Author's Note: You MUST reread the entire story for this chapter to make any sense. Everything is completely rewritten as I have taken a lot of the suggestions to heart. Sorry for the long wait, but genetics is currently kicking my butt. :P

Chapter 7

By: Almicene Melwen

Updated: August 30, 2004

It was a dreary afternoon, with rain falling softly and steadily from the sky. It had rained for the past few hours and many of the students were relaxing from a hard day of classes. Persephone was lying comfortably on a soft rug. A figure was seated on a couch near her, studying her with calculating eyes. He was determined to prove to his family that he was by far the better son than his traitor of a brother. And who better to serve as the example than the pureblooded witch Sirius was infatuated with. A devious smile crossed his face as he spoke half truths mixed with lies into her ear as he slid down from the couch to place himself next to her. She barely looked up at him, but he knew that his words would resonate in her mind.

Lily was in the Heads' common room, reading quietly by the fire, and feeling better than she had in days. The guilt in her heart still remained but slowly she had begun to forgive herself and Persephone. Of course there was always James and his friends to make her feel better. Her eyes glanced up from the textbook and she wondered how the Gryffindor Quidditch team was faring.

"Come on guys! It's just a little bit of water," James encouraged his team, motioning them to continue with their drill.

The players groaned. One of his best chasers, Julia, spoke up. "Please James. We've been out here for at least an hour and a half. We're soaked, cold, filthy, and starving. Please, for Merlin's sake-"

Sirius, the Gryffindor beater interrupted, "Try for Lily's sake Julia . . . might have a better effect on him," he said, with a twinkle in his eye.

Heat colored James's cheeks, which was only more apparent in the cold weather. The team laughed good-naturedly while he shot Sirius a dirty look.

James grumbled, still embarrassed that they had mentioned his redheaded weakness. The rain began to pour harder as if it also encouraged James to stop practice a little earlier than usual. He had been working the team hard because he knew the match against Ravenclaw would be a tough one. They had the perfect strategy against Hufflepuff in the last game. The captain had come up with excellent plays, countering everything that Hufflepuff threw at them.

"Okay, but I had better see some excellent performance on Saturday. Ravenclaw will not go easy on us just because I go easy on you guys," James relented.

The team gave a whoop, flying as fast as they could towards the ground and closer to a nice warm shower and meal awaited them.

As they raced away James chuckled, not noticing the click of a picture being taken, or the smug voice accompanying it.

"Gotcha."

James entered his room, not seeing Demmez any where. She appeared at her own whim and was very independent for the most part. However she was very dependent on him for lovely back scratches. Just as he was thinking of the cat he heard a soft scratch at the window. James had forgotten to leave it open for her to come back in.

Rushing to the window, he wondered what state he'd find her in. The rain was falling so heavily that just a few seconds in the weather would chill one to the bone. Unlocking the clasp he opened the window a tad for her to come in. Demmez barely managed to climb over the giant window sill. She gave a pitiful meow as James scooped her up.

She was so cold! Quickly he grabbed one of his towels, wrapping it around his bedraggled feline. Wiping some of the water off, he raised her to his eye level.

She blinked at him.

"Did we learn something today Demmez?" James said hiding the concern in his voice with a half smile.

"Meow." The cat shivered and sneezed.

"Okay, okay. I'll let you get away with it for today. But no more thunderstorms for you! Or else!"

He began to say something else but the little cat was already fast asleep. James chuckled, glad that she was at least warm and safe now. He stripped out of his clothes, heading to the shower he needed badly. Demmez wasn't the only one that was soaked from the weather.

A little while later after cleaning himself up, he wrote a quick note to his parents, updating them on his progress at school. Checking his watch, he realized he had plenty of time to stop by the owlery to send the letter before dinner was over. Making his way up the stairs to the door of the owlery, he stopped when he heard a soft, familiar voice.

"Take this to them? Come on Dermott, I'll give you a nice treat when you get back," the voice entreated.

James opened the door softly, and saw Lily trying to coax a red-tailed hawk to take a note. He would have made his presence known immediately, but there was something in her voice that gave him pause.

"Please?" she pleaded. The hawk nuzzled her cheek with the top of its head, comforting her. He could not deliver the letter to the recipients she asked him to, no matter how much she wanted or begged. A tear slipped down her cheek, as she willed herself to stand up, and go down to dinner. As she straightened up she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye, as did her hawk.

Dermott squawked loudly at the intruder, flying off Lily's shoulder, ready to attack the boy if necessary. He flew to his perch when his mistress seemed only surprised and not scared.

She gasped, hastily wiping away the tear. Damn, James must have thought she was a complete baby. Every time he saw her she seemed to be crying. Lily stuffed the note into her robe, and brushed herself off. "Hi James," she said, pretending that he hadn't caught her private moment in the owlery. "What are you doing here?"

He eyed her almost wearily. She was hiding something from him again. "Well seeing it is the owlery, I came to send a post."

Lily cringed at her forgetfulness. Of course, what else would he be doing here? Snogging the owls? She headed towards the door, being careful to avoid brushing against James.

His voice stopped her. "I'll only take a minute if you want to wait for me." He called a school owl to deliver his note as Lily thought of the best way to escape. She didn't want to have to explain what she was doing. James would think she was a complete nutcase.

"Uh, it's alright. I don't need an escort. Thanks for the offer though." She flashed him a small smile before quickly leaving.

He frowned as one of the owls feel to his outstretched arm, nipping at his sleeve for the letter.

"Ouch! Geez, have some patience will you?" he chided the owl as his gaze returned from Lily. He was going to talk to her no matter what. She couldn't avoid him forever.

"I must say how grateful I am to you Sirius for making the Lily comment to the team," James said sarcastically as he slid in next to his mates.

Sirius grinned. "Any time." He was about to bite down into the buttered roll when he spotted Persephone sitting purposefully by herself. He lifted his plate of food, giving his friends a sheepish smile. "Hope you'll forgive me."

They nodded in understanding, going about their usual conversations as Sirius sat next to Persephone.

"So, why have you been avoiding me love?" Sirius teased. "Did you like the other cologne better?"

Persephone looked up at him, giving a silky smile. She spoke softly, but it didn't hold any gentleness. "Oh don't worry about it Sirius darling. I just took time to realize how important true friendships are and what blood is really worth nowadays."

The tone in her voice made Sirius frown with unpleasant memories surfacing. She wasn't saying what he thought she was . . . was she? "What are you saying?" Sitting next to her, and his back turned to the Slytherin table, Sirius didn't see Regulus smirking, enjoying every moment of the interaction.

She waved her hand in a gesture of nonchalance. "Oh don't mind me. I don't know what I'm talking about." She gave him that smile that chilled him more than her voice. It wasn't as if she was saying anything particularly unpleasant or demeaning, but the way she was saying things was making him uncomfortable.

"What's wrong-" he began to ask, but stopped as he felt her foot caress his calf softly. She gave him a seductive smile, almost purring at his discomfort. His eyes widened at this girl he thought he knew. What happened to the girl that was supposedly repulsed by his love notes, his advances? He gulped, not used to being the one seduced. "What happened to you?" he said, his voice cracked from nervousness and uncertainty.

She placed her hand on his thigh and leaned over towards him. Kissing his ear she whispered, "Maybe I should be the one asking you what's wrong? I don't think I've ever seen you so uncomfortable." Her hand went higher up his leg and Sirius was plainly shocked. He quickly put his hand on top of hers to prevent it from going further.

Persephone laughed coldly. "You should think about whom your true friends are Sirius. Purebloods can offer you so much more than the . . . others." She turned his head as she got up, and placed a quick kiss on his slack lips. "Catch you later love," she mocked.

Sirius sat there shocked, barely aware of the rest of the night, even as his friends led him to their room. They had seen the behavior change in Persephone earlier but wanted Sirius to see it for himself in case he wouldn't believe them.

Lily left the Great Hall quickly, trying to get away from James before he could confront her. She scanned around the corner that was the last hallway before her room, and didn't see any sign of him. She breathed a sigh of relief too soon.

She seemed the cologne so particular to him and whirled around, only to have him clamp his hands down on her shoulder. His eyes glittered with amusement. "Looking for me?"

Lily sighed. "Let me guess. You want me to explain the owlery incident." She frowned, turning her eyes away from him. How the hell did he manage to find her despite the roundabout ways she had taken to get away from the Great Hall?

"Let's take a walk outside Lily," he said, purposefully not answering her question. He hugged her to him and released her. He didn't want to let her know his growing feelings too soon. He didn't even how she felt about him. After all, she had been avoiding him lately. Perhaps he was overwhelming her by trying too hard to see her all the time.

The two headed out of the castle and towards the lake. The light from the stars shone bright, the clouds having disappeared after the afternoon storm had faded. The grass was damp and the night air chilly but overall beautiful.

Lily took a deep breath of fresh air. She loved the air after it had rained. "I was trying to send a letter."

James smirked. "I gathered that."

She shot him a half-hearted glare, then looked away again. "This year hasn't been the best for me. I mean with the Death Eater attacks, Persephone . . ." she began to ramble.

James realized she was stalling and gave her a look. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

She stopped rambling and frowned. "Did anyone ever tell you that you were blunt?"

"All the time. Now point please," he demanded, with a serious expression on his face, but his lips curled into a smile.

"I . . . I was trying to send a letter to my parents." She avoided his gaze, knowing that he didn't know. She hadn't told anyone. Not even Persephone. Although thinking about it, perhaps her old friend wouldn't have been so unforgiving had she known.

"Then why wasn't the owl . . . er hawk-"

Lily decided to use James's tactic of being blunt. It was probably easier that way. "It's hard to send letters to dead people."

He hazel eyes widened in surprise and then pity.

"Don't look at me that way. There are orphans around the world that have it worse than I do. At least I knew my parents for a majority of my life." No tears slid down her face. She had cried most of her tears during the end of the summer when her parents had been killed.

"Oh Lily . . ." he said, wanting to hold her, protect her from the viciousness of the world, but feeling helpless to do so.

She turned those big green eyes at him, giving him a sad smile. Lifting herself on her toes she did something she normally would not have, but she felt more daring as her fear was hidden behind her sadness. James would be confused with her next action for a while.

James was completely taken by surprise as Lily closed her eyes and kissed his lips softly for just a second, imaging that he liked her as much as she had grown to like him.

"Thanks for being a friend James," she said with sad emerald eyes, before heading back into the castle.