Just remember that this is rated T. As in Teen. As in there are mentions of sex and there is language. Mmkay?

Quite the long chapter, this one. And I hope that you think it's much better than the last one.

Chapter 5: Humans Were Not Made to be Pillows

When I first woke up, I wasn't entirely sure where I was. My head was pounding, it was dark, and I couldn't take any deep breaths without sharp pain.

After a few minutes, I could feel hands feathering along near my ribs. I racked my eyes open. "Evangeline?" I flinched at how raspy my voice sounded.

My sister smiled hurriedly at me. "I'm going to fix you up the best I can right now, Dae, and then we're getting the hell outta here." I smiled tiredly at her. "But we have to do this fast, before Marcus gets back. And then maybe we can go to the crazy professor of yours. The one with the kooky pointy hat and the huge beard, yeah?"

I smiled again, closing my eyes. "Yeah. Okay."

"And then they can fix you up. A lot better than I can." She continued silently for a few minutes; I assumed that she was wrapping my ribs up. When she was done, she walked quickly back up the stairs and when she came back down, she was holding a glass of water and some white pills. She handed them to me, and I glanced at the pills warily. Evangeline chuckled wearily. "They're just aspirin, Daelia. Not poison."

I gave her a wry smile. "Sorry. Instinct." I put the pills in my mouth and downed the glass of water.

Evangeline waited for me to finish the water, and then reached a hand out to me to haul me up. "Come on. We have to go before Marcus gets back from work. I packed some of my clothes and all the money I could find. . ." She suddenly stopped and froze, and for a second I thought maybe Marcus was already home. But then she turned back to me with a suspicious expression. "Do you have any idea how we're getting to that school of yours?"

I laughed. "Don't worry. There are plenty of ways that I can contact them."

And then we left. And the best part? Evangeline didn't even look back.

And I was going back to Hogwarts.

Besides. I had a bet to win.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

We walked to the bus station. Evangeline had wanted to use a rental car, but I told her that we needed to be discreet, not leave a paper trail.

We spent the night on three different trains, making our way to London. When we got to the final train station, I found a pay phone and called the Potters.

Mrs. Potter frantic, assuring us that she and Mr. Potter would be here as quickly as possible.

Now, they may be purebloods, but it was situations like these that I was immensely grateful that Mrs. Potter had wanted to make sure they blended into the muggle world and that she'd wanted James to know things about it. I'd grown up with muggle things, because my mother had been muggleborn and Evangeline was a muggle, too. The Potters had the simple things like a phone, a television, and a car.

And within the hour, Evangeline and I were in that car, on the way back to the Potter Manor. Mrs. Potter sat in the back and healed me the entire ride, and even then she could only heal my face. She said that although she was good with household spells, she wanted to be sure she didn't screw anything up and said that I should wait until I could see Madam Pomfrey.

She also said that Evangeline could stay with them as long as was needed, and that it might be a good idea if I found Dumbledore once I got back to Hogwarts and told him to come to the Potters' house and help Evangeline.

I made sure that Evangeline was okay with all of this, and then I flooed straight to Hogwarts. At first. I started thinking that the security must not be very good, but then I remembered that the Potters were very good friends with Dumbledore, so of course they would have a direct floo connection.

In a fireplace.

I'd always thought that was strange, no matter how many times I'd had to use it or how many other strange things I'd seen.

I got slightly nauseous as I spun in circles, which usually didn't happen, so I assumed that it was probably because my insides were still a little messed up.

And then I was in the floor, coughing up ash, right inside McGonagall's office.

"Goodness, child, what in the world are you doing?"

"Uh. . . Trying not to swallow any more ash."

She looked at me reprovingly. "Yes, and meanwhile you're getting it all over my carpet." Her eyes widened as she took in my state and she seemed to forget about the fact that I was destroying her precious carpet. "Oh, dear. . ." She whispered. "We need to get you to Poppy."

I'm not entirely sure how she knew that I needed the Hospital Wing, considering I was almost sure that Mrs. Potter had removed all the bruises from my face. But I ignored that and tried to focus on standing up. Apparently, that little floo adventure had taken more out of me then I'd originally thought. My legs ached and didn't want to support my weight, and I'd fallen onto my ribs. I couldn't take any deep breaths without feeling like something was poking my lungs. Something sharp.

So, yeah. I should probably get to the hospital wing.

Suddenly there were strong arms lifting me up, standing me on my feet. I turned around, startled, and came face-to-face with none other than Sirius Black.

Too shocked to think of anything insulting or scathing, I just said, "What the hell?"

He smirked, as per usual, but I noticed that his eyes were tightened with worry. "Prongs and I got stuck here for detention tonight." I turned my head a bit to see James standing in the middle of the room, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open.

"Shut your mouth, Potter, it's not like I don't fall out of your fireplace every now and then." His mouth closed, but he continued to stare at me with wide eyes. I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of which, mommy and daddy send their love."

He finally responded by raising an eyebrow. "You came from my house?"

"Well, duh, it's not like we've got any floo powder at my house." I paused and pursed my lips. "Well, that stupid cottage." I corrected.

I heard a sigh from behind me, and it was then that I noticed that Sirius' arms were still around me. "As much as I hate to interrupt this beautiful reunion, I think Daelia needs to go to the hospital wing." Ah. So he'd noticed that I'd flinched every time he moved his arms.

But the fact that he's called me Daelia. . . I don't think that he'd called me by my real name since sometime in third year.

"Mr. Black is quite right. I shall go inform Albus. Mr. Black, please escort Miss Eckhart to the Hospital Wing." James opened his mouth to say something, but McGonagall cut him off. "You, Mr. Potter, can stay here and finish your detention." I knew that James wanted to argue, but he took one look at me, sighed, and then nodded mutely. "Good." McGonagall said briskly, walking out.

I stared after her for a few seconds before Sirius said into my ear, "Let's go, Muffin. I don't need you passing out on me."

As we started waling down the corridor, I couldn't help but admit that it reassured me that he was calling me Muffin again. I may hate the nickname, but if he was still teasing, then I knew the world wasn't about to come to a tragic end.

I think my head may be a bit messed up today. Although being melodramatic, even if it's just in my head, is quite fun.

"What're you thinking about so hard, Muffin?"

I smiled dreamily. "Just that I don't think the world is going to end today." Then my smile turned into a frown. "And that since you keep mentioning it, you're really making me want a cranberry muffin."

He laughed. "Well, sorry about that, but I don't think we've got too many muffins at the moment."

We walked in silence for a few more minutes, and I found it strangely calming.

But, of course, I had to go and ruin it. There was absolutely nothing there, but somehow I managed to trip over my own two (relatively small) feet. The only reason I didn't fall flat on my face was because Black grabbed me around the middle. I yelped as he hit all the sensitive spots, and he hauled me back up before quickly taking his hands off. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn. They really did a number on you, didn't they?"

His eyes weren't filled with pity, like most people's would be. No, his were filled with understanding. I thought I could see a little worry, too, but I had a feeling that it was just a trick of the light. I sighed, saying, "Let's just get to the hospital wing, Black. Then you can leave me alone."

He rolled his eyes as he put an arm back around my waist, being careful not to hit any bruises. "You know, you must be extremely malnourished, Eckhart. You've always been light, but I'm practically dragging you down this hallway and I feel like you're a sack of potatoes." He commented.

"Gee, thanks. I've always wanted to be compared to a bag of lumpy vegetables." I replied sarcastically.

He grinned. "At least I wasn't comparing you to a watermelon."

I stayed silent a moment, studying him, then said, "Why do I get the feeling that you mean that in a perverted way?"

His grin widened. "Maybe because you secretly want it to be." He teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I have not missed you, Black. And if I secretly wanted it to be perverted, then I would be upset by the fact that you didn't call me watermelon."

"Maybe you are. 'Snot like I'm a mind reader."

"Git."

"Keeping it simple today, are we?"

I glared at him, my happy/slightly nutter mood gone. He always had a response, didn't he?

That's okay. I've always got one, too.

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not sure I'm up for really insulting you tonight. Besides, I'm still not sure that your sex clouded brain can handle any words that are bigger than 'git,' 'prat,' or 'wanker.' Actually. . .I don't think you understand that last one either."

He scowled, although his trademark smirk somehow managed to remain in place. "Sex clouded brain?" He repeated. "Just because you're not getting any, Eckhart, doesn't mean that you can fantasize about what I think about."

I scowled, too, although I wasn't smirking. "Please. And I'm sorry, I didn't know that it was a crime to not want to shag everything that moves and has nice legs. I also didn't know that it was a crime to be a virgin."

His eyes widened for a moment, but then he contained his shock and raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You're a virgin?"

I smirked. "No. Why? Fantasizing, Black?" He turned a glare my way and was about to respond when I said cheerfully, "Oh, look, it's the Hospital Wing. Thanks for the help, Black. You can go now." And then I walked into the Hospital Wing, totally ignoring him. If I had looked back, I would have noticed that his face looked completely shocked.

. . . Okay. So yeah. I looked back. It was quite amusing, really.

But this was how Sirius and I were. We had a mutual understanding, and there were even times when we almost got along, but we were both too stubborn and hotheaded to go more than ten minutes without an argument. We always had that underlying fury for each other, and that was never going to go away, no matter what he 'saved' me from, no matter how much we helped one another.

Not that we ever help each other.

When the door closed, I jumped at how loud it was. For the past three weeks, I'd been subjected to just my own brain for company.

And that's enough to drive anyone nutters. Believe me. It's bad enough when we're at school, where I've got plenty of people to distract me. Left alone with my thoughts? Well, there was that whole hire someone to strangle Elvora thing. . . I might still be contemplating that. . . cough cough. . . cough. . .

"Can I help you, Miss Eckhart?"

I smiled sheepishly at Madam Pomfrey. "Yeah, er, well, I need some fixing up."

She sighed and motioned me over. I think she knew what had happened; no doubt Dumbledore would have told her. I swear, that man knows everything that goes on. He must have known that I would make my way back.

"I swear, you're in here every month."

I grinned at her. "I am. You know what they say, Poppy, poor Daelia Eckhart can never watch where her own two foot step."

Yes. I have a confession. I am a klutz. Demonstrated almost every week of my life.

Of course, these bruises weren't from that, but who needs to know? Everyone will buy the excuse that I tripped down the stairs. It's really common knowledge that I can hardly walk without running into someone. Gotten into quite a few brawls over it, actually.

I blame the Slytherins. It's always them. When in doubt, you blame them. They're the Slytherins. Of course it's there fault.

Okay. That was a little mean. Blame the wannabe Death Eaters. Yeah. That works even better.

Anyways, Madame Pomfrey was muttering things the whole times as she administered potion after potion to me. I refused to take a sleeping potion, no matter how much she insisted. I also refused to stay at the Hospital Wing overnight.

Of course, I hate the Hospital Wing, but I really just wanted to get out of there so that I could see Lily and Nellie. And I was even excited to see James.

And I had a bet to go win.

I couldn't wait to see the look on Elvora's face when she realized that the big bad Daelia Eckhart had returned to Hogwarts.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

"Of course." I muttered to myself as I stalked down the corridor. "When I finally get back, it just has to be in the middle of dinner. . ." Which meant that I was going to have to walk into the Great Hall while everyone was there.

How fun.

At least it wasn't the Halloween feast. That would be. . . terrifying. And I've had more than my share of terrifying.

As I've said, I try to avoid the spotlight. There are times when I can't, being 'friends,' and I use the term loosely, with the Marauders, but I try to stay away from them unless we're in the common room.

And when I was about five feet away from the Great Hall, Elvora came barreling down the stairs. The doors to the Hall were open, so practically everyone heard what was said. The fact that Elvora was screeching her lungs out.

"You bitch! If you leave, you lose the bet. You can't just show up again! And then before you leave you totally ransack my part of the dormitory! I don't even want to know why you were doing that, you pervert!" And then she stomped off.

All eyes were on me, which I guess was to be expected after that little outburst.

"Way to make a grand entrance." I muttered as I walked over to the Gryffindor table. Some of the Ravenclaws I was passing laughed, breaking the silence and the tension of the whole school.

"DAELIA!" My vision was blocked, and all I saw was red.

"Lily," I said after spitting some of her hair out of my mouth, "You can let go now."

She hugged me tighter. "I can't believe you're back! Sirius said he'd seen you, but we weren't sure when we would get to see you again."

"No, Lily, seriously, you need to let go." I said, quite rightly shocked about the fact that she had just called Black by his first name. I mean, I do, sometimes, but not to other people. That's just. . . Not right.

"Why?" She asked, her voice muffled.

"Because, I just had my ribs healed, and I don't need you breaking any more."

She laughed and pulled back, reminding me of how much taller she was.

Everyone is taller than me. It's a simple fact that I've gotten used to.

I could still remember first year. I'd always been small at primary school, but I'd never noticed just how much smaller I was until I got to Hogwarts.

The line was going too slow for me; I wanted to know if I was going to end up in evil Slytherin or reject Hufflepuff. Only two people had gone so far, one of which to Hufflepuff and the other to Gryffindor. I couldn't even see the stage.

"Having trouble, Dae?"

I whipped around and saw James. He was smiling at me. We hadn't seen each other since last summer, and I knew that he wanted to end up in Gryffindor.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

His smiled widened, and I noticed that he had a friend standing next to him, looking amused. "Daelia, haven't you noticed that you're the shortest person in the school?"

"I am not!" I said indignantly, beginning to search the line of other first years. After about ten seconds, I realized that it was useless and sighed sadly. "I really am, aren't I?"

James was still smiling as he pat me on the head, but I noticed that his friend looked really nervous, though I had no idea why. This was fun, even if it was taking entirely too long for my taste.

And then the professor said, "Black, Sirius!" And James' friend strode up to the stage, looking defiant now.

Even at eleven, I knew big words. I bet you didn't. (Imagine me sticking my tongue out right here.)

Of course, these days, I had a lot nastier things to say about the Slytherins, but that's not the point.

James, Nellie, Alice, Remus, and Mary were all standing right behind her, all waiting for their turns to hug me. I fought them all off, claiming that I'd fallen out of the fireplace the wrong way when I'd flooed here. Black shot me an amused look, but didn't comment. We all sat down at the table, and, ironically enough, the only seat left for me was squeezed right in between Black and James.

Murder me, please?

Okay. I'm not suicidal. But you would be saying that too if you were stuck into between these two.

Thankfully, none of them asked why I'd disappeared and suddenly reappeared. I suspected that that had something to do with something Black might have said to them; I could see the burning curiosity in their eyes, especially Lily and Alice.

To be truthful, not even Lily and Nellie know the extent of what happens with Marcus. The only people that really know are James and Sirius, although I suspect that they might have told Remus, just because he's their best mate. (Other than each other, that is.)

"Oh, thank Merlin." I said as I finally saw the food. I piled plenty of it on my plate, especially potatoes, while they all watched me in amusement. I even considered grabbing some of the chicken but decided against it, considering I've been a vegetarian since second year.

"What?" I asked through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Er, Daelia, are you trying to eat your own weight in food?" James asked.

"And don't say that's not your own weight, because remember, I carried you up to the Hospital Wing not too long ago. And you don't weigh much more than that plate right there, love." Sirius added.

I scowled at them as I shoveled food down my mouth.

"Merlin, Daelia, one would think you hadn't eaten anything since you left." Alice commented after a few minutes.

I really wanted to say, Well, yes, I have, but too often. And it wasn't even real food. But I kept silent and started shoveling down some tart.

After a few minutes of mindless chatter, Nellie, sounding entirely too amused, asked, "So, Dae, what was all that about you searching through Elvora's trunk for her knickers?"

I snorted. "Please. If I was going to search through anyone's trunk, it would be Lily's." I said, smirking at her. "We all know no matter how innocent she acts, she's got a naughty side. It's always the innocent ones."

Lily blushed a bit and glared at me. I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Alright, you caught me, I'd be looking through James' trunk. Except, you know, not for his knickers. I see those things enough over the summer."

"Which ones?" Black, asked, playing along. "The ones that say 'I heart my Lily-flower'?"

My smirk grew. "No, the ones that say, 'Lily Evans belongs to James Potter.' And then there are those ones that involve James wanting to see Lily in a pretty little black thong. . ."

James smacked the back of my head while Black and I laughed. Lily's blush was much deeper now, and I felt quite accomplished.

Now all I had to do was win a bet.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Everyone in Gryffindor tower cheered when I finally walked in, with James and Black on my heels.

We'd just come back from Dumbledore's office, where I told him what had happened. I didn't even need to ask him to help Evangeline, he just told me that he'd get over to the Potters as soon as we left.

I'm not sure why Black and James had felt the need to come with me, and when Dumbledore asked what happened he offered to kick them out, but to be truthful, it was easier with them there. And besides, it saved me the trouble of having to explain again, because I knew that James and Black weren't going to shut up about it until I told them.

Elvora was sitting with Shannen in the corner, glaring at me. Shannen was looking utterly uninterested, just writing on a piece of parchment.

Lily, however, felt the need to jump on me again.

Which isn't good, you know, because I'm the size of a third year.

Nellie was standing behind her, giggling, while Alice and Mary stood a little farther back, staring at Lily with raised eyebrows.

The whole common room was staring at me as I awkwardly patted Lily on the back. Sirius, noticing my discomfort, yelled out, "Alright, everyone, we know, our favorite girl has returned. Get back to your books."

Everyone did as he said, though I noticed they all kept glancing furtively at me when they thought I wasn't looking.

Alice and Nellie dragged me over to the couch right in front of the fire, squishing me in between the two of them. Lily, Mary, and the Marauders, excluding Peter, all sat down on the floor in front of the fire.

They knew that I wasn't going to say anything, so no matter how much they wanted to know, they didn't mention anything about my absence. They seemed perfectly content to fill me in on what had happened, including an incident where Lily Evans herself had hexed Severus Snape.

Although I never would have told her, (Because she would have tried to hex me, too) I was quite proud. It was about time that Lily came over to our side.

"Well, Daelia, you should have fun trying to catch up." Lily mused. "We've been going over many things in Transfiguration, and you have enough trouble with Ancient Runes as it is. . . Though I guess you'll be okay for the rest of your classes. . ."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, she should. She's better than all of us at Charms. And Herbology. And Defense." His grin widened when Lily glared at him and he shifted a bit so that he was leaning back against my legs.

Lily likes to be the best at everything. And while I know that I'm extremely good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, I don't believe that I'm the best. Charms, however, is an entirely different story. Flitwick has told me many times in the past five years that I'm the most skilled Charms student that he's ever seen, and although I may have horrible luck, I've somehow managed to do incredibly well in Herbology.

I blame the books. The fact that I actually read them. . . Shudder.

Ancient Runes, on the other hand. . .

"One of you is tutoring me in Ancient Runes." I said firmly. "And. . . Probably Transfiguration." Lily opened her mouth, but I cut her off. "And if will not be Lily, because she'll be an overbearing freak who will write out a schedule for me that won't let me do anything other than study."

Sirius looked up at me and smirked. "Yes. . . No time for. . . extracurricular activities."

I smacked the back of his head, muttering, "Perverted git."

He pouted while Remus offered to help me with Ancient Runes. We started discussing what I'd missed a bit while James and Lily actually started to have a civil conversation, (No, children. Wait until December of next year. I refuse to lose that bet.) when I finally had to interrupt Remus. "Merlin, Black, would you stop moving so much?" I said, exasperated. "If you're going to use me as a backrest, would you at least sit still?"

He frowned. "You're too bony, Muffin. Why do you have to be so small?" He complained.

I snorted. "My boniness has never stopped you from using me as a pillow before."

His frowned deepened, though his eyes were sparkling with amusement as he looked up at me. "You've always been the boniest girl I know, but it's worse this year. We need to get some meat on you, Muffin."

I snorted again. "Why? So I can be a more comfortable pillow for you?"

Remus was watching us with an adoring but amused smile on his face. I glared at him and said, "So, how are things going with Mary?" To which his response was to turn bright red and mumble something about homework that needed to be done.

"You scared him off, Muffin."

I sighed dramatically. "Now why can't I do that to you?"

So there you go. Long chapter. So I expect you to review, since I seem to be only getting one-two reviews per chapter. Which I guess is better than nothing. . . I'm confused now.

But I really hope that this is better than the last chapter. And, if it is, then don't you want to review?