Authors Note: Get ready for some intense Lily and James action! As well as some more Reeta Skeeter-for those who are sharpies, you might pick up on part of the reason she was so harsh on Harry years later... Ok, I wanted to thank Lianne for reviewing and being so nice!! I agree with what you said about my mean reviewer-if you haven't read the review that 'anonymous' gave me, please don't. I feel embarassed on their behalf, besides, its just mean-and it might bias you against my writing! But then again, if you've made it far enough to be reading this then you have probabally formed your own opinions...I dunno-you mighte my anonymous reviewer who just goes to the last chapter and submits reviews of that and then reads only the authors note of the most recent chapters to see if i've mentioned her.

Oh, also, to my other reviewer "just a note" thank you so much! I hope that my anonymous reviewer is reading this (which im sure she is seeing as she obviously has no life if she wastes so much of her time writing mean things about me) so that she can go into the review section and read what a constructive review is. What you said is absolutely true, and you said it in a nice way!! Thank you!!

And Amela, yes, she still hasn't gotten a hobby. hard to believe isn't it? Oh, and thank you to all of you who reviewed:

Dumb Little Potato-yes, my sister did win..sorry! Haha, maybe you'll win the next one

Amela

Check your name at the door/just a note (i think you're the same person, correct me if i'm wrong)

Dark Huntress

Quita Banana

Lonleygirlem

Helena

Magic Crystal Rose

Ourlittlesecret7

Anonymus

Chapter 44

Breakups and Breakdowns

Lily did spend all of the next day, a Saturday, studying. In fact, she spent as much time as she possibly could over the next few weeks studying. She did not sleep much, and rarely ate. It was a bonus that professor Dumbledore had removed her seeing powers, as a few hours of dreamless sleeps turned out to be very relaxing and quite enough to suffice for a day of hard studying.

She color coded all of her notes from the year, made lists of the material she would need, went to teachers for explanations and clearifications of the things she thought would come in usefull on the OWLs, and felt very ready indeed as the exams drew nearer.

She had only two weeks left before her OWLs, and she had yet to be summoned for her job conceling. Dumbledore too had not communicated with her on the subject of getting her powers back, or even about starting their training again. She had not seen Dumbledore at all lately. She had not been to meals for the entire week, but he had been absent from lunch last Thursday.

This did not upset Lily, although it was an adjustment to have her powers so mixed up and diminished, but it gave her much more time to practice spells and grow accustomed to the new situation. For example, when she did the enlargement charm in the past, she had only needed to say 'engorgio' and flick her wand slightly and whatever she was pointing at would grow imediately. Now, however, she had to point and say the charm with more energy and focus harder, as well as flick more. What she had been able to do effortlessly in the past was now more of a struggle. She now had to have all of her thoughts trained on what she wanted to accomplish, and by the end of every day she was exhausted. Not only did she need to study the incantations, but also the complex charts and graphs of wand movements. It doubled the amount she needed to study. So Dumbledores absense gave her more much needed study time, but she would not have needed as much time to study if it weren't for Dumbledores interfearence. Although, on the other hand, Dumbledores interfearance allowed her to get a much needed good nights sleep, had he not interfearred she would have been exhausted all day and not been able to study. Although, she wouldn't need to study. It was a total catch 22.

Lily looked up from her star chart to find herself staring into the concerned eyes of James Potter. She brushed the hair out of her face feverishly, attempting to shove the unruly locks into her messy bun. "Yes?" She asked flustered, and a little more sharply that she would have otherwise.

"May I sit?" He asked.

"Yes, yes of course." She sounded hassled as she gathered the books and stacks of papers up from the chair, putting them onto the table next to the other books she had stacked there. James picked up one of the essays that she had lying on the table.

"Don't touch that! It's still wet! Put it down!" Lily shrieked. James quickly dropped it, causing the corner to smudge.

"No, not there, you're messing up my whole system! It has to go in he section of other essays like it, see how I wrote it in blue ink? What does that tell you?"

"That you're going totally overboard with this whole studying thing?" He asked with a blank look on his face.

"It tells you that it has to go with the other essays writted in blue!" She informed him angrily. He looked as tired as she did, although she had not seen him up in the small hours of the night when she frequently studied in the unusual quiet of the normally bustling common room. In fact, she had not seen him in the library either. "And I am not going overboard. Just because you don't study-"

"I do too study, I just don't stay up all night and skip meals and spend all my time raacing around to teachers and color coding my notes. Listen, Lily" he went on before she ould open her mouth to argue, "we're worried about you. And by we I mean me. Look how skinny you've gotten. Have you eaten anything all month? And look at the bags under your eyes! Are you even sleeping at all?" He asked her, the concerned look back in his eyes.

"Of course. Besides, you're not one to talk about being tired, look at youself! What have you been doing? I haven't seen you in the library or the common room-"

"Only because you haven't looked then, I've been there. But Lily, you really aren't eating, and you look positively ill, let me take you to the hospital wing."

"No, I can't. I really must study this. I have barely even touched on the goblin wars, and I still need to re-cover the potions we've done this year. I'm not sure if I can remember all of the ingredients to the silliness solution, and I need to review werewolves, and Wiffleshnecks, and Hipogriffs, and Unicorns. James, I'm affraid I simply cannot, there's just too much to do."

"Lily, you know it all, you've studied hard and worked all year, you know the material, now just give it a rest, would you? I'm worried about you." It's nice to know that he's concerned and all, but honestly, I'm fine. I just need to study. He is awfully sweet though, being all concerned and stuff.

From across the common room Alice looked on angrily as she saw Lily and James's heads close together, talking passionately about something. Honestly, what was Lily playing at hitting on James like that? She had no pride. Alice stormed out of the common room to go meet with Frank in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. He had been tutoring her in Defense and helping her to review for the OWLs when she had seduced him. It had been easy, and he was so cute. She had liked him for a while, and at the time she had been mad at James for cheating on her with Lily. And James was so cute too. But he wasn't Frank. Alice wasn't sure how her professor saw her. She didn't know whether he was serious or just looking for a cheap piece of ass, but Alice was pretty sure that she loved him. He was so smart, and passionate about his work, and funny, and nice, and handsome. He was perfect.

Alice hurried up to the Dark Arts classroom, not knowing that she was being followed.

Reeta Skeeter, in her beetle form, watched as an angry Alice Brooks left the Gryindor common room through the portrait hole and made her way to the Dark Arts classroom. Reeta followed, as she had been doing for the past month or so, and watched as Alice was joined by professor Longbottom. Reeta watched as they started hooking up on the desk. This was old news, she already knew all about this, there was something else she wanted to know now. Why was Alice so angry? She had been positively fuming when she had left the Gryfindor common room.

Reeta buzzed away quickly, intent on discovering the reason for Alices anger. She made her way to the portrait hole and prepared to wait for someone to either enter or exit. Being a Ravenclaw, she could hardly just state to password, although she did know it. Reeta knew everything that went on at Hogwarts. She did not have to wait long, as it turned out, for someone was walking down the corridor towards the portrait hole at that very moment. It was Sirius Black. What a hunk! Reeta thout to herself. Reeta knew she had no chance, he was two years older, and currently involved with Holly-Hogwarts's resident Veela. Not to mention that even if he weren't dating Holly he could have any girl he wanted. They were the perfect couple, the two best looking people in the school. Either one could have whoever they wanted, so it wasn't surprising that they chose eachother. Rumor had it that he was totally crazy over her, he had to be, he had already beaten his own personal record by dating her for more than two weeks. They had actually been together for two, maybe three months, which was also a new record for Holly.

Reeta zipped into the Gryfindor common room behind Sirius, and after one scan of the room discovered the source of Alices irritation. James and Lily were sitting in a corner, their heads close together, looking into eachothers eyes with expressions of complete devotion to eachother. It was almost sickening, esspecially since they apparently didn't even realize how much they totally loved eachother. This was not only irritating to Alice, Reeta as well was fuming. She had been totally smitted with James for some time, and they had even gone into Hogsmede together once, but then he had never spoken to her again. Reeta had vowed to get revenge on him one day.

Lily and James, staring into eachothers eyes, were apparently arguing about something. Reeta got closer, so that she could hear what they were saying.

"James, Im fine, okay? It's nice of you to worry, I'm flattered and all, but I'm fine."

"But Lily, you're sick, please, let me take you to the hospital wing! I'm really worried about you, and I know you're mad at me and all-"

"I'm not mad at you, but if you don't stop interupting my studying, I will be!"

"You're not mad at me?" James asked her, sounding hopefull, yet disbelieving.

"No, what you did was wrong but what Alice..." She trailed off. Reeta sumised that Lily knew about Alice and professor Longbottom. This was getting interesting.

"Alice what? What did she do Lily? Did she say something to you?"

"No, it's not that. Never mind, forget I said anything."

"No, Lily, what was it? What did she do?" James moved even closer to her.

"Don't worry about it, it's not important." Lily said, turning away from him so that he wouldn't see the expression in her eyes.

"Tell me Lily." He said, tenderly taking her face in his hand and turning her towards him. She had a look in her face like a deer caught in headlights-an expression Reetas muggle father was very fond of.

"James, please. Don't ask me." She said sadly, trying to turn her face away from him.

"You have to tell me Lily, I can't make it better if you don't tell me." He told her.

"You couldn't make it better anyway. Oh James." Her eyes started filling with tears.

"Lily, please, tell me." He said, wiping the tear that had started to trickle down her cheek away with his thumb.

"James, she's cheating on you! Shes been hooking up with professor Longbottom every night practically. I'm so sorry, I wanted to tell you sooner, but I couldn't. James, I'm so sorry." Lily told him, breaking down into tears.

"Shh, Lily, quiet now." He hushed her, pulling her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. She responded by trowing her arms around his neck and sobbing louder into his shoulder. So now James knew. She had cracked, how interesting.

Reeta buzzed off to find out what Alice was up to now, missing the rest of James and Lily's convorsation.

"I don't care about Alice and what she's doing, I don't even like her that much to be honest. I tried to get her to dump me, but she didn't. Now I have an excuse."

"James!" Lily said, horrified, unwrapping herself from him and removing herself from his embrace. "I can't believe you! You've been totally using her! And you used me too, didn't you? Is that why you kissed me after that quiddich match? So that she would dump you? I can't believe you would do that! You used both of us and ruined our friendship!" Lily stood up and ran up the stairs to the girls dorms, sobbing loudly. She left her piles of books and papers on the table, forgetting all about studying.

James sat, shellshoked for a minute, and then sprung to his feet to follow her. He reached the bottom of the stairs and then stopped, remembering the Nicky incedent when the stairs had turned into a slide. Not a good plan. She was totally wrong! He had not been using her at all, he had kissed her in the heat of the moment, it hadn't been planned at all! And the last thing he had wanted to do was ruin Alice and Lilys friendship, it only meant that he could spend even less time with her. He could see where she was coming from though, and understood how it would be easy to draw the conclusions she had, but they were still totally wrong!

Holly, seeing Lily run up the stairs in tears, sprang up from the couch where she had been reading and threw her book onto the floor, running up the stairs after her friend, shooting James a nasty look.

Sirius watched mystified as Holly thre her book on the floor and ran away, he picked the book up to give to her later and looked at James, who was standing, looking totally bummed. "James, man, what did you do?" Sirius asked. He looked at James and saw that his friend was on the verge of tears. Rather than tease him good naturedly as he would have otherwise, Sirius pulled him into a big hug. Sirius might tease his friend a lot, but James was his best friend in the world, and Sirius hated seeing him in pain. "Come on man, tell me all about it upstairs."

Authors Note: So what do you think of Sirius's other side? What do you think in general? Did you pick up on why Reeta hates Harry and James? What do you think will happen next? I haven't written the next bit yet, so any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!