Disclaimer: see any or all previous chapters :)

A/N: Hey, *waves to all* have two major apologies to make.  I'm sorry this took so long to update; and I'm also sorry this chapter is so short *hides head in shame*, I'll update the next chapter as soon as possible (promise!).  We're almost at the end of the story now (only one... or possibly two more chapters to go!).  Some of the slightly insane comments in this chapter are all my sister's fault, yep, lets blame Ali *grin*. Oh and the title for this chappie is from 'The Truth' by Terry Pratchett, one of my favourite books.

Summary: Reality, fact, genuineness, certainty are all words for (according to my computer's thesaurus) … truth :) yep, it certainly will out.

CHAPTER 16

"Sirius!" James hissed standing up, angrily. "Why the hell did you tell her that? Did you see how upset she got? What if she tells Lily?"

"I thought you were over her." Peter said innocently.

"Well yeah... I mean... kind of… alright no," James admitted, sitting back down heavily. "She was ignoring me, what was I meant to do?" James asked defensively.

Remus eyed James sceptically. "Talk to her?" he suggested.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know what?…" James started, but was cut off by Bella,

"Great, I'm meant to be meeting Fee here and all I find are you idiots," she complained, taking the seat Fee had recently vacated.

"Hey!" the boys exclaimed.

"You insult us and expect to be allowed to sit down?" James asked.

"So have you seen her?" Bella asked brightly, ignoring James' question.

~*~*~*~*~

"Erm…" Fee stuttered, blushing scarlet. "Yes?" she asked timidly.

"Oh my God!" Lily exclaimed, a huge grin on her face.

"Hey," Fee said suddenly, jumping up and pointing a finger accusingly. "You thought I was talking about James," she said joyfully. "You," she paused to enunciate each word with her finger, "were worried." She grinned: "Bella was right!  You like him." Lily looked horrified for a split second, but secretly rejoicing that Fee at least seemed to have cheered up.  Then, Lily's features twisted into a mischievous smile,

"Bella didn't guess about you and Sirius though, did she?" Lily asked innocently.

"Lily," Fee said warningly.

"Someone really should tell her." Lily flashed Fee a grin and bolted for the door.

"Lily!" Fee called after her, watching helplessly as the door shut. "Oh dear God," she groaned, sinking to the floor, grinning maniacally.

~*~*~*~*~

"Bella?" Lily called as she burst through the doors to the Great Hall. It was practically empty, as dinner was nearly over. Spotting her friend over at the end of the Gryffindor table, she ran over.

"Oh my God, you'll never guess!" she exclaimed gleefully, grabbing Bella's shoulder.  Bella jumped, in her seat.  Turning to face an exuberant Lily, she gasped:

"Lily!  You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Grinning, Lily bounced from one foot to another. She was about to speak when she noticed who Bella was sitting with, and froze…

"Hey," she squeaked. Grabbing Bella's arm, Lily started to drag her towards the door.

"Lily!?" Bella exclaimed, gasping for breath. Pulling herself free from Lily's vice-like grip, Bella tried to speak, only to be encumbered by her dire need for breath. "Okay," Bella said slowly. "What the hell is going on?"

Lily opened her mouth to speak, when she noticed the Marauders standing by the entrance way trying to look inconspicuous. Lily scowled at them, realising they must have run after her. "Bad!" she admonished, waving her index finger at them and hauling Bella towards their dormitory.

~*~*~*~*~

Sirius stared down the corridor, pointing after Lily. "Is that girl always that mental?" he asked in disbelief.

"Not usually," Peter said. "What are they doing?" he asked, receiving only shrugs in return.

"What do you think she so desperately needed to tell Bella?" Remus inquired with curiosity.

"Want to find out?" James asked, gesturing down the hall.

~*~*~*~*~

"Yodel," Lily said breathlessly.

"Yes dear," The Fat Lady replied, allowing her portrait to swing open and reveal the Gryffindor common room.

Glancing around the room, Lily was relieved to see it was deserted. Pulling Bella onto one of the couches by the fireplace, she explained the conversation she'd had earlier with Fee.

~*~*~*~*~

As the Marauders entered the common the heard a suspiciously familiar voice cry out: "Oh my God!" Bella stood up, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "Are you serious?" she asked. Lily couldn't help the laughter that escaped at her friend's choice of words.

"What's so funny?" Peter asked, making their presence known to the giggling girls.

Fee heard Bella's shriek from their dormitory so she bolted down the stairs only to find Lily and Bella collapsed with laughter on the couch. "Lily," she screeched. "How could you?!" she yelled, gesturing to the Marauders standing across the common room.

"She said…" Lily gasped in between giggles. "Are you… serious?" Fee stared at them for a minute before their laughter became infectious and she gave up the ghost and joined in their hysterics.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Sirius demanded, stalking over to the girls.  Pulling herself up right, still grinning inanely. "I told them, what you… before…" Fee said, gesturing aimlessly trying to convey her meaning without actually saying the words.

"And you thought this was funny!?" Sirius exclaimed, blushing deep red. 

Lily grinned at him, patting him consolingly on the shoulder. "She was very nervous about telling us," Lily added. "If that makes you feel better?"

Fee's eyes narrowed dangerously… "You thought I'd kissed James," she said, smirking.

"Fee!" Lily yelped in horror.

"And you were very upset about it!" Fee continued, still staring straight at Lily

"Really?" Bella and James asked at the same time. James was unable to keep the note of hope from his voice.

Lily turned on him as she heard his voice, only to find him standing directly in front of her. "You said you were over me!" she accused, glowering fiercely.

"No I didn't; he did!" James exclaimed, pointing to Sirius. Sirius pulled Fee in front of him as a shield, causing Fee to grin idiotically.

"Are you?" Lily asked in a whisper.

James gulped, the five eagerly watching people surrounding him and Lily, forgotten.

"No" he said hoarsely.