A/N: I just needed to say thank you to Vintage BlueJeans for being the most loyal reader! You're so sweet and I always look forward to getting your reviews! Also, MidnightWolf, you completely made my day by reviewing each chapter- I adore that sort of feedback and it's rare. You guys make me feel really good :)

So this (relatively) prompt update is for you guys, and everyone else who reviewed! You guys are the sweetest! I hope it lives up to standard.

Also, I took some good advice from a reviewer, and changed the category of my story ;) So thank you for catching that!

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Chapter Twenty-One: Dangerous Games

"It was awful," Charlotte groaned, kicking a stack of clothes across the room. "Everything I got for Christmas was from the second-hand store! Gross."

"How tragic," Lily didn't bother to feign interest. She was scribbling a letter at her desk. There had been an owl waiting for her the moment she returned, and she beamed with delight when she saw who the sender was.

Lily! It's been too long. I'm glad to say things at home are well, and I've picked up my old position at the Ministry. However, I hate to tell you this news…I won't be returning to Hogwarts. My services are no longer required. Though I have been working on a few freelance articles for the Prophet. They've already printed one! Just between us, I've been working on an investigative piece. It was actually inspired by what happened to my Uncle Vane's company- Charlotte's father, you know. Maybe you'd be able to help me out, as the Vanes still aren't on the best terms with the Mottlebums.

Much Love,

Melinda

Happily, Lily began penning a reply. She was more than willing to give Melinda any help she needed after everything she'd done for Lily. She'd nearly forgotten that Melinda was cousin to Charlotte…Perhaps her family had been affected by the selling of the Vane cauldron business as well. Unfortunately, Madeline's family had— her father had been sacked— and she still had not returned from Christmas break…Lily was beginning to wonder if she even would.

Just then the door clicked and Helen and Florence sauntered in, dressed in newfound confidence. They sent Charlotte a withering glare and then went to their corner of the dormitory. Charlotte kicked the stack of second hand clothing under her bed quickly and folded her arms nonchalantly.

"Anyway," she changed the subject. "How is Sirius these days?"

Lily noticed Helen and Florence's ears perk up a bit. "I wouldn't know," she glowered, rolling up the parchment and tying it to Rue's outstretched leg.

"Hmph." Charlotte examined a nail. "Right. You know…you used to be such a different person, Evans."

Lily tightened the twine and sent Rue on his way. "What's that supposed to mean?" she replied testily.

"Well," Charlotte tipped her blonde curls thoughtfully. "You were so much more…uppity. You know, 'I'm the best! I'm a prefect!' and all that. Not so much anymore. Granted you were obnoxious as all hell, but to be perfectly honest, you've sort of lost that…spark, Evans."

Lily blanched. "That spark?"

"You know," she waved her manicured hand, "that drive. All you used to care about was being a prefect and whatnot. Now all you care about is Potter."

Lily look affronted. "James Potter is not all I care about! In fact— I don't care about him." She folded her arms stiffly. She was getting this from the girl who cared for nothing beyond curl serum and designer nail files.

"Uh-huh," she replied blandly. "That's why you've been calling out his name in your sleep."

Lily nearly toppled out of her chair. "I have not!"

"No. You haven't," Charlotte shrugged. "But you might as well have been with all the dreamy looks you keep shooting him in class."

"Oh please." Lily felt a tad bit relieved. Good lord, if she had been calling his name…

"I'm just saying…" Charlotte went back to unpacking.

Lily's fingers tapped softly on the stack of blank parchment before her. She couldn't shake the strange feeling that had just come over her. Had she really gone soft? Heat began swelling in her chest. When was the last time she'd gone to the library to study for her N.E.W.T.S.? She wanted a career and a life beyond this, and she wasn't going to get that by dwelling on James Potter.

She sighed deeply to herself. After all, it wasn't as if she was in love with him or anything…Lily flicked a bit of dust from her desk and rested her chin in her hand. She'd been tangled up in James' business for so long now she'd forgotten herself. Charlotte was right…Lily wasn't a part of that world and she needed to come to terms with that.

It was over, after all. Christmas with James had been nice, but it was a bit of a fantasy suspended in time, wasn't it? He had obligations.

There was no turning back from that now.

--

Things were strained between the Marauders; that much was clear at lunch the following day. Sirius and Remus sat together, while at the opposite end James dined with Peter and, much to Lily's dismay, Edith. Sirius kept shooting unsubtle glances at James and Edith while Remus just gazed off into the distance.

Lily jabbed her food robotically, watching them from the Ravenclaw table.

"Lily. Lily."

"Hmm?" Lily turned her head.

Mila gave her an exasperated look. "What is the matter with you? You've been acting strange all day…"

"It's true," Charlotte agreed, taking a bite of salad. "You didn't even raise your hand in Potions today. You always raise your hand in Potions. It's like some sort of compulsive tic."

"Mmm," Lily mumbled, sipping her pumpkin juice. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Well, spill it," Mila glared. "Don't leave us in the dark. You haven't even told us about your Christmas yet."

Charlotte eyed Lily briefly and then took another bite of salad. She must have had some idea about what went on at the Potter's home; she was there after all.

"Nothing happened. It was supremely dull." Lily poked her bread.

"I don't believe you," Mila frowned, taking another bite.

Lily didn't respond. The three of them sat there eating in companionable silence for a bit. She took a sip of juice and stared at Charlotte and Mila.

For the first time in weeks, something occurred to her: she had friends. Here she was, halfway through the school year she thought would be complete hell, and the two most unlikely people had turned out to be the two who provided the most comfort. Why shouldn't she be confiding in them?

"You're right," Lily said suddenly, laying down her fork. "Some things did happen over holiday—"

But the fluttering of wings interrupted. Their plates were showered in feathers as Rue landed inelegantly on Charlotte's tossed salad.

"Ew!" she screeched, shooing Rue away. "Ugh, Lily!"

Lily ignored her and took the parchment that was wrapped around Rue's ankle, unraveling it at the table. She gasped.

Miss Evans,

Alexandria's Fine Fittings is pleased to have received your final payment for the outstanding balance in question. We would like to take this moment to wish you the best and thank you for your patronage. We would also like to take this opportunity to let you know about our latest offer! Wizard Credit is the best form of gold these days, and with an Alexandria's account, you can shop at your leisure!

We have also enclosed a 10 off coupon good in any Alexandria's shop. Good day, and Happy Shopping!

Sincerest regards,

The Alexandria's Family

Lily blanched. But her debt was thousands! How could it possibly be paid? She'd plotted it out, and it would have taken her years!

Charlotte snatched the coupon that had fluttered to the table. "Can I have this?"

"Sure…" Lily said distractedly.

Mila frowned, peering over her shoulder. "Wow. Congratulations. You must have been working hard."

"What's this?" Charlotte frowned. Something was scrawled in ink on the back of the coupon. "'Happy Christmas, Lils?' I'm they're best customer! How come I never got a personalized coupon?"

Lily blanched. "Er…right…" She stood up suddenly and her plate cleared itself. "I—I have to go."

Lily ignored their odd looks and walked hurriedly toward the double doors. She glanced back at the Gryffindor table and caught James eyeing her. His expression was unreadable. She looked away quickly and fled the room.

--

The weeks passed by, and January became February. Lily's seventeenth birthday came and went, and her thoughts shifted between school and her prefect duties. In those passing weeks, Lily didn't see much of anyone. She was busy catching up in her classes, which had become increasingly difficult. She didn't even have time to think about James.

In fact, she hadn't seen much of him at all…or Sirius for that matter. She'd seen bits of Remus and Peter in passing, but they all seemed to be living separate lives. Sixth year seemed to have ripped them apart, and Lily couldn't help but feel partially responsible.

Finally, after a few weeks, her solitude was broken. Lily was fumbling with something in her bag when she jumped at a slender shadow looming over her.

"Lily."

Books and quills went flying. "Bugger," she muttered, crouching down to clean up her mess. Bending to help her was Remus Lupin.

He handed her a few pieces of the parchment abashedly. "Sorry about that."

"Oh…" she laughed nervously. "That's all right…"

Remus hovered a moment, staring awkwardly at his feet.

Lily cleared her throat. "Well…it was nice to see you. Maybe we can get together to study for the Arithmancy exam. I'm pretty behind—"

"Yes!" He burst suddenly, "Er…I mean, I'd like that."

"Er…okay. Great! Well…bye then!" Lily stuffed the last of the parchment in her bag and slipped past him. Strange…

But she didn't have much time to ponder, because she nearly ran into the burly frame of Eric MacLean. "Evans! Just the girl I was looking for," he said fiercely, grasping her shoulders.

"Erm…why?" Lily replied nervously.

"Prefect meeting at 3 sharp. We'll be discussing Campus Cleanup." He shuffled past her. "Don't be late!"

Lily frowned. This was the fourth meeting in two weeks, and she was getting particularly tired of seeing Edith Baldric's perfect face. She was never outright rude to Lily…no, that wasn't the problem…it was that she was sickeningly nice.

Nonetheless, she had to go. So, she forced a smile on her face and plopped down next to Mila. Remus, she noted, did not show up. It was a little irritating, actually—she'd just seen him in the halls that morning. In fact, it was the third meeting he'd missed in a row!

The other prefects slowly filed into the room and seated themselves in a circle. When Edith arrived, she swept past Lily gracefully and gave her a syrupy smile. "Hello, Lily," she simpered. "Mila."

Mila just glared stiffly, perfectly aware that Edith had been James' date to the Yule Ball. It pleased Lily to know that Mila was loyal.

"Right then," Eric bellowed. "Let's get started! So Edith and I have paired you up by house and assigned specific duties for the Campus-wide Cleanup. We have a list of students who signed up to assist you prefects, and we've divided them up as well.

Slowly, Eric began reading off the names and who would be paired with which student helpers. Once the prefects had their assignments, they filed out of the room. Mila passed Lily and gave her an encouraging smile. Soon, it was Lily left alone.

Eric examined his list. "Hmm…Evans…Evans…well, Lupin has been sick the past few meetings, so we didn't assign any students to you."

"But don't worry, Lily," Edith added breezily, "I've got the perfect job for you."

"Right," Eric agreed, handing Edith the clipboard. "I've got to suit up for practice, but you go on ahead. Cheers, Evans."

"Erm…" Lily held up a hand in protest, but Eric had already lumbered out the door, humming a Quidditch chant. She turned sourly back to Edith and folded her arms.

Edith just smirked. "You'll be scouring the bleachers on the Quidditch pitch. I think you'll find the job hasn't been tended to in decades."

"Isn't that Filch's job?" she said through gritted teeth.

Edith waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, well, you know how busy he is, Lily. After all, this program was designed to give students the opportunity to pitch in with the grounds keeping."

"Then why am I the only one assigned to the grounds?"

"Lucky draw," Edith's lips twitched.

Lily was ready to lunge. "Fine. I'll just get started, shall I?"

"Oh, good. I'll meet you down there. I'm watching James' practice today."

"Oh, good." Lily snatched up her book bag and stomped out of the room.

How perfect, she thought bitterly, scrubbing the entire bleachers with one wand. This was going to be a night to remember.

--

After throwing on some old clothes, Lily gathered up her things and headed down to the Quidditch pitch. It was early evening, and the team's practice was nearly over. Lily purposely timed it that way—she wasn't exactly leaping at the idea of having the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team watch her doing the work of a house elf.

With a few buckets and sponges from the kitchens, Lily traversed the grounds until she reached the pitch. Damn. She'd forgotten just how…large the stands were. She dropped the pails at her feet and followed the towering bleachers up to the sky where Hogwarts banners flew brazenly in the cool breeze.

She could hear shouting from the other end of the pitch. Sure enough, James was leading his team in various drills.

He blew a whistle and a line of broomsticks shot across the pitch in a blur of red, then flipped artfully and sped back.

"Good," she heard James shout. "You lot—Jenkins, Burton, Black— other goal post. Let's do some relays."

Obediently, the three swiveled their broomsticks and zoomed to Lily's end of the field. Sirius spotted her and grinned. "Evans!" he shouted down at her, hovering idly. "What brings you out here? Er…" He spotted the buckets. "Have you given yourself detention, then?"

Lily grimaced. "No, thank you. It's Campus-wide Cleanup day. Thank you, Black, for signing up to help," she added sardonically.

He shrugged and did a little flip. "Practice, love." He winked and rejoined his hovering teammates.

Lily grumbled. She began steadily climbing the stands. When she'd reached the top, she accidentally looked down. She swayed and clutched a railing tightly, her stomach giving a little turn. She blinked and spotted Edith across the pitch, sitting comfortably at the foot of some bleachers watching James. Lily's stomach did another somersault and she dropped the buckets haphazardly. With her wand, she filled them each and then charmed them to begin scrubbing around her. On her own hands and knees, she began crawling around, searching for mold to scourgify.

A sudden painful thump to her backside made her reel. Lily whirled around, wand pointed defensively.

"And just what are you doing up here, Miss Evans?" James grinned playfully, tossing the Quaffle up and down in his left hand.

"You ass!" Lily kicked a sponge and jabbed her wand in his direction, rubbing her sore left buttock. "How dare you?"

"Oh, come now, Lily. Is that any way to thank me for you Christmas present?"

Lily frowned and brushed the sticky hair from her forehead. "I—James, I can't accept that gift."

"Why?" He narrowed his eyes suddenly. "Didn't you like it? I thought you hated working at that robe shop."

Lily fidgeted and glanced in the direction of Edith who was now standing and peering inquisitively in their direction, arms folded icily. "Yes, well…James, I think I've taken enough money from you. I really don't want to be in your debt."

He brushed a hand dismissively. "Bollocks. It's not a debt, Lily. It's a gift."

A few of his teammates began hollering for him.

"Right, but…it just doesn't seem appropriate." Lily tightened the scarf around her neck.

"To hell with appropriate!" He seemed a bit angry now.

"OY! JAMES!"

James let out a frustrated yell, tossed the Quaffle up, and spun his broom around, giving it a violent whack in the direction of his anxious teammates. He turned back to Lily. "It's just a gift."

Lily didn't respond. She peered down at the dirty bleachers and sheathed her wand. When she looked up, James heaved an aggravated sigh and flipped his broom around, speeding back to his teammates. Apparently practice was over. James leapt off his broom, and the rest of the team began pulling off their gloves and loading up the balls.

Much to Lily's dismay, Edith was being extremely helpful. She reached out and touched James' sleeve lovingly, then pulled his face down for a quick kiss. James was resistant and distracted. Edith pulled away and shot Lily the most disdainful look before following the team toward the lockers.

Lily sighed and turned back to her cleaning. Like bloody Cinderella…except she'd already missed the grand ball…

Just then the bleachers gave a startling lurch. Lily, crouched next to a bucket, grabbed hold of the bench in front of her. The structure shook again, this time violently. Soapy water went flying and Lily fumbled for her wand, but she wasn't quick enough—the bleachers began rocking dangerously, flinging her body back and forth. She leapt up and grabbed a hold of one of the railings, desperately clinging to the splintering wood, but it was too late; the soap-slicked wood began crumbling beneath her feet. As the entire thing began to collapse, Lily caught a terrifying glimpse of the ground so far below her.

And then she fell.

Lily tumbled through the sky, grasping blindly for anything, but only felt her arms scraping bits of jagged timber.

Then out of nowhere an arm slipped nimbly around her waist, wrenching her back with a jolt. The arm held her firmly to its body. It was then she realized she was atop a broomstick, wobbling through the air dangerously. But they continued to fall, the broom taking a beating against thick beams of wood as the stands came crashing down. Just as they were about to swoop clear of the calamity, a large beam with a yellow and black banner attached toppled from above and slammed into them, snapping the broom in two like a twig. Lily screamed as she and her rescuer plummeted to the earth.

They hit the ground hard with a crack, but whoever had caught her had also broken her fall. Lily blinked through the cloud of dust. She groaned and kicked the debris off of her chest and legs.

"For the love of—Get—off!" a voice beneath her sputtered.

"Oh, I'm sorry—" Lily rolled off the body and gasped to find James grimacing back at her. "James! Are you all right?" He was lying flat on his back, and she began prodding him roughly.

"Oof—! Be gentle…please…" he puffed. He groaned and forced himself up on his elbows.

They were surrounded by logs and crumbled wooden benches, and she could hear people shouting and running toward them from across the pitch.

"Sorry…" Lily brushed the dust from his chest and picked a shard of broomstick out of his tangled black hair.

James caught her wrist suddenly and gripped it tightly. "Are you all right?" His hazel eyes bore into hers.

Lily nodded, her eyes glistening slightly. "I'm fine." She reached up and gently cupped his dirt-smudged face in her palms. "You caught me."

James turned his eyes away abashedly. "Yes, well…" he began gruffly. "You were helpless up there. I had to do something…"

Lily didn't bother to protest his chauvinist words. They were soon interrupted anyway by a loud crack. Eric MacLean had physically lifted a giant log and tossed it into a nearby pile of rubble.

"Are you both all right?" He bellowed, cheeks ruddy and slicked with sweat. The entire Gryffindor team, along with Edith and a few other spectators were right behind him.

One of them, a small first-year girl, shrieked deafeningly. "His leg!"

Lily turned her head and blanched. How could she not have noticed before? To her horror, she saw that James' left leg was bloody and awkwardly bent. Jagged bone was protruding through the flesh of his knee.

James swore colorfully and swayed slightly at the sight, grabbing Lily's arm to steady himself.

"Bloody hell, Prongs," Sirius shook his head, crouching down beside him. "That's one for the record books."

"I'm fine," he scowled.

"James!" Edith scrambled forward and dropped to his side, shoving Lily out of the way. "Look at you!"

"We need to get him to the hospital wing," Lily said calmly. James was still gripping her arm.

Edith shot her a withering glare and grabbed James' hand, placing it in her own. "Well we wouldn't if you hadn't been so bloody clumsy!"

Lily gaped. "Clumsy? The bleachers collapsed under m—"

"I'll take him," Eric offered, leaning down, careful of James' bloodied leg. He promptly conjured a stretcher, and with the help of Sirius and the other Beater, loaded James on top.

The entire group followed the stretcher up the path back to the castle save for Lily who lingered behind in the rubble. Lily sighed and examined a small scratch on her wrist. Then she peered up at the stands. That structure was solid. There was no reason for it to collapse so suddenly. It felt like the entire earth had been quaking, and violently at that.

No…it wasn't some isolated earthquake. That, Lily concluded bitterly, was magic. And there was only one person Lily could think of that would want her wounded…or worse.

Partway up the path to the castle, Edith's onyx locks shimmered in the sunlight. She turned suddenly, as if sensing Lily's burning stare, and shot her another piercing glare before turning back to dote on James.

It could have been Lily's imagination, or a perhaps a trick of the light, but she could have sworn she caught a small smirk flit across Edith's lips.