I don't get much sleep; I'm not actually all that tired, since I slept most of yesterday and the day before. Instead I compile a list. Lists are great, they really are.

TEN THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE

1. Actually get an O on a homework assignment
2. Fly again
3. Go skinny-dipping in the Great Lake
4. Learn to burp the alphabet backwards
5. Get a tattoo
6. Have sex
7. Get a hangover
8. Go streaking at a Quidditch game
9. Blow a bubble larger than my head
10. See Jackson again

The list shouldn't be too difficult to complete; I could probably do at least three of them in one night, if push came to shove. I fold the list up and stuff it in my suitcase, under all my socks and underwear, where nobody will go looking (hopefully).

I lay back in bed, not thinking anything really, just lying there. I'm completely zoned out when a sound startles me out of my trance: the door's opening! It creaks; I hear quiet footsteps. I close my eyes, pretending to be asleep, not daring to reach for my wand. The footsteps draw nearer; I can sense someone looming over me.

"Max?"

My eyes shoot open and I sit up so quickly the blood rushes to my head, temporarily turning my vision fuzzy. Once it clears I see James, in his adorable navy and gold pajamas, his hair even more ruffled than usual.

"Max?" He asks again. I scoot over, making room for him, and he slowly sits beside me. Without a word he reaches up, and strokes some hair out of my eyes, his face serious. He leans slowly forward, until I can make out every scar, every freckle on his handsome face. His eyes flutter shut before mine do, thick dark lashes against pale skin; his lips brush lightly against mine, not staying there long. He looks at me questioningly, as if for confirmation. I pull him to me again, and this time the kisses are harder and faster, and shorter in between.

Our breathing grows ragged, and I know I should stop, should rest my lungs, but I don't want to. I can't. But I have to. I pull away, breathing strained, and look at James, whose chest is heaving, his face flushed in the moonlight.

"I came to check on you," He says. "To make sure you're okay…listen, Max, I don't think Lily was the one to hurt you."

"I know," I say. "I don't think so either." I don't want to talk about Lily, dammit! "How did you get up here? I thought boys couldn't get into the girls' dormitories."

He grins wickedly, his eyes mischievous. He leans in, so that his lips are almost touching my ear.

"It's a secret," he whispers, his warm breath giving me goose bumps. He kisses my neck, lips warm and soft; I sigh, my eyes falling shut.

"You should go," I say sadly, because I know it's true. As much as I want him to stay all night, I know it won't do me any good to ruin my lungs.

"In a little," he says, his mouth finding mine again. We kiss for what feels like hours, until the sun starts slowly peeking into the room, drenching everything in a soft, golden light. We're lying next to each other, his fingers stroking my face, my hair, and I'm so happy I swear I would float if you threw me out the window right now.

"Now you should really go," I say softly, too relaxed to move.

"But I don't want to!" He says, giving me a quick, light kiss. "I really like you, Max…" He kisses me again, and I smile against his lips.

"I really like you, too," I say.

Suddenly the other girls are stirring; Hattie is the first one to sit up, rubbing sleepily at her eyes. I tense, but James stays relaxed.

"Max, is that you?" She asks, yawning.

"It's me, alright," I say.

"OMIGOD!" Another voice screeches; I'm guessing that it's Brigit's. "Is that a BOY in your bed?"

"No, it's a girl," I say sarcastically. "Of course it's a boy! Sheesh! James, say hello."

"Hello," He says cheerfully, turning to look at Brigit. Her face turns bright red and she stutters some sort of greeting, before running into the bathroom, probably to fix her hair.

Amber and Manda just turn around and try to go back to sleep, but Hattie jumps up, looking excited.

"Ooooh, you two are so cute!" She squeals. "How long have you been in here, James?"

"Ummmmm…" He says, looking over at me. I grin.

"Long enough," I answer, sitting up. "Okay, come on lover boy, let's go get some breakfast," I say, pulling James up. "You can go wait for me downstairs, right? I have to change."

He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses it, nods, and then heads downstairs. The minute he's gone, Hattie's happy-look falls, and she plops down on my bed, looking somber.

"Well, if that wasn't the biggest mood-swingin' display of bi-polar disorder I've ever seen, I don't know what would be," I say. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, you really don't know?" She looks almost pityingly at me.

"Know what?" I ask blankly.

"I was sure you at least suspected…about Jimmy…well, I think I'll let you figure it out for yourself."

"What about Jimmy?" I ask, frowning. How did Jimmy get brought into this conversation? Hattie just smiles that small smile of hers. "Fine, don't tell me! What should I wear?"

"Well, it's a Saturday, so you can wear whatever you want…I mean, I guess you still have that detention later, right?"

"Oh…yeah…" My mood lifts even higher. I get to fly again! Yipeeee!

"Hey, listen Max…I saw something, when you and Lily had that fight. I think I know who hurt you."

"Who?" I ask, not really caring.

"Severus Snape."

"Why? I didn't do anything to him!" I say indignantly.

"Well…he has this thing for Lily; everyone knows it. Everyone but Lily. Anyway, he probably was trying to protect her."

"Yeah, well. Whatever. I am sooo over it." I yawn, bored. "Anyway, he needs to mind his own damn business. Sheesh, I can't believe a stranger tried to kill me!"

"I think you're being a little dramatic," Hattie says softly, grinning. I chuck a pillow at her head.

"I'm thinking I'll go for comfortable instead of hot. What say-eth you, Hat-attack?"

"It depends on what you consider to be comfortable."

I pull my pink hoodie out of my suitcase; it's all the way at the bottom, wadded up. I shake it out and pull it on over my black Battle of the Bands tee, and then slip on some old faded denims and my black and white converse shoes.

"Viola!"

"Yeah, um…well, on the bright side, you could definitely do worse," Hattie says, but she doesn't look impressed. Oh, well. I skip into the bathroom to do my hair and make-up. My hair is kinda messy from all the…erm…moving around last night, so I just pull it up into a sloppy side-ponytail and am done with it. For my make-up I don't do much either, just a dab of mascara and a smear of lip gloss, and I'm ready!

"Man, I hate people like you. You could wear a paper sack and still look perfect," Hattie says, looking annoyed at me.

"You are so full of it!" I laugh. I mean Hattie is way prettier than I am, especially at first glance. Her long, dark hair is never frizzy or messy-looking, for one thing. She's really tan, for another. She has a sort of exotic look about her, with large, slanted eyes the color of dark honey, and long black eyelashes. "Hey, Hattie?" I ask, curious.

"What?"

"Where did you get your eye color?"

"At the corner store, of course," She rolls her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're a really…unique color. It must run in the family, right? Which side?"

"My mother's. Her whole side of the family was Bohemian; they lived in France. My dad was born in Russia."

"Well, that explains the accent," I say, grinning. She just shrugs. "Okay, come on!" We leave the common room, me happier than I have been in a long time. There are about ten people in the common room, and James definitely isn't one of them. But Jimmy is.

"Jimmy!" I walk over to him; he's scratching something down on some parchment, probably homework. "Have you seen James? He came down here about fifteen minutes ago." Jimmy looks up, scratches his head.

"Oh. Yeah. I saw him," He says vaguely, going back to his writing.

"And?" I ask impatiently. "Where is he?"

"Newsflash, Max. I'm not your boyfriend's babysitter." He collects his belongings and stalks off, up to his dorm room. Hattie comes beside me, shaking her head.

"Please tell me you know what's going on here," She says. I frown. What?

"Enlighten me! Why is he so pissy today? Sheesh!"

"Because he's jealous!"

"Why the hell would he be jealous?" I ask, still confused. I'm starting to think something reeeally weird is going on here.

"You were right," Hattie says sadly, shaking her head. "That sorting hat was one cruel bastard putting you in with the smart kids."

"I resent that!" I scowl, turning towards the exit. "Let's go find James."

"Are you sure you don't want to—"

"Hattie!" I interrupt, eyes wide. "Please!"

"Okay, okay! Let's go."

And we're off, on a mission!

The halls are practically all deserted; it's the weekend, and people are chillin outside. I don't blame them. Anyway, my point is, that that's exactly why it's weird when we hear two voices having a heated argument.

"Quick, behind here!" Hattie ducks behind a large potted plant, dragging me with her. I sort of fall on the way, and get dirt all over my hoodie. I'm about to swear when Hattie clamps her hand over my mouth and hisses for me to be quiet. "Shut up and keep hidden! This is something I want to hear!" I look to where she's pointing, where the angry voices are coming from.

"How could you? I've let it slide before, I've made excuses, but this time you took it too far!"

"Lily, please—"

"No! I'm tired of this! Did you know McGonagall suspended me from my Head Girl duties?"

"Lily!" I gasp, finally realizing why the voice sounds so familiar. "But who's with her?"

"Shhh!" Hattie whispers, looking exciting. "It's Snape!"

"What's that sound?" Snape asks. Suddenly, everything freezes. Not literally, but, like, both he and Lily stop talking, and come around the corner. I hold perfectly still, trying to keep my breathing shallow and undetectable. "Who's there?"

He's scary. I mean, he isn't as ugly as I pictured him to be, but he's certainly not good looking either, and looks like he wants to kill something, possibly even a someone. He walks toward us slowly, looking around, wand raised. I decide that I have no choice but to show myself. I put my finger to my lips, telling Hattie to stay hidden, and then pop up, laughing nervously.

Lily and Snape literally leap back in surprise. I look down at myself; I'm covered in dirt and small pieces of fern.

"Well, this is exceedingly awkward," I say, trying to put a smile on my face and look nonchalant. "Fancy—er—seeing you two here."

"What are you doing here?" Lily asks coldly.

"Funny you should ask…just a little check up on—er—soil conditions—a science project. Gotta run!" I hurry away, knowing they'll follow me. And I'm not disappointed.

"Why were you spying on us?" Snape asks. He has a low, unpleasant way of slurring his 'r's together. I shudder.

"I wasn't! I told you, I was just—"

"You should really," Snape starts, grabbing my arm, "Mind your own business. For your own safety."

"Is that a threat?" I turn, a weird feeling of-I don't even know what—flooding my chest at the sight of Jimmy standing there, looking furious. Snape lets go of my arm like it's burning him, and takes a step back, raising his arms.

"No harm," Snape says, but his eyes tell a different story. "Come on, Lily, let's go."

Lily stares at him for a moment, then looks over at Jimmy and shakes her head.

"No thanks. I'm good right where I am." She looks coldly at the long-haired, wallowy figure.

Snape just glares furiously at everyone, whips his cape around, and makes his exit.

"I give him a solid eight out of ten on the runway. His hips just didn't have the necessary swagger," I say, shaking my head sadly. "So much potential, gone to waste…" Jimmy chuckles, shaking his head and pulling me to him.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted back there." He says, after a brief hug. "It's none of my business who you spend all night with."

"How did you—"

"Please. I know everything." He raises an eyebrow cockily.

"Wait…who were you with all night?" Lily asks. I turn to face her. Revenge is suh-weet!

"James Potter," I say, smiling. "I mean, you knew we were going out, right? Man, you really missed out when you kept saying no to James. I mean, the way he touches me…" I let the sentence hang in midair. "…and moans my name…"

"Be nice now, girlies." Hattie joins the gang, also covered in fern debris. "Don't worry, Lily, she's exaggerating."

"Oh, am I now?" I ask, grinning evilly. "I'll let you keep thinking that. Anyway, thanks for the save Jimmy. I really owe you one. Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you."

"Probably get yourself killed. Honestly, do you literally attract trouble?"

"Well, I was gonna wait to tell you this, but…yeah, when I was a baby, I had to get this major surgery, because my heart was outside of my body." I sniff, looking down. "They had to put a huge metal plate on my chest to protect it. I believe the warning label actually reads, 'WARNING: ATTRACTS TROUBLE'."

"You are so full of shit!"

"And how do you know I'm not telling the truth?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"Well, for one thing," He says, "Remember that day you flashed us on the train? Well, I definitely didn't see any sign of a metal plate." He steps closer to me, smiling impishly. "And trust me, I was looking. Stay out of trouble, will you?" And with that he turns away, grinning to himself. I just stare after him, then swallow. I feel two people come up and stand on either side of me.

"So, if you're going out with Potter—" Hattie starts.

"—What are you doing flashing Jimmy?" Lily finishes, smirking.

Uh-oh.

"Funny story, the flashing incident...actually…hehehe…would you believe me if I said things aren't what they look like?"

"So what do they look like, Max?" Lily asks. There's an awkward silence, during which Lily turns bright red. "Wait, that came out wrong…"

"Wow, wouldn't James like that…we could have a threesome: you, me, and James. It'll have to be in your bed, of course…mine's too small."

"What's this I hear about a threesome?" James asks, turning he corner. Sheesh, does he have bionic hearing, or what? The amazing James! Just a sexual innuendo away!

"Evans asked to see my boobs. I figured, hey, what the hell. Wanna come along?"

James looks stunned.

"You are a cow," Lily says, but she's smiling slightly.

"I try. So, James, Lily doesn't believe me when I say that we're still an item," I say, walking up to him, daring him.

He takes me in his arms and kisses me sweetly on the mouth. "Alert the papers! This must be the first time Evan's wrong," he says against my lips. I'm beaming.

"Did you know Jimmy and she have a thing?" Lily asks quickly. James pulls away from me.

"What?"

"She flashed him. Also, she posed for him and let him paint her in bed."

"Okay, first of all, that flashing thing, totally not that big a deal. It was on the train, way back on the way to Hogwarts. Second of all, he painted me while I was sleeping; I didn't have a say in it. And third of all, how the hell did you know that he painted me?"

"I have friends in low places," She hisses.

"Ahh, in the Slytherin dungeons, I take it. Can't get much lower than the basement."

"You think you're so smart," She says.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but who's the one who got put into Ravenclaw again? What? What's that? OHHH, the sweet silence of I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG."

"You are so immature!" She says disgustedly.

"And you're like the frickin forty-year-old ho-down, minus the down!"

"I pity you, James," Lily says, looking at him, shaking her head. "You honestly deserve better."

"Oh, I take it you mean yourself?" I ask haughtily.

"I mean anyone. Because anyone is better than you. Or would 'everyone' have been a better term…"

"Listen, are you two gonna fight, or should I just go back down to the caf?"

"No. We're finished here." I storm away from Lily, Hattie hurrying to keep up with me.

"Later, Evans!" I hear James call before he comes after me.

"How the hell did you know where I was?" I ask sharply.

"I just did, okay?" James looks uncomfortable. "Chill out."

"I'm chill! I'm chill!" I wave my hands around in the air, and little pieces of fern flutter to the ground. "So…breakfast, anyone?"