You get the idea of me not owning Harry and the gang. They own me. Fin. By the way, Ilona is my own character. I could think of no other name, so sue me.

Short chapter, no surprise, but it's going to have an impact.

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"Damn Potter. His hair is ridiculous and his glasses make him look weirder than Pettigrew when he was half-transfigured into a pineapple," she said, viciously stabbing a moving picture of him smiling and patting his hair down a little nervously. Upon realizing that he looked quite endearing in his scarlet Quidditch robes, she had taken her letter opener and started slashing up his photo.

Ilona peered over her friend's shoulder, covering a grin by biting her lip. Ah, Lily, she thought, smiling to herself. So you've finally got something on your mind aside from what you scored on your Arithmancy test. She coughed loudly, causing Lily to jump in her seat for the second time in ten minutes.

"Er, Lily, is that Ja--"

"No."

""Cause it looks a lot like--"

"No."

"I've got some Bertie Bott's--"

"NO. I mean, er, sure, I'll have some." Lily reached for a safe-looking pink one, looking up at Ilona and wishing she could be as pretty as her brown-eyed, blonde-haired best friend. But this time she got annoyed at seeing her smug face.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, Ilona Mariano. It's not like--" She stopped chewing the bean that she popped into her mouth and started choking.

"Dammit, it's like that Muggle Pepto-Bismol crap! Where did you get that bag?"

Ilona smirked again. "Potter gave it to me. Wanted me to hand them to you, actually." She dropped the bag on the table in front of Lily. "Ironic that you're attacking the picture of a very sweet and available boy who just sent Cupid to give you candy."

"Cupid." Lily shook her head and laughed, for real this time, not faking anything. "Wonder which wizard thought that up to cover for something? Maybe he was eavesdropping on some lovesick giddy couple and stripped down to his drawers? And maybe he was--" It seemed like it was only then that she had fully absorbed her best friend's words, and she stood up, shouting furiously.

"James Potter is the most obnoxious, head-in-the clouds, cocky, rambunctious, superficial--"

"He said you'd come off as a lovely girl if you weren't so obsessively studious and sarcastic," Ilona replied stoically, though it was hard not to burst out laughing hysterically when Lily was changing colors. "And if you think you hate him so much, how'd'you your hands on his picture? And why would you waste your time stabbing a mere Technicolor--that's what the Muggles call it, I believe--print of Potter when you can cast some sort of hex on him?"

Lily snorted. "Please, Ilona. I have no time for that."

"Accio." Ilona summoned the photo carefully, so as not to be stabbed by an infuriated Lily Evans. "Seems like you had enough time to wrangle handsome Mr. Potter's photo pretty badly."

"I told you what I thought of that boy already."

"You're not being true to yourself."

"He's one of those boys who kisses and breaks up," Lily said flatly. "I can tell those types of guys. They smile at you, they make you feel like you're special, and they use you up for what you're worth before dumping you. I've experienced that sort of thing."

"But James hasn't done that. Hasn't even had a steady girlfriend since second year."

"Exactly."

Ilona sighed. She was getting annoyed with Lily's stubbornness, and the fact that she was right most of the time. "What about—"

"Don't you dare mention him, Ilona."

"He's your boyfriend, you know."

"He won't be tomorrow." Lily looked expressionless as she calmly tucked back a wisp of fiery hair and sighed. "He's not the person I thought he was. Not anymore, at least."

"He's not going to take it well."

"I've been hinting about it. Telling him how unhappy I am. Besides, he's been hanging around that dreadful Florence girl far too much for my liking." For a second she looked hurt, but recovered. "I didn't think it would last. Him being what he was, me being what I am—some things aren't mean to happen."

"I think something brought you two together for a reason, though," Ilona replied thoughtfully.

"Perhaps it did," Lily said, staring into the fire. "Well. I'm going to wrap it up for tonight. I'll see you upstairs."

"Right. Goodnight, Lily." Ilona crossed the room and passed the group of her housemates, who were still celebrating. Before heading up the stairs, she looked back at James, who was laughing at one of Remus Lupin's jokes. She turned just in time to see Lily pick up the bag of Every Flavor beans with a look of subtle curiousity and smiled, knowing that her breaking up with Severus Snape after her conversation with James Potter meant something big.