"I think something's up with Zea," Ashleigh murmured to me.

I was attempting to sleep at the time, as I had detention with Potter later and needed all the previous relaxation I could get, so I just "Uh-huh"ed in reply, then nestled more deeply into my cushion.

She didn't get the message. "Don't you think she's been acting…oddly?"

"Mmm."

"And she still won't tell us where she was that night you and Lupin…you know. And she's been going out a lot as well, without us…in fact, I don't even know where she is now."

"Yeah."

I heard her sigh deeply, and my eyes flickered open slightly. One of her hands was stroking rhythmically along the velvet of the sofa, the light from the fire throwing her fingers into sharp relief. For the first time, I noticed a long, thin scar running almost the entire length of her hand, starting near the wrist, and ending just over the knuckle of her index finger.

"Where'd you get that scar, Ash?" I asked curiously. Her hand stopped running along the sofa immediately.

"What scar?"

"This one." I reached out and gently ran a finger over her hand. "I've never noticed it before."

Ashleigh held up her hand, fingers spread wide, as though examining it for the first time in ages. She chuckled slightly. "Actually, James gave that to me."

I sat up. "Potter did that?"

She nodded. "When we were about eight. He's my cousin," she added, at the bewildered expression on my face. I breathed in sharply.

"I never knew that!"

She shrugged. "It's no big deal, almost all the purebloods are related in some way. Me and Frank Longbottom are second cousins, did you know that?"

I shook my head wordlessly. "So how did you get the scar?"

She smiled in a somewhat nostalgic way. "Bit of a long story. We were playing a game and it went wrong."

I was just about to question her further, but at that moment I heard the portrait creak open, and a small crowd of people cheered. I glanced around casually, then squeaked in surprise and dropped to the floor with a thump.

"Potter's coming," I hissed at Ashleigh, who was frowning at me in a way that seemed to question my sanity. "I'll be back in a moment."

And with that, I rolled under the sofa and lay perfectly still.

Hey, it felt like a good plan at the time. If Potter couldn't find me, he wouldn't be able to talk to me, and I would be spared the stress of dealing with him. Yeah, it was perfect.

The only slight flaw was, as soon as I rolled onto my back and looked up, I saw a large black, hairy spider lurking about a centimetre away from my eye, breathing at me.

Now, when I say 'large, black spider,' I do not mean the medium sized, 'ooh-er-I-say-look-a-spider' type spider. We are talking mammoth, gargantuan, the mater and pater of all spiders. To say it was rather big would be the largest understatement of my life.

I looked at the spider, and the spidergrinned back at me. For a moment I lay completely still, my spine rigid. Then I flipped.

"ARRRRRAAAAAAGHHH!" I screeched, shooting out of the sofa faster than I went in, standing up and running around in little circles, flapping my arms and brushing my face obsessively. "GeritoffgeritoffgeritOFF!"

A little voice in the back of my brain was shouting at me to calm down, and it took me a good few minutes of warbling and brushing frantically at myself to do that. When I finally went still, the first thing that came to my attention was that the entire common room was staring at me, my hyperventilating the only noise breaking the silence.

"Er…I, um…" My words seemed to echo around the room, and I felt my face flare up. "I…" Oh class, Lily, just class. You've completely embarrassed yourself for about the millionth time. Quick – think of something witty to say that will make everyone laugh with you and ultimately restore what little reputation you have left! "I…" I gestured lamely to the sofa. "I was…hiding under the…"

The sea of faces stared at me, and I sighed angrily. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! I was hiding under the sofa and I saw a spider, OK? And…" I glared around at them all for impact. "…it was a big one!"

Crickets chirped. I rolled my eyes and sat myself back down on the sofa. "As you were," I said loudly, and with that, the noise level steadily grew once more.

"That was random," Ashleigh remarked mildly. I didn't deign to reply.

Footsteps came up behind me, and I knew without looking who it would be. "Can I help you, Potter?" I said, hoping that my tone of voice would indicate that I wouldn't help him anyway, even if I could.

A body flung itself over the back of the sofa, so a torso and irritatingly familiar scruffy haired head lolled upside down next to me. "S'up, Lilbo."

I turned to stare incredulously at him. "What did you just call me?"

He grinned, which looked like it required quite a bit of effort as his glasses had been tipped crazily on his face and one lens was poking into the corner of his mouth. Nonetheless, he did a pretty good job of it. "I called you Lilbo, darling. You don't mind, do you?"

"Oh no, of course I don't," I snapped. "I often allow the people I hate with a passion to call me pet names."

Again with the painful grin. "Well, that's alright then." He wriggled, pushing himself forward with a groan, then flipped himself head over heels to land in the sofa beside me with a thump.

"Got something to tell you," he said casually. I closed my eyes and slowly counted to ten. I had only reached five when I felt something (or someone) poke me hard in the forehead. And when I say hard, I mean my whole frigging head practically hit the sofa in response to it.

"What was that for?" I half screamed, snapping open my eyes and glaring at his sniggering outline.

"I thought you'd fallen asleep, and I need to tell you something."

"Well, maybe I don't want to hear what you've got to tell me, did you ever think of that?"

Potter raised an eyebrow. Then he said simply "Ok," and settled back into the sofa and began staring at the wall.

A minute passed. I turned away from him in disgust and looked at Ashleigh. She looked back at me, her face contorted with the effort of hiding a smile. I frowned. "It's not funny, Ash, he's being an idiot."

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I'm not laughing at him. I'm laughing at the way you respond to him."

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. I felt as though she'd hit me in the face with a saucepan. "Oh, so how would you deal with him, then?" I snapped, feeling aggravated. God, it's one thing when people like Potter wind you up, but when your own friends do it...

She leant over me. "Oi, James."

He snapped his head around to look at her at once. "Yeah, Ashleigh, love?"

"What do you want to tell Lily?"

His face lit up with a broad grin. "Nothing important, really. Just that our detention started ten minutes ago."

I sat there gazing at him for one good long moment. Then I glanced at my watch. Then I snorted impatiently and stood up, brushing down my clothes. I bid a very calm, very dignified good bye to Ashleigh.

And then I bolted toward the portrait and disappeared from sight.

Potter came haring after me as I marched briskly away, mind whirring to overload. I waited until he had drawn level with me, and then I started panicking.

"This is getting bloody ridiculous," I muttered, half to myself, and half to Potter, as we both strode down the corridor. He didn't say anything. His eyes glanced up and looked sideways at me, but he only shrugged slightly and kept his silence. I didn't care. I was pissed off enough to rant at a wall if necessary. Really. That was how annoyed I was.

"And, oh Gods, we're quarter of an hour late! What if she gives us an extra detention, or something?"

"Don't be stupid," snorted Potter, "She's not going to do that."

"You're the stupid one!" I snapped, flaring up at once, "I can't believe you just sat there, and let me do all that without reminding me of the time!"

He grinned. "What, and interrupted the show? Then I would really have been stupid."

Panic lurched inside me, and I let his words fly clean over my head. "Less talking, faster walking!" I replied, speeding up my pace. "What the hell is it with you, Potter? Every time I'm with you something crap happens! You're like – like a bad omen, or something!"

"I think you've got the wrong end of the wand there, Evans," he said lazily, matching my walk step for step. "Every time I'm with you, you always end up freaking out about rule breaking. I mean, Merlin, is that all you do?"

"What do you mean by that?" I said stiffly, wondering if I should break out into a jog. I could see Sprout's furious face already, getting steadily redder with rage as the minutes ticked by.

"What do I mean by that? Christ, Lily, don't you know?"

He sounded so shocked, so…pitying, that I found myself grinding to a halt. For a moment I stood in silence, frowning at the floor. He stopped as well, and I could feel his eyes on my face, but for some reason I couldn't look at him. My eyes remained rooted to the tiled floor, studying the scuff marks from students shoes that had been worn there over the centuries.

"What…" I murmured, pushing my fingers through my hair. "I'm not with…"

"You never dare to have fun, do you?" Potter said, with a hint of a teasing grin on his face. "Nah, you're way too much of a stress-head."

Alright, now that was going too far. Who was he to tell me I never had fun, when he barely knew me? "Excuse me," I said, jerking my head up to meet his eyes. "For your information, I do actually know how to have a good time!"

And that sounded so unbelievably sick I still have trouble accepting I ever said it…

Judging from Potter's grin, he thought so too.

Damn.

He turned his head, glancing casually up and down the corridor, then gently took hold of my wrist and guided me into a small niche set into the wall. I was so horrified at the underlying sexual innuendo of my previous words that I let him, and didn't really comprehend what he was doing until I looked up to find his face all but three inches away from mine.

"Hi," I said, raising an eyebrow at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

His face looked deadly serious, which was A) unusual and B) mildly frightening. I mean, this was Potter, for heavens sake, Potter the Prank King. He hardly ever looked serious. My heart sped up slightly as I scanned his expression for any signs of a possible joke, but there was none.

"Do you remember me saying I needed to tell you something?" His voice was low and heavy, as though afraid someone else might hear. Despite myself, I leant in slightly.

"Yeah," I said, curious now. "I take it you're going to tell me now?"

He took a breath, and for a moment I saw his liquid hazel eyes flick away. There was silence for a long moment, filled only with the faint ringing noise in my ears.

"It's, ah,Sirius," he murmured awkwardly, and this time his voice was so faint I could barely hear him. "He's been…messing around with some girls."

I snorted loudly, and the tension broke. "Is that all you had to tell me? Potter, I'd be more shocked if you told me he wasn't messing around with some girls."

He continued to look grave. "No, Lily, you don't get it. One of the girls…" he looked away again, focusing firmly upon the floor. "One of the girls is Zea."

Vaguely, I felt my jaw drop.

What. The. Bloody. Hell.

Potter was gazing almost nervously at me, his hand jumping obsessively to his head. When I next looked up at him, his hair was all standing on end, like a birds nest. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, suddenly suspicious. "I thought you and Black were best friends."

He nodded, looking slightly guilty. "True, we are, but I think what he's doing this time... it's really out of line. I've tried telling him, but the thing with Sirius is that the more you tell him not to do something, the more he'll want to do it." He gave an aggravated sigh, curling his fingers around a lock of hair and clenching it tight. "I was hoping you could knock some sense into your friend."

I could hardly believe my ears. I was silent for a moment as I mulled it over in my head, then twitched slightly in disgust. Oh, Zea, what have you got yourself into…?

"How long has it been going on for?" I murmured, trying to tear the image of Zea and Black entwined in a most compromising position out of my head. He shrugged.

"I only found out a few days ago, when you had that row with Remus. I got suspicious when he asked to borrow my - " He cut himself off abruptly. "I mean, after the row…he went to another pub." The words sounded lame, even to me, the Queen of Lame Excuses. "I watched him go, and I, er, saw Zea with him."

Ashleigh's words suddenly flashed back into my head, and I heard her as clearly as if she were next to me. "She's been going out a lot as well, without us…in fact, I don't even know where she is now…"

It was enough. Yes, Potter sounded like he was doing a bit of covering up in those carefully chosen words of his, but I could tell there was definitely truth in there as well. And I didn't like it one bit. I stood up straighter, pushing Potter out of the way. "Where are they?" I said, forcing my voice to remain calm.

He frowned warily at me. "What are you doing?"

"I plan upon finding them," I said, still in my level voice. "And when I do, I intend to whack Black's head against a wall." I stared coldly straight into his eyes. "You know where they are, don't you?"

"Sirius doesn't tell me anything about his dates," Potter replied coolly, his expression unreadable. I found myself reaching out and clenching his elbow.

"But you know! You're his best friend, you know where he would go." My eyes locked onto his. "You know where they are."

I deliberately didn't phrase it as a question. Potter may well be infamous for his cool lies, but I could weasel truth out of anyone. He gazed straight back at me without blinking, and didn't say anything.

"The Astronomy Tower?" I guessed wildly. His open hazel eyes never wavered. Again, he didn't say anything.

"Another common room?" The silence was becoming oppressive; those eyes of his were becoming drills, boring into me. I gritted my teeth, determined not to blink.

It's funny, but when you stare at one thing for a long time, everything else seems to disintegrate into darkness. Suddenly, all I could see were those deep, expressionless eyes gazing steadily at me through clouds of blackness. I longed to look away, but something about him held my eyes to his.

"Outside? By the Lake?" It was my last, desperate hope.

His lip twitched.

I turned my head to look out the window, but from our position in the castle I couldn't even see the lake. "That bastard," I said quietly. I didn't even think twice. I couldn't even remember when I started moving. All I could ever recall was that the next moment, I was striding down the corridor with one thought only in my head - get to Zea.

He was after me in a shot. "Evans, think about what you're doing here!" For the first time ever, he sounded worried. "Sprout's waiting for us in her Greenhouse – she'll tell McGonagall if we don't show up." I could tell he was trying to distract me, and I shot him a scathing look and continued my way downstairs, past the snoozing portraits, past other students hurrying to get back before curfew.

He matched me, step for step, like an irritating shadow. "Zea will be fine, Lily, Sirius isn't going to hurt her or anything - "

Alright. That got to me. "He's not going to hurt her?" I said through a clenched jaw. "In what way do you mean, Potter, physically, or emotionally?"

He had the grace to look slightly ashamed. "I meant physically. But look, there's nothing you can do now, can't it wait until…?"

"NO, IT CANNOT BLOODY WAIT!" I screamed at him. "I happen to value my friend's feelings, Potter! It's thanks to people like you," I shot him a venomous glance, "that the rest of us feel like crap all the time – because you treat us like crap!" My voice was getting higher pitched and stronger as the intensity of my rage mounted. "Who the hell does Black think he is?" I snarled, so vehemently that people stared. "What the hell gives him the idea that he's special enough to get away with treating people like that?"

"Lily, I couldn't agree with you more, but - "

"Liar," I spat, speeding up my walk until I was almost sprinting. "I've seen the way you mess your girls around, like they're toys! What about Katy, eh, Potter? What about the rest of your fan club?" We were demounting the snowy white marble staircase into the Entrance Hall now, my shouts echoing around us like there were twenty Lilys all screaming at us in their fury. Potter looked slightly stunned, like I'd hit him in the face with a brick.

"But – I'm not – I'm not as bad as all that!" he stuttered, sounding genuinely shocked. "I'd never two-time someone – that's why I told you about Sirius!"

I ignored him, and strode my way to the doors, pushing them open with difficulty and slipping out into the evening. The cold air smacked into my face and took my breath away. Night had almost fallen – a single bead of sunlight remained on the sill of the world, waiting to be swallowed by the gradually growing darkness. I paused on the steps, scanning the grounds as I took deep, calming breaths of the chilly December air. Potter ground to a halt beside me. For a moment, all was still. It was just the two of us, connected in silence. He was still looking askance at me, looking vaguely upset, for reasons that completely escaped me. After all, it wasn't his friend who was being played by some arrogant twat…

The thought spurred my anger up again. "Don't even think of trying to stop me," I said stiffly. "There's no point."

He heaved a deep sigh. "Not much can stop you, Evans."

I turned back to face the grounds, grateful for the freezing air that cooled my burning face. Where would they be? Where would (my stomach twisted at the thought) he take her?

Uncertain for the first time since I'd started this little trip, I stepped down until my feet hit the grass, eyes taking in the silvery, shimmering mass of water that was the lake, reflecting the final beams of sunlight. And then I saw them.

I thought at first that they were a branch from a tree, dropped on the ground, but when I squinted a little closer, I saw inky black hair spread along the ground, hands…

Oh, Gods. They were kissing.

My stomach churned. I felt sick, and when I say sick, I mean literally revolted. Zea, how the hell could you let this happen?

I began the longest walk of my life. I tried to stir up the old anger that had been previously drilling white hot needles into my brain, but now all I could feel was cold, hollow sadness. She must have thought she could change him, even when she saw what he did to Marlene…God, how am I going to tell her?

What was I going to say?

I glanced around, and noticed Potter hadn't followed me. He hadn't however, disappeared. I could just make out his form, squatting on the steps to the castle with his arms around his knees. His glasses flashed slightly in my direction.

Time seemed to slow down as I approached the couple lying on the grass. I could barely see either of their faces, but I saw Black's hand, complete with that silver ring he always wears, trailing down her back, and could picture his smug grin.

I bet he's already thinking about who he's going to get off with next…

The rage that had been temporarily dormant flared once more – gripping around me so tightly I could barely see. "Get the hell off her," I snarled, my voice low but shaking with intensity.

They broke apart in shock, rolling over and looking up at me. In the impending darkness, I could barely see their faces, but I knew from the second she looked around that that girl was not Zea.

"Lily?" The girl's voice sounded plaintively terrified. I staggered. My heart plummeted to the depths of my toes.

"Marlene?"

0o0

(Fiendish cackle) So how many of you sawTHAT one coming?

This chapter is dedicated to everyone who has ever had to wait for AGES for the results of important exams. My GCSE results are due on the 24th of August. Unfortunately, I have to wait an extra two days to read them as I will be on holiday on that day...so, I'm going to be the tiniest bit dead around late August. (Whimpers)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed - YOU ALL ROCK! (I think I may have said that before, but repetition never hurt anybody)

How about a review now? Go on...I didn't take THAT long to update this time, did I?

Peace out

Bubbles xxx