Oh wow, adoring, that's a really nice thing to say! I've come over all giddy. Watch it or I'll get a big head!

-----

Ariadne walked up to her dormitory, a huge grin plastered on her face. She barely noticed opening her door and slipping into bed contently, because she was intoxicated by love. She knew now what her purpose was, what she wanted to do in her time on earth. She would be with James for the rest of his days. He would eventually grow old, but she didn't care. She would stay young and beautiful, visually pleasing him until the day that he died. This seemed like the perfect way to live a half century on earth. She slipped into sleep easily, dreaming of that perfect night she had shared with the love of her life.

"Ariadne, wake up," came a voice, stirring her from her slumber. It was James. She sat up quickly and smiled at him. "It's almost dinner."

"That late? Then you'd better stay away from me, I'll be super stinky," she said, wandering to the bathroom to brush her teeth. James followed her and slipped his arms around her waist, hugging her. She elbowed him out of the way. "Own oo ack, I ryin' oo rush eye feef," she stumbled across the words, finding it difficult to talk with a toothbrush in her mouth. She rinsed her mouth out quickly and straightened up. "What I meant was, don't do that, I'm trying to brush my teeth."

James smiled. "Really? Because I could have sworn you said 'Slow news, Jack. Mine's mushy peas'," he chuckled at her, earning a playful punch on the shoulder. "Let's go to dinner. My sources tell me that it's roast chicken tonight."

"Sources?" Ariadne asked suspiciously.

"Yes," James replied good-naturedly, pretending not to realise the extent of her question. This earned him another punch.

-----

By the time they got down to the Great Hall, Lily and her friends were already there, waiting for Ariadne to show up. When she entered the room with James and none of the other Marauders, Lily was puzzled.

"Where are the other three?" She asked. One of her friends giggled darkly.

"Last night when you stormed off, Ariadne followed James outside. This morning, I saw her sneaking up to her dormitory. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together," she whispered as Ariadne drew closer and took a seat next to Lily, James following her.

"Hey Ari," Lily said good-naturedly. She would get the truth out.

"Hey Lily. Great news, me and James have decided to go out," Ariadne said. "It means he won't be bugging you anymore," she continued, putting a hand on top of James'.

"Yeah, that's terrific news!" Lily said. "I'm very happy for you, and it's great that someone won't be taking up my valuable time with hitting on me."

It IS terrific news, Lily, she told herself. So why am I so angry? Why do I want to yell at my new friend? She kept very silent all through dinner, but twitched slightly whenever Ariadne and James' hands accidentally touched while reaching for the baked potatoes. That night, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Lily lay awake. Don't be stupid, she told herself. You hate James. You don't like him. The only reason you are feeling this way is because the respite from James' nagging has caused a massive emotional upheaval. That is all. So why can't I sleep? The sun was rising on a new day, and Lily stared out of the window from her bed. The room was cast in an orange glow, making Lily's already flaming red hair look as though it were on fire. She sighed and got out of bed. It was a Sunday, no classes. She would have to be around James and Ariadne all day.

She padded down to the common room to find James and Ariadne, apparently having not found their ways back up to their dormitories the previous night, asleep on a couch in front of the fire, which was now reduced to glowing embers. A house-elf scuttled in and started the fire going again, tidying up the room slightly before rushing out. That was fast, Lily said. No wonder nobody ever sees them. That one was in and out in about ten seconds. Light shone through the window, moving down until it reached Ariadne's eyes. Then, she twitched and her eyes opened, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh no, we fell asleep," she said, poking James to wake him. "Lily!" She cried, only just having seen her friend. "You're… up early! Wow, you look tired –"

"I didn't sleep last night," Lily said bluntly.

"Oh," replied Ariadne. "Do you want to play wizard's chess or something? You always beat me but I don't mind –"

"No," Lily said. "I – sorry, I just have a lot of work to do, so… I have to go to the library. Also, I don't want to be disturbed." And with that, she rushed out of the common room.

"That was weird," James said. "Hey Ari, a lot of people are going to be getting up soon, and I don't have anything planned for today…"

"So let me guess, you want to take full advantage of the fact I have my own dormitory?" Ariadne said shrewdly. James grinned.

"You are the most amazing, perfect girl in the world," he said, kissing her.

-----

Over the next few days, Lily tried to convince herself that she was wrong. But she knew in her heart that the worst was true – after seven years, she realised she loved James, and at the perfect time – he was dating a close friend. By the next weekend, she had fully come to terms with the fact that she loved him. By the weekend after, she couldn't take it anymore. She cornered James in the common room in the early afternoon of a Saturday, before late-rising Ariadne was awake.

"James," she started, but was cut off.

"Its okay, Lily, I'm with Ariadne," James said. "You don't need to worry about me anymore. And I'm sorry that I threatened all the guys."

"No James, I'm sorry," Lily said, looking at her feet. "I didn't mean to get so mad at you. All those times you did things I thought were horrible and stupid, you were just doing them for me. I'm sorry I didn't see that sooner."

"Erm… that's okay, Lily," he said.

"Another thing I should have seen sooner…" she started, but stopped. How to put this? "I think, since you and Ariadne became an item, that I have realised something."

"Um… you're really a lesbian and you're going to go on a journey of self-discovery on the Himalayas?" James hazarded a guess, to try to cut through the tension in the air. Lily laughed, but it was more a sob.

"No, James. I – I think I'm in love with you," she said. "Finally."

"Oh," James said. "Well –"

"No, I mean, I don't want anything to happen between us," she said quickly, in case he got the wrong idea. "You and Ariadne seem really happy together and I don't want to spoil that, or ruin the friendship me and her have. I just wanted to tell you, because it was eating me up inside."

"Well… you told me," James said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yeah, I did," Lily replied, before abruptly running up to her dormitory, leaving James at the foot of the stairs, wondering.