Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just the original characters and the plot. No copyright infringement is intended.

Revised

Lara had been on the lookout for Evie ever since their moment in the bathroom. She'd meant what she'd said: if the older Gryffindor needed to talk, she'd be there. But Evie had not appeared. At lunch that Friday, Lara had looked down the table to see the Marauders and Lily looking worried. Lara's own brow had furrowed with worry and concern had turned her lips into a thin line. When she excused herself to her own friends, they had assumed it was because she was off to cry some more over Sirius Black.

Instead, she'd headed to the one place she knew Evie would be: the Quidditch pitch.

Sure enough, there was a figure in the sky, flying loops around the empty stands. Lara sighed. She was conflicted: part of her wanted to let Evie continue to search for the oblivion she so obviously wanted. The other part knew that was a bad idea. Of course, that was the part that won out. She summoned her broom and hopped on, quickly gaining on the other girl.

Evie looked at her with surprise when she drew even, pausing for a moment before going into a dive that Lara did not even try to imitate. Instead she stayed where she was, waiting for Evie's curiosity to bring her back.

It took only minutes.

"What do you want?" Her voice was hoarse; she'd been crying for hours.

"I told you: I know how difficult it is to stop liking him."

Evie stared at her for a moment before a corner of her mouth twitched into a half smile. "So you did."

"Not going to well, is it?"

Evie sighed. "It's horrible." She flew over to the nearest stand, dismounting and sitting on one of the benches. This time, Lara followed.

"I can't stop crying. I…" she paused and assessed Lara. "You know why I transferred here?"

Lara nodded. "You lost your family."

"That's right. But the scary part is, I'm not sure I even cried this much when I had to leave them behind." A spasm of pain crossed Evie's face. "I mean, I cried. But not so much all at once. Not like this."

She turned to look Lara in the eyes. Her own were wide and confused. "I don't understand it."

Lara had not expected this much trust so soon. But there was a bond there. Maybe it came from falling for the same boy. Maybe it was because they had both seen each other at their worst. Whatever it was, Evie had let down her wall. Lara drew a deep breath and reached out to grab her hand.

"That's because it doesn't make any sense."

It was the truth, plain and simple. And somehow, it had been the right thing to say. Evie smiled.

"Thank you!" She laughed, a nervous imitation of the laughter Lara had come to know in the weeks past. "And here I thought it was just me who thought that."

Lara shook her head. "No, I get it."

Evie nodded and looked out across the pitch. "I knew you would."

They sat in silence for some time while Lara worked up the nerve to ask the question at the crux of the whole thing. In the end, she didn't even have to ask. It was Evie who broke the silence.

"I do like him, don't I?" The question was rhetorical. "I shouldn't, but I do."

It was Lara's turn to look at her curiously. "Why shouldn't you?" When she thought about Evie and Sirius together, it made perfect sense. No one else could put him in his place like this girl. And she never saw Evie smile as much as she did with Sirius with anyone else. She said as much.

"If only it were that easy," was Evie's only response.

"Isn't it?"

"There's so much more to it, to us, than that, already. If we got involved…" She shook her head. "It would end in disaster."

Lara got the impression that the other girl was talking in half-truths. "Care to explain?"

But the question came too late. The wall was up in Evie's eyes again. Lara saw it there and sighed internally. So much for that.

Still, it had been worth a shot. "Well, I guess you'll have to figure out how to resist him." She smiled wryly at Evie. "Good luck with that. I don't know anyone but Lily who's managed it yet and everyone knows that's just because she's always been meant for James. I doubt even she would be able to stand up to the full brunt of his charm."

Evie laughed at that, clearly picturing Sirius trying to seduce the love of his best friend's life.

"He's not going to leave you alone now. He'll be showering you with all of his attention. It'll be a lot harder to ignore."

"Any advice?"

"Don't look him in the eyes. A lot of girls will tell you that blue eyes are the color most impossible to resist, but that's because they've never looked into Sirius' eyes. Trust me, looking into them when he's got his charm turned on is like drowning."

Evie laughed again. "Drowning? Doesn't sound too pleasant."

"Oh, it is when he's the reason for it." Lara shook her head. "There's no describing it."

Evie frowned. "You still really like him, don't you?"

Lara smiled bitterly. "Of course. He's Sirius Black."

"But you broke up with him. Because of me."

Lara couldn't really deny that. But it sounded so bad when you put it like that. That wasn't really it at all. She tried to explain. "Yes and no. I broke up with him because of how you both feel about each other. But I didn't break up with him for you or even him. I broke up with him because for me, staying with a guy just because I liked him wasn't enough. Who wants to stay in a relationship as one sided as that?"

"From what I hear, a lot of girls do, at least when the guy is Sirius Black."

Lara laughed. "True. But I'd like to think I have more self respect than those girls."

"I can understand that." Evie turned to Lara. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't come along…"

"He'd have broken up with me soon enough. Maybe we would have lasted three months. Maybe. But we wouldn't have stayed together."

Evie sighed. "Still, I am sorry."

Lara nodded. "I know. Now, if you really want to beat this thing, what you really need is a wall around you. Does Lily know?"

Evie shook her head.

"Then tell her. And Kylie too. They'll keep you from being an idiot. And I'll help out when I can. I'd say tell Remus too, but he might try and set you up instead. You run less of a risk of that with Lily. She'll side with you. And Kylie will do anything to keep Sirius on his toes. It'll be a game for her."

"Anything else?"

Lara considered for a moment. "I'd tell you to quit Quidditch, but we can't afford to lose you. So…" she hesitated. This suggestion might sound a little strange. "What about finding someone else to date? Sirius doesn't usually interfere with…"

"No!" Evie's voice was strained. "I don't want to date anyone!"

Lara shrugged. "Just a thought. If you're not into that, you could …"

They sat on the stands talking until the sun began to set. Lara realized then that they'd both skipped two classes. With a groan, she stood and said goodbye to Evie. She left her sitting there as she flew back to the ground, storing her broom and climbing up the hill to the castle. She'd looked back one last time before she went inside.

Evie was in the air again, flying high. Lara sighed. Maybe it would be good if she tired herself out. She had certainly looked like she needed sleep. And she would need energy if she were going to try to resist Sirius. That was going to take some major willpower. Lara sighed and shook her head. Whatever the outcome, this was turning into quite the interesting term.

Later that night, after she walked back from her meeting with Dumbledore, Lily Evans had the same thought. She did not know what was going to happen. She was sure that the ending would surprise everyone. But after everything was done with (and she could not even pin down what exactly that everything was), no one would be denying that their term had been full of intrigue and mystery.

She sighed and quietly spoke the password to the dozing Fat Lady, hopping through the portrait hole with practiced ease. James and Remus were still sitting by the fire. She passed them just as Evie had done, not even daring to look at them once for fear her resolve would break down. There was no sign of Sirius or Peter.

Chelsea and Francine were talking quietly in the girls' room. Kylie was missing; she had most likely decided to spend the evening with people from another house (Lily knew she had a cousin in Hufflepuff who was a good friend). She couldn't be blamed for avoiding the still developing drama. The curtains around Evie's bed were closed.

Lily tried to part them the normal way first; she was not surprised when she had to resort to spell work to pry them open. When they finally did open, she slid in quietly next to Evie, who did not seem in the least surprised to see her. Instead, the other girl quietly recast the spells to seal the curtains. No one would hear a word they spoke.

"Evie…" Lily was still reluctant to make the first move here. Evie could easily close up for good if she went too far. Nonetheless, she had Dumbledore's advice to guide her. "I'm so sorry. About everything. I know I probably don't know it all—at least the headmaster's under the impression that your keeping things hidden, even from him—but I am so sorry. I don't know what I would do, if what happened to you, happened to me."

There. She'd done it. She'd taken the dive. Still, she couldn't look Evie in the eyes.

"Lily?"

She had to look up at that tone. Evie looked shaken and confused.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Lily gulped. There was no point in holding anything back. The headmaster had told her to go with her instincts. If there were ever a time to tell the truth, it was now.

"He told me the truth. About you. About the time travel."

Evie's eyes widened. This had not been what she'd expected. Not at all.