So sorry for the wait, but this chapter is nice and long to make up for it, with tons of cliffies, mwahahah….
BTW- Lyrics I use are "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down
Lily's eyes fluttered open slowly as she came back to consciousness. Immediately, she wished that she could have remained unconscious. Her head was throbbing, and her whole body felt like it was on fire. The only good thing about coming back to reality as Gideon's relieved face looking down at her.
"Lily?" Gideon broke into a smile when he saw her open her eyes. "Thank God you're awake!"
"I told you she would, Mr. Prewett," Madame Pomfrey bustled over carrying a tray with a glass of water, a washcloth, and a purple colored potion. "Drink this, Miss Evans. It will help with the fever."
Lily drank the bitter liquid quickly, pulling a face as the sour after taste came. "Why did I pass out?"
Gideon and Madame Pomfrey exchanged a look. The nurse finally spoke. "To be perfectly honest, we aren't sure, Lily. It might have to do with the hex a few weeks ago, but that's just an assumption." Seeing Lily's look of worry, Madame Pomfrey added kindly, "It could just be exhaustion, Miss Evans. You wouldn't be the first Head Girl to be under stress."
Lily nodded and started to thank the nurse, when James came bursting through the doors to the hospital wing.
"Lily? Are you alright? I heard a Hufflepuff say that you passed out, and then I couldn't find you-" James said this all extremely fast.
Madame Pomfrey held up a hand. "Don't worry, Mr. Potter. She'll be alright."
James pulled a chair over and sat next to Lily's bed. "So what happened?"
"Madame Pomfrey thinks it might have to do with the jello from hell," Lily replied, smiling a little. "But they aren't sure. I might just be overdoing it this year."
James paled a little. "The jello made you pass out?"
Lily shrugged. "Maybe…I just wish I knew who did it. I bet it was Lucius Malfoy, always calling me a mudblood…"
"Well…actually," James took off his glasses and rubbed them on his shirt rather nervously. He looked more flustered than Lily had ever seen the cool and collected James Potter. "You see, Lily…I was really mad at Sirius that week…you know, about him and Gari and all…well, I know that he loves the jello, so I figured…"
Lily stared at him. "You put the hex on it?"
"Yeah," James looked down at his feet.
Fury flared up in Lily's pretty eyes. "I don't believe you! All that time telling me how sorry you were! About how you wanted to be friends! You really don't change, do you Potter?"
She was on her feet by now, and Gideon tried to calm her. "Lily, you shouldn't be getting worked up like this…"
"Worked up? He put me in the hospital wing for a week!" Lily pointed accusingly at James. "I wanted to pull off my skin, it itched and burned. Ugh…and I actually said I'd go to the ball with you. I was such an idiot!"
James stood. "Lily, please, I didn't mean-"
"I don't care, Potter!" Lily's face had on a look hurt, but then she turned to Gideon. "Gideon, I take back what I said earlier."
"What?" Gideon looked bewildered.
"I would love to go to the ball with you," Lily told him.
"Oh, well…alright, Lily," Gideon looked nervously from Lily to James.
"Lily, please…you have to understand…" James reached for her arm as she started to storm out of the room.
"Understand?" Lily whirled on him, ignoring Madame Pomfrey. "Well, understand this, Potter. Stay. Away. From. Me."
Lily turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving James feeling worse than he ever had in his life.
Sirius and Gari were trading soft kisses on the common room couch when James entered, looking like hell. It took Sirius a few moments to realize his best friend was there. When he opened his eyes briefly, he gently eased away from Gari.
"What happened, mate?" Sirius frowned, giving his friend a once over. "You look like you've been to hell and back."
"Is Lily here?" James addressed Gari as he sunk into an armchair.
Gari shook her head, her grey eyes filled with sympathy. "You two had a row, I take it?"
"It was awful…worse than we ever had before," James admitted, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Before it was just insults, I never meant to actually hurt her."
For a moment, no one spoke, but then something clunked into place for Gari. "You put the hex on the gelatin, didn't you?" Her voice didn't hold any accusation, more inquiry.
James gave a single nod, and Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Not very Head Boy like of you."
James sighed impatiently. "If only you had eaten the sodding jello like I thought you would."
Sirius let out his bark-like laugh. "You meant the jello for me?"
James shrugged. "You'd been such a prat the other day."
"So you decided to make my skin burn?"
James sighed again. "It was just supposed to dye the skin. I guess the itching and burning is a possible side effect. I didn't think that would happen, especially to Lily."
Upon seeing the genuine hurt in his friend's eyes, Sirius' face softened. "It'll be alright, mate."
"No, it won't. You didn't see her, Sirius," James looked completely heartbroken. "She was furious. I can't believe I put her in pain like that." He paused. "But I can't blame her…I'd be furious too."
They were silent again, then Gari spoke. "James, you can't give up. Lily is something you always saw as worth fighting for-"
"No." James response was loud and firm. "No more."
"Mate-" Sirius started to speak.
"No!" James interrupted. "Lily's right. We aren't meant to be. And just when something goes right for us, I botch it up and wind up being a prat again. No more. I give up."
"James…" Gari began, but upon seeing the determination and hurt in James' hazel eyes, she stopped. She knew he meant every word he had said.
One more kiss could be the best thing
One more lie could be the worst
While the drama unraveled for her friends, Rayven wore a giddy smile in the girls' bathroom, using a towel to shake the rain out of her hair. Her lips were still swollen from Remus' kisses, a fact she delighted in. She found herself humming as she used her wand to dry her hair completely. She'd never been one to care about what she looked like, but on a whim she used her wand to crimp her hair and put on a little make-up.
But when she stepped out of the bathroom, however, her tranquility immediately left. A gang of Slytherins was around the corner, including Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, and Severus Snape.
'Whatever, they can't ruin this day for me,' Rayven thought proudly, as she walked down the hallway. She passed the Slytherins with ease, with the exception of a few glares. Rayven was surprised however, when Snape fell into step with her half way down the corridor.
"What do you want?" Rayven asked, wasting no time. She was never one to indulge the Slytherins and their mind games.
And all these thoughts are never resting
And you're not something Ideserve
"You and Lupin," Snape replied, a cold smile falling on his lips. Rayven immediately wanted to run back to the bathroom and take a shower after hearing Snape's oily voice. "Perfect match, really."
"Glad you think so," Rayven replied cheekily, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"The mudblood and the half breed…really quite a match," Snape murmured. Rayven immediately tensed at the use of the 'M' word.
"Look, you wanker, who the hell do you think you are calling me a-" Rayven paused, and for a second her heart stopped. "What did you call him?"
In my head there's only you now
This world falls on me
"Oh, did he leave that out?" Snape smirked at her again. "Convenient. He really should have told you before you snogged him." He turned to go down to the dungeons. "Have fun being his whore."
Even ten minutes later, long after Snape had disappeared into the dungeons, Rayven was rooted to the spot.
In this world, there's real and make believe
This seems real to me
Depressed as he was, James never failed to give Remus his support each full moon. He, Sirius, and Peter waited behind the bushes a few yards off from the Whomping Willow under the invisibility cloak.
"Jesus, Peter, that was my foot!"
"Sorry!"
"You would think that after years of doing this, you would get used to the dark."
"You're one to talk, you're color blind half the time!"
"Shut up, both of you."
James was in no mood for Sirius and Peter's bickering. "Alright, Peter, he's in. Go touch the knot."
No sooner had the words left his mouth, was Peter racing through the grass. The tree froze, and Sirius and James came forward. They slid down the tunnel into the tree. There, they transformed easily. Sirius whined a little as he heard Remus' screams of agony. The black dog raced down the tunnel and up the stairs into the house. The dog stopped in the parlor, the rat and stag behind him. Remus' flesh was stripped from his body, and the screams gradually turned into howls.
You love me, but you dont know whoI am
I'm torn between this lifeI lead
And where I stand
The werewolf snapped its jaws at the dog first, baring its teeth and growling. The dog stood its ground, circling around the wolf calmly. The dog let the wolf sniff him out a little, and the wolf calmed, but only slightly. The stag stood in the doorway in an intimidating manner, while the rat ran over to a corner squeakily. The wolf lunged at the dog, and they rolled around, half violent, half playful, for a while. The stag watched on silently as moonlight flooded the room.
"Is Remus here?" Rayven asked Gari as she entered the common room.
Gari glanced up from her book. "No, I haven't seen him since Hogsmeade." She paused. "Is something wrong?"
"No…well, maybe…" Rayven sat down wearily. "It's just…I ran into Snape."
You love me, but you don't know whoI am
So let me go
Let me go
"Always unfortunate," Gari put in, without missing a beat.
Rayven shook her head at her friend's quip, smiling slightly. "Well, he said…" Rayven looked up at the full moon. "Never mind, it's nothing."
Gari looked at her kindly. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, you know how Slytherins like to talk," Rayven replied. "He probably was just trying to get a rise out of me."
Gari nodded. "Are you going to bed?"
"Yeah…" Rayven went up to the girls' dormitories, and got into bed. She stared at the moon outside her window. Sleep didn't claim her until many hours later.
You love me, but you don't
You love me, but you don't
You love me, but you don't know who I am
Hmm…so she doesn't know what to think…