No updates this time, sorry this chapter took so long to get to you guys but Christmas and New Year was pretty hectic and I had hardly anytime to get down and do some serious writing. I swear I still have a hangover from Laurie and Maxwell's engagement party on Feb 14….

And before you start shouting at me, I know this is a short chapter but I'm working on the next one it should be up in a few days so don't kill me or anything…

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Emily slept fitfully that night, images of James Potter, a hideous grin on his face, raising his wand over the helpless form of Kayden Summers flashed constantly in her mind. Followed by replays of Kayden grinning widely and refusing to let go of Severus until he had his picture taken.

How could anyone want to destroy a friendship that strong? How could Potter have hated Severus so badly that he would resort to murdering his best friend?

She spent the next day at breakfast absently pushing pieces of food around her plate, eating little and staring miserably at the gang of Slytherins at the other end of the table. Severus and Mara had decided come down for breakfast that morning, but had passed her and Lunesia without batting an eyelid. Had Mara told Severus that she knew about Kayden? Why was he still ignoring her?

The next few weeks were a blur to her. A dreary, monotonous blur. She disappeared into her coursework and essays, she was well aware that she was falling back into her the old pattern she had had at Beaxbatons, but it no longer seemed to matter.

The spring term began and she found herself formulating a plan in her mind. She had to find a way to get Severus to talk to her again. She knew that he must be feeling terrible, having all the pain wrenched back from the past by someone as pathetic as Avery…it must be killing him.

She had to find out more about Severus and Kayden, much, much more.

She needed the date of Kayden's birth and death, she needed to find out if he had any relatives, any other friends apart Severus and Mara. She needed to know how and where he died, who else saw it, and if necessary, who helped James Potter do it.

She needed Mara and Lunesia.

On the first Hogsmead weekend she made various excuses to Lunesia about why she wanted to go alone, Lunesia looked puzzled and a little hurt but agreed to let her go off on her own then meet up with her in the Three Broomsticks at midday.

She strode purposefully on her way towards the shop she had bought Lunesia's earrings from. When she arrived she shut the door behind her and removed her coat, it was freezing outside but the heat coming off of the thousands of lighted candles that were floating around the shop was sweltering.

She picked her way to the back of the shop, pulling various things off of the shelves then putting them back, still not finding what she was looking for.

But at long last she did. It was a small ornate, stone bowl with runes carved all around the edge. It was a pensieve.

It cost a lot, she dreaded to think how much the larger sized ones would cost, but she had walked past a bank on the way there and the rest of her savings would probably just about cover it. It was a lot to pay for such a small thing, but it would serve its purpose fine she thought.

She made her way to the Three Broomsticks and pushed the door open to reveal a mass of people already there, it seemed business was booming…

She managed to fight her way through the crowd –literally actually, as she had to kick a few people to get them to move out of the way- and make it to a small table in the corner where Lunesia was hunched in her scarf and hat looking very claustrophobic at the amount of people milling around her, Emily couldn't blame her really.

Emily sat down and smiled weakly at her, Lunesia returned the smile, glad that she was no longer alone in the bustling tavern.

"So, are you gonna tell me what this is all about hmm?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Emily frowned, her eyebrows knitted together, she hated having to keep things from her best friend, but she couldn't explain without Mara being there, she had to be sure they would both agree to what she was proposing…

"I'm sorry Lunesia, I can't tell you yet, not here at any rate." She pulled out her purse and counted the few copper coins she had left, "I could get you a drink if you want…I think I have enough…"

"No. Its okay, lets just get out of here, its much too noisy" they both stood up and began to barge their way through the crowd again, not caring how many people shouted at them and only concentrating on getting out in one piece. They burst out of the door and into the cold; pulling their cloaks tightly around them they made their way up to the castle as quickly as they could, despite the cruel wind that was now blowing right in their faces.

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At dinner that evening she ignored all food that was put in front of her, she was focused on Mara Angelo, the other girl was eating with such haste it would be surprising if she actually tasted anything at all. She was wolfing down anything that she could reach, it was making Emily physically sick at Mara's obvious lack of table manors.

When she was almost done Emily stood up, gathered up as much courage as she could muster and walked across the hall to the Slytherin table and stood behind Mara, she tapped her on the shoulder lightly, "Mara?"

Mara swivelled around in her place, ketchup stuck in the corners of her mouth, she wiped it away with her sleeve and sneered "What?" the other Slytherins were looking at her as if she had some sort of disease, she tried to ignore them but she almost lost her nerve and bolted when she realised that Severus was one of them.

"Can I talk to you please?" she tried to put on an indifferent face, and keep her eyes away from Severus's scowling face, "Privately."

Mara's eyes narrowed some; her expression seemed to say to her, 'What are you playing at newbie?'

"Sure." She drawled finally, she pushed her plate away and spun around, jumping off of the bench and following Emily as she walked out of the Great Hall and into a small alcove off the side of the Entrance Hall.

"I want you to meet me in the Astronomy Tower to night," Emily hissed, a determined expression on her face, her voice matched the resolve that was clear in her eyes.

Her almost command seemed to surprise Mara, as she seemed to forget about her fake accent and stood there gaping slightly, "You what?"

"Meet. Me. In. The. Astronomy Tower. Tonight." She said slowly, as if addressing a slow and stubborn child.

"Why?"

"Just be there!" she growled, it was the first time she had really lost her temper in the past year or so, she was trying to help Severus and all Mara could do was question her and be such a bloody imbecile!

She left Mara there gaping like a fish and thoroughly shocked at her sudden change of tone.

That night she practically dragged Lunesia up to tower with her on the pretence that she had something to show her. Lunesia moaned and whined all the way.

"I don't understand why you couldn't have just brought it down to show me in the common room Em, I have homework to do you know-"

"Homework can wait Lune." And she pushed open the door to reveal Mara already seated at a table by the fireplace, she sat up as they entered and her face set in a snarl when she saw Lunesia.

"What the bloody 'ell is she doin' 'ere?" she demanded.

"Cut the accent Angelo, we all know its fake," snapped Lunesia.

"Stop it!" Emily stood between the two of them, frowning and glaring at them both, "I brought both of you here because I need your help…" he voice cracked at the end of the sentence, she hated the thought of Severus hating her, he was a good friend and she hated the Marauders for making him so cold and unemotional towards her.

"Em…" Lunesia reached out to put her hand on her shoulder; Mara was standing behind her chair now looking very uncomfortable.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she brushed Lunesia's hand away and pulled the photograph out from the inside of her robes. She held it out to Mara, "Do you remember this?"

Mara snatched it out of her hand and glared at it, but her face softened as soon as she saw the figure of Severus desperately trying to get out of Kayden's embrace, "Yeah…I remember that." She looked up and the tiniest hint of a smile twitched in the corner of her lips, "You were a bloody lunatic back then Lovegood," she said to Lunesia.

"You still are a bloody lunatic," replied Lunesia, but her smile was warm and forgiving, they both seemed caught in the memory of a time when things had been a lot happier for them.

Emily dug her hand into her pocket again and pulled out the tiny pensieve, she held it out the palm of her hand and looked imploringly at them both, "I need to know." She said simply.

"Emily…" Lunesia started again, "I know you want to help but all this happened a long time ago-"

"Yes but Severus is still sore about it I can tell!"

"But that's understandable, they were best friends, I'm sure Mara is still sad about it sometimes…"

"Sad about it?" she threw the picture down on the table and strode over to the fireplace, she put her hand on the mantelpiece and stared into the flames, "You act like you never even knew Kayden, Lovegood. Sad doesn't even begin to describe the way you feel when you wake up in the night crying because you know that anything you do in the time before you die will be worthless if the one person you love is gone and never coming back to you," there was a choke and her shoulders hunched inwards, if she hadn't only been able to see Mara's back Emily could have sworn she was crying, "and that you never even got a chance to tell them how you felt…or even say goodbye…" she collapsed on the hard wooden floor in front of the fire, her eyes full to the brim with tears, Emily could tell she must have held all this grief and anguish inside for years.

She hated how, in the back of her mind a little voice was whispering, "This is all your fault"

"I need to know," she said again, "It's the only way I'll know how to help Severus."

Mara stood up, her make-up was smeared but she wiped it away with the back of her hand, her face now set in a mask of determination, "Sure, wotcha wanna know?"

"I want to know Kayden," Mara nodded and placed her wand to her temple, the silvery thought clung to her dark hair as she slowly placed it into the pensieve. The otherworldly glow enveloped them all and Emily was once again taken for ride to the past.