But as school began again, Lilianne soon realized that she had bigger problems than "I told you so". She remembered about Ellie. First, she was conflicted by the thought that perhaps she was getting sloppy seconds. Then she began to wonder if James was playing her and Ellie around. Who knew if there were more? She continued to worry because Ellie was her friend and she could possibly still have feelings for James. Caught up in her dilemma, Lilianne did not notice when she ran into to Beth. Beth was one of her friends from Hufflepuff. In this, she wasn't friends with many Gryffindors except for Lilianne and some of her year mates. They were all friends to a certain degree, but Beth did not generally spend time with the Gryffindors. But Lilianne and Beth had a closer friendship; even when Jana was still there, the two girls had had a special bond.
"Whoa Lilianne, watch where you're going," Beth joked, "Snape might rip out your entrails if you did something like that," Lilianne started laughing as she straightened up to greet her friend.
"Hey Beth, wow, I just walked straight into the answer to my problems. Alright, now if I told you a secret, would you be able to help me?" Lilianne said quickly.
"Well, it depends. What is it?" she tried to ask neutrally.
"No, no maybes. No conditions, I need to know for sure that you can keep a secret," Lilianne said firmly.
"Alright, alright, I promise that I won't tell anyone," Beth said. And as the other girl looked into her eyes and searched, she knew that she could trust her not to say a word. She took a big breath and began.
"Well, see, erm, well, James sorta, well, he sorta askedmeout," muttered Lilianne hurriedly.
"What? Wait, honestly? When did this happen? I didn't even know he liked you? Whaaaat? What about Ellie?" Beth said confusedly.
"I don't know about Ellie! That's my problem. Do you think you could maybe find out if she still has feelings for him? I mean, like strong feelings," she asked reluctantly for Lilianne was a proud girl and not very inclined to ask people for help readily.
"I don't know, how would I do that?" said Beth quizzically. She was a girl who could have easily ended up in Ravenclaw for her excellent grades. Beth certainly fit the profile of Ravenclaw; her thirst for knowledge and powerful brain made her one of the top students in her year. But she was fiercely loyal and a creature of simple comforts. She could be more than happily content with a warm fire, a box of chocolates, and a nice book. Beth was a warm person to whom it was easy to unload one's problems to.
"Well, let's see… you're not very close to Ellie so you couldn't outright ask her or it would seem strange. The only person that Ellie really confides in is Andy- god only knows why- so she would have to ask her," Lilianne reasoned.
"So you tell Andy that James likes you and then ask her to see if Ellie still likes him. Where do I come in?" asked Beth confusedly.
"No, I don't really trust her well enough to help me. So we need to make up some bogus reason, something that sounds juicy, because Andy would never pass up a chance to get in on a secret. So you're going to tell her a story about a Ravenclaw having a crush on James and tell her that you promised her that you'd find out for her," Lilianne concluded.
"Okay, I can do that. I tell Andy about a Ravenclaw that likes James. Then I ask her to find out if Ellie still has strong feelings for James. Is that it?" she repeated.
"Yes, good. That's all I can think of to do right now, I don't know what else to do," the redhead sighed.
"It'll be fine sweetie," she repeated her now famous line, "everything is going to be fine,"
"I sure hope so," Lilianne replied. The two girls stood from the niche they were comfortably crouched in and went to their next class.
Oh my god, people are actually reviewing? Thank you soo much! All of you. I never get reviews! I love you all. THIS much! Except more!
I know that they are shorter chapters, but I'm updating more often.
-Scp- : there's a story about the name "Lily" later. but here's a hint, the name she was trying to complete during her outburst was "Jana".
-Rockstar-101 : Lily is in her 5th year.