The bell goes, snapping me out of this silly, angry daze that Alice has left me in. I hastily shove the books back on a random shelf and pick up my stuff, heading for charms.

Charms. Where I sit beside James. Just like in every lesson. How does she expect me to stay away from him when I have to sit next to him every day?

I guess if I can't physically keep away, I'll have to do it mentally. Cut him off. Shut him out.

Surely he'll know something's up, though. He's not thick. What else is there that I can do though? Because I'll bet it'll only take something little for Alice to snap and run off to James' parents, messing everything up completely.

James is already in the classroom when I get there. I stop in the doorway and take a breath. How am I going to do this?

"Hi," he says brightly as I dump my bag on the desk and sit down. Should I just ignore him completely? No, then he will know something's wrong.

"Hello," I reply in a stiff sort of voice, not looking at him. Wow, this is going to be hard. I hope James finds a way to get rid of Alice soon because I don't think I'll be able to stay away from James very well anymore. How times change, huh.

But what if that doesn't work? What if he does find a way to get Alice to cancel the engagement, but they're still both forced into it? I suddenly have a strong desire to ask James this, but hold my tongue.

"What's the matter?" James asks, and he's frowning. I don't get a chance to answer because Flitwick's starting the lesson. I guess it'll have to wait.

Whilst scratching down notes from the board, I have a sudden realisation.

Alice isn't here. She's not in this room, nor will she ever be. She can't see if I'm 'staying away' from James. Hell, I could lean over and kiss him right now if I wanted to, she can't stop me. She's not even in our house, so I guess the only way she'll ever get to nosy in on us is meal times, break times and Hogsmeade visits, I guess.

Why didn't I realise this earlier? Damn Lily, you're slow. But I probably still won't be able to tell James about Alice threatening to snitch on us. He'd go mad, blow everything and that'd be it.

"So what's up?" James whispers as Flitwick's back is turned.

"Nothing," I whisper back. "Why?"

"You're biting your lip," he replies. "You do that when you're worried."

Do I? I had no idea.

"So?"

Flitwick loudly shushes the room – we aren't the only ones whispering. When his back is turned again I say in what I hope is a bright tone, "Nothing's wrong," and offer him a smile, but he doesn't seem convinced.

"Is it Alice?" James asks me as we head out of the classroom at break.

"What?"

"She won't be here for long, Lily. I'm working on it," he assures me. When we get to the staircase, I stop. Suddenly I feel very paranoid that Alice'll be beadily watching us somewhere.

"Um, listen," I say slowly. "I'm going to go to the library."

He frowns a little and then nods. "Okay, I'll come with you."

"No!" I say far too quickly, and I can see a suspicious look spread over his face. Oh god, this is ridiculous. I'll have to tell him something. I can't just avoid him for no apparent reason all day, just on the off chance that Alice'll be lurking somewhere.

"I can't – I don't think… James, I don't think it's a good idea to -"

"Lily," he says, pulling me out of the doorway, "You don't need to be scared of her, you know."

"I'm not scared of her!" I say, annoyed. Well, I'm not. I'm just scared of what she's going to do. But I can't tell James that, not yet. "I just… can't be doing with any drama or anything."

This is also true. It was bad enough her making such a scene in the middle of dinner in front of loads of people. I can't have her doing it every waking minute.

"I just… I think it's better if you spend break and eat lunch and dinner with the others, you know?"

He frowns again. "What about you? You're just going to sit by yourself?"

I shrug. "I don't mind, I'm used to it. I'll still see you in lesson and in the evenings," I say with a hopeful smile.

Then he shakes his head. "No, don't be stupid, we aren't doing that. We don't have to change everything just because she's here."

Yes, James, we do. Because otherwise she'll have another tantrum and run off to your mummy because you don't want to be her lovely, caring husband.

I sigh.

"It's what I want to do. Like you said, she'll only be here for a while. It's only… what, like two and a half hours a day?"

"Yeah, but -"

"But nothing," I say. "Anyway, I know she'll want to be wherever you are, and I can't bear to be around that stupid sickly voice of hers."

He smirks, and I think I've won him over. I scan the corridor for students and when I can't see any, I quickly give him a quick kiss on the cheek, shutting him up before he decides to protest.

"I'll see you in a bit," I tell him and then head off to the library.

"Well, you were right," James says in an annoyed voice as he slams his textbook down beside me in transfiguration.

"About what?"

"As soon as she saw you weren't about, she bounced straight over to us in the courtyard and wouldn't go until the bell went," he grumbles.

"Aren't you a lucky boy?" I say sarcastically, and he doesn't seem too amused.

"What would you have done if… you know, this hadn't happened?" I ask him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, if I hadn't… you know, what if things had stayed like they'd always been? Would you have just married her?"

He shrugs. "Maybe. Not without a fight though."

"But you would have just accepted it?"

He shrugs again. "Yeah, I guess. If it wasn't Alice, it wouldn't have been anyone else."

"That's ridiculous," I say, "You've got tonnes of girls after you!"

"Yeah, but they weren't you," he says, "Not until recently anyway."

He squeezes my hand under the desk and I flush.

"Okay, stop it now," I say quickly as I smirk, because the classroom is almost full now and I hate all this mushy stuff.

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