warnings: strong language, adult themes, blah blah

twenty-seven - breathless

"Mary!" Lily clambers onto her friend's bed, pulling back the covers. "Mary, wake up. I need you." Her fingers work through the layers of blankets and push them down. "I've come to a terrible realisation."

Groggily: "What?"

Lily climbs in next to her friend and sighs dramatically. "I'm in love."

She opens an eye. "With who?"

Lily gives her a look. "Who d'you think?"

Mary begins to laugh. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know. I don't know I don't know I don't know. Help me. I'm a sad excuse for a person."

"Lil, he clearly likes you too," Mary says, rolling so she's on her side and can face Lily. "Just tell him."

"Mary, you're fucking useless. I can't tell him."

"Yes you can."

Lily shakes her head. "I can't. I don't even know if I fancy him."

"What happened to love?"

"Too little of it in the world, peace and all that. No, I'm not joking. It's only because he was opening doors for me and making me laugh in patrols tonight and he poured me a drink at dinner and you know how that normally irritates me when people - blokes - do that -"

"'Do they think I don't bloody have hands or do they think my hands are for one use only?'"

"- exactly. And he offered to help me with Transfiguration which I know he hates 'cause I made him tutor all last year and he never stopped complaining." Lily pauses, a little breathless.

"So, what are you going to do?" asks the brunette after a pause.

"But I don't know if I fancy him."

"You fancy him, Lil. You just told me." Mary pokes her friend in the side. "And it's bleeding obvious."

"Shut up. Anyway, that's not the point." Lily waves a dismissive hand. "The point is, Karen Parker is interested in him again, I'm sure. And you know there's history there."

"Define interested?"

"You know what I mean. I need to - I don't know. I don't think I could bear the two of them being all..."

"Together?"

"Yes."

Mary thinks for a moment. "Why don't you do what she does and take up Quidditch?"

"Mare, that's ridiculous. I'm not changing for him. He can have me the way I am." Lily pushes hair out of her eyes and rolls on her back. "Besides, I hate flying. What's so great about placing your life in the hands of a twig with lots of other twigs sticking out the back of it?"

"You seem to like it when James has got his Quidditch robes on."

Lily glares. "Well look at you, being all cute."

"I try. So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, do I? That's why I came to you, but you've been rubbish."

Mary kicks her. "That's rude. I could throw you out, you know. You've it your own bloody dorm, have you not?" Lily looks at her with wide eyes and a pout until Mary begins to laugh. "I say play hard to get."

"But that'll scare him away."

"Then you need to ramp it up a gear."

"Such a strange expression," muses Lily absently.

"I know. My dad says it whenever he changes to fifth. It's very annoying."

Lily snorts, then: "What should I do?"

"Don't pretend that you don't know what you're going to do, Lil."

"But it's bad, Mary. I think the first-years would faint if I did what I want to do to him when I see him tomorrow."

"You brazen hussy."

"It's awful, really."

"Tell me."

"I can't."

"Tell him."

"I can't."

"Fine. Get out."

Mary pushes Lily out of her bed and rolls over so she has her back to her friend.

"Oh, Lil?"

The girl in question pauses at the doorframe, a smile twitching at her lips.

Amused: "What?"

"You know that if you don't tell him you want to shag him, I will, right?"

"I know, Mare," Lily calls as she descends the staircase. "I know."