~*~ Why Me? ~*~

~Can't understand ~What the problem is ~Why the world always feels like ~It has to lean on me

~It's not always the case ~There's so many problems now ~Seems to me like ~I'm not wanted here today

~I don't fit in ~I don't belong ~Suppose this place isn't for me

~So unfair ~So unjust ~But I've lost my nerve

~I just wonder ~What the problem is ~What I did, and ~Why it seems to be my fault

~Understand, now ~This is why I ask the question ~Forever searching for the answer... ~Why me?

Bella and Hilary were losing it as we walked to class. Completely cracking. 'Did you see Snape's face?'

They calmed down, and stopped suddenly. 'Er, Lily? Do you happen to know where we're going?'

I rolled my eyes and handed them their timetables and maps. Honestly. Where would they have been without me? Definitely not where they were supposed to be, that's for sure.

'Hey girls! Wait up!' Sirius Black yelled from somewhere down the corridor. We all turned to face four boys as they came sprinting down the hallway. They skidded to a halt, panting and leaning on the wall for support.

'What class do you have first?' James asked, once they had caught their breath. Bella and Hilary turned to their timetables, but I had already memorised the chart. 'Broomstick training,' I sighed automatically.

James and Sirius exchanged identical grins. 'We're on our way to Herbology, we can show you the way if you like,' Sirius offered, still grinning broadly. Hilary rolled her eyes and mouthed Quidditch fanatics at me from behind James's back. I grinned back.

We reached the outside lawn with quite a few minutes to spare. 'That's Signora Gionva. (Pronounced SHON-vargh, by the way) Buongiorno, Signora,' Sirius said cheerfully. A plump, pleasant-looking witch smiled.

'Ciao, Signor Black. E ciao, Signors Potter, Lupin e Pettigrew. Come stai?' She spoke in a bubbly Italian accent.

'Great, thanks,' James grinned.

'Molto bene, Signor Potter. And who are your lady friends?'

'This is Bella Figg, Lily Evans, and my sister, Hilary.'

'Ah, buongiorno, my piccolo Signorina's. I am assuming you are in my class today?' she asked.

I couldn't help liking this woman. She was quite short, with long, curly auburn hair and merry brown eyes. However, I couldn't quite help wondering how she intended to get her broom into the air while she was on it...

'Well, we best be getting to Herbology,' Remus said. James nodded.

'Nice seeing you again, Signora.'

'Ah, but Signor Potter, Signor Black! May I see you for a moment? You may go, bellos,' she added, to Remus and Peter. They nodded and waved before heading off towards where I supposed the greenhouses were.

'I have already spoken to your Herbology Professor. I was wondering if you would be interested in assisting me with my classes with the first years today, no?'

James and Sirius had identical expressions on their faces, and it looked like Christmas had come early.

'We'd be honored to,' Sirius said quickly.

'Bene, bene, bene. Perhaps you could take these lovely signorinas to the broom shed, and bring down the brooms?'

Sirius nodded, and began to walk off to the left. James followed, and us girls tagged along. 'Quidditch is the best,' Sirius rattled. 'You'll love it.'

'I don't like heights,' I muttered under my breath.

'No?' whispered a voice against my neck. I spun. It was James.

I'd hated heights since forever, or at least as long as I could remember. I shook my head in reply.

'That's funny, because Gionva hates them.'

I blinked at him in surprise. 'And she's a Flying Professor?'

'Yep. And the reason she did it was because she hated heights,' James laughed. 'That doesn't make sense,' I said, frowning.

'Oh, but it does. Because she can fly perfectly without a thought. She still doesn't like heights, but she overcame her fear.'

I shivered. 'I don't know if I can -'

'I'll talk to her,' James interrupted gently. 'If that's OK with you.'

I nodded. 'Good. Now catch,' he grinned, throwing three brooms at me. I caught them and waited while everyone else picked up some, then we all started back.

I stood to the side while Sirius, Bella and Hilary lay out the brooms. Students were slowly filtering out to join us. James was discussing something with Signora Gionva. He nodded, then picked up two brooms and came towards me. 'Here you go. Come on.'

'Where are we going?' I asked, puzzled, as I accepted the broom and followed him.

'The Quidditch pitch,' he called casually over his shoulder. I came to a sudden halt. 'Why?' I demanded. James sighed and turned around.

'Because, mio piccolo Lily, I thought, and your flying teacher agreed, that you might be more comfortable with one-on-ones and not a whole class of people watching you. Which, might I add, would include Slytherins. And I can assure you, they would not give you an easy time,' he said. I sighed.

'OK then,' I said determinedly, and we continued on to the pitch.

'Right. Now you stand on the left of your broom, hold out your hand, like this, and say up.' I took a deep breath and held out my hand like James was.

'Up.'

Nothing.

'Try again,' James pressed.

'Up. Up! Up! Up up up! Up!'

Whoosh. The thing jumped right into my hand so quick I almost dropped it. I stared at the thing in amazement.

'Ok, Lily. Hop on,' he said, smiling as he mounted his own broom.

I swung I a leg over. My heart sped up a little.

'Grip the handle a bit lower,' James corrected, and I copied where he was holding his broom. 'Good. Now, push off lightly.'

I shut my eyes tightly and pushed off the ground. The broom shot up, and my heart began to pound. Oh god, oh god, oh god...

'James...'

'It's fine, Lily. Just relax...' James said quietly, flying up beside me. My eyes were still tightly clamped shut, but I heard his broom and his voice beside me.

'Open your eyes, Lily.'

I shook my head furiously.

'Open your eyes, Lily,' he repeated.

I opened one eye a crack. My hands were gripping the handle so tight my knuckles were turning white.

I let out a sigh of relief and opened my eyes fully. Right. I was fine, I was fine...

Oh god, oh god...

I made the mistake of looking down.

'James, I can't do this,' I whispered pleadingly.

'Ssh, it's ok, Lily...'

'I want to get down...'

'It's all right, Lily. I'm going to help you down, OK?'

I took a deep breath and nodded.

'OK, you need to lean forward slightly. You'll fly downwards. Bring your broom straight when you're close enough to the ground to hop off, OK?'

I nodded again, and leaned forward. I moved down, a bit too quick for my liking. But I gritted my teeth and drew my broom level. Sighing, I quickly scrambled off.

James swiftly swooped down next to me.

'We'll try something else, OK? Don't worry, Lily. I'm going to help you fly, no matter what it takes. Come here and hop on in front of me.'

I eyed him warily for a moment before hopping onto his broom in front of him. He put his arms around me to grip the handle in front of where I was seated. That way, he was preventing me from falling at the same time as holding onto the broom.

'Are you ready, or do you want a break first?' he asked. I shook my head.

'No, I have to try again.'

He nodded.

'Alright. Here we go. I'll take it slow, OK?'

He gently pushed off. I shivered.

'Lily, it's OK. I won't let your fall.'

'I know,' I sighed.

And so the rest of the lesson was spent with James helping me overcome my fear of heights. Halfway through, I went back to flying on my own broom by myself, and I was proud that I could finally stay in the air for a couple of minutes without tensing up and freezing.

'You did great,' James assured me as we walked back from the broomshed and headed to our next class.

'No I didn't,' I argued.

'Have a romantic ride with your boyfriend, Evans?' sneered a voice. James and I spun around. It was Lucius Malfoy.

'Afraid of heights, are we?'

'Leave her alone, Malfoy,' James growled warningly.

'So what if I'm afraid of heights?' I snapped. His eyes glinted maliciously.

'I suppose Potter will dump you now. Mr Quidditch Hot-shot can't have a girlfriend that's afraid of heights,' he taunted. 'What else frightens you, Miss Potter?'

'I am not afraid of you,' I said firmly, glaring at him.

'You know what you do to something that doesn't fear?' Malfoy asked.

'Feed it the fear,' I said through gritted teeth.

'Clever. And you know we will, Evans. We will feed you the fear. You can count on it. Because we won't give up until we see you pack your bags and go back to where you came from.'

'Hell will freeze over first,' James said quietly.

'Only as long as she has her friends, Potter. And I can assure you, they won't last long.' 'You can do what you like, Malfoy. Lily will always have her friends,' came another voice.

Bella was standing determinedly beside us, Sirius on her other side.

'Which is more than you can say.'

'I have associates beyond your wildest dreams. Undercover spies, all through the school. I will know what you are doing, Evans. I will know everything about you. Every monster that haunts your dreams. Every path into your heart and mind. Every little thing that makes you crawl. And I will use it against you.'

'I won't give in, Malfoy. I'm never going home. Or I wouldn't have bothered coming. You can try as hard as you like, but the only time I'm getting on that train home is for holidays. And I can assure you, I will be there the day we return. So go ahead and try.' 'What do you want with her, Malfoy? What's so different about her that makes her stand out from all those other muggle-borns?'

'Everything, Potter. Everything.'

*Yeah, yeah - I know, short, but hey. Thank you to all my reviewers! (There's like, two of you, but hey) Anyway, sorry it took so long. I I'll get started on the next one straight away! And to whoever asked what makes Lily's life hell, you'll have to wait, won't you? Malfoy and the Slytherins will start to get really nasty soon, but that's not all that happens, so just sit tight, OK? I've got big plans for this story. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!*

*Sezzie*