Sorry for how long it took to update. I'm horrible when it comes to updating fast… but the holidays are just days away and I'll have soooooo much more time then.

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous,"

–Ingrid Bergman

Chapter Thirty:

I needed to talk to somebody. I couldn't keep this locked up inside forever, and I definitely wasn't just going to sit here and wait for war to wage. I needed help – I needed my Marauders.

But sadly, Sirius was busy as per usual, Remus was still being angsty and Peter is an idiot, so I think that left me James.

It had been less than half an hour since I left Dumbledore's office, and I wasn't planning on returning to the hospital wing, or classes or my dorm for that matter, so instead I headed towards my spot in the rafters of the Astronomy Tower.

"What should I do?" I asked Marvin, but as always, he never responded, "I'm not meant to say anything, and I've never broken my word before… but I need help. I cannot sit by and watch the world burn,"

With a sigh, Marvin scrambled into my hoodie as I climbed down from the loft and onto the floor of the Astronomy Tower, the only class room not currently being used. It should be lunchtime soon, so I headed down to the Great hall.

I found Peter and James sitting together; discussing a new prank which usually would've interested me if there hadn't been heavier worries handing on my mind.

Without word, I grabbed the collar of James's shirt and pulled him backward.

"Hey, what?!" he flailed and I sighed.

"I need to talk to you," I said bluntly.

He stared at me in disbelief, "So you choke me?!"

I rolled my eyes, "Get over it, princess,"

"Aren't you meant to be in hospital?" Peter asked.

"Yes, now shut-up Peter, and James come with me," I clasped the cuff of his shirt and tugged him along.

When we were clear of the Great Hall he stopped and asked, "Has this got something to do with Lily?"

"Unlike you, not everything I do revolves around Evans, Prongs," I frowned.

"You seem… tense, what's up?" he questioned with genuine concern. This is why I liked James; he's like the brother I never had, and he could easily sense when his little sister was feeling a little highly strung, "Is it something to do with your…scar, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling fine, I just need to talk to somebody and you're the only person I could think of, with Sirius at the Hufflepuff table now and Remus avoiding looking at me…" I leaned up against the wall and folded my arms across my chest, "I saw something. Something I wasn't supposed to see… it was a meeting for a group called the Order of the Phoenix,"

James arched an eyebrow, "What? Are they planning something bad?"

I shook my head, "No, Dumbledore called it; there were Auror's, old students, Ariana's brother, some others, your parents too,"

"My parents?" this got his attention, "But… why?"

I gave him a grave look, "Because, James, war is coming, and we need to fight to survive,"

"I think this is it," James said with strain as he dumped a pile of old Daily Prophet's from the past few months on the table, "The librarian said we could keep any newspapers but the ones from the last week, but I have them in my room, so it's okay,"

"Should we get started then?" I asked and began scattering the newspapers across the table.

"So we're looking any odd disappearances or killings over the past month," James clarified.

I nodded, "Like the Carlington family. I'm pretty sure that was the work of Voldemort,"

"Maybe you shouldn't say that too loud…" James said hesitantly, looking slightly edgy, "You never know who could be watching…"

Shrugging I said, "I don't care. Right now we need to gather information; see where they are, find connections between the victims and the like,"

"Are you sure about this, Vix?"

"Yes," I nodded, "Let's begin,"

From then we worked in silence, creating piles of newspaper clippings; the higher it grew, the more edgy I became. So many people have died and it's flown right under the radar. How could nobody have noticed this before?

I paused, because that wasn't true, one had noticed; Dumbledore, and he took action.

Accompanied by the musty smell of the library and the stillness surrounding me, I forgot about time. My mind was too absorbed in the stories or little children being taken and people being killed in their own homes… so much chaos and destruction and pain, it made my heart feel like led in my chest.

By the time we were done and had cleaned up our mess, all that was left was a stack of cut out newspaper which I tied together with a string and slipped into my rucksack.

"Thank you, James," I said, my voice sounding strange after so long being silent. After reading all of those horrid stories… it left you feeling empty. Isolated. Like you couldn't speak. Shell-shocked almost.

"It's okay, I understand, it's just… we're two kids, how can we help at all?" he sighed, voiceing the thought I'd been avoiding in my own mind.

I shrugged, "All I know is that we can't just sit here and let it slide,"

"Of course we can't, but will it make a difference?" Prongs asked, doubt in his eyes.

"We can only hope… but anyway, dinner should be beginning soon," I tried a smile and we walked towards the door.

Finding our way back to the Great Hall through near empty corridors, we didn't talk. There was nothing to say.

Upon entering Peter called us over, "Hey guys! We've been looking for you for ages, what have you been doing all this time? You've been missing since lunch!"

"We were in the library," I stated plainly, while dumping my bag under the table.

"The library? You two? I'm surprised you know where the library is…" Peter chuckled to himself.

"Says you, Wormy," I smiled slightly, feeling a little less stressed the longer I spent away from the library.

I sat down beside Sirius, who was eyeing the two of us cautiously and with mild suspicion, but seemed to dismiss whatever though he had with a shaking of the head.

"So why were you guys in the library?" Sirius asked, seemingly nonchalant.

I eyed James and he quickly answered, "Transfiguration homework, I needed help and… we lost track of time,"

Looking down into my soup pretending to be exceedingly hungry even though I felt sick to my stomach, I could feel Remus's eyes burning into me. He could tell something was up and no matter how much he regretted accidentally scaring my face; he could see in our eyes something wasn't right.

"If you needed help, why was it Riley who dragged you out of the room?" Peter asked James suspiciously. This caught the attention of both Remus and Sirius.

"I had a charms question," I said flatly, nearly glaring at Peter for being the idiotic twat he is.

Remus raised an eyebrow, "You could have asked me…"

I felt rage bubble up from inside me, "No, I couldn't, because you can't even stand to look at me!"

Then, I stood up and stormed away. I didn't care that I'd left half way through dinner. I didn't care that everybody stared at me as I left. I could hear footsteps following me down the hallway, but I didn't want to talk to Remus right now, so I kept running.

Eventually, I found myself again at the Astronomy Tower. I never really knew why I always seemed to gravitate towards here, but then again, it seems I'd always loved high places. Treetops, roofs, towers… places where I can look down upon the world and watch it working away – unseen and unnoticed.

"Riley…" I heard a voice from behind. One that wasn't Remus's but instead Sirius's, "How are you?"

I sighed, "Pissed off, annoyed, angry, and whatever synonym you'd like to list after that,"

"That's not what I meant," he walked towards me and placed both hands on my shoulder, "You've been acting so strange lately… if there something wrong?"

I let out a dry laugh, "I just have a lot on my plate, I guess. A little too highly strung,"

He cocked his head to the side, "Hmm, so what's going on between James and you?"

"What?"

Sirius laughed, "You spent the entire day with him, plus, the two of you keep sharing all these little looks. Like you know something we don't know,"

I snorted, the notion was absolutely ridiculous.

"What? You think I haven't noticed how you've been acting?" Sirius grinned.

Laughing, I relied "You don't see anything outside Ariana-land these days,"

"Oi, that's not fair… her best friend died," Sirius frowned disapprovingly. I sighed. If only he knew… Caroline hadn't died, she'd been slaughtered. Brutally ripped apart, "And changing the subject doesn't do anything – I know all your tricks. I didn't even think James would get over Lily…"

I face-palmed my forehead with a deep sigh, "Let me make this clear; I. Am. Not. Dating. James. He's like a fucking brother to me so that would be incest, okay?"

Sirius barked a laugh, "Fine whatever, but seriously, why not? Remus is head over heels for you – it's obvious. Why not give it a shot with him? Why do you refuse to try?"

I looked down to my shoes. The same as the day I bought them years ago with the strawberry pattern and blue-lavender colouring, only battered and worn. As funny as it was to say, those shoes had grown up with me.

"Because… I don't love him," I sighed, sliding down the wall into sitting position.

Sirius sat down beside me, "You're looking for love at sixteen? I don't think that'll happen,"

"You love Ariana," I sated bluntly.

He fidgeted, avoiding my eyes, "I'm not sure if I love her – love's a very strong word. I know I care for her quite dearly, but love? No, I don't think so… But who do you love, Riley, I can see you're thinking of somebody right now, I know how you work."

"Nobody," I stated flatly.

"Really?" Sirius grinned, arching an eyebrow.

"It's none of your business," I snapped.

"You're my best friend; everything about you is my business, the sooner you learn that the easier this will be. Who is it?"

I glared at him, "It's none of your business, Sirius,"

"Don't you trust me?" He asked, looking rather hurt.

"I do…" I trailed off.

"So tell me," he whispered.

And then, in a split decision that should've been thought through much more thoroughly, I pulled him in for a kiss. One small kiss on the lips.

The kiss the changed everything between us.

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Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but it's so much fun torturing you all!