Chapter 14

Revelations

James gently shook her waking her from her dreamless sleep. She looked up, dazed and

confused.

"Where are we?"

"The common room. I carried you in from the carriage, you seemed so peaceful, I hated to

wake you."

"You shouldn't have. I would have been fine." and for some reason she continued, "did

anyone see you carrying me?"

"I don't think so, why? Does it really matter? Am I that emmbarrassing?"

"That's not it. Just forget it."

"No Lily, I won't forget it. What is wrong with you? Why won't you let me in? Why are you

so mean to me?"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are Lily. You ignore me for months, you don't like to be seen with me, you cheat

on me with one of my best friend-"

"Okay, I get it, I'm sorry, I'm a bitch. Now, since I'm so difficult to be with, I'll leave.

Goodbye."

"No Lily, goodbye to you, I get to leave first this time." With that James turned around and

marched up the stairs to the boys dormitory. Lily sat down on the couch and burst into tears,

throwing herself out on the couch and shaking the couch with her wracking sobs. Lily threw a

pillow across the room, breaking lamp as her sadnessed gave way to anger and frustration. She

lay back down on the couch screaming into the cushion of the couch. At that moment Caroline

walked in through the portrait hole.

"Darling, what's wrong?" Caroline was probablly the only person who Lily could talk to

about her predicament. Holly or Alice would just tell her to hook up with him because the sexual

tension was obviosly becoming too much and had reached a breaking point. Janette would think

that she was too concerned with boys and how she looekd and would suggest not dating anyone

for a while in order to focus on her studies. Caroline would sympathize and eat the words right

out of the palm of her hand.

"Tell me, is it James?" Lily looked at her, shocked. Caroline had never been the intuitive

one, and rarely understood anything even after she had been told hundreds of times.

"Yes. We went to Hogsmede today and..." Lily continued to explain everything that had

happened, leaving out the part where thay had bought the invisibility cloak. She did not know

why she dd not tell Caroline about it, but she felt that the informaton was a secret between her

and James, and no one else could, or even should know about it.

"Oh, you poor baby. Do you want my opinion and advice, or should I just be sympathetic

and shut up?"

"Advice." Lily siged, not really wanting to hear Carolines advice, but feeling that it was the

kinder response.

"You should talk to him. He obviously likes you. And you like him too. He's only like, the

sexiest guy on the planet, so just date him." Lily looked at Caroline, shocked. It was probablly

the first time she had ever said the word sexy.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course, in fact better. I have something to tell you."

"What?"

"I have an official boyfriend!!"

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised."

"Who is it?" "Ben. He's in Hufflepuff, but he's really nice, and cute. We've been hanging

around together in the Library and in Herbology. He's really bad at it and needs my help. He's

tall, dark, and handsome. Here's the best part, he likes me!! And I know my parents will

aprove, he's a pure blood, a well known family, not to mention he's very polite, well manered,

and respectful. To adults at least, but he always stands up for me when people laugh at me or

make fun of me, and he has fast hands if you know what I mean."

"Caroline!! I've never heard you talk like this!! But of course I couldn't be happier for you,

are you going to tell your parents?"

"Yes, he's coming home with me for Christmas."

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Almost two monts now, but you're one of the first people I've told, some people know

because they've seen us together."

"What about the other girls?"

"They don't know yet, I didn't want them to disbelieve me. It hardly seemed real to me at

first. I didn't believe that he was accually interested in me, I thought he had like a bet or

something, I don't know what I thought. It just didn't seem real. I didn't want to get too excited

until I knew that it was real."

"Well, this is certainly exciting. We need to go find the others. I'll let you tell them of

course."

"Thanks, yeah let's go." They walked into the library, which was swarming with people who

were studying. All of the teachers were craming in their tests before break.

"So this is where you have been hiding." Lily walked over to her friends who were sitting

around a tabel, their books spread around them. Looking up and seeing Lily's swolen, red eyes,

and blotchy skin they got up and went over, fawning over her. "I'm fine, it's Caroline who has the

news."

"I have a boyfriend. Ben, you know who he is." She said bluntly, not bothering to beat

around the bush. That was how Caroline approached all things, head on, no sublty, just the

facts.

"Thats great!" Janette said, after a moment in which the three girls stared at Caroline

confused. They all burst into chatter at the same time, moving from Lily to Caroline and asking

her questions about her relationship. Lily plopped down in a chair with a sigh.

Moving over towards her, Caroline whispered, "this is the real reason I didn't mention it, all

this gives me a headache, and I don't know if our relationship can stand all of this attention and

over analysis. I still cant believe he actually likes me! Can you believe it?"

"Of course I can, why shouldnt he like you? You're a very desirable girl Caroline."

"What?" She sounded ginuinely confused by this news.

"Of course you are! Didin't you know?"

"No. I was always overshadowed by you, Holly, and Alice. Janette never liked guys, she

was always going on her feminist, men suck, tangents. I just didn't fit in."

"Why didn't you tell us you thought that? Of course you fit in." Caroline smiled and went

back to being center of attention. The girls continued chattering, earing then several frustrated

looks from the librarian and from people trying to study, but the conversation eventually steered

back over towards Lily and James.

"How are you two going?"

"I don't know, I don't think we even are going. I guess we're still friends."

"That's good, right?" Janette asked. "You said you didn't like him anyway." The other three

girls looked at her in horror. For some reason now that Caroline had a boyfriend she somehow

understood better, and fit in to the convorsation more easily.

"Obviously she said that, but any fool can tell they are in love."

"Well that's not what he said. Or what she said."

"What did he say?" Lily asked, sitting up and looking a little too eager for an answer.

"Just that he's not interested in her romantically, I heard him talking to Sirius. He said that

you two were friends and nothing more."

"Oh." For some reason Lily was disappointed by this. Of course I want to be friends

with him. Don't I? Yes. He was no more than a friend. That was all. No more, no less.

And even he admitted it. She sat down, opening one of her friends bags and taking out ink

and parchment. She started to write an essay and pulled a book towards her. She looked up, all

of her friends were staring at her, waiting for her to say more. "What?"

"Don't we get a reaction?"

"To what? Oh, what James said? No. What do you want me to say? James and I are on the

same page, we're just friends."