A/N Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed so far, it really means a lot and inspires me to write faster :) I am writing this on Saturday morning, but I am afraid it might be a while before you read it, as our internet has died. So I apologise if you have had to wait a long time, but I aim to have quite a few chapters written by the end of the day! Read and Review to make me happy!

Disclaimer (forgot to do this the other day….oops) I own nothing that you recognise, J.K.R. owns the toys, I'm just raiding her toy box.

"Sir, it's time for me to go to Kings Cross."

Lily stood outside his office door, her trunk in one hand and her brand new owl, Isla, on the other. He had been a gift from one of her clients so she could write to him while she was at Hogwarts. It was a shame that he was a balding, plump man who reminded her of Vernon Dursley, otherwise she may have been flattered. Edmund had insisted, however, that since he had made the request, Lily had to fulfil it, otherwise she wouldn't have a home come next summer. Edmund expected her to still make him money from Hogwarts, but now that Lily was finally escaping, she had other ideas.

"Oh yes, come in LilyRose. I have some things to give to you for your work at Hogwarts." She opened the door and stepped in, leaving her trunk outside. Isla immediately flew over to the perch by Edmunds desk, and Lily was happy to have her arms free for what she was about to do.

"I wanted to talk to you about that Sir." Her voice came out stronger than she felt. Then again, she had had a lot of practice with acting stronger than she felt. "I don't want to do any work for you from Hogwarts."

Edmund turned to face her, his face a stone cold mask. Fear trickled down Lily's spine as he flicked his wand, the door slamming shut behind her.

L J L J L J L J L J L J L J L J L J L J L J L J

James Potter had had an awful summer holiday. He had really thought he was getting somewhere with Evans last year, but she hadn't contacted him once. He had owled her multiple times, writing her long notes about his summer, and spilling his heart out about his little sisters illness. He had given himself to her in those letters, all but begging her to reply. But she never had. His family summer BBQ had come and gone and he was starting to get worried.

The second Rowan had walked through the door he had bombarded her with questions.

"Have you heard from Lily? I think she's in trouble, she isn't responding to my letters, and she hasn't contacted Remus or Sirius either. Rowan please she might be in trouble!"

She had merely passed off his fears, saying that Lily was having a really busy summer; she had found a job and still wrote to Rowan once a week, even if her letters were brief. She was fine, and James had to calm down.

This did the opposite of calming James down. Now he knew it for sure, his heart was a mess. Lily Evans was avoiding him.

His mood had lifted slightly when he had received his Hogwarts letter. Head Boy. His parents had been so proud, it had made his mother smile for the first time since Katie had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Sirius had laughed at him, asking him how he had managed to dupe Dumbledore. Remus had chuckled, wondering what Dumbledore was up to. James had just been ecstatic, because there could only be one girl worthy of Head Girl. Lily Evans. He would have another chance to win her over, he had been so close last year, and now he could show her how much he had changed.

James looked around the platform, looking for the red head. But it wasn't there. He spotted his other friends, Sirius had already run off to fawn over Rowan, his black hair easily spotted beside her blonde. Remus was talking to some other 7th year girls, Hufflepuffs, making them swoon slightly. Frank and Alice were locked together in an embrace just behind the marauders. Peter was nowhere to be seen, but that was happening more and more these days.

He was just about to walk over to them when a flash of red darting in to the train caught his attention. Lily.

He ran through the crowd, pushing younger students out of the way to get to the train. In a moment of clarity he flicked his wand behind him, summoning his trunk to follow him. He jumped on the train, calling her name. But she was gone again. He scanned all the compartments as he walked quickly down the train, his trunk bumping along behind him.

Soon he reached the end of the train, and no sign of her. Anger seeped through him as he slammed his fist against the wall. Resting his head against the wall, he stood in silence, listening to the sobbing.

The wall beneath his forehead was shimmering. Someone had concealed the door with magic. Lily.

Muttering the counter-charm, James placed his hand over where the compartment door would reappear. And it did. He opened the door quickly, his eyes focusing on the red-haired beauty curled under her robes in the corner, her head in her hands. She flinched as he closed the door, her gaze rising to meet his.

James' heart broke as she shrank back in to herself. This was not the Lily he had known for the last 6 years. This girl was merely a shell of the woman he loved.

"Lily it's ok, it's just me love. What's happened?" he tried to keep his voice gentle as he stepped towards her.

"James I need you to leave." Her voice came out surprisingly strong, despite the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What? Lily, you need help, I've been so worried about you, and you're not exactly showing me that you're fine right now."

Lily took a second to gather herself, before standing up angrily. She couldn't allow herself to get close to James Potter again. It was simply too dangerous. But he looked so gorgeous standing there, so concerned for her. But no, she couldn't be weak, Edmund already knew too much, she couldn't let on how much she…no. she couldn't even think it, it would put James in danger.

"James please. I have had a lot of time to think over this summer, and I don't want anything to do with you. You haven't changed a bit since first year, and I am not going to allow myself to be hurt by you. I know about the bet you had with Sirius, you got your 10 galleons, and now I want you to leave me alone. I don't want you to say another word to me for the rest of the year."

She watched on as his face sank. Suddenly James Potter looked very young to her, and unsure.

"Lily…"

"James, I mean it, if you don't get out of here right now you're going to regret it." She pulled her wand out of her pocket, standing up straight for the first time. She had to appear strong, even if she did not feel it.

James raised his arms, showing her that he was unarmed. Suddenly his eyes fixed on her arm, and the bandage that was peeking out of her robes.

"Lily, what happened to your arm?"

Lowering her wand, Lily started pulling down her sleeves, suddenly looking much younger to James. Her gaze left his and looking down to the floor.

"My neighbour's dog bit me, it's nothing, I just couldn't find the right healing spell." James could hear the blatant lie in her voice. He took a few steps forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her sleeve back. The bandage ran all the way up to the middle of her forearm, and bruising was rubbing the rest of the way up to her elbow.

"Lily…that's not a dog bite…"

She shuddered as his fingers traced her skin, reminding her of the one time his lips had touched hers, that perfect moment. But he had ruined that moment. He wasn't worth her time, she could get through this without him.

"Please, flower, tell me what happened."

"I can't." It was barely more than a whisper, but James heard it.

"Lily I want to help you. There's no way I am going to leave you alone while someone is hurting you. I can protect you, I'll be with you all the time, I'm head boy so we will be sharing a dormitory. Tell me who did this to you, love, please."

"I don't need your help, James potter. Now kindly leave." In a second she had her wand out again, flicking it with immense skill, pushing him backwards and out of the compartment.

She could hear him banging on the door, but chose to ignore it. Settling down, she started looking over the list that Edmund had given her. It consisted mostly of Slytherin boys. She shuddered slightly, before reading the letter Edmund had given her once more. She had no choice but to do this, he could ruin her in seconds. At least she knew that the boys had been sworn to secrecy when they signed up. As long as she was careful around Potter, no one would know about her night time dealings. And he could never find out, she dreaded to think what he would do if he did.