Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters that are familiar to you. They are owned by J.K Rowling, and this fan fiction is written solely for entertainment…but don't you wish?!

Chapter 24: The Terror of Dependence

Lily woke up on the couch, with a blanket draped across her shoulders. Sitting up, she blinked as the sun split through the window. Checking her wrist watch, she realized it was almost nine thirty. She had nearly slept through breakfast. Getting up, she realized she was still in her clothes from the day before so she hurried up to the dormitory. No one was in there, so she checked her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were slight puffy from the night before. Looking towards Cecily's bed, she saw that the bed was made and her trunk and luggage were gone. She had left. Lily brushed her hair, changed and brushed her teeth before going down to the Great Hall.

Lily entered the Great Hall and sat down next to Alice and looked at the food in front of her. She wasn't very hungry. Alice, Caroline and Kelsey were picking at their food but hardly eating as well. Caroline had her forehead propped up by her hand and looked as though she hadn't slept at all. When Lily sat down, Kelsey looked up and smiled slightly, but went back to picking at her breakfast.

"Cecily left?" Lily asked quietly. Alice nodded.

"Early this morning. You were asleep in the common room and she didn't want to wake you." She said, miserably.

"That's not all of it." Caroline whispered, speaking for the first time. "Cecily's parents weren't the only families killed. Four others were killed too….They were all Muggle-born."

Lily blinked.

"But Cecily is from a wizarding family."

"I know." And that was all that was said. None of them stayed much longer, there was nothing to do or say. James had had a meeting with Dumbledore, so he wasn't a breakfast. It was a Head meeting, but James didn't want to wake Lily so he went without her. It had taken a little bit of time for him to slide out from the couch (with Lily lying against him) last night, but he managed to. Feeling terrible to wake her, he put a blanket over her and went up to the dormitory. Cecily's parents' murder had hit her hard and he hoped she wouldn't find out about the four Muggle-born families killed. He didn't know how well she could take that.

"I suppose that wraps up this meeting, James. Say hello to Lily for me." Dumbledore said.

"Yes sir."

"I take it she's upset about Miss McKinnon?"

"That's most of it, Professor." James said.

"I see, well, please let her know personally from myself, that everything will be alright."

"I'll do that. Thank you sir." James said and left for class.

James met up with Sirius, Remus and Peter in the hallway just before the first bell rang.

"How was it?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing big." James said, shrugging.

"I reckon you discussed the murders then?" Remus inquired.

"Not very much actually."

"You should hear the Slytherins talk. They're gloating till no end."

James's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Even Snape?"

Sirius smirked.

"He's one of the worst."

"Why am I not surprised? He's swimming in Dark Arts," James grumbled. The second bell rang so the four of them split off toward their classes. James and Sirius hurried into Defense Against the Dark Arts seconds before they would have been late. James sat down behind Caroline and Sirius hurried to his seat caddy-cornered from him. James leaned forward in his seat and whispered to Caroline.

"Have you seen Lily?"

I jumped slightly, startled, but turned my head to the side and nodded.

"At breakfast."

"She woke up then?"

"If she was at breakfast then yes, James, she did wake up."

James rolled his eyes.

"How was she? Was she alright?"

I sighed.

"She was as bad as all of us. None of us ate; none of us said anything and were miserable the entire morning."

James grimaced.

"You all took it pretty hard."

"Cecily is one of our best friends, James; of course we took it hard."

"That's not all of it, you know. Lily is completely stressed and upset about you and Kelsey. Will you two just get a grip and-"
"Mr. Potter?! Quiet down please!"

James stopped and leaned back in his seat. I looked down at the wood of the table miserably. I had no idea how Lily felt about Kelsey and I not getting along anymore. I felt downright terrible about how our entire group of friends were falling apart. And now that Cecily's parents were dead…I had never felt so selfish in my whole life.

Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed to last for ages. When the bell rang, I leapt out of my seat and hurried out the door, utterly ashamed to face James or Sirius. Potions class was next and I dreaded that even more. Every one of us was in Potions together.

Lily walked down the corridor to potions alone. Kelsey had to go to the bathroom and they split halfway to class from Charms. Lily felt bad to have practically slept through the Head meeting, but the thought of Cecily and the ongoing arguments between Caroline and Kelsey made her want to go back to the dormitory again. So much was on her mind she didn't even realize when someone came up beside her.

"Evans."

Lily was so startled she almost swung her arm out in self-defense as a reflex, but stopped when she realized who it was. It was Severus Snape. Lily continued to walk, if not faster and did not make eye contact with him.

"What do you want, Snape?"

Snape kept up with her.

"I heard about your friend McKinnon."

"So?"

"I would have loved to see it; McGonagall coming in to tell her that her parents were dead."

Lily said nothing.

"Of course, she deserved it; Frolicking around with the accounts of you Mudbloods."

Lily took in a breath and glared at him.

"Where is this going Snape? Because I really have a class to go to."

"What a coincidence, Evans. I'm in the same class as you."

Fantastic, Lily thought.

"You and Potter make such an adorable couple. I knew you'd give into his ridiculous charms soon enough."

"Leave me alone, Snape. If James was here, oh, he'd—"

"But he's NOT here, is he?"

Lily glared at him coldly and began to walk away.

"I'd watch your self, Mudblood. You and your parents could be next. I can see it now…the bodies…that Dark Mark…"

Lily opened her mouth in horror, but nothing came out.

"That'd be too much for your darling Potter, wouldn't it?"

Lily trembled in rage and horror. Her face had gone ghastly white. She turned on her heel and hurried to Potions; Snape right behind her.

Lily stormed into the classroom, shaking from head to toe. She whirled her head toward Snape with one last sad glare, before sitting down in a huff. I looked up when she came in the door and noticed the way she acted toward Snape. I glanced slightly at James but he hadn't noticed. Her desk was next to mine, so when she sat down, I glanced at her until she caught my eyes. A line had formed between her eyebrows as if she was devastated and angry at the same time.

"What's wrong?" I mouthed to her. She looked down and shook her head. I looked behind me at Snape and then back at Lily, who was attempting to concentrate on Fillpot's lesson.

After class, Lily seemed to be in a hurry to leave, so I grabbed her arm before she bolted for the door.

"Caroline, I have to get to class-"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

"It's nothing!"

"Is it Snape?"

"No! I mean—"

She glanced at James and then dragged me out the door and around the corner. When she was satisfied that no one could hear, she told me about her encounter with Snape. When she finished, I thought quietly.

"You need to tell James, Lily." I said. Her eyes widened.

"Are you insane?! Tell JAMES that SNAPE is threatening ME? Yeah, that'll be amicable. No way, no one is telling James. Promise me now. Do Not Tell James."

"Why not? He'll know what to do!" I argued.

"No, he'll freak out. I would not be shocked if he killed him." She said.

"But—"

"No. You cannot tell James."

"Tell me what?"

Lily and I whirled around to see James standing behind us with his arms across his chest. I jumped at the chance.

"That Sn—"

Lily's foot came out of no where and her heel slammed into my five toes at once. My mouth opened and I clenched my teeth in pain.

"That SIRIUS has a surprise for you." Lily said quickly.

Sirius came around the corner promptly as this was said. He looked up.

"I'm what?"

I decided to make it even harder for Lily:

"That surprise Lily's been talking to you about! Right, Lily?"

She gave me a look.

"I have a surprise?" Sirius asked slowly.

I smirked, "Sure you do! Lily was just telling me how awesome it is!" Lily gaped at me. Though I felt a twinge of regret, this was fun.

James was half-believing this. He turned his head toward Sirius.

"What surprise?"

"What- you think I know?" he said, pressing his hand against his chest, gesturing to himself. He looked me, utterly confused searching for some sort of explanation from me. I smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! Right? Remember?" I said to him. Lily had brought her hand up to her face in pure embarrassment. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Sure…?" he said. I was about to say something else, but then Lily grabbed my arm.

"Look at the time! James, I'll meet you after class! Love you!" she exclaimed and dragged me down the hallway. James looked after her.

"What was that about?" he asked to Remus, Sirius and Peter.

"Apparently…a surprise." Peter said, unconvinced. All four of them were. Sirius shook his head.

"Nah, there's more to it." He said.

"Maybe she's in some death-threatening trouble." Remus said, half-sarcastically. James glanced at him.

"Thanks, Moony."

"Honestly, I'm sure it's nothing. Women have their own secrets. It's probably something that we don't WANT to know about." Remus said. James wasn't convinced.

"I'll ask Caroline at Quidditch practice, Prongs." Sirius said.

Lily wasn't able to reach Kelsey or Alice about what happened with Snape which ended up being fortunate since Remus asked Kelsey what was bothering Lily and she obviously didn't know what he was talking about. This convinced Remus, Sirius and Peter further, but James remained skeptical. Sirius assured him that he would ask Caroline at Quidditch, but this didn't help James much. His concern for Lily's strange behavior was getting the better of him.

---I was shining my COMET during practice when Sirius came up beside me. I looked up and gave him a smile to acknowledge he was there before concentrating back on my broomstick. He sat down on the grass next to me, picking at the blades on the ground.

"Want to talk about something?" he asked, resting his elbows on his knees as he continued to rip a single blade of grass into pieces. I stopped, thinking very quickly. Finally, I looked up and narrowed my eyes.

"No…why?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I mean, what's going on with this surprise thing?"

"Oh that. We were just playing with your heads. It's nothing. Did you see me? I was just embarrassing Lily." I stammered. Sirius arched an eyebrow as I fell silent. He didn't say anything for several moments making me extremely uncomfortable and awkward.

"That's not all of it, is it?" he finally said.

"No, really! There's nothing else. We were just talking about girl stuff and joking around. Nothing's going on." I said a bit too urgently and quickly. Sirius shook his head.

"Look, Caroline. James is really worried about her. If there's anything—"

"Sirius! There's nothing!" I lied, giving him an unconvincing glare. Sirius seemed to be trying to read my facial expression, and then finally shrugged.

"Fine." He said and got up. He turned and looked down at me. "If you feel like talking, I'm here."

"Okay." I said, not looking at him.

"By the way, Hogsmeade is coming up at the end of the semester." He said.

"I know."

"Remus is making you go with Kelsey."

"I know." I said miserably. Sirius crossed his arms angrily at the tone of my voice.

"You know, a lot of horrible things are happening right now and you two fighting is driving us all bloody mad so you two better get a grip of yourselves soon." He said sternly, his voice raising. I looked up at him, shocked at his slight outburst. I turned my head so he wouldn't see how ashamed I felt. Sirius sighed, relaxing his shoulders, the gentleness coming back to his face. He knelt down in front of me, leaning back on the heels of his Quidditch boots.

"Look, Remus told me why you two were fighting. And…I know exactly how you feel."

I turned to look at him.

"I've got it worse than you do. I mean, it was fine with Remus and Kelsey, and then James and Lily get together and—don't get me wrong, it's great! James finally getting Lily and Remus finally having the guts and Kelsey not minding he's a werewolf…but, it's different than it used to be, you know?"

Sirius was sitting again now.

"So, it's just…you guys just have to get over it. It's ridiculous it's gone THIS far. Just watch: She'll be at every single of our next games."

I nodded.

"Okay." He said and got up.

Once he was out of sight and hearing, I groaned and rubbed my head. I had never had so many issues in my life at once.

----I was lying on my bed after dinner doing homework when Lily came in. Alice and Kelsey, who were in the bathroom applying make-up to each other, stopped what they were doing and poked their heads out the door. Lily was silent, but looked terribly white. Her body was shaking as she pulled out a chair and collapsed into it.

"Lil—" Alice began, but stopped. When Lily looked up, her eyes were puffy and red. Her smooth, clean complexion was pasty and her hair was not as neat as it had been earlier.

"Merlin, Lily…are you alright?" Alice whispered. Lily took in some large breaths and shook her head.

"He came up to me again. Snape. It was even worse. He said things—it seemed like it was true. I don't think he's bluffing…he—he described my parents' death. They're not dead. They wrote me this morning, but…you should've heard him. He—" her voice broke and she stopped. Suddenly she broke down into tears.

"Caroline, I'm scared." She stammered seeing only me in the main dormitory. Alice and Kelsey stood horrified in the bathroom doorway. I got up and sat in a chair opposite her.

"Lily."

She looked up, lower lip trembling.

"You have to tell James." I said bluntly in deep concern. She looked at me for a long time and then shook her head weakly.

"I can't." she whispered. I slumped my shoulders.

"Lily, please tell—"

"No. I can't depend on him all the time, Caroline."

"You've never depended on him before."

Lily shook her head.

"Lily, do you have any idea how worried he is about you right now? I've had Sirius AND James come up to me asking about you." I protested.

"Remus asked me." Kelsey said.

Lily got up and walked over to her bed.

"No, I'll figure this out on my own." She said. We were quiet after that. I glanced behind me at Kelsey and suddenly my conversation with Sirius came to my head. How can I not get along with my best friend when we have friends who need us more now than ever? Maybe Kelsey and I can sort this out before Hogsmeade…

---James was leaning against the stone wall of the corridor when he heard footsteps behind him. He smiled and turned but not to find Lily, but Caroline. I smiled awkwardly as he raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Lily?"

"Yeah, I was sent by her to tell you that she won't be able to patrol tonight."

"Why? Is she alright?"

"Yeah, yeah…she's fine. She's not feeling well, that's all." I said. Avoiding any further explanations, I turned and began to walk away.

"Wait, Caroline!"

Reluctantly, I turned around. James came up to me.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is Lily alright?"

I suddenly seriously considered blurting it all out, but for the sake of one of my very good friends, I kept my mouth shut.

"Please tell me Caroline. She wasn't herself today and…please. Is she in trouble?"

I was silent. James was watching me very intently.

"I—she's—" I began, but I didn't know what to say. I shook my head and ran off before I could say anymore, leaving a frustrated, and concerned James in the corridor.

A/N: Here it is! Chapter 24! Woo hoo! I'm personally proud of this one actually. In the next chapter, Lily is still being a bit stubborn, but her desperate independence is dribbling out from her need for James. Also, look for some new interaction between Kelsey and Caroline-this time, maybe not so distant this time… AND, Caroline seeks some emotional assistance from Sirius Black.