Title: Light

Author: Amelia Bedelia

Chapter Fifteen: Framed

AUTHORS NOTE: MAJOR changes in the future!!! Well, not really, just read the bottom for further information.

And I am SO sorry this wasn't earlier – it's not edited whatsoever, I just added it, so I hope you all like it! (You better…)


Nah, just kidding – also, reviews aren't on the bottom, sorry. I'm shooting for adding them next time, or maybe sometime later. Enjoy!

Chapter Fifteen: Framed

 "Oy! Prongs, wake up!"

James stirred, kicking around in his bed. "I don't want to play dollies today, Sirius! We can bake a cake tomorrow."

Sirius scrunched up his left eye, thinking quietly to himself. Where were these thoughts coming from? He ignored it for now. "James, we're not going to play dollies! We're going to watch our prank in action! C'mon, the Slytherins should be trying to come down any minute!"

This comment seemed to shake James from his dreams. "We're – what? Oh, right." He dressed into his robes and daywear as quick as he could and grabbed his book bag on the way out the door. "Where are Remus and Peter?"

"Peter wouldn't get up and Remus said he'll come down in a bit."

James nodded, exiting through the portrait of the fat lady. "What about the girls?"

Sirius grinned. "Ah, I see! You want Lily to come down, too, don't you?" he teased, accenting the two syllables on Lily's name.

James' eyes widened at the mention of her name and he quickly hit Sirius on the arm, glancing around to see who had over heard. "Sirius, shut up! I don't want everyone finding out, you prat."

Sirius chuckled and massaged his arm. "I was just joking around, Prongs. Come on, can't you take a joke?"

James shrugged, turning slightly red. "Not with this."

The corner of Sirius' mouth curled up into a slight smile. "I'm in the same boat, mate."

James nodded, feeling slightly relieved. "Yeah?"

Sirius nodded and looked away. The two continued walking in a deep silence, each contemplating their own thoughts and fantasies. They reached the Great Hall almost too early for their liking, as their thoughts did not seem to want to end.

"Look!" Sirius hissed, trying not to make too much of a scene. "Here comes Snape now!"

James looked around and, sure enough, who was marching up to the Staff Table with only a towel around his waist? None other than Severus Snape – in the flesh.

"Mr. Snape! Why, pray tell, do you have a towel on without any clothing?" Professor McGonnagol shrieked, standing up.

Snape did not seem to mind the eyes of several students on him; not as long as he could pin the mess on the Marauders.

"Professor," he started, clutching to the fuzzy towel around his waist and speaking directly to Dumbledore, "this morning, myself, along with the rest of Slytherin house, found ourselves not waking up in our beds, but, rather, on the floor!"

"I daresay you all must have had many nightmares, then," he said good-naturedly.

Snape glared, one thing James had never seen him to do a teacher before. "Professor Dumbledore," he hissed, narrowing his eyes, if possible, even closer together, "we were not even in our dormitories." He whirled around and pointed directly towards James and Sirius. "Those two enchanted our Slytherin house!"

Both Gryffindor boys put on a look of mock-innocence, glancing at each other as if they were confused at his accusation.

Professor Dumbledore merely laughed. "What did they do this time?" he asked, as if this were a reoccurring event.

Snape spun back around, taking in a deep breath. "Those - "

"Professor Dumbledore!" A young boy shrieked, running into the Great Hall. "Professor, this morning someone snuck into our common room! They cursed it!"

"No, you dimwit," Snape said, rolling his eyes at the first year, "they enchanted it."

Slowly, the child looked Snape up and down and backed away, almost frightened. "Whichever," he muttered to his feet.

James and Sirius began laughing at the spectacle being made in the center of the Great Hall, but their chuckles were cut short as a thin, bony hand grasped onto their ears and pulled them up out of their seats.

"All right, boys, what did you do?"

Both James and Sirius paled. The sight of their head of house at this moment was not the most pleasant. Her lips were clenched together, tight, and her eyes seemed to be shooting daggers at them.

"Well, you see, Professor - "

"Neither of us had any part - "

"They're lying, making it all up - "

"Would you really believe him over us?" Sirius finished, holding his hands out in a defensive manner.

Professor McGonagall nodded affirmative. "Yes, I would, after the reputation you lot have made!"

"Oh, come off it!" Sirius said, crossing his arms across his chest. "It was a small little joke. We just transfigured a few things, charmed a little bit, nothing that can't be fixed!"

"Small joke?" Snape hollered and began stomping across the hall. "Small joke? You call this a small joke?" And without any warning whatsoever, he pulled away his towel, revealing, not what everyone had dreaded, but worse. Much worse.

Snape stood in the middle of the Great Hall with nothing but a Speedo swimsuit.

"What the - " Sirius shielded his vision from Snape, trying to clear his mind of the sight before him.

James looked away as well, hearing several noises of disgust run throughout the Great Hall and one or two catcalls from the Slytherins grouped outside the doors in the hallway. "Well," he said to Sirius, "this would be one thing that can't be fixed – the sight will haunt my nightmares forever!" he yelled loudly. "Sirius, did you do this?" he yelled into his hands that covered his vision as well as the rest of his face.

He shook his head feverishly, still keeping his eyes away from Snape. "I didn't do that! And for God sakes, man, put that towel back on!" he yelled to the floor instead of to Snape's face.

Blushing slightly, he wrapped the towel around his waist, narrowing his eyes again. "You two will pay," he hissed venomously.

McGonagall shook herself from her shock and grabbed a hold onto James' and Sirius' ears, dragging them out of the hallway. "Really!" she exclaimed. "I had thought your childish tricks and games would have worn off by your sixth year in school! Obviously I was wrong!"

Sirius laughed heartily. "Ma'am, you have no idea how incredibly wrong you were. Thinking such ludicrous thoughts…"

Sirius squealed high pitched as McGonagall gave a slight tug on his ear and continued dragging the two boys off, around the corner to her office.

"Sit," she commanded sternly, pointing to the vacant seats across from her desk. As they lowered themselves into their chairs, McGonagall slammed the door closed and sat roughly down in her own chair, red in the face.

"One of these days, you two won't have any chances left at this school! One of your jokes may go too far and Hogwarts will be no more for you; especially if you're expelled."

James rolled his eyes, yawning. She had given them the same exact speech on pranking since day one of their nightly excursions. And each time it was just as boring as the last.

McGonagall sighed. "At least, please try to hold off on your jokes against other houses. I would not mind it as much if you kept the jokes among your own friends and not bring others into the mess. We could use a few laughs every now and then, but nothing dramatic."

James glanced over at Sirius quickly; his jaw dropped. This was not part of the usual speech…

She shook her head sharply and the old, stern-faced teacher appeared once again. "I dare say there were others involved in your prank?"

Both boys shook their heads rapidly. It was an unwritten law between them all. If only a few were caught pranking, let them be the only ones caught. As long as you could keep your friends innocent, the less caught the better. "It was just us two, Professor," James said, as he had so many times before.

The teacher pressed her lips together, pondering over their statement. "Three week detention for you both, but not including the weekends. I know the next scheduled Hogsmeade trip is coming up soon, and I do not think that this crime is enough to keep you from your trips out of the school. You have the weekends off, lucky for you both. If it had been someone else or had I been in a bad mood, you would have lost Hogsmeade privileges for the rest of the year."

James and Sirius nodded as if this were a fair punishment for them both – even though they could easily sneak to Hogsmeade whenever they wanted to, just as Sirius had the weekend prior.

"Thank you, Professor," James said quickly, hurrying to say something before Sirius could ruin their good luck so far.

Sirius glanced at James slightly, partially annoyed at the fact that he was cut off from saying anything, and merely nodded in agreement.

"You boys are dismissed – and please try not to get into any more trouble this week. I doubt your record could handle much more weight added onto it from your jokes – I fear that if it does, then your files would rip in half!" she said, more to herself than to them.

James snickered and stood, dragging Sirius to his feet behind him, and left the room in a hurried walk.

"Suppose we should give her a break?" Sirius asked as the door closed behind them and they walked down the hallway.

James grinned coyly. "We could – but we don't have to. I mean, c'mon, tell me one time when you actually listened to McGonagall."

Sirius pondered for a few moments before his eyes lit up. "When she told us we could leave class early since we were 'ruining her day.'"

James threw back his head and laughed heartily. "That's probably the only time you ever listened."

Sirius nodded, solemn faced. "Of course."

James chuckled quietly to himself. Sirius was quite some character, nearly always willing to make someone laugh.

"James! Wait for me!"

The boys turned around, looking for where the source of yelling and running footsteps was coming from. James' eyes lit up.

"Lily," he said, stopping, "what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be in the Great Hall eating?"

"I had something I needed to tell you – it's important," she said hurriedly, stopping just before colliding into James, resulting in her being closer to him than in a normal, every day conversation.

James turned his head slightly and gave Sirius a meaningful look.

Sirius' eyes widened and he nodded, backing away. "I see – three's company…" he muttered, walking down the hallway with a slight bounce in his step.

Lily laughed, grinning all the while.

"What made you so happy?" James asked, feeling just as giddy as Lily.

"Remember last week when we were talking before class? You showed me that all I had to do was be brave and – and go for it; that you didn't think that guys I asked out would reject me. Remember, James? Remember?"

James laughed, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her directly in the eyes. "Yes, Lily, I remember. What's your point?"

She grinned. "I did exactly what you said I should do. I walked right up to the first single guy I knew – well, walked up to isn't exactly the right words… But I asked him out!" Her eyes sparkled and a slight giggle emitted from her mouth.

However, James did not seem to look as happy. His hands on her shoulders seemed to grasp a little tighter and his arms drooped lower, weighing her down. Overall, James seemed to have paled slightly. "Really?" he croaked out.

Lily nodded and bounced up and down eagerly. "It's Charles – he's the Head Boy, you know? I saw Liz and Charles quarrelling last night as Remus and I walked back to Gryffindor Tower after the Prefect meeting. Isn't it wonderful? Well, not wonderful that they fought, really, even though I am glad they did, but I just don't – well, you understand," she finished, grinning. "I wanted you to be the first to know."

James nodded and dropped his arms to his side. "That's really – something, Lily… Erm, congratulations."

Lily hugged James tightly, in which he was taken by surprise. By the time the fact that she had her arms wrapped around him triggered in, it was too late to even hug her back. Before he knew it, she had bounded off down the corridor to, most likely, tell another.

"You're real brilliant, Prongs," James found himself speaking to himself. "Just let her go out with some guy she hardly knows. Your words were great," he muttered sarcastically, letting his head roll back, leaning against a cold wall.

"What was brilliant?"

James snapped his head to the side just as Sirius, along with Remus and Peter, jogged from the end of the corridor to James. He groaned and slid down the wall into a sitting position, cradling his head in his hands.

"What's wrong, James?" Remus said calmly, standing over James.

Sirius kneeled in front of James as Peter's head bobbed up and down energetically.

James slowly pulled up his head and rubbed his eyes. "Lily asked out Charles Kroyce – the Head Boy." Their heads nodded carefully as James breathed in and out slowly, as if this were taking every ounce he had to remain calm. "Apparently Liz and Charles were in a huge fight last night and Lily asked him out this morning."

Sirius continued kneeling where he was and bit his lip. "Prongs," he said quietly, "I'm really, really sorry."

James nodded and took in another breath and let it out quickly, heaving himself off the floor, to his feet. "Well, I have to face the music sometime. Anyone coming with?"

Sirius looked up at Remus who gave a slight shrug. Apparently, James was going to act as if he were not good enough for Lily and let any future chances he could have had with her pass by without a fight.

"James!"

Startled, James froze and turned his head to the side to see Sirius as he stood as well.

"You're not going to pout about this anymore."

"I'm not pouting, Sirius! Does it look like I'm - "

"Yes, you are – on the inside!"

James' eyebrow rose up into his hairline. "Sirius, you're talking rubbish."

"I am not – and you know it too." He stepped closer to James, now in his face. "If you wanted Lily so badly, I would have thought you might've asked her out before she had the chance to ask anyone else out!"

"Sirius, she doesn't like me that way! I thought I told you that before."

"But she does!" Sirius' eyes were glowing with excitement. "You have to be the one who she can trust above all. You have to be the one that she knows the best! When she breaks up, you have to be the one for her to run to!" Sirius shouted, pressing a finger into James' chest each time he said 'you.'

"And how do you know they're even going to break up?" James spat back out at his friend, eyes glinting.

"Because they're not meant for each other!" he said, bringing his voice down to a harsh whisper. "Charles, with his strict posture, and Lily with her outgoing attitude – there's no way they will make it through this year!"

James sulkily looked away, swallowing. He nodded, breaking eye contact with Sirius. "Alright."

A strong hand grabbed his upper arm and spun him around to find a set of gray eyes staring him down. "I'm serious, James. You are not going to be moping around this place as if everything in your life is all wrong. We're not going to have any pity parties. I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of all this crying I've been seeing this year."

James seemed unfazed by this statement and showed no facial expression whatsoever, staring back at him. "I said 'alright,' Sirius."

Both Remus and Peter began to fidget uncomfortably. Peter would rock back and forth on the balls of his feet as Remus would rub his hands together, slip them in his pockets, pull them back out and repeat the process continuously.

After what seemed like an eternity of glaring, Sirius let go of James and backed away, a look of understanding in his eyes. "So, what's for breakfast again?" he said, walking briskly down the hallway with James in line beside him. "We were only there for a few minutes and then sent to McGonagall's office."

James shrugged and his bright eyes bounced back onto his face. "Not quite sure. Hey, you guys comin'?"

Picking up their jaws from off the floor, the remaining two Marauders trailed after them in a confused silence, not sure what just happened.

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~Lily~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Sunlight poured into the girls' room.

"Two minutes," Lily mumbled, yanking the red hangings shut, closing off the path of the sunlight in her face.

The shuffling of feet filled the silent room and Lily rolled over, cautiously opening her eyes. The feet moved closer to her bed and opened her curtains abruptly, without much warning.

"Up," Breanna yawned, pulling the sheets off Lily's bed.

"Ugh… Don't, it's cold," she said quietly, curling into a small ball and pulling the velvety red sheets back up to her chin.

"We know, Lily," Bella grumbled as she sat up and stretched. "That's sort-of what happens in the middle of winter; it gets cold," she said, lengthening the last vowel as a shiver crawled up her spine.

Lily nodded, brushing off the obvious sarcasm directed at her. She stepped onto the bare, stone floor but immediately recoiled from the ice beneath her. "Do you think any of the Professors have ever thought about carpeting the floors up her? Perhaps individual fireplaces in each of our rooms?"

Breanna shook her head as she brushed out tangles in her hair. "I heard the Professors have carpeted floors in their rooms. They don't care about us – probably think that since we're young and energetic, we would be running around all day without worrying one bit about they weather!"

Bella rolled her eyes, yawning. "They care about us! At least, the house elves do. Haven't you ever noticed the sheets always being warmer than the rest of the room? You would think the sheets would freeze along with everything else, but they're not. The house elves put a warming charm on them to keep us from freezing overnight."

"And the fireplace isn't something the Professors are willing to risk just for warmth. Even if it's not connected to the Floo Network, you can still hook it up if you wanted to," Breanna said.

"What about the common room fireplaces?" Lily asked.

"Several charms and spells cast on them – the Professors don't have enough time for fireplaces in every room. It'd be too much work for them."

"You seem to know a lot about this Floo Network than the average person," Bella said, smirking. "Have you attempted to leave before or something…?"

Breanna merely smiled slightly. "My parents did some work on Hogwarts fireplaces before."

"Oh…"

The girls dropped the topic.

The room filled with an empty silence as each took turns using the bathroom for various reasons, readying their selves for the day.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts today, right?" Lily muttered as she picked up a stack of books.

Bella nodded and lifted her book bag over her shoulder. "I'm going downstairs. Coming?" she asked Lily.

"Be down in a minute," Lily said packing her book bag quickly, seeing as she was now running late.

The two girls nodded to Lily and left, closing the door behind them quietly.

"Bloody – bag – doesn't – fit!" The bag began to tear at the seam as she forcefully shoved books inside, the redhead inside of her taking over. "Get – in!"

Angrily, she threw her Defense Against the Dark Arts book across the floor, breathing heavily. "Alright, Lily," she said quietly, calming herself, "you're overreacting. Take a deep breath and think logically. What advantage do you have over your bag?"

Her gaze fell across her wand and Lily mentally kicked herself for not thinking of this option earlier.

A swish and slight flick, along with a few words, seemed to do the trick, expanding the bag on the inside. Smiling to herself, Lily dropped her books in her bag with ease.

She skipped down the steps to the empty common room, sprinted out of the portrait of the Fat Lady, and ran face first into a moving target.

Lily's bag had taken the last straw and ripped as it fell to the floor, books toppling out. Her face flushed as she bent down and hurriedly picked up her books in her arms, muttering a quick, "Sorry, didn't mean to – wasn't watching."

"It's quite alright," a smooth, deep voice replied. It was a male's voice, one Lily seemed to partially recognize from someplace or another. She looked up into the eyes of Charles Kroyce.

Lily smiled and thought back to the night before.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Grumbling, Lily held her red, aching hand. "Why is it always me this happens to?"

"It's not, Lily," Remus replied for what seemed the two hundred and forty-seventh time.

"Yes it - "

"Shh, Lily, quiet. What was that?"

The prefects looked around the dim hallway, expecting to find Filch show up at any moment. But the faint murmuring of voices drew their curiosity around the corner.

"I've seen you look at her," a female spoke up, sharply.

"I haven't – Liz, I swear! Do you honestly think I would pick her over you?" a male voice replied.

"You talk about her all of the time! 'Lily this, Lily that' – I'm sick of it! Until you figure out which direction you want to move in, we're through!" the girl, presumably Liz, yelled in finality.

Lily nodded in her appreciation for the girl, dismissing the fact they were talking about her. It wasn't everyday you saw a Hufflepuff tell off someone – much less, their boyfriend, also known as Charles, the Head Boy – without crying or overreacting! Impressive…

"Wait – Liz, I'm sorry!" Charles called out, following her footsteps closely behind her.

Lily shook her head. "What a shame. Those two seemed to be getting along so well together."

Remus looked at her dumbfounded. "They were talking about you, Lily. Charles, apparently, has a sort of fondness for you."

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed at the absurd idea. "Oh, please. I bet Liz was just taking things too far, considering Charles stood up for me at the Prefect Meeting. She's pretty overprotective when she wants to be."

Remus shook his head and walked off.

"Hey! Where are you going? Wait for me!" she yelled stubbornly, her good mood replaced with a bad one.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\End of Flashback/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Hi, Lily," Charles said, kneeling onto the ground to help pick up her books. He stood, helping Lily to her feet as well. "I was just looking for you."

"Oh, you – you were?" she said softly, taking back the books he handed her.

"Yes, I was going to accompany you down to breakfast. Is that alright with you?"

Lily nodded and repaired her bag quickly, shoving her books inside it once again. "That's fine with me! I'd love it. But you would have had to go out of your way to come up to Gryffindor Tower, when your common room is on the opposite side of the castle, is it not?" she said, stating the obvious.

Charles replied with a quiet chuckle. "I daresay you have been hanging around with those Marauders too much. Soon you'll be knowing, not only the common room places, but their passwords as well!"

Lily blushed. "Well, the Hufflepuff common room isn't too cleverly hidden, considering fellow Hufflepuffs would be glad to show you where it's at."

Charles smiled. "I guess."

The two walked in silence for a few minutes with Lily contemplating his words about her the night before, and then James' own words popping into her head. "Just boost your confidence a bit and I bet that any guy you asked out would say yes."

Lily swallowed and took the plunge. "Charles?"

"Yes?"

He turned his head, facing towards her and Lily backed down slightly. Then regained her confidence and looked him in the eyes. "Would you like to go somewhere this weekend?"

He smiled again. "Are you asking me out on a date, Miss Evans?"

Coyly, she replied. "I might be…" This asking out stuff isn't too bad! she thought, breathing a sigh of relief. "Would you be accepting?"

"I might be…"

The pair laughed together.

"Lily, I would love to go out with you this weekend. How about we go out to eat at Madame Puddifoot's?" he asked.

"That'd be nice," she said, grinning and looking past his shoulder at James and Sirius, laughing as they walked out of McGonagall's office. "Hey, erm, Charles? I have to go talk to Professor McGonagall really quick. Go on to breakfast – I'll see you there," she said, taking a turn down the hallway, waving goodbye to Charles.

"I guess… See you," he said, smiling feebly.

Lily ran down the hallway. "James! Wait for me!"

James spun around, smiling at her. "Lily, what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be in the Great Hall eating?"

"I had something I needed to tell you – it's important," she said, halting just before she ran into him, breathing heavily. She spilled her story and told of what happened between her and Charles. "Isn't it wonderful? Well, not wonderful that they fought, really, even though I am glad they did, but I just don't – well, you understand," she finished, grinning. "I wanted you to be the first to know."

James nodded, smiling slightly. "That's really – something, Lily… Erm, congratulations."

Lily threw herself on top of James and hugged him tightly, then spinning on her heels and sprinting back to the Great Hall for breakfast, not noticing James as he stayed behind, defeated.

"Bella – Breanna!" Lily called, rushing hurriedly over to the Gryffindor table.

"What? What is it?" Bella replied, putting her hand on Lily's arm.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Breanna asked, pushing her into her seat.

"You guys are not going to believe this," Lily said, dishing large portions of food onto her plate.

"Oh," the others relaxed, seeing as this was good news – a change, for once. "Well, what happened?"

Lily grinned, setting down her fork. "I asked Charles Kroyce out on a date!" she squealed, excitedly.

"Oh, Lily! I'm so happy for you!" Bella yelled, hugging her best friend tightly as Breanna did the same.

"What's up, ladies?" Sirius bent down and hugged Lily as he sat between her and Bella. "A little birdie told me that you have a new boyfriend!" he said, smiling at her. "Congratulations!"

Lily turned around to James, now sitting on the opposite side of her and hit him playfully on the arm. "Aw, I wanted to tell them!"

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking at his food.

Lily shrugged. "It's alright. I'm just so excited because, now, this time I asked him out!"

"Excuse me, Madame, but may I sit here?"

Lily glanced up behind her for the second time and grinned as Charles bowed deeply. "Yes, you may," she replied.

Charles sat down, slightly crushed, between James and Lily, smiling all the while, as James wore a heartbroken face, unable to force any more food down his throat.

Bloody Hufflepuff, thinks he can just waltz into our lives with a mere 'hello.' Sure, he's tall, and strong, and his hair lies flat… But that's not the kind-of guy Lily looks for!

Well, aside from the looks he's pretty nice – personality wise. That's what Lily looks for in a guy. And he's Head Boy! What do you expect from the Head Boy? That's mainly what gets people into the top spot, you know: knowledge and politeness.

James glanced over at the happily speaking couples. Lily doesn't care about me anymore. Obviously someone else who's better than me does make her care.

Now, don't talk to yourself like that!

Oh, shut up already! James stood and stormed out of the Great Hall, not looking back.

!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!* Later *!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!

"Hey, James," Lily's cheery voice called as she entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Oh. Hello, Lily. Have a nice day?"

"I've barely seen you! Where were you?" she asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.

"You know, the usual," James said, setting down his quill. "Well, I – uh…" James faked a yawn, stretching his arms about his head. "I'm getting pretty tired. All this homework, you know."

Lily nodded, smiling. "Yep, I understand. See you in the morning?" she asked, hopefully.

"Sure," he replied, packing his things up. "Until the morning."

His footsteps up the staircase died away and Lily sat in her place for a few minutes more. Finally, seeing he obviously was not about to come back down, she left and got ready for bed herself.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=Sirius=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"He's what?" Bella squealed, clutching onto Sirius' arm.

"Ow, ow, ow – Bella, honey – the death grip," he said, making a face of pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she muttered, letting go. Five sets of fingernail marks were left imprinted on his arm.

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and massaged his arm. He knew James had told him not to tell Bella about this – but he was left with no choice! "He has been miserable all morning without her – did you see the look on his face when Charles sat between them?"

"Didn't catch it," she said, thinking to herself.

"Bella, we have to do something to help him or he will go into suicidal mode."

"Suicide?" she said, quickly snapping her head up. "You mean he'll kill himself if he doesn't have Lily?"

Sirius shrugged. "If he's in love with her as much as he says, I wouldn't completely rule out the thought, although it's highly unlikely. I think."

"Sirius, why didn't you tell me he loved her earlier?" Bella asked, placing her hand gently on his arm.

Sirius squirmed uncomfortably. "See, that's the thing. James told me not to tell anyone. But – first – I had to tell you. I just couldn't help it. And two – he really needs all the help he can get, and we won't be able to keep him stable on our own."

Bella smiled. "Well, I won't tell him I know. But what about Breanna? Should I tell her also?"

"Do what you have to – without telling Lily, mind you – just keep James' feet on the ground and don't let him lose sight of the fact we're all still here for him." Sirius swallowed. "He has never once found someone he wanted this badly. At least before, he could talk to her, but now she has a boyfriend and that completely messes everything up!" Sirius yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "So you're trying to tell me this is all Lily's fault?"

"Wha - ? Oh, no. No, no, no! I'm saying that the fact she has a boyfriend now is messing up the process," Sirius said, looking back at Bella.

"The process? Look, Sirius, it's James' fault. He's the one that didn't ask her out in the first place because he was too scared!" Bella accused.

"What?" Sirius said, taking this accusation to heart. "He is not scared! He was probably just waiting for the right moment…"

"Oh, and I supposed Charles just stole it from him?" Bella rebounded.

"Bella," Sirius said, holding his hands up for her to stop. "We're going to stop acting like little children and act like adults."

Bella paused, blinking. And she burst out laughing.

"What?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow, a smile curling on the corner of his lips.

"Sirius, this is the first, last, and only time I think I will ever hear you say to stop acting like little children. In case you haven't noticed," she said quietly, leaning in, "you are a little child."

Sirius laughed as well, ignoring the fact that she had called him a little child. As long as she's laughing… "It was none of their faults. Wrong timing, wrong time of year, no one's to blame. Alright?" he said, smiling.

Bella shrugged and stood. "I guess."

"Good! It's all settled now. You'll help, won't you?" Sirius asked, standing with her.

"Of course," Bella replied, linking her arm through his.

Sirius grinned, escorting her to her room.

|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+| Bella |+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|+|

Bella climbed out of bed and stretched, accidentally knocking her hand on the post near the bottom of the bed.

"Great," she muttered sarcastically, massaging her sore hand. "What a wonderful start to the day…"

"What on earth are you doing up so early?" a muffled voice said, hidden behind curtains.

"Lily, just go to bed," Bella whispered, trying to keep her voice down.

There was no response. Bella rolled her eyes, knowing the red head well enough that she had just fallen asleep on her.

She walked down to the Great Hall, still trying to stifle her yawns as she dished out a serving of hash browns onto her plate and began humming under her breath.

"Professor Sonetra!" a voice called, echoing throughout the nearly empty Great Hall.

Bella broke off in her humming and looked up, wide-eyed. Severus Snape was marching up to the staff table with a slight smirk on his face.

"What is it, boy?" the teacher hissed, standing up slowly.

"Those Gryffindors painted our common room with their house lion."

McGonagall stood abruptly, interested in his words. "Again?" she questioned. "I told them to keep it between their own house!"

The greasy-haired boy crossed his arms in front of him with satisfaction. "And you think those trouble-makers actually listen to a word you say?" he said smugly.

"They may be 'trouble-makers,' but they know when they're taking something too far!" the teacher said, standing up for the Marauders, as if they were her own children. Bella laughed loudly from the other side of the room, making it look as if she were the culprit. What? she thought. It's only a few detentions or so. Plus, those boys can pay me later.

"Why are you laughing, Miss Figg?" Professor Sonetra shrilled high-pitched, down the long table. "We're threatening detention at your little friends and you're laughing?"

Bella continued laughing, only this time standing to join the group huddled at the front of the room. "Professor McGonagall, I'm sorry, I couldn't contain myself. I painted the Slytherin common room. I found out the password and let myself in. I'm sorry," she repeated, looking sincerely apologetic. "I won't do it again."

Snape's eyes widened. "No, wait, Professor, she didn't paint our common room!"

"I didn't? Excuse me, I think I would know what I did and didn't do!" she said, putting one hand on her hip.

"Professor," Snape cut in, "it wasn't her," he said again, putting his hands palm down on the table in front of him, determined not to let the silly girl take the blame for this. It hadn't been her, nor had it been either of the Marauders, it was Snape himself – but he would risk almost anything to get them in trouble. "I saw them down there in the middle of the night," he lied swiftly. "I know there was more than one person – I heard them!"

Rolling her eyes at him, she turned back to Professor McGonagall. "I was the only person there. You must have been hearing things, Snape," she said, glancing at him. "I was in a bad mood last night, so I let myself cool down by painting their common room."

"Well," the Professor said softly, shocked, "I've never had a child admit to a joke that quickly before…"

"Well, I'm not like everyone else," Bella added, smiling sweetly up at her teacher.

"That, you're not!" she said, regaining her normal strictness. "Miss Figg, please follow me to my office."

Bella smirked at Snape and walked past him.

$*$*$*$*$*$*$*$*$*$ Severus Snape $*$*$*$*$*$*$*$*$*$

The little –

Watch your language.

Snape made a fist in his pocket around his wand and stomped back to his table, dropping into his seat angrily.

I can't believe she stepped up to take the blame! She didn't do anything!

And you would know.

Snape grumbled and crossed his arms as several other Slytherins entered the Great Hall. He had been the one to paint their common room! He was supposed to get the Marauders in trouble! Not her!

He pounded his fist on the table causing several goblets to shake slightly, a few threatening to tip over.

"Relax, buddy," a smooth voice said from behind him, draping his arm casually on his shoulder, smirking down at him.

"What do you want, Rookwood?" Severus hissed, running his hands through his hair.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Rookwood muttered, slipping into the spot beside him. Rookwood was a tall, rather strong seventeen-year-old, if he did say so himself. Usually people tended to steer clear of the brawny, black-haired student.

"Nothing," Severus muttered sullenly, staring down at his plate. Rookwood was the last person he wanted to be speaking to right now. All he ever did was ridicule him. He was almost at the same point Potter was at on his list – but not quite.

"Well, nothing sure sounds a lot like something," he said, taking a large swig of pumpkin juice. "I'd say Potter problems?"

"How'd you guess?" he growled, sarcastically.

He shrugged. "Other than the fact that he's all you ever talk about?"

Snape glared at him, and threw his fork onto the table angrily, standing up.

"Whoa, buddy, I didn't mean to get you angry, there," Rookwood said, calmly, not flinching whatsoever at Snape's reaction. "Just a bit pissed off."

"Well, are you happy now?" Snape shouted, eyes flashing dangerously.

Rookwood just sat solemnly, blinking occasionally. And then slowly, he turned and swung his leg around the bench so that he was straddling it. "Am I ever happy?"

He rolled his eyes and picked up his bag of books, but a muscular arm snatched out and pulled him back to eye level. "Look, Snape, I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but now I'm giving up all of those petty fights we've had before."

He paused, lowering himself onto the bench, now interested in what he had to say. "Why?"

Rookwood smirked. He had him now. "Because, I realized that we, really, are a lot the same and only really want to make his life miserable."

Snape stood up abruptly, but once again, Rookwood's arm shot out and jerked him back down.

"Let go of me," Snape hissed, tugging back on his sleeve.

"Not until you listen."

"Make it quick," he muttered, sitting down once again, giving in to Rookwood easily – better to just get it over with.

Rookwood sighed and lowered his voice, leaning in slightly. "Look, Potter's a threat to you and I've decided I'm going to help you get rid of him for once and for all."

"A threat? Get rid of – look, you've gotta be joking," Snape said, obviously unconvinced. Then he paused and looked back up at him. "What's in it for you?"

Rookwood smirked and leaned back, looking casual and relaxed as he always appeared. "You're a bright one. He warned me about you."

Snape's brows furrowed. "He? He who?"

Rookwood smiled. "You know exactly who I'm talking about."

Snape swallowed. "Are you one of them?" he asked, trying to sound brave.

Rookwood grinned, his teeth bared similar to that of a vampire's. "Not at this point in time. However, I will be once the school year is out." He smiled, enjoying this now. "On graduating day, I will become part of his inner circle. I won't even wait for the train ride home. I have my apparating license. I will meet him there."

Snape swallowed and casually nodded, more attentive than before. "And Potter – he's in the way?"

"Exactly." Rookwood's smile faded and he became serious again. "If I get rid of him, the Dark Lord shall always hold me higher than the others. I will be second in command."

Snape snickered slightly. Rookwood's face darkened and he stared straight ahead into Snape's eyes. "I don't see what's funny."

"Voldemort won't want you to kill Potter! He'd probably kill you if you killed Potter – he's been after him for so long, if I didn't know any better, Voldemort would want to kill Potter himself to prove he could do it himself, not use his supporters to do dirty work such as killing a boy!" Snape exclaimed.

"Keep it down, would you?" Rookwood whispered urgently. For the first time Snape had ever seen, Rookwood was actually scared. Of being caught, the little rat…

"Anyway," he said, cutting into his thoughts, "I just thought, you know, we could team up against Potter, maybe get him for good."

Snape smiled slightly and stood up, this time without sudden movements. "I'll sleep on it."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Boys Dormitories ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Seems like we've all been here before," James muttered, lying down on his bed.

Lily nodded, yawning. "Except for the fact that Sirius was in detention and now Bella is."

"Yeah, because she was taking the blame for you guys!" Breanna said loudly, smirking.

"Look, we've already told you several times, we never pulled a prank on the Slytherins last night!" Sirius protested, sitting upright.

"I know, I was only joking around…" Breanna muttered, quieting down.

Remus smiled. "Well, at least Bella got only one detention. Normally, when we're in trouble, it's a question of how many weeks we're in detention. I guess it's because she only did it once…"

"And because we're all innocent angels," Lily chimed in, sitting onto James' trunk, delicately as if she were an angel.

"Yeah, right," James scoffed, rolling over onto his stomach.

"I beg your pardon," Lily said, grabbing a fistful of James' hair, smirking.

"Ow – ah – Lily! That hurts! Let go - "

Lily giggled at the look on his face. "Say we're the cutest little angels that ever touched earth."

"You're the cutest little angels!"

She gave a slight jerk on his hair upward, causing him to cringe. "That ever touched earth."

"That ever touched earth! Now let go of me!"

Lily shrugged and released his hair, crossing her legs with a smile. However, she didn't realize he was about to pounce her soon after.

"James! Get off of me!"

James smirked as he pinned her on the floor, arms held above her head. "Now, I want you to say that I'm the strongest and most popular guy in school."

Lily rolled her eyes and stopped struggling. "You're the strongest and most popular guy in school."

James frowned and stood up. "That wasn't as satisfying as I thought it would be."

Lily smacked him in the arm.

"Oy, what was that for?"

"Because I always have the last say in things."

James narrowed his eyes at her good naturedly. "No, you don't."

"Oh, yes, I do."

"Oh, no, you don't."

"Yes I do."

"Lily, just be quiet!"

"You can't make me."

"Oh, yes I can."

"No, you - "

"Would you two shut up?" Remus yelled, picking up the mirror. "Hey, Bella, what's going on? What are you supposed to be doing for punishment?"

"I'm stuck with Professor Sonetra – I'm supposed to be filing old school papers into alphabetical order by name and then by year into these old filing cabinets she has," Bella said, her voice echoing throughout the silent room.

Sirius snatched the mirror from Remus, sitting back down on his bed, grinning broadly. "So, what else is goin' on, baby," Sirius said in, what he thought, was a seducing manner, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

"Oh, please," Bella groaned. Lily smirked at Sirius.

The pair of "lovebirds," more than one couple, continued talking for the next hour together while Bella kept sorting papers.

"Has there been any more, uh… You know…" Lily said quietly crawling onto James' bed, lying down next to him.

James merely shook his head and wrapped his arm protectively around her, temporarily forgetting about Charles and Lily not being "his" anymore. "I haven't seen a thing. So far so good," he said feebly, smiling slightly, looking down towards Lily.

Lily nodded and rolled onto her side, facing away from James. She then reached for his hand and pulled his arm around her waist, feeling safe. "Well, just tell me whenever something does happen."

Flustered, James burned bright red and tried to act normal. "Ok, I - "

"Sirius!"

James and Lily sat bolt upright, alert, looking at the mirror. And hurriedly, the six Gryffindors huddled around the mirror, staring at Bella. "What is it?" James said urgently.

Bella didn't answer.

"Bella, what did you find?" Sirius questioned, referring to the paper in her hand.

Bella swallowed and turned back to the mirror, holding the paper up for everyone to see.

Lily squinted, but saw nothing but a jumble of letters. "Bella, just tell us what it says."

Bella laughed slightly and then stopped abruptly; almost shocked she had just let out a giggle. "Look, you guys were right – Professor Sonetra's a Death Eater."

"Well, that was kind-of obvious, wasn't it?" Breanna said, putting her hand on her hip, and biting down on her lip out of a nervous habit.

"Well, this – this note, it's from Lord V-Voldemort himself!" Bella exclaimed in a whisper. "Well, at least, it's from someone in their inner circle, there's no name. But - "

"What does it say!" Breanna shouted.

Bella laughed again, but this time sounding actually happy. "Breanna – your parents – they're alive!"

AUTHORS NOTE: IMPORTANT NOTE!!! The following changes will be made to past chapters as I rewrite the story:

1) I will split up the story sequence. Chapters one through eleven will be "Part One" of the story, from chapter twelve to however many will be "Part Two."

2) Charles as you know him will be having a MAKEOVER – he will now be from Spain and a Spanish/English speaking family.

3) Cedric Diggory is NOT Head Boy, in case any of you caught that mistake earlier,

4) Charles IS Head Boy.

5) Charles' name will become Donato. Donato Something, still yet to be decided. If any of you have any other Spanish names you want me to use instead, I'm open for options.

Other changes might happen along the way, if they do, I will tell you.

THANK you all so much for hangin' in there with me.

Yours truly,
Amelia Bedelia