Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places that you recognize. Everything belongs to JK Rowling and the idea belongs to itsjulialol. I'm just finishing this story.

Sorry I haven't updated in SOOO long. I was busy a Lily/Louis one-shot for my friend :)

Chapter 9

It had been a few days since Nicholas had seen Lily. He'd be lying if he said he didn't care. In fact he did care; he cared a lot more than he was supposed to. Truth was, he had never met a girl like Lily. She was mysterious, independent, and intelligent. There no denying she wasn't exceptionally beautiful as well.

Anyway Nicholas was scanning the Slytherin Table for any signs of Lily at all. Lysander and Lorcan sat down in front of him, and started loading their plates with waffles.

"So Nicko, how're you hanging?" Lorcan asked grinning toothily.

"Is a certain red-haired beauty we all know and love, currently plaguing your thoughts?" Lysander commented grinning widely.

"Bugger off," He said irritated. "I haven't seen her all week and now it's Friday."

"Her beautiful green eyes that shine like emeralds of the sea." Lysander sing-songed.

"That makes no sense." Nicholas shook his head.

"Red hair the color of cherries that I could run my fingers through, while she moans my name." Lysander continued.

At that moment Lily plopped down next to him. "Hey guys, what are you doing?"

Nicholas and Lorcan both started snorting in their cereal.

"We were just talking about you." Lysander started turning red with embarrassment. "Uh, Lily you didn't by any chance hear what we were talking about right?"

Lily shook her head. "You know what; I'm not even going to ask."

"We were wondering where you'd been the full week." Lorcan raised his eyebrow at her.

Lily looked surprised, but she quickly transformed her face to an unconcerned expression.

"I wasn't feeling well." She said simply and continued eating.

"Uh huh." Lorcan raised an eyebrow. "Well, we've got to go." He grabbed Lysander's elbow and started to drag him away.

"We do?" Lysander looked confused.

"Yes." Lorcan and Lysander disappeared.

"So…" Nicholas felt very awkward.

"I have something to ask you." Lily drank some pumpkin juice and wiped her mouth. "If I needed help with something, would you help me?" Her eyes shining brightly; Nicholas knew he couldn't refuse.

"Yes." He mumbled.

"Good." She stood up and offered him her hand. "C'mon."

Albus lay in his bed. He was still reliving the events of last week. He would never forget the way she looked at him; and her words.

Why did you even bother coming down to look for me, if you were just going to be a jerk. Do you honestly even care?

Those words kept replaying in his mind over and over like a broken record. The way she looked at him; full of disappointment, rage, and sadness. He doubted he would ever get that out of his head.

Not only that; nearly the whole Slytherin house hated him. He had been jinxed, hexed, and cursed more times than he could possibly count. He'd never been hated before. It was a bitter foreign feeling.

He decided it was no use moping around, and decided to head down to the Common Room.

He was about to sit in front of the fireplace when a familiar head of waist-length golden blonde hair popped up in front of him.

"Hey Annie." He said dully. Annie Longbottom was the youngest daughter of Professor Longbottom and was a very nice and sweet 6th year that was a year below him.

"Hello Al. I was wondering if you'd like to play Gobstones with me and a few of my friends. You look down what's the matter?" She said softly.

"Nothing." He sighed. He really didn't feel like talking about it right now. "Let's go and play Gobstones." He followed her to where her friends were sitting.

Cecilia Wood had stood outside the kitchen. She didn't understand what was going on. Her mother and father had been screaming at each other for the past half hour.

"How could you do that? We have three children, I hate you. Just leave, God just go!" Her mother screamed.

"Katie." Her father said again. "Please."

Her mother started sobbing again.

Cecilia felt herself growing hot. Little bursts of flame popped up around her. Within minutes her whole house was engulfed in red-hot flames. She felt herself growing dizzy. She started screaming, she could feel the heart-wrenching indescribable pain. She heard her mother and father calling out for her. It was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

"Lily, this is crazy! What if we get caught?" Nicholas whispered furiously as they stepped into the Honeydukes Cellar.

Lily turned to face Nicholas. "Do you trust me?" She looked him in the eyes.

"Yes." He breathed.

Lily walked over to the trapdoor and tried to open it; it seemed like it was locked. She turned to Nicholas.

"Nicholas, you're learning how to apparate right?" Lily closed her eyes.

"You realize that I'm learning how to apparate. There's a slight chance I might mess up."

Lily walked up to him and put her arms on his shoulders and searched his face. "I trust you." She whispered.

They grasped each other's hands as Nicholas spun on the spot.

Lily and Nicholas fell on top of each other as they appeared in Diagon Alley. Lily stood up and dusted herself off.

"Wow, you're really accurate." Lily said as she looked up to a lively looking building with a bright neon sign and flashing different colors in the dark inside.

"Fred-za-mazing. The best club in all of Diagon Alley." Nicholas read off the sign in the front with a sardonic tone.

Lily ignored him, and pulled him inside the club.

Albus had decided he would go get a snack from the kitchen and go to bed early. He learned that he was absolute rubbish at Gobstones. Annie was nice enough to help him out a few times, but even then he lost miserably.

He was heading down when again the bubbly blonde bounced up to him. "Where ya going Al?" Annie asked sweetly.

"The Kitchens." He grumbled.

"I was a bit hungry; I hope it won't bother you if I come along." She smiled brightly.

Albus didn't have the heart to say no to her; partly because he didn't want to see the terribly sad expression on her face if he had said no, and because she was one of the few people who had actually been nice to him lately, but that wasn't really a surprise because she nice to everybody even people who didn't deserve it.

"Sure, I guess." He sighed, and they both set off towards the kitchen.

They were walking for a while, when out of the blue she asked him a rather strange question.

"What's your favorite color, Al?" She looked at him with her wide cornflower blue eyes.

"Blue." He said without thinking. "Why?"

She smiled slightly, but said nothing.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of him, and he bumped into someone.

"Albus, is that you?" Sarah Hartman looked at him. He didn't feel the pleasant shiver that he usually felt when she spoke to him this time, but he brushed it off.

"Oh. Yeah." He said feebly.

Sarah smiled at him and then she looked around, it seemed that when she saw Annie her smile turned into a scowl.

"Oh, and Annabelle what a pleasant surprise." Sarah sneered. Albus had never heard her sound so rude; but he just told himself he must be imagining things.

Annie bit her lip slightly, the smile on her angelic face curving downwards into a frown. "Call me Annie."

"Well," Sarah sniffed as she turned to him. "I needed to talk to you."

He stood there dumbly.

"Alone." She said pointedly to Annie, gesturing to her to leave.

"Albus and I were going to the kitchens, but if you really need to talk to him, I suppose…" Annie trailed off.

"Well, I guess I'll be going." She said as she turned around and walked away. Albus thought he saw a glimpse of tears sparkling in her eyes as she walked away. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest.

After Annie was gone, Sarah turned to him. "What a whore." She sniffed.

As far as Albus was as aware; Annie was not a whore. She hadn't slept with anyone, nor had she ever kissed anyone, and he was pretty sure she hadn't had a boyfriend yet. One thing he did know however was that many boys were in love with her as she was very pretty.

Then out of the blue Sarah turned to him and attacked his lips; she started to kiss him furiously. It took Albus a while to register what was going on. Sarah Hartman is kissing me. I don't feel anything for her though, the girl I've fancied forever and I don't like her anymore. Wait! She has a boyfriend.

With that Albus ripped her off him. "What the bloody hell Sarah, You've got a boyfriend." He shouted furiously.

She bit her lip. "Adam's in detention. He doesn't have to know." She looked at him, as she started tracing lazy circles on his chest.

"So you're cheating on him with me. Are you bloody insane?" He looked at her incredulously.

"Mmhm." She murmured as she unbuttoned his shirt, and started trailing kisses across his chest.

He pushed her off him. "You effing cheat. Get the hell away from me."

"All I want is one night. One night and that's it." She whispered. "I'm sorry Albus."

She shouted a spell. Al felt himself acting against his own will. She had trapped him inside his own body. She was forcing him to give his-self up to her. He was revolted.

"You cousin's club is amazing Lils." Nicholas laughed as he held a strange colored drink in his hand. He hadn't felt this free and happy in ages.

Lily laughed along with him, her voice sounding like tinkling bells. "Well Fred certainly has a flair for business and fun. I also needed to get away." She shouted as she danced with him.

It was an almost unreal sight. Blaring music, color-changing dance-floor, flashing lights, and a bunch of people all dancing, and laughing, and chatting the night away.

"I'm surprised your cousin hasn't told you dad or brothers." Nicholas shouted over the music and talking.

"He owes me, and he knew I needed to get away from it all." Lily shouted back.

"Why'd you bring me though, of all people?" Nicholas had been wondering that most of the night.

"Because you understand; you're the only one who does." She said so softly, that if he wasn't close enough he might not have heard it.

They danced and laughed nearly the whole night until Fred came around to inform them it was nearly two in the morning and that they should probably head back to Hogwarts.

Nicholas grabbed Lily's hand and apparated the both of them back to Honeydukes' Cellar.

She sat down on one of the crates of Cockroach Clusters. "I wish this could last forever." She whispered.

Nicholas sat down by her feet and looked up at her. "Well, you've never really lived till you've experienced everything."

They just looked at each other with comfortable silence hanging around them. Then Lily walked over to the crate that held chocolates and popped it open.

"D'you want one?" She asked Nicholas. He just laughed as he took a chocolate from her hand and popped it into his mouth.

They sat on the floor eating chocolate.

"Lily you have some chocolate near your lip." Nicholas said breaking the silence.

"Here?" She asked as she pointed on the corner of her lip.

Nicholas sighed it was now or never.

"No, here." He leaned over and kissed her.

She gasped a little before she responded. It was best kiss she had ever had. She supposed it was because he was Nicholas. Nicholas, who was sweet to her all the time; Nicholas who would listen and help her no matter what; he might've been flawed and scarred but she was too, and in her eyes he was perfect.

They broke apart breathing heavily. Nicholas thought it was the best kiss he had ever had.

"Wow. Now I wish this could last forever." He whispered in the dark cellar.

"Well, you've never really lived till you've experienced everything." She smirked as she repeated his earlier words back to him.

They both laughed.

"We should head back." Lily looked up at Nicholas. He nodded, this was probably the best night he'd ever had.

They both headed to the Ravenclaw Common Room under James' invisibility cloak.

Lily and Nicholas were lying on the floor of the Ravenclaw Common Room looking up at the starry, domed ceiling.

"Shouldn't you be heading back to the Slytherin Common Room, it's nearly three." Nicholas inquired as he turned his head to face Lily.

She just closed her eyes and smiled. "No, I like it here it's peaceful." She opened her eyes suddenly and looked at him. "I need to ask you something. I know I've asked way too much of you, but this is honestly important."

Nicholas looked at her questioningly.

"I got a letter from my mum on Monday." He looked at her concernedly. "She was explained where she was all these years. She told me where she was. I haven't forgiven her, but I have to go see her."

She continued. "I don't think I can do this alone though." She looked so sad.

So many people had let her down. He promised to himself he'd never let her down.

"I'll come with you." He assured her.

They fell asleep holding hands just like fairytale children on the Ravenclaw Common Room floor. They felt much lighter knowing they had someone to hold on to, someone who would never leave without a reason.

Review. Please seriously review. I've worked so hard on this chapter.

Sorry I updated so late. I was having the most massive case of writer's block.

Anyway, things are getting pretty serious. Albus is getting raped by the girl he used to like. Lily and Nicholas just had their first kiss. It seems Lily is going to go see Ginny, a situation just headed for disaster. It seems Nicholas doesn't know what's happened to his family yet, but when he does find out it's not gonna be good.

-Love Naomi