk."

She glares at me. "Lily, I'm going."

"No." I say narrowing my eyes right back at her. "You're not."

"Don't make me duel you Evans."

I smirk and point my wand at her. "I don't care. You're not going!"

"Protego!" I yell as I jet of purple light comes my way.

I shoot one back at her that she just blocks. "You're wasting time, Kat. Please just let me go!"

"Lily I-" And then she was frozen.

I glance back at James and see that his wand was out, pointed at his sister. "Go." He tells me.

I nod at him gratefully and run to the fire place. I step inside and point my wand at him. "Muffilato!"

He cups his ears as, the buzzing fills them. I smile slightly and then throw down the floo powder. "Order of the Phoenix!"

I stare at James and he watches on as I'm covered in green flames. He nods his head once at me and then I'm gone.