A/N: Thank you all again for the reviews! You guys kick butt ;)

Chapter Twenty-two: Confrontation

Moonlight spilled into the courtyard, illuminating Lily's pale skin. She had propped herself up on the stonewall where the climbing roses had frozen in the winter cold. They were still rich and green, but flowered no more.

It was the perfect place to brood. Perhaps that's why Mila flopped down beside her looking so somber. "Lily…"

"Hmm?" She turned her head reluctantly from the view of the glistening grounds.

"I heard what happened. It took me ages to find you," she said. "Why didn't you come tell me?"

Lily sighed. "I guess I just needed to think on my own for a while."

"Oh, Lily…you can't possibly think what happened is your fault?" Mila set down her book bag, her blonde hair swishing against the cool stone.

"Oh, no. I know exactly whose fault it was."

"What—Lily you can't really blame a thing like that on someone, can you? I mean… It was a freak accident."

Lily stared out across the grounds with a purposeful look in her eye. "Exactly. It had to be magic. Mila, that was a sturdy structure. There's no way it would collapse on its own."

"Lily, I know what you're thinking. Charlotte told me about Edith."

Lily grunted. "You don't know the half of it."

"That would have been some pretty heavy magic, Lily. Someone would have noticed Edith performing a spell like that."

"Okay…so she had someone do it for her."

"Who would agree to that? I mean…they could have killed you!" Mila exclaimed. "Look, Lily, I think you're reading way too much into this. Have you gone to see James yet?"

"…No."

"Well, maybe you should. Just get some sleep and then visit him in the morning."

Lily grunted. "All right." But she wasn't nearly convinced. She knew the culprit, and she wasn't about to let Edith get away with it.

--

The next morning Lily contemplated stopping by the hospital wing, but thought better of it when the image of Edith feeding James with a spoon crossed her mind. So instead she headed to the library to meet Remus.

"Lily!" he said, looking genuinely happy when she arrived with an inordinate amount of books teetering in her clutches. He leapt up and snatched them from her, carrying them in a very gentlemanly fashion.

"Oh…thank you." Lily took a seat and began unloading her book bag. She shuffled through her things looking for an inkpot. When she lifted her head, she spotted Remus staring at her.

He looked away quickly and cleared his throat. "So…"

"Where do you want to start?"

"Er, I was thinking Potions."

"Potions?" Lily frowned. "You aren't even in Advanced Potions…"

"Oh. Right. Er…well, then Arithmancy I suppose." He cleared his throat nervously again and blushed visibly.

"Remus, are you all right?" Lily was genuinely concerned. "You know, you've missed the past few prefect meetings."

"Yes…I'm very sorry about that," he quickly changed the subject, "So, how are you feeling? From the other day, I mean?"

"I'm fine. James…not so much."

"Right," Remus frowned. "Pomfrey won't let him play for two weeks. The break was pretty bad."

Lily jumped. "Two weeks? Isn't the next game against Slytherin on Friday?"

Remus nodded. "Don't think we'll be winning that…"

She frowned and began mindlessly flipping through the pages of her book.

Remus shifted uncomfortably. "Lily…can I ask you something?"

"Sure…" she said distractedly.

"Well…it's just that I don't really have anyone to talk to these days. You know…things haven't been quite right between Sirius and James. It's just put a wedge in everything."

Lily shifted her attention away from the pages and looked Remus in the eye. "Is something bothering you?"

He snorted softly and grimaced at the library table. "More like some things. I…Can I trust you not to repeat this?"

Lily was extremely interested now. "Of course! What it is?"

The bags beneath his eyes appeared more prominent as he spoke, his lips moving against pale skin. "I saw…I saw Sirius. With Edith. They were arguing about some things…I don't think you have to guess what…"

Lily shook her head.

"Sirius saw me. He made me promise not to tell James." Remus fiddled with the corner of his textbook. "The thing is…Edith said something that seemed odd."

"What?" Lily was on the edge of her seat. "What did she say?"

"It was something about her parents. She was saying they were forcing her to be with James."

"Well…we knew that much—"

"No, no…it's what she said afterward…that…it—being with James—was only temporary."

Lily's jaw dropped. "What is that supposed to mean? You don't think that—that she would kill James?" she whispered eerily, paranoia consuming her.

Remus shook his head vehemently. "No, of course not. Sirius may be in love with Edith, but I highly doubt he'd allow his best friend to be murdered. I just wonder what she meant is all. Anyway…I don't mean to burden you with this. Sirius won't speak to me about it. I just…know that you care about James." He looked at her hard, his eyes flickering.

His gaze was so intense that Lily had to turn away. "Right…well…I'll look into it."

"Okay. Thank you, really," he said. "I promised Sirius I would say nothing to James…I made no promises about speaking to you." He smiled weakly.

Lily nodded and stared at her book somberly. "I don't trust her. I haven't from the beginning."

Remus sighed. "I know."

--

Rays of light splayed out across the grassy Quidditch Pitch. The sun was setting and cast a golden hue upon everything. Lily walked purposefully towards the field, swelling with anger and adrenaline.

She squinted into the distance and saw several members of the Slytherin team filing off the grass toward the castle. They were laughing and joking, patting each other on the backs.

Then Lily spotted her: thick black waves tumbling down her back as she pulled a rubber band from her hair. Every bit of Edith glistened in the setting sun. It was no wonder boys couldn't keep their hands off of her.

Taking a deep breath, fists wound tightly at her sides, Lily trudged deliberately toward Edith who was chatting up a couple of her rather large male teammates. She didn't realize how large until she was standing at their feet. They peered down at her grimacing, Beater bats thrown casually over their shoulders. Edith followed their gaze and merely smirked derisively when her eyes landed on Lily.

"Can I help you?" she gave Lily a once over, hardly bothering to turn more than her head.

Lily folded her arms. "I need to talk to you."

Edith exchanged glances with her Beaters and they grumbled something before trudging off. Edith turned and faced Lily. "What?"

"I know you had something to do with James' injury. Just like you had something to do with my father losing his job."

Edith scoffed and removed her Quidditch gloves methodically. "That is quite an accusation. But I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

"I'm sure," Lily fumed. "Just like you care so much for James."

She snorted. "The arrangement has been made, Lily. I'm afraid you can't change that, even if you're in love with him."

"You're clearly not," Lily spat. "What is it exactly that you are in love with? His money? The prestige? Or is it a game to you, seeing what it takes to win him for yourself?"

"A game…" Edith sighed airily and waved a hand. "Please, Lily. Give me more credit than that. I have a great interest in James Potter for a number of reasons. Love means nothing in business— trust me, this is the best play for all parties involved."

"Right. And what about Sirius? How does he fit into all this?"

"Sirius," Edith spat bitterly, but her eyes flickered strangely. "Sirius is a fool. He chose a different path, and when the time comes he'll suffer the consequences. I'm helping James—giving him a way out. I can protect him."

"What's that supposed to mean? Protect him from what?" Twilight was upon them, and a cool winter breeze had kicked up. Lily pulled her scarf tighter around her neck.

"What do you think?" she said darkly, moving towards Lily, her eyes flashing. "Why do you think his parents agreed to the marriage?" The breeze swept the hair from Lily's cheeks and sent a chill up her spine. Edith smirked. "My family is from a long line of Slytherins who are close enough to the Dark Lord to offer that kind of protection. By my side, James will be safe. That's all his father wants, whatever the price may be."

"You—you call that protection?" Lily stammered, taking a step back from Edith, incredulity filling her emerald eyes. "You'll put James right in the middle of everything! That's not the kind of life James wants! He's a good person and I won't let you do that to him!"

"How do you know what he wants?" Edith snarled suddenly, breaking her composure. "Not everyone gets the things they want in this world, Lily. Not everyone can be so fortunate. Why is James Potter so special? He made a binding agreement with his family."

"If you truly cared about him," Lily shook, "you'd never ask such a horrible question."

"Well," Edith relaxed a bit in the face, still wearing a snarl. "Isn't that pretty to think so. And you care so much about him to know?"

"Haven't you ever been in love?" Lily burst suddenly, admitting something without fully realizing what she'd said. "Sirius loves you, you know. He cares for you. How could you do something so cruel—turn your back on someone who cares so much for you?" Tears were springing to her eyes now. Lily shook her head, thinking about what Remus had told her. What was Edith up to, toying with Sirius? Lily hoped it was dark enough so that Edith couldn't see her crying. Weakness was the last thing she needed to be showing now.

"And what if it doesn't matter what I feel? Hmm?" Edith replied blandly. "It doesn't matter what you feel either. James made his choice—and so did you. Or have you forgotten? You accepted the money that the Potters offered you. Or have you spent all your Galleons so soon?"

Lily narrowed her eyes, striding forward and closing the gap between them so that she was nose to nose with Edith. "You did have something to do with my father losing his job."

"Lily, whatever you think happened, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation." Even in the dark, Lily could see that her eyes were alight with malice. "Like, say, your father is a fool who can't even hang on to a paper-pushing Muggle job."

Lily's fists balled up. "How dare you—"

"Besides," Edith narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, her shapely lips curving, "there's no proving the Imperious Curse."

Lily slapped her. "You bitch."

Edith held a hand to her cheek and licked her lips. "You took the money. It's your own fault you can't have James—you have to stay away from him."

"You're right…" Lily nodded. "I did take that money…but I think you'll find Mr. Potter made a rather generous contribution to the International Wizard Hair Follicle Renewal Research Fund. Thinning wizards around the world will be eternally grateful."

Edith's expression contorted with fury. "Well aren't you bloody clever," she hissed, bearing down upon Lily, "You stay away from James. I will make your life a living hell, Lily Evans."

"It's going to take a hell of a lot more than money and trying to throw me off Quidditch stands to scare me away."

"Really? And what makes you think I had anything to do with that?"

"I'm not stupid, Edith." Lily glared.

"Yes. Well, just like certain curses, that is a very difficult accusation to prove. Though I regret James was caught up in the middle."

"I'm so sure… With him out of the way, you're sure to win the match on Friday. Was that part of your plan too? Injure me and hope that James would be brave enough to throw himself in the fray as well?"

Edith laughed humorlessly. "You have quite the imagination, Lily." Her eyes flashed smugly. "But I was with the Gryffindor team and my wand was in my pocket the entire time. So good luck pinning that on me."

Lily stared Edith down. "You obviously don't know me…" Her face was hot. "Because I love a challenge."

She turned and headed back to the castle, leaving Edith to stew in her wake.

--

Scritch-scratch. Scritch-scratch.

Scribbling furiously, Lily brushed her tangled red locks from her forehead, smearing a bit of ink across her cheek. She dipped the quill and continued to scribble.

"And what are you doing, Evans?" Helen frowned, curling her hair in the mirror beside Lily's bed. "It's extremely irritating."

Lily ignored her and continued writing.

Helen sauntered over and nearly tripped over one of the scrolls littering the floor at Lily's feet. She picked one up and examined it. "Potions?" Helen sneered. "This is the longest bloody essay I've ever seen."

"That's the fifth scroll," Lily replied distractedly, her head still bent.

Helen cringed and tossed the scroll on her way to the loo. "Right…" she rolled her eyes.

Luckily for Lily, Helen had kindly filled Charlotte's shoes and was doing quite a good job at making her miserable. But Lily had bigger things to think about, and as she learned once before from Charlotte, Helen was all bark and no bite.

Charlotte finally returned from dinner, wearing a strange expression. When she caught sight of Lily, she frowned, hands on hips. "Just what are you doing, Evans?"

"Working."

She gaped. "Exactly how long were you planning on making this essay?" Charlotte lifted the same scroll Helen had thrown, eyeing it distastefully.

"As long as it takes for me to figure a few things out."

"Really?" Charlotte flopped down atop her bed and kicked off her heels. "Writing an essay, Lily? Seems I was wrong about you. You're back to being strange. And a bit peaky…you should really get some sun, you know."

Lily sighed, turning to her. "I just…it helps me think better when I'm working." She frowned suddenly and jabbed her finger at the floor before Charlotte. "Are those new shoes?"

"Er…what?" Charlotte shifted uncomfortably and kicked the sparkly blue heels beneath her bed. "Those old things—?"

Just then, Helen burst from the bathroom, looking haughty as usual. She strode purposefully toward the door, primped and pampered. She jerked to a stop suddenly when something caught her eye. She turned menacingly to Charlotte and pointed at a shimmering blue heel poking out from beneath the bed skirt. "What is that?"

Charlotte raised her eyebrows and slid the shoes back out daintily with a toe. "Oh, these old things? I picked them up the other day."

"You—" Helen growled, eyes mere slits. "You—" She threw up her arms exasperatedly and stormed out of the dorm, slamming the door behind her. The entire room shook, and a few things clattered off Lily's desk.

"Let me guess…" Lily rolled her eyes.

Charlotte grinned diabolically. "She's been dying to get a hold of these, ever since she saw them in the Witch Wardrobe? catalog."

Lily narrowed her eyes. "I thought you didn't have any money…"

"Yes, well…" she waved a hand breezily. "The situation has changed a bit."

Lily's eyes lit up. "Charlotte, that's wonderful! So you're father is doing well then? I told you things would start looking up."

She cleared her throat awkwardly and took off her cloak. "Yes. Er…right. Well— What's that?" She looked over Lily's shoulder and jabbed her finger accusingly.

Lily followed her gaze and blanched. When Helen slammed the door, the dusty old broomstick she'd confiscated had toppled to the floor from behind the desk. "Oh, er…that's just something I took from a first-year months ago."

Charlotte eyed her strangely. "Aren't you supposed to turn things like that into McGonagall?"

"Er…well…It depends, really."

"I see," Charlotte rolled her eyes and flicked open Witch Weekly. "Whatever."

Lily nervously snatched up the broom and stuffed it away.

Then she paused thoughtfully, hand still gripping the smooth wood of the handle. What if…

--

There was a loud crash, and then shards of glass and flower petals littered the floor of the hospital wing. Water trickled across the worn floorboards, and James nearly slipped on his one good leg.

"Back in bed this instant, Potter!" Madame Pomfrey cried, throwing a spell at his chest and flinging him back into his cot.

"I won't! This is bloody madness!" he roared. "I'm perfectly capable of flying!"

"Madness, indeed!" Madame Pomfrey tapped the glass shards with her wand and mended the broken vase, setting it daintily back atop the bedside table.

James pouted. "Just cut the damn thing off. I don't need two legs to play Quidditch."

"I'm sure you like to think so, but Mr. Potter there is no one around to impress at the moment— surely not me— so I suggest you lie back down and get some rest!" She said shrilly and turned on her heel.

"Er…" Lily cleared her throat and tapped lightly on the open door. "Am I interrupting?"

James caught sight of her and grumbled, turning his attention back to his lap. "Not at all."

Lily raised her eyebrows and took a seat at James' side. "How are you?"

He just grunted.

"Are you angry with me?"

"That depends." James leaned back and fluffed up his thick dark hair. "Have you decided to accept your gift?"

"The—the gift?" Lily sputtered. "James, I'm talking about your leg—"

He brushed the air dismissively. "I asked you a question."

Lily frowned. "Well…I have no choice. I tried to get Alexandria's to give you your Galleons back, but they weren't too keen on that idea…"

James guffawed. "You tried to— Only you, Lily…You kill me."

"I know. I almost did." Lily knitted her brows together. "I owe you my life, James. What were you thinking? You could have been killed…" she trailed off, eyes lingering on his leg wrappings.

James frowned and stared out the window. "I'd do it again."

"No you won't. I forbid it."

James turned and stared at her. He reached a hand out and touched her cheek gently. Lily could feel the skin burn where his palm lingered; it caused her to suck in her breath sharply. He brushed his thumb softly and pulled it away. He held it up to show Lily a smudge of ink he'd wiped from her cheek, eyes flickering mischievously. "'Fraid you don't have a say in how many times I'm allowed to help you."

Lily could feel a smile tugging at her lips. "As long as I don't have to be your slave."

"Well," he said breezily, "we'll see about that."

There was a long pause, and Lily let her gaze wander out the window as well. She hesitated, debating whether to tell James about Edith, but stopped herself each time. For some reason, she didn't want to ruin their companionable silence. Besides…what could he do? Lily, however, had a plan. It was her turn to help James.

"I was thinking…of a way I could pay you back," she said suddenly, turning to meet his warm hazel eyes.

James straightened up and stared at her attentively. "Pay me back?"

"Well…it's the least I can do for you helping me."

James frowned.

--

"Absolutely not." Sirius flung his bat over his shoulder, walking determinedly toward the lockers. He was already in a poor mood from the way Quidditch practice had gone without James—not well.

"That's what James said," Lily grumbled, trying to keep up with Sirius' long legs. "Please, Sirius. It's the only way I can think of to pay James back."

Sirius stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, leaning in so close she could feel his breath on her forehead. "You know, any one of us could have swooped out there to catch you—James just happened to get there first. If…Jenkins had caught you, would you be begging to fill in for him at next Friday's game?"

Lily didn't answer.

"That's what I thought. So no."

"I'm a quick learner!"

"No."

"Just give me a chance. I—I need to show Edith that I'm not weak." Lily blushed.

Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Lily…"

"Please, Sirius. You owe me." She watched him carefully.

He rolled his gray eyes and propped his bat up on the ground, leaning sideways on it exhaustedly. He took a deep breath. "All right. You can fill in for James at Friday's game—but that is the only time! And you'd better not get hurt, or he'll have my neck."

"Yes!" Lily leapt up and kissed him on the cheek. She neglected to mention that she'd already run it by James and his response was less than enthusiastic. But he'd be confined to the hospital wing anyway. How would he find out? "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Come on, I'll take you for a quick test run and we'll see how you do. Just…look out for the Bludger, all right?"

Lily frowned. "Er…which…one is the Bodger again?"

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bludger."