Disclaimer- I don't own any of these characters etc. etc. J.K. Rowling does. All I own is the plot line. Please don't sue me.

Chapter 1- Watching and shadows
The red haired girl tossed her head in the wind, causing a wave of auburn curls to flutter about her. The black Hogwarts robes served only to accentuate her pale, delicately carved features and bright green eyes. She laughed out loud at something one of her friends had whispered to her, as they sat beneath a sprawling oak tree besides the lake. This behaviour was common for her; she was always laughing, always cheery, to everybody, even the Slytherins who taunted her at every opportunity.

The NEWTs had finished that day and, naturally, all of the seventh years had swarmed out onto the grounds to enjoy the summer sunshine. Lily Evans was the most vibrant, caring witch of her age. A prefect, head girl, astonishingly beautiful, the smartest girl in the year and to add to it all, she was dating James Potter. She was the envy of all the girls in school. Most of the male population had a soft spot for the caring Lily, too. As she sat beneath the oak, the sunbeams running up and down her body, she caught sight of him. He was gazing at her with the other three. His dark hair lay about his face, and he crossed his arms in challenge. She looked away, contemptuous.

He observed her, with a hungry gleam in his eye, seated in shadows with his own three dear friends. Sirius Black was the male equivalent of Lily Evans. Although James was the star of the group, with his Quidditch skills and role of head boy, it was an undoubted fact that the boys of Hogwarts found their role model in the form of the dark, handsome Sirius Black. They copied his hairstyle; they copied his clothes and his nonchalant attitude. Everywhere you turned in Hogwarts, you were guaranteed to spot a Sirius Black wannabe, trying to ask a girl out. It was sheer bad luck for the boy if his idol walked past, as the girl in question would probably stare in his direction for a while and hurriedly excuse herself. But, of course, nobody came anywhere near to the real Sirius.

At present, his best friend was prattling on again, somewhat destroying the peace beneath the trees.

"Isn't she beautiful Sirius? A perfect wonder. And she's going out with ME, James Potter. Unbelievable, eh?" he said rapturously.

"Yeah, unbelievable." Sirius muttered distractedly.

He was still watching her from the shadows. Every now and then she'd glance back over and look away quickly, abashed at his steady gaze upon her. This only broke when James crossed his line of vision and made his way towards the group of girls, swaggering along, throwing the Snitch in front of him and catching it once again. He bent down once he reached Lily and kissed her softly before sitting down beside her, his arm about her waist.

Remus sighed. "Lily Potter... it doesn't have that ring to it, does it? This affaire d'amour will never go anywhere. He's done this before- obsessing and dismissing. Lily Lupin, now there's a good ring!" Sirius looked at his friend sharply.

"Don't worry Sirius! You of all people should know I have no interest in Lily. I'm more prepared to obsess over and dismiss the fair haired one seated next to her."

"I had no doubt about that Remus. You've been trying to get her for months. And besides, I know you wouldn't go after Lily because, after all, James IS our friend. To turn against James would be like... like to betray your own soul! Don't you agree Peter?"

"Y-yes, yes Sirius, quite! Could never go against your friends!" declared the chubby, watery-eyed teenager.

"Why you little..." growled Sirius, pretending to punch Peter, who shied away in alarm.

"Relax Wormtail, you don't really believe I'd hurt you? Just a joke!" he said innocently putting up his hands.

"O-one day, you're really going to hurt someone with that fist of yours!" Peter yelled, rising from the ground.

"You're so twitchy Peter, you look like a madman! Learn to just...chill..." Sirius said, leaning his head against the bark of the tree, his black hair falling into his eyes.

Sirius had not been the only one looking at Lily Evans. The heavily lidded, brown eyes of Bellatrix Black stared suspiciously at Lily. Surrounded by the usual crowd of Slytherins, she surveyed the redhead, dislike scrawled across her face. Bellatrix was every bit as beautiful as Lily Evans, but few people saw this, as she very rarely relaxed her features into a genuine smile. The constant sneer upon her face rendered her unapproachable and harsh, which, in a manner of speaking, was true. A tall girl, with an elegantly poised figure, a luscious black mane of hair which trailed across her shoulders and far excelling in Potions and Charms, Bellatrix Black was a worthy catch, but she would allow no one to become too close to her.

There was also the rumours about her other interests too. Dark interests, which could only lead to trouble. It was said that Bellatrix Black could perform the Unspeakable Curses to perfection. "Evans seems to think she's all that, doesn't she?" she drawled to nobody in particular.

Snape flushed at this comment, his lank hair dragged back into a ponytail, quivered as he answered.

"Well, Bella, what cause has she to think she isn't all that? After all, she's going out with perfect Potter, Quidditch champ extraordinaire. Plus, I'll bet she hasn't broken a nail today, therefore proving her invincible." He stated this to peals of laughter. Everybody knew how Lily prided herself.

"Then again, if that was me dating Potter, I think I'd kill myself." More laughter.

"Why would Potter ever ask you out Severus?" Rodolphus asked Snape.

Bellatrix unpinched her mouth for a few brief moments at her fianc's sharp tongue. The Slytherins howled with laughter at Rodolphus. Sirius and Remus looked over to see what was so funny and Sirius' eye caught Bella's. A spark of hatred emanated between the two, before Sirius broke contact and made his way over to Lily and James. The furrow on Bellatrix's forehead deepened as she observed the action. Sirius said something to James, who swivelled around to see Bellatrix and the other Slytherins. He flared his nostrils slightly and turned back to Lily.

Bellatrix was startled out of her reverie by Rodolphus running his finger down her face. Rodolphus Lestrange was a thickset lad with a square jaw and heavy features. His dark hair matched Bella's, although it was in a shorter style. Rodolphus had a small goatee at the end of his chin, which tickled Bellatrix as he nuzzled her cheek. His physique had something of the Beater about it, but he firmly believed in not getting involved with what he called, "the dregs of society congregating in one field." He shared Bella's, and most of her family's, distaste for Muggle-borns and Muggles in general. In fact, he loathed them. The Lestranges were an old wizarding family, much like the Blacks, and all in their power had to be done to keep the pure bloodline going.

"You're pathetic Rodolphus. Why don't you go fawn over your father instead of me? You're so good at that you see, darling," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Once we're married Bella..."

"Once we're married? You know the only reason I agreed to this was to keep the pure bloodline running. It has nothing to do with you. I would have married Snape if he had asked me."

Rodolphus gave her an angry glare, but he recognized the truth of the statement. His father had told him to marry one of the Black girls to keep the line clean. As Bellatrix was the prettiest he had opted for her. Love had not come into the equation for either of them. It was merely a marriage of convenience.

"I've had enough of this," she said abruptly.

Bellatrix moved away from the Slytherin group and strode over to where Lily, James and Sirius were.

"Hello cousin,"she said scathingly to Sirius. "Enjoying the view?"

"Bella, always a pleasure..." he mocked.

"Lily," she said, turning around to face her. "I feel it is my absolute duty to tell you that James there isn't actually that good in bed." Lily flushed and put her head down. Bellatrix smirked again, as the band of Slytherins had followed her and were now standing behind her like bodyguards.

"I'm sure Severus could tell you the whole story of the Potter escapade." Snape grinned, exposing yellowish teeth, highlighting his sallow skin. Anything to piss off James and co. was welcomed by him with open arms, even if it ridiculed him in the process. Rodolphus slung his arm about her shoulder as she continued.

"It's highly amusing I promise you! It all began when James asked Snape to The Three Broomsticks..." but she was interrupted as a fist flew at her stomach. Sirius was on his feet, breathing heavily, looking disdainfully at Bellatrix, writhing on the floor.

"Black! Wait 'til I..." yelled Rodolphus. His wand was out, pointing at Sirius' chest. Sirius, likewise, had his want pointed at Bellatrix.

"What would you do, Rody, if I obliterated your chance of a pureblood marriage, this instant?" James was now on his feet, a hand on Sirius' arm.

"Lower it Padfoot," he pleaded. "She's not worth it... plus she is your own cousin."

"That piece of shit is in no way related to me."

"Sirius, I think it's best you lower your wand!" declared Remus. "If anything were to happen to Bellatrix by your wand, imagine the chaos there would be in the Black household."

"I relish chaos, my friend, you should know that," he whispered, barely audible.

"Cousin, would it surprise you to learn that I know your secret?" Bellatrix asked from the arm of her fiancé. "Would it surprise you to learn that I know what haunts you in the dead of night?" she muttered sadistically.

Sirius blanched as he heard these words. He carefully put his wand back in its place.

"I think we need to talk Bella." He grasped her arm and led her towards the Forest.

"What do you know?" he asked tentatively. She had never seen him so agitated.

"I know that you have a dark secret, that you wouldn't want revealed to any of your friends... nor the rest of your family."

"That doesn't tell me what you know though, Bella. It would be so easy to hex you right now..."

"And do you really think that my friends wouldn't take some action on you, or the ones you love, Sirius? Don't be so naïve."

He stayed silent, knowing that, of course, she was right. He pushed away a strand of midnight black hair behind his ear and ran his hand through his immaculate locks.

"Do you remember, dear cousin, when we were very little children and you stole some of that bitch's, Andromeda's, tarts? I knew that you had taken them, didn't I? But I kept your secret... for a price. Do you remember that you had to give me half the tarts? It's the same now; I shall keep your dark secret from everybody if you hand over the tarts."

"What do you want Bella?" he asked warily. She paused, as if unsure as to what to do next. Like her cousin, she ran her hand through her hair and bit her lip awkwardly. Sirius' features were distorted and blurred because of the shadows of the trees. He was an indistinct figure; no tell tale features present on his face. A voice entered her mind

Use him. Use the three if you have to. But get him all the same.

Bellatrix stirred blankly at Sirius for a few seconds or so. Sirius held a look of mild confusion as she caught her breath and seemed to return to the present.

"I need a favour. A big favour Sirius, do you understand?" Sirius was about to ask what this favour was when the calm was broken with a loud bang. They looked from one to the other and realization dawning upon them, hurried to the lake.

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