"Avery, you don't have to do this.."
He stares at me, never once breaking eye contact. "Oh, but I do. You see, if I don't, he will kill me. I quite like my life, and I don't want it to end."

I grit my teeth and stand steady, waiting for him to kill me. Waiting for the end.
He opens his mouth to say the words. The final words I'll ever hear. 'Avada Kedavra'.

But they don't come. Instead, I hear, "Expelliarmus!"
Averys wand flies out of his hand, and he looks past me, an angry look on his face.

"Potter," He drawls. "run off to your red haired girlfriend like a good little boy."
James comes to stand by my right side, Peter appearing on my left.
Averys gaze travels from James to Peter.

His eyes light up. "Nice to see you again, Peter."
He leaves, and James turns to Peter. "What did he mean by that?"
Peter shakes his head from side to side. "I don't know. I don't know!"

"Peter, stop shaking your head before you get a concussion!"
Peter stops shaking his head and I watch as Avery walks out of sight.

"What were you talking about?"
"What?"
"You and Avery. What were you talking about?"
"Well, before he tried to kill me, he tried to get me to join the Death Eaters."

"We have to tell Dumbledore!"
I shake my head. "What can he do? He knows what's going on, and he said he can't stop it. It would just be a waste of our time."

"Fine," James says with annoyance. "but stay away from Avery."
"Oh, I plan to."

-x-

"He did what?"
"I'm going to kill him!"
"..shove his wand where the sun-"

"Guys!" I shout. "Look, I'm fine. I'll just stay away from him."
"You think that changes anything? He tried to kill you, Aria! Doesn't that affect you at all?"
"Of course it does!"

"Not from where I'm standing! You think you can avoid him and everything will be fine? Because it won't!"

It's then that I realise that everyone else had left the common room, and it was just Sirius and I.
"Are you ok?"
"What do you think? Someone just threatened to kill me, and here you are shouting at me! So no, I'm not ok!"

He takes my hand in his, and runs his thumb over my fingers. "I'm sorry. But you didn't seem like you really cared."
"Well, I do." My vision goes blurry with unshed tears, and when I blink, they roll down my cheeks.

Sirius pulls me forward, and I rest my head against his chest. He strokes my hair, and tells me that I'll be fine. That he won't let anything happen to me. And for a moment, I believe him.

I wipe my tears away, and I step back and draw in a breath.
"Ok?"
I nod. I surprisingly felt fine, now that I've cried. Like the tears washed away the anger and pain.
He kisses my forehead. "Yeah, you're ok."

-x-

"It feels like we haven't seen each other for ages."
Lily and I are currently walking down Diagon Alley, looking for school supplies.
"Well, we have been busy."
"I know, but I miss you. We need to see each other more."

"We see each other in classes and Order meetings."
"It's not the same!" Lily pauses to look in a shop window. "In the meetings, we don't talk. You just sit in the corner reading books!"

Well, I guess that's true. I guess reading about other peoples lives makes me forget about my own. Even if they are fictional.
"So, how are things with you and James?"
Lily pursed her lips. "Ok. We're getting there, you know?"

I smile. "That's just what James said. You two are more similar than you realise. You should give him a chance."
"I am! Aren't I?"
"Go on a date! He's always asking you on dates. Next time he asks, agree, ok?"
She sighs dramatically. "If I must."

-x-

Later that night, I am restless. Sleep eludes me, and I toss and turn until Marlene tells me to keep still or get out. I chose to get out.

I decide to wander about the castle. I don't know how many coridoors I walk down, or how many classrooms I pass. I don't know why I am acting this way. I have the feeling like I've forgotten something.

As I'm walking down one coridoor, I pass an arched wooden door that I have never seen before. Intrigued, I slowly open the door, looking down the coridoor when the wood of the door groaned.

There is nothing in the room, apart from old cobwebs in the corner and spiders crawling around on the floor. The moon shining through the windows casts shadows all around the room.

And a mirror. Standing right in the centre of the room.

It is huge. Its frame is bronze in colour, and it is almost the same size as the room in height. Ingraved across the top frame are the words:

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

I step towards the mirror, and at first I see only myself. Then people start to form either side of me, as if they are ghosts appearing out of thin air.
As the figures start to come into focus, I recognise the two people immedietly.

I look around behind me, expecting to see them standing behind me. But they are not there.
I turn back to the mirror, and it becomes clear to me. The people in the mirror are not behind me, but in the mirror itself.

Sirius and Remus.

-

Hello! So, here is the next chapter! I have an exam on Monday, so I might not be able to update this weekend. Stupid exams taking up my writing/reading time :(

I just found out that I'm going to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London in July! Anyone else reading this story going?