A/N Hi guys, this chapter is kinda depressing, depressed me writing it but it has to be in here. Nothing much happens though our head students get a nasty shock at the end, but this chapter is mainly to portray some characters feelings

Separation

After the hot chocolate was reduced to mere drops, everyone went out for a snowball fight in the newly fallen snow which seemed to have appeared magically (and quite possibly hadd) but Lily refused saying she wanted to read a book while the common room was empty. Really she just wanted some time alone.
Unfortunately, she wasnt gonna get any.

What she didn't notice was that after everyone was left she wasnt the only one in the common room.
'Lily...' she jumped and turned to see James, hovering awkwardly by the portrait hole with his hands shoved deep into his pockets.
'I don't wana talk to you,' she said and turned back to her book, praying that he would just take the hint and leave. But, being James, he didn't.
'Lily, I'm so sorry for everything, I didn't mean it.' She didn't look up from her book. 'It was a stupid mistake that will never happen again.' She still kept her head down. 'Lily, I love you.' With this he got a reaction. Her head shot up and she got up from her seat and walked towards him, pointing her finger at his chest.
'You don't love me, if you did you could never hurt me like this.' At these words, she spun around and walked up the stairs to her dormitory, James ran to follow but when his feet touched the bottom step it turned into a slide and he slid back down. He sat on the floor at the bottom defeated with his head in his hands.

Remus came back from the snowball fight at around 5:30 because he was due to 'change' that night and he wanted to say he was going to bed early but when he entered the common room he saw James sat at the bottom of the girl's stairs in the same position he had been in since Lily ran upstairs, hours earlier. He looked up when the portrait hole opened.
Remus saw he had tears on his cheeks.
'I've really messed this one up, Moony.'
Remus walked over to his friend and sat down beside him. 'You want the truth or what you what to hear?' he asked simply.
James looked at him, 'I want the truth.'
'Well,' Remus started, 'Yes, you have messed it up. Big time. You were an idiot and I know you regret it now but that's just not good enough. Now, I'm your mate, Prongs, and I want you to be happy, I hate seeing you like this but you have really fucked this up and I doubt she'll ever forgive ya.'
For a few minutes there was a deadly silence and then James sighed, 'I know, but I love her, I really do. I just wish I'd told her before all this.'
'I know you do, James, there is no way you would be going through this if you didn't love her and I have known you a long time and you haven't ever been as happy as you have been over the last 3 months since you've had her.'
'Oh Remus, what am I going to do?' James started crying again and Remus pulled him into a hug. Acceptance was the worst part of any loss.
Up at the top of the stairs was a red-headed girl with tears in her eyes who had heard every word.

It was probably a good thing that Lily and James broke up while it was the holidays because neither of them felt at all like going to class and facing everyone but the day when they would have to was quickly approaching. Over those few weeks Lily was wishing, for the first time ever, that she hadn't been made Head Girl because at least that way she could blend into the background but everyone knew her and James and just fading in wasn't going to happen.
When all the rest of the school returned to Hogwarts they were all soon informed of the separation by those who had stayed over Christmas.
There were a number of stories going around about what had happened, most of which weren't true. Some involved Lily standing up in the Great Hall and slapping James across the face and another had Lily putting James in a full body bind and refusing to release him for 3 days. There was also some extremely nasty ones which caused Sirius, after hearing one of them one day, to hex a Slytherin 5th year until he had to spend the rest of the day in the hospital wing.

But Lily kept her head up and ignored these tales. She threw herself into her revision for her upcoming NEWTs, into her Head Girl duties and ignored everything and everyone around her.

James, on the other hand, sunk as far into the background as possible. He had stopped the pranks, stopped playing the clown, even stopped teasing Snape. He just sat in his room all day staring into space, replaying that horrible moment over and over again, thinking about how he could have acted differently.

Meanwhile, they weren't the only people who were suffering from their break up. All their friends were having a hard time with it as they felt they were just being stuck in the middle all the time and it was driving them all apart, Soon there was a definate divide down the middle of the group with some on Lily's side and some on James'. Though everyone was constantly trying as hard as possible to pretend like everything was alright, they were all suffering. The group started spending more and more time separately because when they were all together the tension and awkwardness hung in the room like another person.

Of everyone it was affecting though, there was one person everyone overlooked.

Harry would spend this entire situation in the middle, it was very uncomfortable for him as it always is for the child when his parents are divorcing. He went very quiet and started to only really talk to Hermione but there were thoughts in his head that he wouldn't even tell her about.

Three days after the whole school had returned after the holidays, Dumbledore called a meeting with the head boy and girl and the 6th and 7th year prefects. As soon as Lily heard about this she flinched. James would be there, he was Head Boy and none of her other friends were going to be there for her to talk to and distract her from him. She was sure he would try and talk to her again.
So far, he hadn't since Christmas day but she thought that that was only because she was always surrounded by people. She spent the whole day leading up to the meeting dreading it. Thinking of things she would say if he tried to talk to her and by the time it was time for her to leave the comfort of her dorm room and head up to Dumbledore's office she was a nervous wreck. She left a little late, hoping to arrive just as it was starting so that he wouldn't get chance to talk to her and it worked. She entered the room just as Dumbledore was starting to talk. Lily sighed and sat down in a chair at the far side of the room to James.

'Thank you for coming,' Dumbledore said with a grin, 'I have some fairly exciting news. There is to be a talent competition to be held here at Hogwarts in a month's time. We will not be the only school participating but we shall be the host.'
Lily suddenly had a smile on her face, she loved to sing and she wasn't too bad at it either.
'This competition will be open to all students and there will be a prize of 1000 galleons.' There was a slight gasp around the room. 'Now, I will announce this at breakfast tomorrow morning but I thought I had better let you all know first as it will be you who organises it. You shall be in charge of everyone participating and you shall have to hold auditions. You must organise decorations and other arrangements for the night. Obviously our head boy and girl will be in charge of you as a commitee and you will report to them with any ideas. The event will be held on Valentine's Day, February 14th at 7pm. Good Luck.'

With this everyone rose to leave.
'Erm...Lily, James,' said Dumbledore before they left the room, 'could I have a quick word with you two.'
They eyed each other for a second before returning to their seats. Dumbledore noticed how far apart they sat and thought suddenly that what he was about to say may not go down so well but he cleared his throat.
'Well, it is a compulsary tradition within this competition that the hosting school's head boy and girl perform a song together.'
Lily's smile disappeared instantly, 'No sir, no, please. Please say we don't have to.'
'I'm very sorry Miss Evans, if it was down to me you wouldn't have to but it's a tradition.'
Lily sank to her seat, covering her face with her hands. Dumbledore looked at James who had not said a word. He was just sat with his eyes to the floor.
'I'm sorry, you may now go.'
The pair rose and left the room, as they reached the bottom of the stairs James said, 'Lily.'
'Don't you talk to me,' she snapped back and turned and ran.