A/N: I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! I'm having a blast writing all this! Oh yeah, I've updated my bio and stuck my email address up so if any of you guys have any other comments or wanna shout at me when I'm slow on updates feel free to do so!

TO: Missmrprk, I've tried re uploading chapter 17, hopefully it will be okies now!

TO: ember marieclaire, Yupz, I live in England! :)


Lily left without returning to Brent. Her bag was still on the table but that didn't matter now. She had to get to Yoanna. Nothing but explanations would set her racing mind at rest and she hoped with all her heart that she was simply over thinking and stringing too many coincidences together.

Dreams, everything revolved around the damn dreams. If the book was right Yoanna's recurring nightmares may not be nightmares at all, but internal struggles of the mind against an external force. Someone was trying to break in! Lily shivered remembering her own dreams well; all the times she had suddenly woken up out of bed and in the middle of danger...leading her to the grave. With another shudder Lily shoved the memory of the mummified hand to the back of her mind. She could still feel the leathery skin stretched over the clawed hand, the runes on each ring on the finger...what importance could it possibly hold?


James picked at his food absentmindedly. A dull ache was growing to a steady pound in his temples and he was not in the mood to join in with the banter the rest of the students shared over dinner. He was beginning to wonder where the happy James of the old had disappeared to because the former had left nothing but a miserable old git. He'd dragged himself through the lesson that day and hadn't really paid any attention despite the constant warnings about N.E.W.Ts that the teachers sprung at them every now and again...often...every day...every lesson...

He had still yet to hear of the exact date of the Hearing. Sirius had practically dropped a bomb on them and now he couldn't help but wonder whenever a Slytherin passed them. Lily wasn't simplifying matters neither, he had always admired her courage to stand up for what she thought was right but it was damn right horrible when it was he that she was standing against. At that James pulled all brakes on. Lily should not be a factor at this point but even as these thoughts crossed his mind her red hair caught his eye as she entered the hall. Without intending to his eyes followed her as she made her way to their table apparently searching for someone. Whoever she was looking for wasn't there and she sat down beside Cerise her expression grim.

"Evans!" Sirius called out loudly and waved. He was in a jovial mood, which also meant that he had found a new source of amusement. People turned around to look and Lily felt that she ought to hide her face. "Evans!" he hollered again.

Cerise nudged her friend who had frozen with her spine rod straight. "He's calling you."

"I know." Lily said her lips tight.

"It will get worse if you ignore him you know." She warned. Either Sirius didn't care or he was determined to do whatever it was that he had in mind.

"You're not ignoring him are you?" Cerise was clearly enjoying herself.

"I'm trying very hard to."

"That'll be a first for him! I'd personally be running there right now." She amused her head lounging lazily on her hand while she looked down the table at him. "I must say that he looks devastating tonight."

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up. "His looks may be devastating but so is his stupidity." Lily stomped down the aisle between the two houses' table and stopped in front of the smiling Sirius with her hands on her hips. "What do you want, Black?"

His smile did not falter. "I have a little problem." Lily had to stop herself from correcting him because as far as she knew he had a big problem. She had to remind herself that she was being unfair. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions, it was not her place to question his or hold it against him.

"What is it then?" she asked, her tone softening a bit.

Black pushed some hair away from his eyes with an air of slyness about him. "Well actually, it's quite a big problem." He admitted.

"Go on."

Sirius pointed at James all of a sudden. "I think he's broken." He said in a manner of telling someone that a toy of his was broken. "Can you fix him please?"

James looked startled. "What are you playing at Padfoot?"

Sirius ignored him and continued to speak to Lily. "Well you see, ever since you guys argued this morning he's been sulking-"

"Yeah right!" James grumbled but looked away.

"It's true! Prongs just admit it! You're one hair away from throwing a tantrum!" In one swift motion he got up and sidled up behind Lily just as James picked up a plate of mashed potato. Lily automatically picked up a platter of fruit in defense.

"Human shield!" Sirius shouted and held Lily firmly in front of him. James hesitated which lead to his downfall. Sirius had grabbed a hand full of food and lobbed it straight into James' face-

James sucked in a breath and wiped away the sauce that dribbled down the side of his face. Lily burst into a fit of giggles before she could stop herself. "This means war!" He tossed the contents of his plate at them. With a shriek Lily used the platter to block most of it off and the mashed potato splattered over the table and on quite a few heads.

"Food FIGHT!" Sirius bellowed and began to load up on the edible ammunition.

The last food fight Lily had been in was with Petunia when she was five and it nowhere as large as a scale as this. In seconds the whole hall was in an uproar. The students began to pelt each other with anything they could get their hands on. People screamed, shouted but mostly laughed as food attacked their friends until they also ended up with hamburgers in their faces.

James and Lily had ended up teaming up and semi strategically threw their food at Sirius. He retaliated with fists full of chips.

Upon hearing the masses of laughter Peeves shot straight into the hall. Not even he could remember the last time there had been a food fight there. He wasted no time and soon he was sending cannonballs of mixed food into mess knocking students straight off their feet.

It took the combined efforts of most of the staff to stop the tremendous fight and not long after Sirius, James and Lily found themselves standing in front of a very angry McGonagall. She practically blasted them and did everything up to threatening to denounce their Head Boy/Girl status and even waved a fist at Sirius. Afterwards she deducted a couple more hundred points leaving Gryffindor somewhere way below the zero mark and stomped out of her office muttering at the disgrace of having minus points.

In her place Dumbledore swept in and sat down at her desk with his long fingers tapping gently on the dark wood. Having most of their good mood deflated by the McGonagall and the prospect of three weeks worth of detentions the three students braced themselves. But after a few moments of inspecting them with his bright, twinkling eyes he merely smiled.

"Now tell me, who won?" Sirius, James and Lily exchanged looks of surprise.

Five minutes later they left the office with much of their good moods restored and their pockets stuffed with sweets. Now all that was left was their first of the many tasks set as part of their punishments: the mammoth job of cleaning the Great Hall.


A/N: Wow, I really started this chapter not quite knowing where it would go. I really did think that it would have ended up all dark but I guess I'll save that for the next chapter! I think something big might happen soon! Wasn't it nice to see them xXx