A/N: This challenge is actually one of my personal favorites, so this chapter was a blast to write. I also get a chance to advance the LJ here, which is nice. Lily has generally been kept to the sidelines or portrayed as an aloof bitch, and that's not fair. She's got things to say this chapter and she will say them.

In other news, I am never using Babblefish ever again for translations. Some readers who knew French pointed out that it doesn't work and I have learned my lesson. So sorry about that.

And do keep pointing out my little mistakes so I can go back and fix them. An error in Chapter 8 was recently fixed (thanks, Nath). Guys, I'm not perfect and it's definitely okay to tell me so.

Otherwise, thank you for all the support you've bestowed upon me; and really, I hope you enjoy this.

Cheers.
Xx

--

Alice Prewitt

--

Once we're out of the classroom post-elimination, I walk with Lily to the Room of Requirement with the other girls. They're all quite chatty as we go, Alicia telling Sydney and Sadie something about how sorry she is that Hannah's gone and Lucille babbling anxiously to Verity about how shocking it is that she was in the bottom two.

Lily and I mostly remain quiet until we open the door into our little dormitory and settle in on my bed. As usual, we're not going to join Alicia and her group – we stretch out and get comfortable, our communication currently without words but subject to change very soon.

Lily is subdued tonight, her green eyes like flat butterbeer, and the first thing I do is ask her softly, "Hey, love, are you all right?"

She sighs a deep sigh, one of those rare, vulnerable sighs she releases when she feels softer than she wants to – I can hear traces of slight self-disgust in the one exhale of air.

"Yes, I'm fine," she says.

"And because this is the response you gave me, I assume you know that I'm not going to believe you and ask you if you want to talk anyway," I say. "Lils, honestly, talk to me. I want to know what's going through that twisted brain of yours."

The thing I love about Lily is that as irrational and pig-headed as she is more than capable of being, she (usually) does know where to draw the line and soften up, let her guard down, and look at me with those beseeching green eyes of hers before sighing deeply again. She does this now, broken down to her elements, laid out before me in the middle of the Room of Requirement.

"I…can't talk because I don't even know what's going on in my head right now," she murmurs in an undertone so that someone like, say, Alicia, doesn't overhear her. "It's…weird, being here. Weirder than I imagined. It's so out of my comfort zone."

"That's what it's meant to do," I explain gently. "You're not supposed to be feeling comfortable. The Marauders are pushing you. I don't think they intended to, but they're really trying to not only figure us out themselves, but help us figure ourselves out too. They accidentally stumbled upon something bigger than a chance to date one of them."

Lily chews her lip, hugging her knees into her chest and not allowing our gazes to waver. "I dunno. It's all pretty bloody stupid. I'm not enjoying it." Her sentiments are so harsh compared to her open, exposed expression. I try to take this in and figure out the best way to phrase my answer.

"Well…there's a reason you find it so bloody stupid," I say. "It's because this competition is scaring you. A lot."

"Oh don't you go all psycho-analyst on me," Lily protests scornfully, closing up just a little. "Alice, you are not my psychologist!"

"Maybe not, but I'm the closest thing to a psychologist that you've got, and this is valuable information," I say, far too accustomed to Lily's antics to take them seriously. "You're deflecting. This competition is scaring you, but it's an internal and highly embarrassing pain you've got, and talking about it could unearth emotions you don't want to examine. I totally understand that."

Lily stares at me, though with surprise or resentment or sudden fear I can't say. She always looks at me like this when I stumble too close to her hidden truths – like she can't believe I am observant enough to pick up on things she works so hard to keep from me.

Little does she know that she is the only one I can do this for – with anyone else, I can't figure them out with this exact type of precision.

"Alice, you're mad," she finally says, even though she can also probably tell that this is a very half-hearted swat at my amazing abilities. "You…you're mad. Just bloody mad."

I pat her shoulder understandingly as Alicia lets out a hoot of laughter from her bed. "I know. But first you have to answer me a very important question."

"Let me guess – you want to know how I feel after my less-than-fantastic critique at panel tonight?" Lily suggests, arching her eyebrow.

"Ah…so close, but alas, wrong," I say sympathetically. "But you're close – I was going to ask you how you feel about James Potter tonight."

Lily gives a huge, almighty exhale, blowing her bangs almost to the top of her head. The irritation and slightly manic anxiety is almost tragically obvious in her face as she grasps for straws.

"Of course you want to know how I feel about James Potter!" she proclaims. "You always want to know how I feel about James Potter! You know why you always want to know how I feel about James Potter?"

"Yes, dear, do tell," I say politely.

"Because you love Frank!" Lily explodes, so loudly that some of the girls by Alicia glance curiously at us. "You have this enormously big crush on Frank and since you're far too terrified to tell him how you feel about him, you're attempting to get me to buck up and get what you think will make me happy!"

I am silent. Lily continues, "Well, you know what, you're wrong. I am not going to be your distraction anymore. I don't love James Potter, and you need to remember that, adhere to that, and stop bothering me about it. My opinion isn't going to change."

Wow. This is certainly unexpected. I can't help but stay quiet for a second or two because never did I dream Lily would twist my words into something that came back around to slap me right in the face. I mean, it's not altogether a foreign concept for someone like Lily, but the fact that she brought it to life so sharply and unexpectedly certainly threw my head for a spin.

However, because it's Lily and I know her tactics, I recover pretty quickly and change my argument ever so slightly.

"Well, since you're so against that question – how about this one?" I inquire. "Why did you actually give this competition a chance this time around? Why did you try if it was so bloody stupid to you?"

"B-Because–" sputters Lily.

"Yes?"

She sputters a little more, beginning sentences and then starting over, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, she knows as well as I do that she doesn't have a good answer for this question. She gives up and I do my best not to gloat. Instead, I give her a look of understanding (I, of all people, know how it is to have so many conflicting emotions for a boy inside of me that I can't even control) and I rest my hand on her arm. She softens up all over again on me and I'm grateful for it, sadistic as that may sound to passerby.

"Look, Lils," I begin as sweetly as I can. "I know it's tough for you, having to give a guy you are determined to hate something as easy to abuse as a chance. But you know, James really does deserve one – he is a good kid and you don't hate him."

For once, Lily doesn't argue. She just looks at me.

I go on, "This competition…it only scares you because it brings out everything you don't like to think about. As feisty as you are, you are still human – you enjoy the idea that those four boys find you beautiful. But, since you are still feisty, you think it's embarrassing to be flattered, so you're trying to cover it up and hide behind your abundant sarcasm. It may work on mere mortals, love, but it won't work on me. I know you far too well."

Lily purses her lips, her eyes dark, clearly pondering how to throw this back in my face. The fact that she has think of another battle strategy is satisfying enough for me.

I say, "James is cute, Lily. And he's very charming, despite what you say otherwise. It's okay to love him."

Personally, I've never understood Lily's stubborn refrain of James Potter being a horrible person. He isn't. I actually rather like him, although not in that way, never in that way. Sure, he's a little feisty, but Lily's just as feisty if not more so – in fact, preciously little separates him from her.

They are both misguided, obstinate, charismatic, tenacious, intelligent, and emotional people who enjoy making a scene when they feel like things are getting boring. They both possess endless witty quips and a life to them that makes people like Alicia seem so shallow and disappointingly small – like glitter next to a hearty wildfire.

Forget light vanquishing darkness – in this case, darkness needs more darkness. Lily thrives in his company, in their sharp, tension-filled banter that no one else can keep up with. James thrives in everything about her – her quirkiness, her silliness, her inability to open up when the time most demands it. They're perfect together. They would make magic – real magic, not the type made with wands. That is, they would if Lily let them, which she won't at present.

I gaze at my best friend, silenced by this conversation, and I see I'm hitting sore spots here. She's been thinking about this for a while and she's not comfortable enough to talk about it. But I think she should be – I mean, I know what this is doing to her, of course I do, but I also think that she's being a baby. There's a time to lie down and think and a time to brainstorm with someone you trust; and now is the time for Lily to sit up, get her thumb out of her mouth, and talk to me like the adult she is so close to being.

"So Lily, answer me," I say. "Are you all right?"

Lily takes a few breaths, but she knows this tone of mine, and she says, "No. I'm not all right. But I can tell you that I don't like James. I just…I don't. Is it so impossible for people to believe that a guy and a girl who hate each other actually hate each other?"

I sigh. "There's no real answer to that question," I say. "It's all determined on the individual couple. With some people, they do hate each other. With others – like you and James – it becomes clear that you don't. Trust me; if you saw the way the way you two act in public, you wouldn't doubt this."

"But I'm not on the outside, am I?" says Lily. "I'm on the inside. I'm here. This is my life you're trying to meddle with. I don't love this boy! This isn't some romantic film or novel or something where they hate each other a while and then decide to throw it all away to snog in an abandoned cupboard. This is me. Me as a person, me as a woman. If I don't like him, there's no way for you to magically force us together."

"I'm not forcing you together," I say. "I'm simply trying to get you to realize that you love him. Because you do. Other than yourself, I know you better than anyone in the world. I've seen you in and out of relationships for the past few years and this isn't something to toss out as a schoolchildren's war. It's special. You know he means something to you."

"He doesn't," she says shortly. "He never has."

"Maybe you should give this a go," I say. "I mean, honestly, how bad could it be, dating James Potter?"

"Oh, you know exactly how bad it would be," Lily says, low and flat, resting her cheek on her knee, her eyes now facing away from me. "I mean…at the beginning it would be fun and interesting and we'd go along at break-neck speed – he would be interesting, I would be another challenge, and we would coexist in a state of constant tension and drama and chaos as we get to know each other. Then later, his obsession with competition would just become annoying and then all the challenge I presented will be used up, so we'd become tired of each other, annoyed that this isn't working as it should've…which would usher in the inevitable break-up, when we acknowledge that as golden as we might seem, we aren't, and it's time to throw in the towel, give up this stupid game. Then I'd get pissed on firewhiskey and I'd be depressed and…I'd be hurt. Badly. End of fairytale."

I blink. "Well, obviously you haven't given this too much thought before," I say.

Lily snorts. "You know what I mean," she says. "It's…it's bound to happen. I don't want to become an old newspaper or something to him. Relationships mean something to me – I give my all, you know? I don't want to give my all to someone I'm well aware is only temporary."

"Lils, if this is about getting yourself hurt, you already know what I'm going to say," I tell her. "Whatever pain you're afraid of, it's not worth missing out on him. He adores you, but he won't be waiting forever."

"Of course not," she says. "That's why we're here, aren't we? He's moving on. He's looking at photographs of girls who are tripping over themselves to get noticed. He's looking to date the winner of this competition – if they'll let him."

"But you're in the running," I point out. "If he wanted to get over you, he wouldn't have made sure you were in the final list. He wouldn't have worked so hard to keep you here, even when you started making his life difficult. He believes in you, Lils – in his own way, he's telling you that now, he's taking his last gamble on you. It's now or never; you have to let him know how you feel about him."

Lily is silent. Again. Call me mad, but we seem to have a lot of awkward, thoughtful silences when we discuss James Potter. And, call me madder, but I think they might be because for once in her logical life, Lily Evans has finally found someone who makes no sense to her but appeals to her anyway.

I smile slightly and gently tuck her hair back behind her ear. "I'm not saying you have to do anything right this second," I say, "but keep it in mind. Remember what I'm saying. He's giving you time. Use it and don't screw this up."

"How do I not do that?" Lily's voice is taut, strained. "I always screw things up."

"This isn't the time to get self-doubtful on me," I say. "James picked you for a reason. He has invested a lot of time to show you he thinks you won't screw this up."

Lily pulls her knees in tighter and I can tell this conversation is over, it won't go any farther tonight. But I'm not sorry; I got some good points in. She's starting to get it. Slowly, painstakingly, and in her own quiet Lily way, but she's getting it. That's more than I could've asked for.

Nodding slightly to her, I pick up my bag and set it down beside me, extracting a few of my textbooks. Lily takes my cue and jumps up to get her own bag, settling in on her own bed next to mine, unrolling parchment covered with her neat, bubbly cursive.

With the babble going on around us as a soundtrack or a radio, we work, silently but mutually agreeing that despite everything, life must surely go on.

--

After another long day of lessons and schoolwork, Lily and I prepare for our latest challenge, which will take place tonight. We gather as a group as per usual in the corridor in front of the Room of Requirement and, also as per usual, the topic of conversation is what our challenge could possibly be.

"There are seven of us, a lucky number," notes Sadie. "I think it could be something very special."

"That's right! Merlin, Sadie, you're so bloody clever," marvels Alicia, making Sadie blush. "Yes. I think that's it. It'll be something very special. Something dealing with the number seven. What deals with the number seven?"

"I dunno…stars, maybe?" Sydney suggests lamely.

"Could be," Alicia says noncommittally. "But what else? C'mon, you lot…if we brainstorm and someone comes up with the right challenge, I'll take you out for butterbeer or something when I get the money."

At the mention of money, the great equalizer, Lucille's interest is caught and she starts brainstorming with Sydney, Alicia, and Sadie. Verity chooses not to participate, preferring to loiter about, her eyes as cloudy as ever, expression mild. I always wonder what that girl is thinking – she always looks so mysterious.

I look to Lily to see if she's in the mood to talk, but she isn't; she is far too quiet today. Obviously, I think I know why, but I don't want to push her. I don't want to shove her into anything at all – that wouldn't be right. I have to give her prods when she starts looking helplessly into all directions, but other than that, I'm hands off.

Like she said herself, it's her life. I can only advise, the rest is up to her.

So, because Lily isn't in the chatty mood and I'm not quite in the enduring-mindless-speculation-on-something-I'll-get-information-on-in-five-minutes banter, I observe, like Verity is; and to be frank, us girls from afar can be a pretty frightening thing.

I mean, for one thing, there's me and Lily. We look like social pariahs, lingering and being antisocial away from everyone else. Then there's Verity, gazing off into the distance like she's about to Apparate away from here in three seconds. Then there's the main group of loud girls – Lucille hanging on the edge like a moth, Sydney shyly going along with things because that's all she knows how to do, Alicia leading the whole party and enjoying the limelight, Sadie drinking in Alicia-rays as if they're actually worth having (I will never figure out why she does that – doesn't she know better?).

We're a motley group and only now do I realize that, after three eliminations, we're only seven girls left. The group is beginning to shrink noticeably. I wonder when it'll be my time to go home – or Lily's.

With a sigh, I lean my head back against the wall and stare at the ceiling, staring at the haphazard patterns of gray stones above me, until I hear the familiar chirp of, "Good evening, ladies."

At once, my head snaps up and I find that the Marauders are here (minus Remus, which isn't uncommon), James grinning with his signature impishness, waiting for us. I smile as sweetly as I can in their presence – because after all, in their eyes, I'm just Alice the Sweetheart.

"Hey Jamie," says Alicia cheerfully. "How are you?"

"'M good, myself," says James, winking. "Thanks for asking."

Alicia laughs, and Sirius cuts in, "All right then, we've had our Alicia-and-James-flirting quota for the evening, thanks. We're here for a job and damnit, we're going to get our job done!"

Peter blushes, a guilty expression on his face, and all of a sudden, Sirius explodes into giggles. "Sorry, sorry, not that way," he amends, winking just as James had.

Now the dirty double-meaning dawns on us and Alicia and James explode into similar giggles, while the rest of us give a few sarcastic ha-ha's. Lily doesn't say anything and in this case, I'm glad she didn't.

"You're awful!" Alicia weeps. "But either way, let's get your job done, shall we? What are we doing today?"

"Good question, Alicia," says James approvingly. The smile on his face is so warm, so goofy, that Lily and I exchange smirks. "What we're doing today is another photo-shoot."

"This time, however, the theme will be the seven sins," reveals Peter with an enormous grin. "Each of you has been assigned a specific sin and you will be portraying it for us today in front of the camera. Exciting, huh?"

Interest runs high throughout us, including me too, admittedly. The seven sins! That's quite creative, to be honest. Our outfits (knowing the Marauders, their extravagance, and their not-so-unusual knack of getting astonishing favors from people) are probably going to be gorgeous; I can't help but instantly wonder which sin the boys assigned for me.

I glance at Lily. She doesn't look sullen anymore, but otherwise, I can't be sure how she feels about this. I'll have to worm an answer out of her somehow in a few minutes.

"We should have our girl-maintenance girls coming soon…I thought I told them bloody seven…" Sirius cranes his neck to crossly inspect the corridor to see if his little victims are here yet. Then his face bursts into an enormous smile.

"Oh, here they are!" he says. "OI! GIRLS! OVER HERE!"

Alicia pretends to be extremely disgruntled by Sirius's shouting – playing in a bit of a pantomime with James and Peter but mostly James – but the rest of us are far too accustomed to Sirius's shouting to give it much thought. The four girls hurry their steps and appear before us, pink from the running and the embarrassment.

"Sorry, Sirius," says Penny. "We were just checking up on the outfits in the classroom you told us you'd be using."

"And I had to bring make-up," adds Bella, holding up the bulky make-up box that has made an appearance more than once before. "It's so bloody heavy."

"Wonderful, you're here," says Sirius, ignoring all this. "So…we just explained the basic concept behind today's shoot…which means you four, along with those seven, can go and get everything ready while we wait with the camera!"

"Sounds good." Penny nods and leads Bella and the other two whose names I don't know along down the corridor they'd just come from. Bella grumbles a little as she hauls the box in her arms, but otherwise, she doesn't say anything else. Sirius, regretting nothing, beams away at us.

"Well, what are you waiting for? We don't have anything else to tell you," he says. "Go follow them."

We girls start and follow directions, trooping after the third-years to our getting-ready station. This is the cue for us to start eagerly discussing the challenge. Lucille, from what I hear of her rapid monologue to Verity, is ready and willing to prove herself to the Marauders this week. Alicia is also quite excited.

"This is great!" she chirps. "I love pictures. They're absolutely hysterical. I wonder what my sin is going to be."

"Lust, most likely," Lily says dryly to my ear, not bothering to keep her voice down in case Alicia hears her. "She's the biggest flirt I've ever seen in my life. When she does it, it should be a sin."

Okay, so Lily doesn't like Alicia very much. She keeps it quiet because she's not in the mood to pick more fights than she needs in this competition (i.e. she wants to focus her energies on James, not Alicia) but Alicia is a lot of the things Lily dislikes both about herself and the world in general.

Alicia is quirky, something Lily prides herself on being. Alicia is funny, but not in the way Lily likes it – she's crude, raw, hysterical, while Lily prefers the wry, intelligent type of humor. Alicia is also someone who attracts all kinds of attention, both wanted and unwanted. Lily is one of those people who think that the limelight should be under the control of the beholder – which means she only wants it when she's ready for it. Watching Alicia steal it all the time no matter what annoys Lily.

It's not the most rational of hates (Lily is famous for them) but she harbors it, and seeing Alicia twitter about James Potter, the one person who holds all these contradictions she can't balance, throws her farther over the edge than she would like to go.

Thankfully for all of us, though, Alicia doesn't hear Lily's comment and continues her conversation with Sadie. She says, "I think all the sins can be really funny, so I don't think I'd care what they give me…but if I had to choose, I'd want lust. It would be the most fun to shoot."

Lily catches my eye and then makes a face that makes me want to scream with laughter. As irrational as she may be, Lily at least is very good at understanding people head-on.

"What sin would you two want?" Alicia asks, addressing Sadie and Sydney.

"Erm…I dunno," says Sadie. "Anything, really. Lust would be easy, but I think I'd enjoy one of the more obscure, odd ones. Gluttony, maybe…wrath might be interesting."

"I dunno – sins are awful no matter how you look at them, so you're not going to see me signing up to bring one to life any time soon," says Sydney.

"Yeah, but this is all in fun," says Alicia. "They're not making you live your life by that sin. You just have to take a good picture."

"I know, but still," Sydney says resolutely. "Sinning is wrong. The shoot is ingenious and attention-grabbing, I must admit it, but that doesn't mean I still agree wholeheartedly with it."

"You're so boring," complains Alicia. "It's a bit of fun! None of us are perfect. Sins are just a part of life. You take it and move on the best you can."

"No," Sydney insists. "Maybe they're a part of life, but you should do your best to limit them."

"Are you religious, by any chance?" Alicia wants to know.

"Yes," says Sydney.

"Well, I'm not, so I think the whole sinning thing is a little silly," says Alicia. "Why would some

Almighty Presence up there care if we steal a quill, or say something bad about someone, or make some mischief?"

"What else is there to care about, Alicia?" asks Sydney.

"Nothing! That's my point!" says Alicia. "It's just…this is life. You take it and you live it and whatever happens will happen. There's no one up there who's going to change it. What you do here won't make a difference when you die – good or bad."

"Fine, then if that's how you see it, why would you want to do bad things while you're here?" Sydney counters. "Why would you want to leave a negative legacy?"

"I want to leave a legacy that I don't regret," Alicia says firmly. "I'm not advocating mass-murder or kicking puppies in your free time or anything, but if I want to go out and have a bit of fun, mess around a little, I will. Sins, if they happen, are irrelevant to me. I have my own ethics code that I follow. I don't need some random book to dictate it for me."

Obviously, Sydney does not agree with this viewpoint in the least, but because it's Alicia, she purses her lips shut and doesn't say anything else. Sadie, bobbing beside Alicia and looking very lost, shrinks back and continues walking with Alicia, not saying anything. Lucille looks on with interest – and, for once, so does Verity. Only Lily turns the corner and enters our classroom without a single care in the world, which is hardly surprising.

Lily isn't the most religious person on the planet, but she still thinks Alicia is annoying, no matter what her beliefs are. Me personally, I don't mind her – I think she's harmless and occasionally kind of cute – but I obviously shouldn't say that in front of Lily.

Now that we are in the classroom, we instantly catch sight of the clothes waiting patiently for us on hangers. We are about to make a run for them, but Penny (clearly the leader of this group) holds us back.

"No," she says firmly. "I have a list from James that tells me what each of you is supposed to wear. Stand still and I'll give you your outfit."

I think it's kind of awkward to take orders from a thirteen-year-old – and I am one-hundred percent positive I am not the only one who thinks so – but the six other girls and I hold our ground as Penny clears her throat and shows us a sleek green ensemble designed to leave very little of the wearer's body-shape to the imagination (no doubt selected by Sirius or James).

"This is for Lucille," she informs us all. "You are going to be Envy."

Lucille surveys her outfit critically, but accepts it and retreats to a corner to change. Alicia giggles slightly. Penny now extracts another outrageous deeply navy ensemble designed perhaps to frighten everybody else off.

"This is for Alice," she says. "You are going to be Pride."

Sweet Merlin, I sincerely hope she's joking.

I stand there a few seconds, staring at that hideous thing, hoping that she's going to check her list and say, 'Whoops, never mind, this is actually a mistake and Alice has something else.' Penny does not say this. In fact, she reprimands me for not paying attention and thrusts the outfit into my hands, going back to her list. I am speechless.

Lily, at least, gets a good laugh at my expense. "Wow," she says. "It looks like someone put this up on a board and threw blueberries at it for hours."

"Ha. Ha. You are hilarious, Lily," I retort, grimacing. "Eurgh…"

I retreat to my own corner to get dressed. I really hope I can make this work, somehow, because clearly my outfit is not going to be helping me. Was Sirius involved with the outfit selection, or did he just pick them all at random with his eyes shut? I wriggle into my clothes miserably, hoping I look better than I think I do.

Penny rattles off names and sins and gives out the pieces, barking at us like a hotel manager or something, and then sets up the make-up with Bella, Mary, and Sara. They are waiting for us to change so they can do our make-up.

Naturally, Lucille is finished first and gets her make-up done by Sara. She's naturally thin and struts like a peacock, so the green Envy outfit works for her body. I finish after her and get my make-up done by Mary. My face looks quite good now, actually, which is a bit of a blessing considering how the rest of me has been done up. I might have to join Lily on a Marauder hunt one day for this one.

Once Mary's through with me, I approach Lily to show her how awful I look – but the words I half-planned to say die off in my throat the moment I get a look at her disgruntled expression and her outfit. I have to bite my lips to keep from laughing.

Poor Lily has been stuck with the most obvious (and ironic) of choices – Lust. She is wearing a short, deep red corset-dress that looks suspiciously like only a corset. It compliments her bright red hair and exposes her long legs quite nicely, but otherwise, it's horrible. It's actually worse than mine – because at least I don't look like a hooker. I pat her bare shoulder, still on the verge of hysteria.

"Erm…you look…lovely," I say.

"So do you," she snaps sourly, looking me over.

"Better this than…that," I say, gesturing to her corset. Lily's face darkens even more, if it's possible.

"You're right," she says. "Merlin. Why are we doing this again? Who picked these?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," I say, "but we're going to have to suck it up and deal with it, I suppose."

"We don't have to," says Lily. "We are, after all, citizens of this school that possess the power to say no if we so desire."

"Don't go all hoity-toity on me," I say.

"Hoity-toity? How can I be hoity-toity when I'm wearing a bloody corset?" Lily demands.

"You'd be surprised," I say. "You're acting like a prostitute getting offended by someone trying to grope her arse – it's silly. Suck it up and deal."

"I should walk out," she mumbles.

"But you won't."

"I should, though."

I sigh. "We let these boys get away with more than they ought to."

"That's exactly my point!"

"Give up, Lils," I say. "Let it go. Take the pictures, get them judged and move on."

"You are such a pacifist," she accuses me.

"Maybe, but I mean, a game isn't any fun if you don't take a few risks, step out of your comfort zone," I remind her. "I would never dream of doing this on my own, but sometimes…it takes a little push and an outlandish risk to get to something extraordinary."

"But it's stupid," says Lily.

"Most things are stupid," I say. "That's half the reason why we do them anyway. Blame the human condition, not me."

Lily has no response to this, so she and I sit on the side together as the other girls get done with make-up. Lucille, being overeager as ever, leaves first for her photo-shoot, which leaves me, Lily, Alicia, Sydney, Sadie, and Verity behind to sit in a circle together in the middle of the room. They all look much better than I do – their outfits are a little more traditional, with the exception of Alicia, who is Gluttony, and gets to wear a fat-suit. Since we are getting to be fewer and fewer, it's kind of nice relaxing together as a group.

"This is going to be so much fun," says Alicia, "but Lily, oh my goodness, you look so great."

"Thank you," says Lily. I know her well enough to catch that slight layer of sarcasm under her pleasant tone, but I don't think anyone else heard it. I stifle a grin.

"Your outfit is bloody adorable," continues Alicia. "You know, we ought to switch."

"Well, now the make-up and everything is already done, so that's probably not the most logical thing we could do at this point," says Lily sweetly.

"You're right," says Alicia. "Besides, James probably picked Lust especially for you."

Lily is caught off-guard by this, but no one else is; because after all, come on, how could we not jump automatically to that conclusion, given everything we know?

"Excuse me?" asks Lily.

"You know what I mean," says Alicia. "He likes you. Lust is your territory."

"He likes you too," points out Lily, frostiness entering her words.

"Yeah, but I'm just…me. You're Lily Evans, for Merlin's sake!" Alicia is bewildered that she has to explain this in such plain terms. "Don't play the stupid card on me; I know you know what I'm talking about."

No, no, sadly, Lily prefers not to know anything at all. Alicia now has that look on her face – the impish, ready-to-mess-around face that she has mastered so well – and I figure that the following conversation is not going to be one I want to take part in. I edge away from the group as subtly as I can and turn my ears off as Lily and Alicia begin to converse, choosing to loiter by the door until Lucille returns.

She can't come back fast enough. The moment I see Lucille approaching from the corner, I run at her and ask her which room to go to. She tells me, slightly confused, and sends me on my way. I flee the scene and tumble into the Marauders' classroom, breathless.

"Hi, Alice," says Sirius. "Wow, that was fast. You were that excited to shoot today?"

"Yeah, definitely, that's it," I say, clearing my throat.

Sirius grins. "Alice, you are such a cutie."

I give him a little curtsy and all three boys chuckle, appreciative of my humor. James surveys my outfit, wrinkling his nose ever so slightly as he judges it.

"Alice, love, are you sure that's the dress Penny said you needed?" he asks.

"Yes," I say, "and that was my exact reaction too when she gave it to me."

James sighs. "I am never letting Peter pick the dresses again."

"Hey, don't be mean!" protests Peter. "I was not given a good photograph of that dress when I was getting it from Hogsmeade – it was misleading!"

"The ones I picked probably look wonderful," says Sirius. "We'll see once Alicia, Sydney, and Lily come in. I should get dress duty more than Wormy does, Prongs."

Aha, so Lily's corset was Sirius's doing! I knew it. But honestly, if these are the kinds of clothes they pick for us, I'd rather them let Remus do the shopping. It would probably be safer.

"I think you ought to shut up and let us start shooting now, Sirius," says James. "Ready for this, Alice?"

I pull the haughtiest look I can, pretending I am Alicia, Queen of the Hormonal Teenage Boys, looking over my kingdom. I angle my face upward to make myself look a little taller. Peter snaps the shot and Sirius whistles.

"Alice! Damn! You are the best Pride person ever!" he whoops.

I keep my smile elusive. "Thanks, Sirius," I say. "Now what are you waiting for? Let's get our job done!"

Sirius rolls his eyes jokingly at me, while James laughs at the allusion and Peter grins, clicking the camera and obliging with pleasure.

--

A/N: So there you go…another chapter. Only 12 more to go until the end. But I think, with all the events in this chapter, it's important to tell you that Alicia will be our next narrator. From what you all are telling me, some of you like her and more of you don't. For now, all I can say is take a deep breath and her POV will help you understand her a little better.

And coming up next chapter…

An explosion.
A surprise.
A revelation.
A broken girl.
An elimination.

It's going to be fun, guys. The next two chapters are drama, drama, drama. And Chapter 13 will excite you muchly. And I have more DRAMA afterward that will take us to the end of the story. So keep reading and reviewing so I can keep churning these chapters out!