CHAPTER EIGHT

"Martin, hey, Martin!"

Martin stops and turns around slowly.

"Yeah, you, I'm talking to you," I say.

"Hi Lily," Martin says in a dispirited voice, before turning to go.

"I'm not finished! Hey, come back here."

"Yes?"

"Look, I… I'm not so busy, do you still want to go to Hogsmeade this weekend?" I ask.

Martin looks dumbstruck. He blinks twice, before answering slowly.

"I… you don't have to…"

It's time to be brutally honest.

"Look, I heard you and Bertha talking," Martin flinches, "and I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But why didn't you just tell me? What were you afraid of?" Martin looks at the ground, "You never know until you ask, do you?" I trail off miserably, "Oh, never mind, I'll just go now," I turn to go. At least I tried. I start walking away.

"Lily!"

 I pause.

"Do you want to come on a date with me to Hogsmeade?"

I turn to see Martin red in the face.

"Sure, why not?" I say. (AN: I'm dedicating this line to Ali, oh, and thanks to all my reviewers and readers!)

~*~*~*~*~*

James' Diary

Since most readers don't seem to want me to make up with Courtney, I think I shall take their advice. I will now proceed to avoid her under any controllable circumstances. However, I cannot promise to keep away from Courtney due to circumstances beyond the extent of my control. I wish a happy reading to my prized viewers.

"Lily," I call.

Lily turns around. We're in a crowded corridor and, unfortunately, going against the crowd.

"Sorry, can't hear you properly, come into this room," Lily calls back at me, and disappears into an empty classroom. I push my way towards the other side of the corridor and follow her.

"Sorry, what were you saying? And if it's about the quidditch match, I have no time for it," she says.

"Um, ok," I say. She's so off putting sometimes. So defiant. In the good way. "It's not about quidditch, well, it partly is. Don't leave, just listen, I promise I won't start yelling. Um, I would really appreciate it if you helped Ri with her, um, seeking skills. She seems to lack in, um," quick, think of an educated-sounding sentence, "lack in broom to eye co ordination," that was so lame, wasn't it?

"Um, ok, I'll do what I can," Lily says smiling.

Relief washes over me. Everything is back to how it used to be. I move closer to Lily.

"And also, about the assignment, I was wondering whether maybe this weekend we could-"

"Sorry, I'm going to Hogsmeade with Martin this weekend," Lily cuts in.

"Lily, I-" I take another step closer, "I just wanted to say-"

Suddenly the door opens, and Martin comes in.

"I have to go," Lily says, walking to the door. Martin takes her hand and they walk out together.

I lean against the wall and bang my head on it. Everything back to normal… bullsh*t, I tell myself.

~*~*~*~*~*

"What was that all about?" Martin asks me, sliding his arm around my waist.

"Assignment, and quidditch," I answer.

"He wasn't giving you a hard time, was he? Because if he was-"

"I'm fine. Don't worry," I cut in.

I look up at Martin. He's so funny when he's annoyed. He looks down at me and relaxes into a smile.

"Well, alright then, night. I'll wait for you tomorrow morning at eight-thirty, ok?"

"Yep," I reply, as I climb the stairs to the dormitory, all the while smiling to myself.

There's a huge cliff in front of me. The rain tears at my hair and the wind wills me to go further out towards the cliff. I crawl forward slowly. I see two pairs of hands hanging from the cliff. I run to the edge and see Martin and James each hanging for their lives. "Martin! James!" "You can only save one," a deep voice booms, "Only one," the voice gets a little higher pitched, "Only one… only one,"

"-only one," Bertha's voice says.

I open my eyes. Bertha is leaning over me with a worried look on her face.

"Pardon?" I manage to say.

"I said 'you're the only one still asleep'," she says, "I think you have a fever," she puts a hand to my head.

"No I don't," I sit bolt upright, but regret it immediately as I'm hit by an enormous headache. I wince and lie back down.

"I can't be sick," I cough, "I promised Martin."

Bertha chuckles, "Martin can wait."

"What time is it?" I ask, closing my eyes.

"Nine-thirty," Bertha replies, then adds, "Don't worry, we've already told Martin. C'mon now, we'd better get you to hospital wing."

After what seems like a century, I manage to drag myself down the stairs with Berth's help. I sit panting at the bottom.

"At this rate you're going to get down to the hospital wing by dinnertime," Bertha moans. "I know, Martin can carry you."

"What? No," I say weakly, but she's not listening and has already gone off to find Martin.

A few minutes later she comes back with someone. I force myself to look upward.

"You're not Martin," I murmur at the fuzzy figure.

"I couldn't find Martin, but I found James," Bertha explains brightly.

James bends down and lifts me up with his arms under my legs and arms. He grabs my dangling arm and puts it around his neck. He starts walking towards the portrait hole, when the portrait swings open, and Martin climbs in. He stares at Bertha, who looks guiltily back at him, then at myself, draped in James' arms. I try to speak, but none of my muscles seem to work. James ignores Martin and simply climbs out the portrait hole, with Bertha and Martin following behind, whispering in angry voices. I try to focus, but everything seems a blur. The last thing I remember is seeing a pair of brown eyes.

"Lily Evans, what is your final decision?" "I don't want to choose!"

"But you must."

"No I don't!"

"Choose, or both will die!"

"Noooo!"

"Lily… Lily…"

"Lily… are you awake?"

I open my eyes slowly. That's strange. There are two amazing dark blue orbs spinning above me. The orbs are swirled with different shades of blue, and I can see my reflection in them. A small black round opening in the middle of each orb beckons me closer, trying to draw me within. I blink. Colours and images swim into view. I blink again. Martin is leaning over me, his blue eyes staring unblinkingly at me.

"Lily, are you ok?" he says.

"Um, yeah, where am I?" I try to sit up, but a cracking sound erupts from inside my head, and I lie back down again.

"You've been in hospital wing for a week," Martin explains.

"When can I leave?" I ask.

"Not anytime too soon," Martin answers, "Anyway, I don't have time to talk, I have to get to class. I wagged a bit to come here and see you, and so did they," Martin points to Sirius, Remus and Shana who I hadn't noticed before.

"Hey Lily," they say softly.

I try to smile.

"C'mon, we have to go," Martin pushes them off my bed and out of the room before kissing me lightly on my cheek, "We'll be back later."

"Bye," I whisper.

"Lily? Is that you?" mutters a hoarse voice.

I pause. I know that voice. I turn my head to face the bed next to me.

"Peter?"

"Yeah, it's me," he smiles weakly.

"What have you been doing here for so long?" I ask.

"Not a lot," he says, "So, here to update me on the outside world?"

"Nah, I… um, actually, I don't even know why I'm here," I stutter.

"I do," Peter says, "I saw James carry you in last week."

I blush.

"Is he still chasing after you?" Peter obviously has no idea how out of touch he is.

"Let me update you on the latest news," I answer.

~*~*~*~*~*

COMING UP…

Lily tells Peter about Sirius and Shana. Remus visits with flowers for Lily, and James pushes Lily a little too far.