Hello. I'm not sure if anyone remembers me or this story after my ridiculously long and completely unplanned hiatus (oops). The only excuse I have is RL plain and simple and I hope anyone who still wants/wanted to read this story understands that. As for this, there is one, possibly two chapters to go and I'm working hard to get this wrapped up – I never intended to abandon it unfinished.
16: Wooing
The rain beat down relentlessly in sheets so thick that it cast a fake pre-dusk light around Hogwarts. Lengthy shadows crept in corners of the library and Lily looked up briefly as the librarian walked past her, lighting extra candles and muttering to herself all the while.
Lily grimaced and stretched out her arms and legs gingerly, wincing as one of her joints cracked with the sudden movement. A loud crash of thunder startled her and she was distracted for a moment as she looked out of the window. As jagged bolts of lightening tore periodically through the sky, the Forbidden Forest was lit up momentarily. Lily couldn't help but shiver slightly; it somehow looked more menacing through the haze of rain and dark clouds.
She yawned behind her hand and turned her attention back to the multitude of dusty books piled up on the desk in front of her. It was late September and Lily had spent much of the last three weeks in a complete whirlwind.
Following the reactions of both her friends and of James, she had resolved to continue hunting for the identity of the mystery man in the photograph alone. This was currently causing her a great deal of trouble, however, because in between classes, meals, homework and Head Girl duties, not to mention patrolling the corridors in the evenings with James, she found that the time that she had for herself was exceptionally limiting.
She was currently experiencing one of those very rare alone moments; it was early evening and, after a hasty dinner, Lily had managed to escape her friends' clutches and find solitude in the library. She sighed lightly, flicking through a few more pages of the book in front of her before shutting it gently and leaning back in her chair. She had to admit, it had been an incredibly long shot but she had been searching among a book depicting past Head Boys of the school.
Unsurprisingly, mystery man hadn't made an appearance. Lily felt frustration building in her again and she closed her eyes against the emotion.
"What're you up to?"
Lily's eyes snapped open at that familiar voice and she sat straight up in her chair, glaring slightly at James who seemed to have managed to sneak up on her and was currently sitting opposite her.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she admonished.
James only grinned. "Sorry. Were you asleep? Work load getting to you?" he teased.
Lily huffed in response and made to tidy the old Head record away discreetly underneath her Potions textbook before James noticed.
"I was just finishing my Potions essay," she lied, now shuffling around some more papers in attempt to tidy the disarray.
James was watching her with amused eyes. "I never realised you were so messy, Evans."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lily replied distractedly, her head stuck partially in her bag; now actually looking for the Potions essay… she could have sworn she had done it … "Ah ha!" She pulled it out of her bag triumphantly and met James's eye; suddenly blushing furiously at the laughter in his eyes.
"Stop it," she muttered, placing her essay on top of her mess. She looked up at him again, suddenly realising something. "I thought you had Quidditch practice tonight?"
James raised his eyebrows and pointed at the window. Lily followed his gaze and watched as another fork of lightening tore through the air, hitting the ground with a deafening crash. She jumped slightly.
She looked back across at James who seemed to be glaring at the weather.
"Didn't want to take the team out in that," he was telling her, "it would have been my fault if one of them was struck by lightening." He grinned at her and Lily rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, Potter. I know it's because you don't want to mess your hair up."
James laughed at that and lifted a hand to ruffle his already messy hair.
"Are you done?" he asked, watching her as she began to put some of her work back into her bag.
"Er-" she paused and glanced at him. She could do with some more time alone for investigating but who says she would be able to shake James off? "Yeah I suppose."
"Great," said James grinning at her. Was that all that boy did? "Come on; let's go back to the common room. I want to make the most of my evening off."
Lily assented, an evening off sounded nice …
They stood up and James added; "plus, I've hardly seen you all day."
Lily blushed as he smiled at her and tried to cover it up by laughing. "Come on then."
"I'll carry your bag," he said, pulling it off her shoulder and swinging it onto his own before she could protest.
They left the library, both sighing slightly in relief – they could talk normally again.
"So chivalrous," commented Lily with some mild sarcasm.
"I try," James said, throwing her a wink.
They fell into a comfortable silence and James took the opportunity to slip his free arm around Lily's waist and tug her closer to him.
"James!" she exclaimed as she was tugged against his body. His hand, where it rested on her hip, was giving her tingles even through her robes.
"Yes?" he questioned innocently, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses.
Lily couldn't help herself, she giggled softly.
"Something funny, Miss Evans?"
James stopped their walk and was now gazing sternly at her over the top of his glasses. Lily laughed harder and James's mouth twitched upwards as his façade fell down.
Lily heard a faint thump and looked down to see that James had dropped her bag. She only had a moment to comprehend this, however, because a split second later James had wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulled her body flush against his and was kissing her as if he would never see her again.
It took Lily, in her dazed state, only a moment to respond once she realised that James was kissing her, finally kissing her, like he hadn't in ages and she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her as they continued to kiss frantically in the middle of the corridor.
When they eventually broke apart they rested their foreheads together, breathing rapidly with their eyes still closed.
Once she had steadied her breathing Lily opened her eyes, watching James for a moment before she slowly slid her arms from around his neck and took a half step out of his embrace. James's hands tightened on her waist however, and he refused to let her move too far away.
"I've been wanting to do that for over a week," James said finally, smiling lopsidedly down at her.
"Oh my God," breathed Lily suddenly, only just becoming aware; "we were just snogging in the middle of the corridor!"
James laughed. "Ten out of ten for observation." When she continued to look distressed he added; "relax, Lily. No one saw us – we're not in trouble." He gestured with his arms at the empty corridor surrounding them.
"Alright," she said, after glancing around the corridor for herself. She looked back at James, he was watching her with a slightly hopefully expression on his face. "What?" she asked.
"I – um," he cleared his throat, "I was hoping we could do something on Saturday, just us, you know – a date." He scratched the back of his head absently and Lily knew he was nervous.
She knew he was going to ask her sooner or later, they couldn't just keep going on as they were – neither of them knew where they stood. She watched as he reached up his hand to ruffle his hair but found herself grabbing said hand mid-air. She brought their hands back down and James stared at her.
"I'd love to," she said, meeting his gaze and giving him a tentative smile.
James grinned unrestrainedly. "Really?"
Lily nodded and James gave her a quick hug.
"Brilliant," he said, still grinning at her as he picked her bag back up, entwined their hands and began pulling her towards the Tower.
Followmehome
Lily tapped her foot exasperatedly and glanced at her watch briefly before letting out a short huff of annoyance. It was half past ten and she was standing outside the portrait hole waiting, with growing impatience, for her tardy patrol partner. Just as she was about to give him up for a lost cause and patrol on her own, she heard the sound of running feet behind her. She whirled around just in time to see James skid around the corner at the end of the corridor and then continue to pelt towards her. She watched with her arms crossed and her eyebrows rose as he stopped in front of her and dropped his hands to his knees, wheezing slightly.
"Li-ly…" he paused to draw breath, "I'm sorry I'm late."
"Half an hour late, James!"
"I know," he said wincing slightly. He pulled himself back up to his full height and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I lost track of time."
"Doing what at ten at night?" she asked incredulously. "All your mates are in there." She jerked a thumb back at the portrait.
"Stuff," said James vaguely. "Look, I'm sorry alright? It won't happen again."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Try to take this seriously, yeah?"
"I'm serious!" he protested. "You have to admit, I did a good job at that meeting," he finished with a smirk.
Lily shook her head but smiled slightly. He was referring to the meeting they had run for the prefects shortly after returning to school where they had assigned patrol schedules and other duties.
"Come on," she sighed, "let's not stand here any longer or this'll take hours and I'd rather not be patrolling the corridors on a Friday night."
"Ah," said James, falling into step beside her. "Not even with me?"
Lily snorted. "You practically stood me up."
"I did not stand you up! Not there is even such a thing for patrolling."
"I was about to go without you," Lily replied, looking sideways at him so she could shoot him a little glare.
"Don't be mad at me," James wheedled. "I didn't do it on purpose."
"Yeah, I know. You're just naturally scatterbrained."
"I think I'm offended."
"Good."
There was a short pause before James spoke again. "So, am I forgiven?" he sidled closer to her and snuck his arm around her waist.
Lily sucked in her breath slightly and tried to control her rapid heartbeat as she reacted to the sudden close proximity. "Whatever."
James pulled her even closer and kissed her cheek gently. Lily felt a flush spread rapidly across her entire face at the brief contact and she wriggled away from him.
"We're supposed to be patrolling," she reminded him.
James's eyes were glittering, it must be fairly obvious the effect he was having on her. "So?"
"So, I thought you were taking this seriously?" she asked, bringing his own words back to him.
"I am," he replied and tried to come closer to her again.
"Oi," she said and put her hands up in front of her. "Tonight is patrolling, James. The date is tomorrow…"
"Oh, I know," he reassured her. He paused and pulled a tapestry aside, stuck his head in briefly and then carried on walking. "You weren't opposed the other day," he commented slyly.
"Well, I-" she spluttered. "Stop it," she said pointedly. "We should do this properly; you're supposed to woo me on our date."
James grinned at her as she fidgeted with her hands, feeling extremely flustered.
"What the lady wants, the lady gets," he said with a wink.
"You're a prat," she informed him.
"So you keep telling me," he replied easily, grinning at her.
They fell into a comfortable silence after that as they walked side by side along the dull corridors; Lily stuffed her hands into her pockets, feeling inexplicably nervous about the possibility of accidentally touching him as they walked. Such an idiot, she berated herself silently, you're going on a date with the boy tomorrow! Thought of the imminent date made Lily blush and she was thankful for the dim lighting; James had seen her blush enough to last a lifetime.
Forcing her thoughts in another direction, Lily found herself drawn back to the only other thing that was occupying her mind of late. She frowned slightly at the back of James's head as he twisted to peer into a little crevice in the wall. Should she tell him about her searching? He was the only other person who seemed to be as entangled in this mess as she was … had he changed his mind from the other week?
"James," she blurted out suddenly, her voice sounding unnaturally loud in the blanketing silence.
"Yeah?"
"I-" she floundered, struggling to formulate an appropriate sentence. "I think I'm, going a little bit crazy."
James laughed. Okay, maybe that wasn't the most appropriate sentence.
"In what way?" he asked teasingly.
"Shut up," she said, hitting him lightly. "That came out a little wrong."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, um, I-"
"Is it me driving you crazy?" James interrupted slyly.
"Merlin, James. I'm trying to be serious here!"
"Okay, okay. Sorry," he conceded, putting his hands up in surrender. "What is it?"
"It's all this business with my mum and…" she bit her lip, "I don't know … it's just … it's all I can think about sometimes, I can't get away from it."
James stopped walking and put a hand on Lily's arm to halt her. He caught her gaze and the suddenly serious expression in his eyes made Lily sure he understood what she was talking about.
He sighed a bit and moved his hand down her arm a bit to grab her hand. "I know this is horrible, Lily," he said quietly. "I'm sorry you've had to go through it at all."
Lily looked down at the hand now held in his. James moved his thumb across the back of her hand comfortingly. She pursed her lips together; would he be angry at her if she told him what she had been doing?
"Have the aurors been in touch?" he asked after a moment.
Lily looked back up at him and shook her head. "It's ridiculous; they should have found something by now."
"I'm sure they're doing their best, Lily."
"I know. It's just … so frustrating! I feel completely helpless and I hate it …"
"I know it can't be much fun but, Lily, you really have just got to let them do their job."
"But what if I could do something…" am already doing something…
"They know what they're doing," James said firmly.
Lily swallowed with difficulty. How could she tell him now?
"You just need to try and keep your mind off everything," James was saying, he smiled at her. "I think I can help."
He pulled his hand out of hers and draped it securely around her shoulders, pulling her close.
This time Lily didn't pull away, instead she relaxed into him and tried to stop thinking.
"Shall we get on with patrols then?" James asked cheerfully.
Lily laughed a bit and nodded her assent, allowing James to lead her through the corridors, firmly attached to her side all the while.
followmehome
"Okay, did he say what you would be doing?"
"Not a word."
"That's not giving me much to work with, Lily."
"It's not my fault!"
"Oi, don't shout. I thought you wanted my help?"
Lily sighed and flipped over on her bed so that she was lying on her stomach facing their wardrobe.
"I'm sorry, Jen. I honestly don't know what to suggest."
Jen huffed with exasperation as her head disappeared back inside the wardrobe. The pair had been in this situation for the past half hour, ever since Lily had conceded defeat and asked her friend for help in choosing what she was going to wear for her date.
"Okay," said Jen eventually, emerging from the wardrobe with an armful of clothes. "Let's just go simple but sophisticated."
"Alright," Lily agreed, dragging herself off the bed. That didn't sound too bad.
"These are your best jeans, yeah?" Jen asked, putting a pair of skinny jeans in front of Lily and stepping back slightly, cocking her head to the side.
"Yes." Lily took the jeans off her friend and draped them over her arm. "That's fine. Now, what else have you selected?"
Jen presented Lily with several plain tops and after a moment of deliberation Lily picked the green one which hugged her form nicely.
"Sorted!" Lily announced a moment later, having slipped into her chosen outfit.
"Shoes, Lily," Jen scoffed.
"Oh!" Shoes would definitely be useful. She looked down at her sock clad feet and then under her bed, grabbing several pairs of flat shoes and trainers and eyeing them critically.
"No!" Jen cried, looking scandalised as Lily picked up her trainers. She closed her eyes for a brief second and then snatched the shoes out of Lily's hands.
"Hey!"
"You can't wear trainers!"
"Why not?"
"Honestly, Lily, haven't I taught you anything?"
Lily rolled her eyes and waited slightly impatiently as Jen dove back in the wardrobe, muttering all the while.
"Trainers.. pfft… now where…aha!"
As Jen straightened up proudly she held out a pair of high heeled boots to Lily.
"Heels?" asked Lily, with a raise of her eyebrows.
"Yes, heels," said Jen impatiently. "Now, hurry up and get them on!"
Lily sat down on her bed with a small huff, pulling the boots on and stretching out her legs to see the effect. "I don't wear heels, Jen," she said, eyeing them dubiously.
"Well these are yours," was her friend's response.
Lily screwed up her nose, damn, she was right.
"Stand up!"
Lily did so, slightly reluctantly and teetered a little.
"I'm going to fall over!"
"No, you're not," Jen scoffed. "Don't be such a baby. Now, come here, I need to do something with your make-up."
Lily wobbled over and Jen rolled her eyes.
"Don't do anything mad," Lily warned her. "I don't wear much make-up."
"Yeah, yeah," said Jen, already summoning her blusher and mascara and eying Lily critically.
"I don't need blusher; I go red enough on my own."
Jen laughed. "True." She applied a few coats of mascara and stepped back. "You'll do."
"Thanks," said Lily dryly.
Jen grinned at her, stepping forward again to fluff up Lily's wayward curls and pull them around to frame her face.
"Ready?" she asked Lily once she's finished messing with her hair.
"What? Now?"
Jen raised an eyebrow. "Yes, now." She twisted her arm to show Lily the time and her friend jumped slightly.
"Oh my god. I didn't know it was seven now."
"Come on, you baby." Jen grabbed Lily's arm and tried to pull her forwards but she dug in her heels.
"Wait! I'm not ready!"
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not! I can't! I mean, what if… and I'm… I don't-"
"Breathe."
"I'm breathing," said Lily in a small voice.
"What are you panicking about?"
Lily shrugged slightly, attempting to take deep breaths to calm her pounding heart.
"It's just a date, Lily," said Jen in a soothing tone, "nothing to get worked up over."
"But it's James," Lily whispered. "And… he… means a lot to me," she finished, her eyes widening with the sudden truth behind her words.
Jen smiled at her. "So don't turn up late to your first date then!"
Lily took a deep breath and smiled. "God, Jen, you're right." She snorted with laughter. "I'm being ridiculous."
Jen laughed with her and looped her arm through Lily's affectionately.
"Come on then, I'll walk you down." The pair were almost to the bottom of the stairs when Jen started laughing again.
"What?"
"Why do I feel like I'm walking you down the isle?"
"Jen!" Lily giggled and felt her face burn with embarrassment just as they emerged into the common room.
"Here he comes," Jen managed to get out between her laughter and Lily's face only heated up more as James walked up to them, smiling widely and looking ridiculously handsome.
"Hello ladies," James said charmingly, flashing Lily a huge grin and a wink. "Am I taking both of you out?"
"I'm just giving Lily away," Jen managed to get out before she collapsed in giggles again, unlinking her arm from Lily's and pushing her towards James with a grin.
Lily stumbled slightly in her heels and James caught her arm, steadying her.
"Ignore her," she said, wishing her blush would disappear.
James only laughed and took Lily's hand, linking their fingers together securely.
"Have fun!" shouted Jen as James began to lead her away. Lily managed a quick goodbye and James waved over his shoulder as they made their exit.
"Here," said James once they were out in the corridor, waving his wand he produced half a dozen red roses which he handed to her with a flourish and a peck on her cheek. "You look lovely by the way."
"Thanks," said Lily with a small smile, admiring her roses as they walked. "Where are we going?"
"Wait and see," James responded mysteriously.
"We're not going anywhere we're not supposed to be, are we?" she asked dubiously.
James laughed. "Not really."
"Not really? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Lily," James said with a grin, tugging her hand to bring her closer to him, "stop fretting."
"I'm not fretting," she muttered, pointedly ignoring James's knowing grin.
"This way," said James a couple of minutes later, pulling on Lily's hand as she, apparently, started to wander off in the wrong direction.
"But the only thing here is the entrance hall," said Lily in confusion as they entered said area and continued to walk across it.
"Exactly."
Lily tugged on James's hand as they approached the great oak doors leading to the grounds, forcing him to stop. Where was he taking her?
"We can't go outside, James," she explained patiently.
"Why not?"
Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, you can't just go out at this time of night. Look, the doors are even shut."
"The doors are shut quite a lot, Lily," James said, shrugging. "It's perfectly safe, trust me. Besides, if we bump into anyone – which we won't – we can just tell them we were hunting down rule breakers." He smirked at her, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
"Oh my god," muttered Lily, shaking her head as she realised she didn't really have any objections to following him wherever he was going. "You've corrupted me."
James laughed boisterously and pulled her through the doors with a slight spring in his step.
"I knew I'd get to you eventually," he told her satisfactorily causing her to really roll her eyes this time.
"Don't go too fast," she said, coming closer to him, "I don't think these shoes were made for grass."
James chuckled again but conceded, slowing his pace to allow Lily to walk comfortably next to him as they headed off into the dusk.
"We're not going into the forest are we?" she asked apprehensively as she noticed the oppressive shapes looming in front of them.
"Now that would be dangerous," said James causing Lily to look up at him in alarm. "Of course not," he soothed, "we're nearly there actually." He steered them around the trees to a secluded spot which was like a little clearing but not actually in the forest.
Lily looked around them; she couldn't see the castle anymore or Hagrid's hut… or anything but James for that matter.
"Lil," said James patiently, causing her to turn back to him. "Why have you stopped? Come on."
Lily allowed James to pull her forwards without another word, starting to silently wonder whether James might just be a little bit mad, and was he bringing her out her to murder her?
She snorted almost inaudibly at her stupidity as she nearly fell over again; why did she wear these shoes? She was going to have to teach Jen that it was not always dating code to wear heels, especially when ones date planned to take you on a hike through shrubbery.
"Oh," she said softly as she walked straight into James. She had been so busy brooding she hadn't noticed that he'd stopped.
James grinned at her and she scowled a little back. "Is the hike over?" she asked pointedly.
James chuckled but nodded in the affirmative. "Worth it, no?" he then said, gesturing in front of him with wide arms.
Lily looked beyond her stupid date for the first time and felt herself, very reluctantly, agree that, yes, it was worth it.
James had led her to another small clearing that bordered on the lake – perfect, isolated location – and he had obviously been here to prepare because he had lain out a picnic blanket of all things and there was a huge basket (which she presumed held all sorts of food) and there were floating candles all around them and Merlin, it was amazing.
It was all too much.
She held her breath as her heart slammed in her chest; she couldn't believe he had done all this for her.
"You like it?" James asked, breaking the silence.
She looked back to him and was surprised to hear the unsure tone in his voice and see the worry in his face. He was as worried as she was.
Somehow that made it all ok. She smiled widely, feeling her beating heart calm to a speed that didn't quite feel like it was going to explode out of her chest and she was relieved to see James's answering grin.
They stood there like loons for a couple of minutes, just grinning at each other before Lily started blushing, realising just what she was doing.
"Er," she said, gesturing awkwardly to the blanket, "should we…?"
"Oh yeah," said James, breaking out of his grinning trance and grabbing her hand. He led her over to the blanket and they both sat down, getting comfortable.
Lily wriggled her bum a little, damn, this was a lovely blanket!
"It's really comfy," she exclaimed, "and…warm? It's warm," she laughed.
"I charmed it," was James's reply, smiling at her enjoyment.
Of course, he did.
"Would you like something to eat, miss?" James said, opening his basket and delving inside.
Lily laughed and crawled over to inspect what food he had brought.
The next couple of hours passed by quickly as they laughed and ate and just talked non-stop. Lily was glad that after the initial shock over what he had done, they both relaxed and got on better than they ever had. She didn't want the evening to end.
It unfortunately couldn't go on forever, and as the shadows from the candles began lengthening around them, James looked up and frowned unhappily.
"It's getting dark," he said, unnecessarily.
"Yes, it is," Lily said with a little smirk.
"Shh," James chastised her. "We need to get back," he finished reluctantly.
"Oh," she said in surprise.
She was shocked at how that hadn't even occurred to her.
James smiled at her disappointed face. "The grounds after dark isn't always the safest of places," he told her, "especially this close to the forest."
Lily looked around her; under the canopy of trees, the forest was already black and the shadows seemed to be creeping outwards, engulfing the lawns. She shuddered involuntarily.
"Come on," James said, scrambling to his feet and offering Lily his hand. She took it and he pulled her up, grinning when she wobbled slightly in her heels. Holding her hand tightly in his left, he took out his wand and waved it once, causing everything to fold neatly into the basket, and twice, causing the basket to disappear – presumably reappearing in his dormitory.
"Ready?" he asked her then, looking at her sideways.
Lily nodded reluctantly, feeling captured under his gaze. James didn't move and Lily felt her heart beginning to pound again as he stared directly into her eyes.
If he didn't kiss her now she was going to explode!
And with that thought she pitched herself forwards suddenly and jerkily and pressed her mouth hard against his. It took James less than a second to respond and he released her hand to wrap both of his arms around her securely as he kissed her back with urgency.
The kiss went on until Lily, dizzy with emotion and lack of oxygen, pulled away to breathe, gripping James's shoulders tightly as she struggled to lower her heart rate.
"Bloody hell, Lily," James muttered after a moment, pressing another brief kiss to her lips and letting out a breathy chuckle.
Lily smiled at him, feeling light and happy and not caring about the blush that she knew was staining her cheeks. It just felt so right.
"Lil," James started, curiously looking slightly nervous, "I have to ask you something because if I don't I think I might just explode or something." He paused and regarded her with what looked like hopeful eyes.
"Yeah?" Lily prodded him gently.
"I want… I mean," he coughed, "will you…be my girlfriend?"
Lily froze at his question. Will you be my girlfriend? Of course he asked her that. What else would he ask?
Will you be my girlfriend?
It felt right, remember?
And Lily found herself answering before she had really thought about it. "Yes," she said.
"Did you… just say yes?" James asked, widening his eyes at her.
Lily laughed and full out grinned at him, "Yes, James, I did."
James grinned back and kissed her again, hard and fast, before pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly. She closed her eyes and breathed him in, feeling beautifully content right there, in his arms.
followmehome
"Sounds like such a romantic evening," Hannah sighed, hugging a pillow to her chest and collapsing on her bed with a sigh.
Lily laughed at her friend but couldn't help agreeing with her sentiments. She had just finished telling her friends all about her date with James and was still glowing with it all.
"Why can't I find someone like that?" moaned Jen.
Clare rolled her eyes at Jen, ignoring her. "At least it took your mind off everything else, right? It's great to see you looking so happy."
Lily smiled back at Clare but her words tripped something inside her. It was like a switch; happy Lily/frustrated Lily, and damn it Clare had only gone and reminded her about all the other crap going on in her life. She had been having such a good evening!
"What?" said Clare dubiously, "did I say something wrong?"
Lily shook her head, feeling her huge smile fading for the first time. "I just… I'd just forgotten about everything else for a bit which was nice but…I have to sort it out, it's driving me crazy."
"No, you don't," rebuked Jen, sounding suddenly serious.
Lily looked over at her friend to see her sitting up and regarding Lily with narrowed eyes.
"I can't leave it, Jen," Lily said, frowning, "I have to find out who this man is!"
"No, Lily," said Hannah, joining in. "I thought we'd already had this conversation!"
"Why are you all treating me like an idiot?" Lily exclaimed. "I know this is important and no-one believes me!"
"Because you've got no evidence, Lily," said Jen reasonably. "We're just looking out for you; we don't want to see you hurt."
"Urgh," Lily muttered, ignoring the truth in Jen's words and simply scowling at all her friends. "What sort of friends are you anyway?" she snapped.
"Good ones," Clare replied, reaching out to touch Lily.
Lily frowned at her and got up off Clare's bed, out of her reach.
"Just leave me alone, please," she said plainly, ignoring the pointed looks her friends were giving each other and throwing herself onto her bed, tugged the curtains shut around her.
She had finally snapped.
Wrenching a piece of parchment and a quill out of her bag, she dipped hurriedly into her ink pot and began scratching furiously across her parchment. Her mum had the answers and damn it, she was going to tell her!
Dear Mum,
Sorry this is the first chance I've had to write to you; everything has just been so hectic! School work is a lot harder this year and I've had so much to do as Head Girl, I've barely had any free time.
There's only one thing to tell you really; and I suppose it won't surprise you, given all those comments you kept making over the summer. James asked me out tonight and I said yes, so we're…together now, I suppose. There you go, thought that would make you happy.
Before I go, I just wanted to ask you something
Lily paused, holding her quill just an inch away from her parchment as she screwed her face up in concentration; trying to decide just how she was going to phrase this. As much as she didn't want to hurt her mother (and admit that she had been snooping through her things), if the photograph did have something to do with what happened… well, she had to know who it was to determine that possibility.
As she began to put her quill back to the letter an errant thought made her freeze again. What if...? It was certainly worth checking about before she started accusing her mother.
With her mind still buzzing she jumped back off her bed and was half way to the door when Clare's voice stopped her.
"Where are you going, Lily? It's really late."
She froze and slowly turned, seeing all three of her friends watching her worriedly. Not wanting another fight, she shrugged and muttered; "Oh, er … just to the library. Need a … um… a book. I'll be back soon."
"But it's nearly after curfew."
Lily flashed her a slightly strained smile, "Head Girl, remember?" before hurriedly leaving the dormitory and slipping down the stairs.
