She was angrily stomping through a corridor when she bumped into Tom without even realizing he was there.

"Oh, sorry!" she said as soon as she knocked into him.

"No problem, Lily. Besides, it was my fault. Where are you headed?"

"Charms class."

"I'll see you in Potions, then?"

"Uh yeah."

When she was about to walk off, he called her once again.

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Are you…alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem kind of frustrated."

"I am."

"How come?"

She sighed. "I don't know want to talk about it, Tom, but thanks for your concern."

Tom nodded and left. Perhaps it had something to do with James…

Charms class ended and Potions was about to start soon. Lily and Tom were on their way to class together when they struck up a conversation about Lily's behaviour.

"Lily, I want to talk about something."

"Yes?"

"You've been acting uh…strange lately."

"Strange? How so?"

He brought her to a secluded corner of a hallway, a dark and cobweb filled area.

"Oh Tom, please don't tell me our relationship is in trouble again."

"I wouldn't know, Lily, you tell me."

"What do you mean?"

Tom looked around before saying a word. "You seem distracted by something, as if some awful thing had occupied your mind. I know that this year it's been tough. Not only for you but for the both of us, and I know that there's something that has stained your mind, something that hasn't left. That body was a dreadful thing, Lily, I must admit. It scared the both of us, but you can't let everything get in the way of our relationship. I want to know what's been bothering you lately. That's what I'm here for, you know that, right?"

Lily obviously did not want to tell Tom. Telling Tom that he was claimed to be an evil wizard who killed many people? Uh…no, she did not think so. But she was frustrated for sure. That was all of James' fault. He had to aggravate her with his accusations of Tom being not what he seemed, then pretend he had never made such accusations.

"It's James," she finally huffed.

"James?" Tom's eyebrows raised. He was somewhat confused.

"He's so annoying. He wouldn't leave me alone. He got me in such a bad mood this morning."

'Hm, so I was right. It is about James,' Tom thought. "What did he do?"

"He…he just denies all these things that he's ever said."

"What did he say?"

"Lots of things. I just don't ever want to have to face that boy again," Lily concluded.

"Don't worry. It'll be done."

It was the beginning of lunch time. Most people were already enjoying their meal in the Great Hall, but not James. Neither was Lily. She was busy trying to finish off a school project in the Gryffindor Common Room when James entered. There was noone there but the two. She looked up to see who it was and when she saw that it was him, she looked back down quickly, ignoring him.

"Lily."

She did not say a word nor did she urge a move. She continued with her project, working on the floor. James approached her and mumbled a bit.

"I want to uh…apologize for my behaviour today. I'm sorry I snapped."

She did not answer back. There was a long moment of strange silence.

"Oh Lily, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that." He sighed. "It's just that…well…I am kind of jealous you see. I never really stopped fancying you."

She finally looked up, but slowly. "I was hoping you'd be over it."

"So was I. I mean, I didn't like you anywhere as much as I originally had, especially the time when we kissed that summer-"

Lily winced. "Please. Don't mention that."

"There are still some feelings lingering around in me. But I thought about it in class today and realized that I was being rude. I'm sorry."

He turned to leave but she stopped him.

"James. That's not why I got so upset today."

He turned back to face her. "What?"

She sighed and got up, spreading her shirt and pants more smoothly. She fiddled with her hands and fingers for a bit before speaking. "Why did you have to say all these bad things about my boyfriend like that, James?"

"I told you, I'm sorry."

"Why did you say them, then dismiss them all of a sudden! It was so unexpected, coming from you. I mean, it's alright to change your mind about Tom and finally see the light of him, but at least admit that you have said bad things about him, and that you even accused him of murder!"

James stepped back, somewhat shocked. "Murder? Lily, I do admit that I've said some unpleasant things about your boyfriend but that was only out of jealousy, little else. I would never accuse him of murder, that's the least I can say! Tom is the most brilliant student around. He is a good person, just a bit protective of his girl, that's all."

"Why must you deny this!" Lily screamed.

"Lily, are you alright?" James asked after a very brief period of silence. He was obviously confused. He did not know what was going on.

"I knew it. I should just ignore you, forget everything that've you said! You make me so horribly angry, James Potter! Leave me alone! Never speak to me again!"

She bent down, grabbed her stuff quite hastily, and headed towards her dormitory room without a word. He was left standing there in awkward confusion.

For the next several months, nothing special occurred. James was obviously struck with a spell to forget about Tom's murderous capabilities and so he no longer spied on the meetings, nor did he accuse Tom of anything. Lily ignored James completely, and continued a lovely relationship with her boyfriend. Sirius didn't take James' murder accusations of Tom's to heart. He realized that James no longer spoke of that, nor did he try to convince anyone anything, so he decided to leave it alone. And Peter was still safe with his secret relation to Tom. But one thing was changed yet still remained unknown. Remus was the only who actually took James' accusations into thought, and has decided to investigate.

It was almost the end of the school year. The students in their sixth year, including Tom, Lily, James, etc, were about to quickly move to their seventh and last. It was the beginning of June, a hazy summer night, providing a weather of moisty warmth and a sky of trembling gold stars.

It was just past midnight. Everyone was supposed to be in bed enjoying a nice night's sleep. Well, everyone was supposed to, not that everyone did. Of course, Tom and his gang members were outdoors by the edge of the Forbidden Forest, making plans.

Lately, Remus has had his mind strangely occupied of suspicions about Tom. He had done a bit of spying, with little success of discovering the evil in him. He had also tried to take whatever Tom had to say into mind, and tried to twist it into something wicked, but could not. Tom was too clever to let his evil protrude but that did not discourage Remus at all. He was determined to finding out what had given his friend James this awful idea, and would not give up until after much thought and research.

But there was something about that night. Remus had tried to fall asleep, and have, but constantly woke up. He decided a nice walk would do, even though that was against the school rules.

He thought to himself, "Hey, I can get a nice walk and maybe also stumble upon Tom in the act of an evil deed. A walk outside is worth it."

And so he stood from his bed, changed into proper clothes, grabbed his wand, and left his room. After passing through the Gryffindor Common Room, he was out in the hall, headed for the main entrance.

He exited the building, cautiously looking around to avoid anything dangerous, and finally kept his cool, gave a sigh, and relaxed. The cool breeze gently whipped his hair He walked for some time, perhaps a few minutes shorter than ten, when he heard some noises. His fingers tightly grasped the wand, aiming it high and ahead of him, prepared for any sudden attack. But there was none. He looked to see that out far in front of him was a band of dark cloaked hooded people. Luckily, he was unseen, thanks to the many bushes and shrubberies.

"Is the potion ready?" a voice asked.

Sirius tried to look more closely, and saw that it was Tom who had spoken. He was up in front, ahead of the many hooded people. Only he was not hooded. His face was quite clear, especially how it lit up with the glowing full moon from behind.

"Not yet, Sir," a member said.

"And why not? It was supposed to rest for two months. It's been two months!"

"Not quite, Sir," the same member said. "You see, something's happened. I believe you'll have to wait another month."

There was silence, one that was hoped for by someone who did not want to know Tom's reaction.

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked camly.

"We messed it up, you see," Violet confessed.

"You…what?"

"We mixed a couple of the ingredients and was missing one. We didn't want to get you angry and-"

"What! So you decided not to inform me about this earlier! I don't understand. Do I have to wait another month because you made the second of the same potion a month ago?"

"That's correct, Sir," another voice replied.

Tom was fuming. He breathed in and out very deeply-and very angrily, and his eyes were glowering with so much fury that his followers began to step back a bit with much fear.

"You incompetent fools! Ugh!"

"Why it so important to have it this soon? Why can't you just wait a month?" Violet asked daringly.

"Because that potion would make me gain a new kind of power, one that is barely seen in witches and wizards nowadays. It would enable me to perform a great amount of spells and enchantments. The school year's about to end, Violet, and I cannot wait until the middle of the summer to gain this terrible power! The point was so that I would be able to use it during the entire summer, my free time. I'm an impatient man, you know that!"

"So what are we going to do?" cried a follower.

"Nothing at the moment…except for this."

Tom held his wand high, quickly pointed it at the follower who last cried 'what are we going to do' and mumbled a spell. Soon enough, the follower was screeching in extreme pain, burning in thick fiery flames of vivid blue and red, until there was nothing left but ashes. The rest of the band were struck with fear. They all backed up, and they either had their eyes wide open, or their mouths wide open, or even both. Remus, still hidden in his secure area, was completely shocked. He started to hyperventilate a bit and could barely move. Tom uttered a high laugh of pure evil, one that chilled the bones of many.

"Wasn't that…entertaining?" he asked, amused and feeling pleasant.

Of course, the group could not speak. Perhaps they were not good, but they were definitely not entirely evil. They had just lost their own friend, and for the very worst reason.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Tom demanded. "Now, answer me, was that entertaining or not?"

Low mutters of 'yes' travelled across the group.

"Good. Now, tomorrow morning in class, his death would surely be noticed. So whatever happens, we don't know a thing about what happened to him, alright?"

More mutters of 'yes' travelled across the group, along with a few nods.

"Excellent. Now, this meeting is dismissed."