This chapter is dedicated to penguin1 for favoriting this story. A warning: this story gets rather dark in this chapter, and has some sensitive topics in it. I'm thinking that I should rate it M just in case…oh, and please review, because I've got the 3rd chapter written already! Reviews will post it sooner J
Chapter Two
Cut
"Come on Lils! We both know something's up. Even Remus thinks so!" Lily, Amorita, and Eve were all in the Girls' Dorm, talking. Eve's black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, so her ice blue eyes shone through, boring into Lily's skin.
"God, Eve! Why do you always have to do this? I was just egged, Potter attacked me, and, to top it all off, Black through a damn cookie at my head! If those aren't good enough reasons to be mad, then I'm screwed." Lily was really not in the mood to talk, as she was still going over everything that had gone on in the common room. She wanted to analyze every move executed, every word exchanged. Then she reached the tickling attack. What the hell was that all about? She couldn't figure it out; she was stumped. And for Lily Evans to be stumped was not a good thing; she just got frustrated and in a crappier mood than before. She heard a stifled gasp to her right and whipped her head around in time for her to see Eve holding her hand over her mouth, eyes wide. She nudged Amorita slightly and pointed at Lily's arm 'ever-so-casually.' Both Amorita and Lily glanced down, and Lily tried to hide the scars on her arms by yanking down her sleeves, but her friends had already seen it.
"Lily!" Amorita gasped, her chocolate eyes wide. Her purple bangs were shaken back so she could look Lily straight in the eyes. She tugged her friend's arms out from under the covers where she had buried them and rolled up Lily's sleeves, only to reveal long scars running up the underside of her arms. "How could you?"
"I never knew you were a cutter!" a masculine voice exclaimed worriedly from the doorway. All three girls snapped their heads around to look and see who was standing there.
"Remus?! How did you get in here?" Lily asked, frightened. She didn't want boys to be able to come in whenever they pleased. That was the whole reason they had separate dorms and that really cool enchanted staircase for the girl's dorm.
"Rope," he simply stated, holding up a long piece of rope. Lily shuddered at the sight of it, but pushed the thought away. Not now, she thought, hopefully never.
"Wait, Moony, what'd you say?" another voice asked from behind Remus, sounding slightly out of breath. Lily's eyes widened in shock; she knew that voice. She silently begged Remus not to say anything, and he gave her a small nod before turning to James, who was right behind him, trying to peer around his friend's shoulder at the amazing beauty that was his crush, Lily Evans. "Oh, nothing. I was just saying that I didn't know that we could get up here, but we did, so, yeah…"
James looked at him blankly for a few seconds before shrugging and saying, "Ok." Then he turned to Lily, but had no luck.
Lily quickly yanked down her sleeve as fast as she could, then hurried out of the common room and slid down the slide, formerly known as the stairs. She raced off through the portrait hole and didn't stop until she reached the Astronomy Tower. She slammed the door shut with a bang and locked it. Sighing, Lily slid down onto the floor and looked outside to see the lake frozen over and the grounds covered in a thick blanket of snow. It looked like a winter wonderland. While the serene scene should have made Lily calm and at peace, it just troubled her even more. She had just come back early from winter break, while most kids were still at home with their families, enjoying their holidays. She struggled with her thoughts for a while, until she couldn't fight the urge anymore, couldn't stop the horrible addiction. Lily reached into her robe pocket and withdrew a shiny silver blade.
* * * * *
Back in Gryffindor Tower…
James stared at the other four people in the Girls' Dorm- Eve and Amorita by Lily's now empty bed, Remus right in front of him, just inside the door, and Sirius on his left in the doorway. "Isn't anyone going to get her?" he asked, as Lily had just run out.
"No," Eve replied casually. "It was probably Lily just spazzing out. No biggie." She sat down on Lily's bed, examining her nails. Amorita glanced around the room worriedly, but she added no comments. James glanced down the slide, back in the dorm, and furrowed his brow. Before anyone could stop him, he jumped so that he was sliding down on his butt and raced through the portrait hole.
Urgh, dammit! James thought as he ran down the forth floor corridor. How the hell am I supposed to know where she went? Well, when I want time to think alone, I go to the Astronomy Tower… So off he went, almost knocking down a group of very small first years in the process. He finally reached the Astronomy Tower, only to find that the door was locked.
* * * * *
There was a flash of silver, the red of blood. Her tears fell onto her arm and mixed with her blood, seeping into her cuts and stinging like hell. There was a sudden knock on the door and she heard a masculine voice call her name. She gasped, the sudden noise startling her, and dropped her knife. Lily suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side as the dropped knife slit through her skin deeply. Groaning, she rolled over onto her side and slipped into unconsciousness.
* * * * *
"Lily! I know you're in there! You can't hide from me forever!" Just then James heard an awkward thump, like a wet body falling on stone. That just made him bang on the door harder and faster. "LILY!" When he got no response, he whipped out his wand and yelled, "Alohamora!" James kicked the door open and ran towards the lump on the ground, stuffing his wand in his pocket on the way. "Oh no. Oh, god no!" He noticed the knife laying next to her, the pool of blood that Lily seemed to be swimming in, the deep gash on her side, and then the cuts on her arms. Scooping her up bridal-style in his arms, James raced out of the Astronomy Tower to the Hospital Wing. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he did know one thing – Lily was so not okay!