Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

As soon as class was over, Treasure bolted out the door and practically flew down the silver ladder that led up to the Divination classroom. She was angry, confused and embarrassed - mortified, really - but forced herself to feel more anger than anything else. What Treasure would not let herself feel was hurt. Lily flew down the ladder to catch up with her, getting her foot caught on the last rung and nearly falling flat on her face. In her struggle to untangle her limbs from the silver ladder, Treasure disappeared around a corner in a flash of dark hair and dark robes. Lily cursed under her breath and, tapping the ladder with her wand, mumbled a charm that would make the ladder collapse under the weight of the next user. She was certain it would be either Black or Potter - who would assuredly leave the classroom at the head of the pack - but at the moment she didn't care which, she just wanted to cause some small sense of embarrassment on behalf of her best friend.

When Lily got to the Great Hall, Treasure was nowhere in sight among their fellow Gryffindors. Lily sat down, confused. Maybe she just went to the bathroom, she thought. Treasure was never one to skip a meal, she was usually ravenous. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter walked up and with a sense of triumph Lily saw that Sirius looked rather disheveled. A moment later, Lily thought with a sinking feeling that it might just be because every Gryffindor male was taking it upon himself to pat Sirius on the back, and more than once James caught the taller boy in a headlock and ruffled his hair. Lily rolled her eyes at their congratulatory spirit, disgusted.

Sirius was walking rather slowly, glaring harshly at Peter who couldn't seem to find it in himself to stop snickering immaturely. "If you don't shut up, Wormtail, I'll take a leaf out of Treasure's book and Silence you," he warned. Peter only snickered harder.

"I'm sure that's not all you'll be wanting from Treasure," he said. Lily thought that she might be sick. She kept her head down, not wanting James to notice her. He noticed anyway, of course. He always did.

"Hey, Evans, where'd Treasure go? Why was she in such a rush to leave Divination?"

Lily rolled her eyes and decided not to dignify his remark with an answer. Instead, she stared blandly and disgustedly at him. Slowly, his face began to flush. Good, Lily thought. At least he seemed rather ashamed of himself. The other Gryffindor fifth year, Ramon Martinez, an exchange student from Colombia, and Pettigrew took turns puckering up and snickering. Sirius looked highly uncomfortable, and Lily allowed herself a smug grin. That'll teach him to think before he just does things, she thought.

The meal, which was a feast really, began and Lily ate as fast as she could. Sirius kept looking around the table, and James kept staring at her. She thought she might get indigestion. She was wolfing down her second turkey drumstick in an attempt to leave as fast as she could, when James opened his mouth to say something. Lily grimaced as she noticed it was full of food. Boys, she thought frustrated. She jumped up, grabbing her books. "Gotta go," she said, around a mouth full of turkey. She ran up to the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping to find Treasure there.

Treasure was sitting in a squashy red arm chair by the fire. She had gone to the kitchens for food, snagging a bowl of soup and some greasy fish and chips. She'd taken up pockets full of dessert, but her stomach hurt too much for her to look at them. Now was a good time as any to practice Vanishing Charms, she figured so she attempted to Vanish the cakes and cookies. So far all she had managed to do was send them zooming into the fire.

"At least they're not there anymore," Lily said, taking a seat opposite Treasure.

"What a day," Treasure sighed.

"I'll say. I don't know which revenge was worse, the beetle or the kiss."

"The kiss," Treasure said flatly.

"Oh, come on, Treasure, it couldn't have been all that bad!" Lily said.

"It was," Treasure said miserably, her face in her hands.

"Do you mind if I have a cookie?" Lily asked. Treasure shook her head. Lily bit thoughtfully into the cookie. "Well it just goes to show you that you'll have to watch your mouth," she said. Treasure looked up angrily.

"I was watching my mouth, and it wasn't anywhere near his!" she exclaimed, apparently too incensed to even speak his name.

"Well you did say 'bite me.' He's a fifteen year old boy, you can't trust how his mind operates. You're lucky a quick peck on the lips was all he did," Lily laughed. Treasure waved her wand at the cookie that Lily was raising to her mouth. It Vanished, but Treasure was too distracted to notice. Lily bit into thin air, and looked up glaring at her friend. Then she realized what Treasure had done, and she grinned.

"Since when are you the experts on those social lepers?" Treasure was grumbling, sinking lower into the armchair and zooming cookies into the fire with renewed fervor.

"'Bite me' does not mean 'kiss me'! If I had said 'kiss me' then, yes, I would be to blame. But I said 'bite me'. As in, 'shut up', 'go to hell,' 'I hate you.' That kind of thing!" Treasure shouted. Lily couldn't help but start to laugh.

"Yeah but given the circumstances, I can understand why he would be confused…"

"What in the name of Morgan le Fay are you saying, Lillania C. Evans?" Treasure's use of Lily's full name was supposed to be threatening, and the red-head could tell that her friend was itching for a fight. Lily thought wistfully that Quidditch season was still two week away - usually all the practice was enough to keep Treasure's pent up energy relatively in check. No wonder Treasure was getting into trouble every where she turned.

"Just that you wouldn't have been able to cut through all that tension with the sword of Godric Gryffindor!" Lily said, trying and failing to keep her eyes wide and innocent and instead dissolving into giggles at the affronted look on Treasure's face.

"Tension! What tension? If there was tension it was only because I was restraining myself from hexing Sirius Black to the moon!"

"No, Tres, not that kind of tension…" Lily hinted. Treasure looked furious and, Vanishing the rest of the cookies, she pointed her wand at the fireplace, where the fire began to roar in earnest. She began to pace back and forth, and the flames seemed to dance with her every move. Lily began to get worried, thinking that if she didn't help calm Treasure down, the Common Room would be in cinders before the rest of the Gryffindors finished their dessert.

"Treasure, cool it. I'm sure it will all be forgotten by tomorrow," she said.

"Riiight." Treasure let her dark hair fall into her face like a curtain as she flopped back into her armchair, hiding what Lily knew was probably insurmountable embarrassment. Her eyes were flashing liquid amber in the firelight, and if Lily hadn't known her temperamental friend better, she might have been alarmed.

"What are you looking at me for, Treasure? I am not the one who kissed you!" Lily exclaimed. Treasure sighed. "I'm sorry, Lils, but what was he playing at by kissing me? I mean, what was the point, besides getting some stupid revenge, which, might I add, he'd already gotten!" she snarled. Lily pondered this for a moment.

"Well, there are two possibilities: One, it was just another revenge ploy, as the first was rather weak. Or, he really likes you," she said, emphasizing the latter. Treasure looked up, mystified.

"Oh, come off it, Lils," she said, a cynical grin breaking out on her face. Lily shook her head.

"No, really, I mean it. It is a possibility. My mother used to tell me that a sure way to tell if a boy liked you was if he came up and punched you on the arm, and then ran away," she said.

"He didn't punch me on the arm, though. He chased me around a classroom with a Griffin-sized beetle and then kissed me half an hour later! If only boys were as simple as they are in the Muggle world!" Lily looked rather annoyed at the comment, after all, she had grown up with Muggle boys until she was eleven and they were in no way simple. Simple minded, maybe. But not simple.

"You're just complicating things," Lily said shortly.

"Whatever you say, you're the expert, apparently," Treasure mumbled. Lily was silent, pulling out her books and starting her homework. Treasure did the same. Both girls were immersed in their work, when Lily looked up suddenly.

"Hey, Treasure…what was it like?"

Before Treasure could demand just what Lily was talking about, the portrait of the Fat Lady banged open loudly, startling both of the girls. Treasure sighed, knowing who it must be. Just wonderful, she thought.

"Hey, Treasure, your lover boy is here!" Violet shrieked, walking in with Isabelle and the last Gryffindor fifth year, a pretty, shy Asian girl named Ilenya Ngo. Treasure rolled her eyes.

"Your intellect never ceases to amaze, Violet," she said sarcastically. Lily looked at Treasure. "Just ignore them, they're not worth it," she mouthed. Treasure nodded.

"So, tell us, Sirius, what was the kiss for? Was it a true romantic moment, or was it just the best revenge ever had?" Ramon asked. Treasure closed her eyes and tried very, very hard to disappear.

"I should learn how to Apparate," she muttered. Lily chuckled and explained the futility of such an act while inside Hogwarts. "Wishful thinking, at least let me have that," Treasure answered grumpily, though still thankful that her friend was there.

"Well," Sirius said. Treasure felt her face flush; the desire to jinx Sirius and then everyone else in the room was really strong. Sirius looked at Treasure, who was staring fixedly at the fire. Then he looked around at everyone else, knowing that he would be endlessly tormented if he said it wasn't just for revenge. But it was, wasn't it?

"It was a bloody good revenge prank," he said. The boys cheered, and so did some of the girls. Most had the decency to look disgusted, however, or to at least pretend to be disgusted. Treasure stood up and looked right at Sirius.

"The joke's on you, Sirius, you vile, pretentious toad," she snapped. "The only reason a kiss could be remotely considered a form of revenge is if it were insufferably horrible. Congratulations, you've gotten your revenge then!" Treasure stormed off to the fifth year girl's dormitory to the hoots and hollers of the rest of her fellow Gryffindors, not bothering to see if her words struck a chord with Sirius. Lily followed immediately, knowing her best friend was on the verge of tears but relishing the look of embarrassment on Sirius's face.

"Oooh, you hear that Black? You're vile, a boil on the backside of humanity, and a terrible kisser to boot!" Ramon crowed, snickering. Remus sighed, saying nothing and leaving to go to bed; James met Sirius's eyes. Sirius held James's gaze nonchalantly, but looked away after a moment.

"Yes, I'm a vile and very tired boil, though. Good-night," he said, heading up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

"Oh, no, Sirius, don't go, have a game of Wizard's Chess!" Isabelle said, batting her lashes flirtatiously. "Er, you have something in your eye, Isabelle?" Sirius said, yawning loudly. She pouted at him. James laughed. "Let's go, mate," he said, clapping Sirius on the back. They headed up to the fifth years' dorm together and Sirius flopped down on his bed with a sigh.

"You fancy her."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Prongs?" Sirius asked, peeling open one eye to stare at James.

"Treasure."

"Okay, James, who Confunded you?"

"Don't try to hide it from me, Padfoot, I can see right through you," James said warningly. Sirius frowned but said nothing: James was the only one in the world who could tell him what to do and not get a black eye or a Stinging Hex thrown in his face.

"Yes, because I float beetles at women to prove my love," Sirius spat finally.

"Alright then, if you don't like the girl, tell me why did you kiss her?"

"You already know, just like the rest of them know out that, that I did it for revenge."

"If you ask me, Treasure was right - I don't see how a kiss is vengeful…" James said shortly. Sirius glared. "Well, you saw her! She hated it!" he said. James burst out laughing. "You sound offended," he said.

"Well wouldn't you be, if a girl ran crying away from you just 'cause you bloody kissed her?" Sirius asked.

"Not," James said slowly, "if I didn't fancy her."

Sirius pulled closed the heavy curtains around his four poster. It didn't block out the sound of James laughing, nor did it block out him saying, "I told you I'd see right through you mate."

Treasure lay on her bed, the gauzy dark red curtains closed. She stared up at the ceiling, hating how tears were burning behind her eyes, and how her throat was tight and painful. Damn him, the stupid wart…she thought angrily.

"Treasure?" Lily asked timidly.

"Hmm?" Treasure asked, sitting up and pulling the rope that opened the curtains and smiling brightly if fake. "Are you quite all right? It was just awful what he said," Lily said softly, sitting on her own bed. Treasure sighed.

"I'll be fine once I stop thinking of all the ways I'd like to maim him and just decide on one," she said toughly. Lily smiled. For all her tough words, Treasure would never admit that she was hurt. It was Lily's only problem with her friend - she hated to ask for help, and loathed to admit that she was hurt about something. She would make endless snide remarks, or strive to laugh something off - and if those two approaches didn't work, she would hurl hexes in every which direction, but it took a lot of trying to get Treasure to admit that she was hurt.

"Yes, I guess you would be thinking like that," she said. Treasure looked up. "What else would I be thinking of, Lils? The boy just humiliated me in front of the entire Gryffindor house…how am I going to play this one down?"

"Just let it pass," Lily said. Treasure looked scandalized.

"Let is pass? Have you lost your mind? After what he did, he'll be lucky if he can fill up a teaspoon with the remains of his ego, after I've shattered it thoroughly," she said. Lily sighed, frustrated.

"What?"

"Did you ever think that maybe he said that because if he said anything else, they'd never let him live it down?" Lily said.

"Are you saying that he said that, if he said he kissed me because he'd like me they'd torment him?" she asked. Lily nodded "If that's the case - which I'm sure its not - then he just subjected me to what has to be weeks of taunts, just to cover his own skin!"

Lily cringed. When you put it that way, it wasn't quite so endearing. "Yes, but then, at least he likes you!" she said lamely.

"Oh, that is some consolation prize. I couldn't give half a rat's ass if he liked me or not!" Treasure laughed.

"I suppose…but…" Lily said, trailing off.

"But what, Lils?" she asked.

"You never answered my question."