OK, this is a really exciting chapter, so if it looks like it's getting boring please stick with it and finish all the way through. Thanks!!

And thanks to lurv2boogie who has talked a bit of sense into me...I think. I'm still a little blonde today. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Nope, not JK Rowling. Wishing hard, not coming true. Damn.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

When Alicia and Jenna got back from holidays a week later they were concerned about the necklace and Petunia's engagement. Alicia almost took the necklace away, saying it could be jinxed or cursed, before Lily took it off herself and handed it over. "I'm fine," she reminded her friend before Alicia disappeared into the library. Lily was sure she wouldn't find anything: one reason was that the necklace wasn't jinxed, and another was that Alicia was not the best at Defence Against the Dark Arts.

With her seventeenth birthday approaching Lily realized abruptly one morning that she would be an adult among wizards. She would be legally entitled to using magic, Apparition, and many other things. It made her feel much older than mere seventeen.

One morning, a few days before the thirtieth of January, Lily had double Potions again. She'd been pricked in the hall by someone's wand and was being forced to perform prefect duties too early for her tastes, which didn't help her mood. This time, instead of being paired with Black, Slughorn matched her with Snape. That in itself was bad enough, but what made it worse was that Jacob Carson was being paired with Potter.

Feeling dread mix into the pit of her stomach she started pulling out her ingredients and cauldron as Snape began building the fire. Slughorn was making them mix a severely complicated potion, and it required her full attention, but it wasn't there, as she was irritated with Snape and Slughorn for pairing her with him.

Halfway through the class she added one too many eel's eyes and caused the mixture to boil rapidly. Snape cursed and started lowering the fire, hastily adding ingredients to rectify the mistake. Lily mumbled a meagre apology, feeling a headache coming on.

After that the class went down-hill. Lily constantly made mistakes, angering Snape even more than he usually was. He came near a few times to drastically insulting her, but bit his tongue and tried to correct the screw up. However, now their potion resembled a lumpy pudding rather than syrup.

Lily could tell few people were glancing over, confused as to why the two best potion students were doing so horribly. Potter and Jacob looked concerned rather than surprised, as both knew the two students usually did well under pressure, or any circumstance for that matter.

When it came time to hand in the potion Lily had given up. Her temples throbbing and hands trembling she stood up, gathered her books and cauldron, and started out of the class.

Alicia caught her by the elbow, worry etched in her face. "You okay?" she asked. Lily nodded mutely, not bothering to explain her stress. They made their way to their next class, where Lily again failed to perform perfectly. By lunch time she was considering pleading sick and going to Madam Pomfrey, but after eating she felt a little better.

The headache continued for a few days, though, and got worse. She buckled and accepted a migraine medication from the Healer when she headed to the hospital wing, but it did little, if anything. People began commenting on her pallid complexion and lack of focus. Slughorn offered her several remedies, but none worked.

By her birthday she was unable to sleep without a potent potion. The constant knives in her head stabbed at her brain and ached profusely, making it impossible to concentrate.

Eventually McGonagall called her to her office and sat her down under inspection by a very official-looking Healer who had come from St Mungo's. He tapped her head, asked where it hurt, and had her describe the pain and when it had started.

"Well, whatever it is it needs to be treated," he said finally. "I've never seen something like this."

"What does she need to do?" McGonagall asked briskly, eyes darting to Lily, who was massaging her temples with her fingers. "Sleep?"

"Lots of it, and heavy migraine medication, perhaps the Mind Soothing Draught," he said in a business-like tone. He drew parchment from his bag and wrote down instructions and suggestions. Then he left.

McGonagall looked at the list, and then at Lily. "Well, Miss Evans, you'll be excused from classes for a week. We'll write to your parents, tell them what's happening, tell them not to worry."

Lily didn't want her parents involved in this, but she couldn't formulate a protest.

"You say it started about a week ago?"

She nodded, feeling her head spin with the violent movement. "In Potions."

"What were you making?"

"I...I dunno. A remedy?" she guessed, wincing as the knives carved at her skull. "Can I lie down?"

"Yes, yes, we'll take you up to the hospital wing right away, Madam Pomfrey will have a bed ready, you need rest and relaxation." McGonagall escorted her upstairs, where the Healer buried Lily under blankets and gave her small helpings of soups and other easy-to-swallow foods; chewing was too painful.

It was eight o'clock when she fell into an exhausted sleep, but it was fitful. Pain throbbed in her skull, not allowing her peace or rest. She woke several times in the night, agony pulsing inside her fragile head, and she barely contained her pitiful moans.

By morning it was no better. Madam Pomfrey and the Healer from St Mungo's saw to her again, and this time he looked really upset, from what she could see. She only opened her eyes briefly, the light piercing her skull like a lance. The voices were too loud, everything too uncomfortable.

She was starting to become afraid when she had to ask Alicia who she was. Was this pain so bad she couldn't recognize her own best friend anymore? What was happening to her?

But it was a mark of her trust in the magical world that she didn't think she would die. They could heal anything, or nearly. This was just a headache. How could she die from a headache?

It was later that afternoon when she slipped into unconsciousness and something the Healers called a critical state. She was in a mild form of a coma, and no one was allowed to visit her. She didn't know all of the Gryffindors, every single one, had tried to see her. Most of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws tried too. Only the Slytherins seemed unconcerned that she was critically ill.

Only the Slytherins.

James sat in front of the fire, staring blankly into the flames, thinking of a way he could sneak in and see Lily. The full moon had just passed, and he'd been too caught up with Moony to pay full attention to Lily. Now she was nearing death, and he wasn't allowed to see her.

It was late, about ten o'clock, but he was nowhere near tired. Sirius and Remus were also awake, as were Alicia, Jenna, Grace Mitchell, Joanne Wakeside, and a few other close friends of Lily's. James was debating whether or not to use the invisibility cloak and sneak down to the hospital wing when Grace let out a frustrated sigh. "They can't keep us out!" she nearly yelled, knuckles white as she gripped the book she'd slammed shut. "She's our friend!"

"For your information, they can do whatever they want," Jenna said irritably. "They think they know everything."

"They have a point," Joanne said gently. "What could we do?"

"Well, they could at least let us see her before she snuffs it," Sirius grumbled, earning him several hard slaps. "Hey! I'm on your side!"

"That is the worst way you could have phrased that sentence," Remus said furiously. Not only was he upset they were banned from the hospital wing, but he'd just finished full moon and was still gaining back sleep.

"Whose up for a full-force break-in?" James asked, only half-joking. Jenna shot her hand into the air. "Me!"

"They'll have spells around to keep the sickness in if it's a virus, so human presence will be detected and barred entry," Grace reminded them. "There has to be something else."

"Human presence?" James asked suddenly. "Only humans?"

"And disease-carrying animals, like rats and birds," Grace added. "Why?"

"We could borrow someone's cat or something," James said excitedly. "Sneak in and unlock the door, or..."

Everyone looked at him as if he were mad. "A cat doesn't have the intelligence," Grace said gently. "Look, let's all go to bed, our brains are shutting down."

But Remus and Sirius were looking at James as if he were about to explode. Sirius was discouraging him from doing something, eyes worried. Alicia listened intently as Grace rounded them up and shuffled most of them off to bed.

"James, that's insane!" Remus hissed. "You'll be seen, heard, something will go wrong–"

"You could scare her to death," Sirius added, earning another hard punch to the shoulder. "Ow!" he howled, clutching the wounded area. "Damn it, I'm being reasonable!"

"What are you talking about?" Alicia asked softly. Grace was upstairs, but Jenna was still here, and as much as she loved her, Alicia didn't trust her big mouth. James looked at her as if in pain and shook his head. "Nothing, I–"

"Bed!" Grace called from upstairs. "Get up here, you five."

"One minute!" Sirius called. "Prongs, look, that's nuts. It'll go horribly wrong, McGonagall would have a fit–"

"Again, what are you talking about?" Alicia whispered. "Do you have an idea?"

James looked at her again and opened his mouth, but just then Grace came down, hands on hips. "I know we're all worried, but Lily would skin us if we failed courses, so all of us have to go to bed now."

James stood hastily and hurried upstairs. His friends followed, still muttering, but Alicia watched. Something was up. What could they be planning?

Grace looked at her and opened her mouth, but Alicia put up her hand. "I'm going, I'm going," she said angrily and stomped upstairs to her bed, where she flopped down fully dressed and closed her eyes.

"This is crazy," Sirius whispered for the hundredth time, as the trio skulked under the invisibility cloak toward the hospital wing. "It will never work! Even if you do get inside, Pomfrey and that air-head will be there in two seconds to throw you out again."

"Which is why you're going to lead one away," James hissed back. "As a dog, bark at them or something. I'll think of something when we get there."

"This is pretty desperate," Remus said logically. "Honestly, James, it's too risky, you could be expelled–"

"Does it look like I care?" he snapped a little loudly. Some pictures woke up, startled, and then promptly went back to snoring. "If she dies then I don't really have a reason to be here anymore."

"That's a load of–" But Sirius was cut off by Remus. "Is that why you pester her constantly, then?" he demanded softly. "Every day? Maybe she just wants peace and quiet, James, particularly now."

"I–I can't," he said in a broken voice. "You don't understand, really. It's like she makes life worth living. Just to argue with her and then laugh and tease her, and every once in a while a civil conversation...I just want to see her before..."

Neither Sirius nor Remus had seen James so emotional in their entire lives. They'd stopped now, near the wing, unknowingly. He looked as if the thought of Lily Evans dying would be too horrible for him to even consider. They hated to think what the reality would be like.

"But...It's Evans," Sirius whispered, still not understanding. "She says every day, Prongs, she'd rather date the squid. Why the hell do you care so much?"

"I don't know!" he exclaimed. "Just...if you won't help, then go back."

"We're coming," Remus said quickly. "Come on, we're almost there."

The three of them said nothing else, all amazed by the confession they'd just heard. James didn't think he'd ever say those things to Lily, let alone his best friends. There must be something truly wrong with his head for him to say such...personal things.

When they reached the door, however, someone had already beaten them to it. And worst of all, one of the invisible voices around the corner belonged to Severus Snape.

Ooooh, cliffy! Not a very good one, mind you, but if you stick through to the next chapter you'll see what the trio is planning, and who Snape is talking to. I think. Remember, hitting and running is a crime. Review!!!!

Kel