A:N/ Hey guys! Thanks for reviewing! I originally was going to skip this week's update because of the week I had. Driver's Ed, a track meet, lack of track practice, exams, and my play director's anger at my inability to come to the first rehearsal! Yeah, it's been hectic. But all the reviews told me…NO! You left such a cliff hanger! S o here it is. I hope it's "up to snuff" (you'll laugh later). It was kind of rushed with you know life getting in the way. Well oh well. Review please! Love you guys!

Disclaimer: I highly doubt J.K Rowling is currently suffering through Driver's Ed

Lily screamed involuntarily shouting James' name. She fell down in shock, nearly dropping her wand. The patronus she'd been holding for so long broke and a wave of exhaustion washed over her. Lily's eyes rose to the top of what had scared her. Directly in front of her stood a large, black, hairy spider and it was looking straight at her. Lily wasn't particularly fond of spiders. In fact she hated them. They were one of her biggest fears. It was something she'd picked up from her Mum. Rose Evans had once found a spider in peanut butter jar she was eating from, and from then on was terrified of them. Her husband John had always had to be on high alert in case his squashing skills were needed. Now Lily was staring at one of her biggest fears. Literally. The beast itself was the size of a bulldozer.

"Bloody hell" she whispered slowly, lighting her wand and rising from her current sprawled position hesitatingly. She held her wand out to get a better look at it.

Its entire body was huge. The head itself was the size of a wrecking ball. The beast was massive. And it might have been her imagination but she was pretty sure it looked hungry. Her voice was long gone and her knees couldn't seem to support her weight, so she was stuck on the ground. The spider's eyes blinked menacingly. Its mouth opened and Lily shut her eyes, expecting the worst.

"I never knew humans were so very daft." A raspy voice rang out. Lily opened one eye "To stumble into an acromantula sleeping ground and stay there"

Lily opened her other eye. She looked around. Despite what she'd surely just witnessed, she couldn't seem to comprehend a massive spider speaking to her. She stared back at the spider, mouth open.

"One who can't move" she snapped. Despite still being exhausted and broken and near death Lily didn't like what it was implying and she wasn't going to sit or rather…kneel and take it. The spider's many eyes widened in surprise.

"Obviously I'm not exactly up to snuff at the moment" she rolled her eyes and pointed to her many bruises and cuts, ignoring the rapid beat of her heart.

"I'm not that daft. I would have moved. If I could have. You're not so bright yourself challenging a wi-Lily Evans" Lily covered herself quickly hoping he hadn't caught it. If it knew she had a wand she would lose the only advantage she had.

"With no wand?" the beast asked suspiciously. Lily blinked and slid her wand into the waist band of her jeans. He hadn't noticed the bright light coming from it moments ago? And he had the nerve to call her daft?

"Your point?" she asked coldly. A low rumbling sound came from the spider, and for a short moment, Lily thought she was experiencing an earthquake, that is before she realized it was laughing. Laughing at her, seriously? She was half dead and her biggest fear was twelve feet tall and laughing at her?

"You are a feisty little witch….without a wand. I am a feisty acromantula with a large stomach" it answered chuckling. Lily shrugged, doing her best to keep her fears down.

"Fine. I'd just like to tell you though, I taste very sarcastic" she said trying again to stand up. The spider made the low rumbling sound again and Lily shivered.

"Having trouble, human?" it said inching towards her. Lily subconsciously took two steps back, shuffling on her knees. She rolled her eyes.

"And you called me daft?" she asked "Did you not hear me say the words 'not up to snuff'?" She gritted her teeth, refusing to let the spider win. She rose carefully to her feet and rested her weight on a large oak tree near her. Her ankle hurt like hell but she was standing. And that was all she needed at the moment. The spider watched, amused.

"What or more likely who hurt you, human?" it asked. "Clearly someone did it to you, and no one comes into the forest by accident" Lily snorted and tried to get a better grip on the tree.

"Let's see, would you like me to start with my parent's death, Death Eaters, or my ex best friend, who coincidentally is now a Death Eater?" she asked. The spider's face twisted with confusion. Never had a human been so open with him. Not since his days with Hagrid.

"You are a strange human Lily Evans" Lily cringed at its use of her name. "You don't seem to be fazed by my appearance" Lily smirked cheekily.

"Oh I am, I'm just not stupid enough to show it" the beast let out its rumbling chuckle. Then it became an all out, hoarse laugh.

"I am Aragog Lily Evans. And I would very much like to hear your story" Aragog said. Lily slid down the tree to the ground.

Her story? She wasn't even sure what her story was anymore. A month or two ago she could have told the large spider that she was a seventh year muggle born with a best friend named Hestia and a slowly becoming less of a pest named James. Now she could tell him how she'd been tortured. Or how her parents had died in a car wreck- a car wreck of all things! How she hadn't been there to save them. Could she have?

But was she honestly going to play Dr. Phil with an acromantula? She'd read about them. Their venom was highly valuable but their pincers were highly lethal. No doubt Hagrid had something to do with this.

"Do you know Hagrid?" she asked quickly, trying to change the subject. The spider's eyes widened in surprise, if she didn't know any better, Lily would say it's mouth was open in shock too…then again…it was a talking spider.

"Just tell me your story Lily Evans, it may prolong you're inevitable death "Aragog said harshly. Lily's hear beat quickened. Wand and a distraction. That's all Lily Evans needed.

She gave a fake sigh of relent. "I was…upset because my parent's died" she began. The spider listened quietly, not interrupting.

"Then a er….friend of mine was in the same situation and I tried to help" she continued. The spider sighed. He knew of a friend that had gone much too far to help him.

"He said some…things and I ran into the forest because I overreacted" she continued, tears threatening to fall. Aragog shook his gigantic head. Humans.

"Then I woke up and…I was captured by Death Eaters" tears were brimming her eyes, and her voice began to shake.

"Then my er…ex best friend helped me escape, but I was too tired and hurt so I stopped here." She eyed the spider warily "Which apparently makes me daft" the spider chuckled. Lily wiped at her eyes hastily.

"Why were you out here?" she said, avoiding the subject. Aragog gave her a look before answering in his low rasp

"I was hunting"

James stared at the last shimmers of the screaming doe. All other eyes were on him. He just stared. Like a stone. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. Actually, he could think. But only about Lily. A year ago, the fact that every eye in Hogwarts was on him, would have made him giddy. But today the fact that ones that mattered weren't and probably never would be made him a statue. His mind was blank. He vaguely heard Dumbledore dismiss everybody. Part of him may have felt Sirius gently tug him out of the room. But all he hear was the words of the doe repeating in his head and all he could feel was the ache in his heart where Lily was supposed to be. And the funniest part? She hadn't even to seemed to notice that a few years back she'd taken up permanent residence there.

"James" a voice called. James didn't answer

"Potter" said another. James responded with the same lack of response.

"Oi where's Lily?" said one. James arms shook and his head twitched, but Sirius and Remus kept him on a straight path ahead, Peter close behind.

"Potter!" a voice yelled. Again, James ignored it.

"James!" the same voice called again. James kept walking.

"JAMES SODDING POTTER!" the voice screamed. The Marauders stopped. The voice was a girl's but the tone was what made them stop. James turned his head to see Hestia Jones' raging face coming towards him.

"Why did she think you would take the blame?" she asked bluntly. Sirius looked at her in surprise. James didn't answer, but looked down.

"I said WHY DID SHE THINK YO WOULD TAKE THE BLAME?" Hestia screamed. Clearly, the loss of her friend was not a light one. Sirius dropped James' arm and held a hand towards Hestia, glancing back at James warningly, telling her to back off. Hestia gave him a glare.

"I will most certainly not back off Sirius Black" she huffed loudly.

"My best friend is missing and I just found out that you're little golden selves are part of it!" she screeched, attracting the eyes of many wanderers. Remus stepped in.

"Hestia" he said calmly. Hestia fixed her glare to him. Remus flinched but didn't back down.

"We'll tell you everything we know about…Lily" he continued, Sirius looked at him, shocked. Remus ignored him.

"But can we do it in a place where were not basically telling the public?" he asked glancing around nervously. Hestia rolled her eyes.

"She pretty much took care of that for you" she muttered, but nodded. Sirius grabbed James' arm again and they continued to drag him towards his room. The head's room. His and Lily's room. He suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to burst into tears. James Potter never burst into tears. But that little feisty red head was enough to do it. Remus muttered the password and pushed James inside.

Hestia sat down dramatically on a couch and eyed the Marauders, waiting for an explanation. Remus and Sirius exchanged a glance. They sat James down into one of the arm chairs.

"James…he- well he was upset" Remus began. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"James was a bit of a git so Lily ran into the forest and was captured and apparently escaped and is now in some sort of trouble and so James feels very guilty" he said in a rush. Remus held up his hands in exasperation.

"You couldn't do that any kinder?" he whispered angrily. Sirius shrugged. Hestia sat back into the couch, digesting the new information.

"wh-wha-wha-what did he say?" she asked, her voice quivering. For the first time, the boys noticed that her cheeks were streaked with tears.

"erm…" Sirius said, for once at a loss for words. Remus huffed. Sirius looked at him and said:

"Yeah, that was kinder" under his breath.

"He yelled at her for not understanding the pain of grief?" Hestia's face contorted with rage. The boys nodded.

"Not understand grief?" she whispered murderously, rising slowly from her seated position. The three boys took a step back. James looked up for the first time.

"Do you understand-" she threw her hands up, and her face reddened.

"Her parents are dead, her sister hates her, and her former best friend has decided to make a hobby out of killing people like her!" she screamed. All four boys flinched.

"Last week Mulciber attacked her in a corridor- a bloody corridor!" she lowered her voice to a deadly whisper. The boys' eyes widened.

"The day before that someone sent her muggle-born hate mail!" she said voice back to screaming. The boys look shocked and took another step back.

"The day after Mulciber attacked her, Avery tried to jinx 'mudblood' across her damn forehead!" Hestia's face was red and she looked on the verge of exploding. She eyed the Marauders, daring them to say something.

"We- we-" Sirius stuttered.

"Didn't know?" Hestia interrupted angrily. Sirius nodded sadly. Hestia huffed.

"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T KNOW!" she shrieked. The boys flinched and James' eyes welled up.

"That girl spends more of her life making sure no one sees her pain then she does living!" Hestia panted.

"You all think you know everything but you don't even see what's right under your nose!" Hestia was furious.

"Well he was upset" Sirius stammered nervously. Hestia rolled her eyes.

"It's not even the fact that you told her things like 'you don't understand grief'" Hestia mimicked in a mocking tone, looking straight at James.

"It's that you claim to love her but you didn't notice she was miserable, but as soon as you're upset you can say the most awful things I guess the world stops for James sodding Potter!" James raised his eyes to her stomach, unable to make eye contact.

"I hope you're happy! You can go on her list of absolutely bloody awful things that have happened to her! Hestia spat, throwing a pillow above their heads, towards the stairs.

The Marauders just stared. Lily? As in bright, happy, optimistic Lily? They'd never seen her smile waver, not even the week her parents died. They'd never seen her cry or even stumble when someone insulted her. She'd been going through all of this? There were no words for the amount of guilt James felt. He wanted to crawl into a hole. Surely he'd be smothered by his own guilt. Lily had been through so much… and he'd only added to that pain. He knew that muggle-borns were looked down on, but to this extent? Lily was the most talented witch he'd ever met and she was the target of all this hate?

James looked straight into Hestia's dark, tear filled eyes and said

"I'm the farthest think from it"