"Kyle! KYLE! Turn around you freak!" He finally recognized the voice and turned around.

"Lily?" I wasn't surprised that he was unsure; he only knew me from the time I had spent over at the Ratazaks during summer vacation.

"Yeah!"

" 'Kay, hang on." He stopped at the foot of the stairs and waited for me. I went up to him with James and Peter. (Sirius had been caught up with the crowd and had been pushed to the Gryffindor common room before he realized we were gone.)

"Kyle, what's up!" We hugged and I introduced them. "This is James, and you remember Peter."

"How are ya, Petey?" He high-fived Peter. The crowd was gone, and we were now the only people in the hall. "You're a Potter, right James? I was over at your house twice, over Christmas break. Remember?"

James's face lit up. "Two years ago and last year, because Dumbledore was afraid you'd cause too much trouble here. My dad offered to let you stay over at my house."

"Yup. You've been cool since then?"

"Check me out, man."

Guys. I rolled my eyes. "So, anyway, Kyle, I wanted to ask you something. Privately." James and Peter waved good bye.

"Okay. So, how's life for you, Lil?"

"It's great here, Kyle. But I just want to know, did Ian like--I dunno--react when he found out that I was at Peter's house like most of the summer? And when I was transferred?"

"React? Oh, he reacted all right. He really liked you, Lil." My heart fell somewhere in my intestines. "He went into a sort of depression for the rest of the summer until I left for Diagon Alley. I really felt sorry to leave him; I know what it feels like to lose a girl."

I sat on the bottom step and buried my face in my hands. I started crying and heard Kyle sit next to me and put his arm around me. We just sat there for a while, me sobbing and thinking about all the times I was with the guys back in America. Finally, I ran out of tears.

Kyle put his hand on my chin and lifted my head up. I looked into his light blue eyes, the same color as Ian. "Don't cry, Lily. Just because Ian is stuck at CSA doesn't mean you can't have fun here. You've made friends, right? Like James. And you're with Peter, right? So you can have fun here."

"But it just feels wrong, you know? Like being here with just Peter and going out with him feels like I'm being a traitor to Ian."

"It's okay to be with guys, Lily. You chose to be with Peter, and not Ian or Jake. Or me."

And suddenly, he pulled me into such a kiss I couldn't believe it. Right there, on the bottom step of the big staircase. It sort of moved me, and for a few seconds I wondered why I wasn't with Kyle. I pushed it out of my mind, but I wanted the kiss. I was hungry for a kiss like this; a kiss from someone experienced with girls and kissing. I was totally in it.