Later that night, Lily lay quietly in her dormitory, concealed between the hangings of her four poster bed. There were a few things present in her mind at the moment. The first, of course, was James Potter. No, she thought to herself, not him, but more what he SAID. Remus Lupin always seemed to be sick. At first, Lily though it to be a coincidence that he disappeared around the same time every month, but as the years past, she began to grow suspicious. Of course, asking Potter or any of his friends for that matter was completely out of the question, but she did wonder…..
The second issue she had on her mind was not really an issue at all. Something kept nagging at her all day, though she did not know why. Her thoughts drifted back to the painting she saw in the corridor on the way to charms. She did not know why it was bothering her, but to her it seemed out of place, not just because of the general mood it portrayed. There was something else as well.
Knowing Rayna did not like to be woken up, she headed to Alex's bed. The quiet girl would usually not mind being woken up, seeing as she was a light sleeper, but did not need much of it. As Lily quietly opened the hangings, she was surprised to see Alex sitting up, staring at the ceiling. Hardly seeming surprised, she slowly lowered her bright blue eyes even with Lily's emerald one. "Lily," she said with only a trace of her French accent. She smiled. "Couldn't sleep?" Lily smiled.
"You could say that, but I was wondering if you could come with me?"
Alex looked at her curiously. "Sure, just a minute." She pulled on a light blue shirt over her black tank top and slipped into her slippers. Wordlessly, she followed Lily out of the dormitory. When Lily stopped to wait for the portrait to open, she looked back pleadingly at Alex. Alex looked back at her. If she was curious as to where they were going, she did not say. It was the trust she had in Lily that let her follow her into situations like these.
The two girls walked in comfortable silence, until they turned a corner on the second corridor. "Lily…" Alex started. "Unless I am mistaken, it seems like we are heading to charms?"
"No," Lily reassured her, I just want you to tell me something. Lily stopped before a cluster of bright, cheery looking paintings and pointed to the one in the center. Alex started at it, her eyes widening for a slight second. Lily looked at her. She could have sworn she saw a trace of fear in her eyes, but concluded it must have been due the shadows the candlelight flickered across the wall. "Do notice anything about this painting. Anything….different, compared to the others."
Alex's facial expression remained neutral. "Other than it is rather dreary, compared to the others….No…." She said slowly.
"Oh," said Lily, disappointed that Alex did not share her feelings. "It doesn't make you feel….depressed, or sad?"
Alex started at her for what seemed like an eternity. "No," she said, "No, it does not. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason really," Lily replied.
"Ahhh, so there was no reason you dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night to look at a painting," Alex said. Her tone was not angry or accusatory, but only mild curiosity." Lily smiled brightly. "No, she said, "I just…liked it. Let's head back."
The two girls started back toward their dormitory, Alex looking curiously at Lily, yet with the same comfortable friendly silence they had started out with. Soon, they were engaged in a whispered discussion about the new potions master, Professor Slughorn. Neither noticed three pairs of eyes watching them as they disappeared into the portrait hole. They shed their slippers and bid each other good night, once they arrived in their dormitory, not knowing that they were not the only ones out that night….