Okay, Okay, So that took forEVER. I'm sorry. But, hey, to make it up to you guys this chapter is jam packed with Caleb/Lily cuteness. Am I forgiven?

So anyway, quick note, I know I've never mentioned Lily have roomies other that Rikki and Mel, but she does. They have always been there, they are just NOT IMPORTANT. However, due to my sillines and OCD I feel better that you guys know they are there. Ok blabber over. Read, Review - Love Ya x

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

STALKING

I pace around the green and silver room, muttering and swearing. Caleb just sits on his bed and follows me with his eyes. He stopped telling me to sit down ten minutes ago - I've been doing this for a while. Finally I flop down, face first, on Al's bed - two beds away from Caleb. He gets up and sits beside me, stroking my hair softly.

"C'mon Brown-eyes, you don't know for certain that James is-"

"- A lying, coniving, manipulative, secret-trading traitor?" I spit, my voice muffled by the soft green pillow. I hear Caleb chuckle.

"I was going to say 'telling Frockler everything' but yours works too." I roll over and gaze up at him. He's just so handsome that I can't help but smile, sit up and kiss him lightly on the lips.

"You're right, I know you're right. We don't have any proof. But I can - I can feel that something is-" I don't get to finish that sentence because Caleb stands up and holds out his hand, "What is it?" I say, letting him pull me from the bed. He shoots me a crooked grin. Mischevious - a look I don't often see on Caleb's face.

"You want proof, let's go get proof!" He smiles, practically dragging me out of the dorms and down to the Common Room. This time when I enter, nobody even acknowleges my presence.

"What do you mean?" I look at him curiously.

"I mean, lets go snooping around. Let's look for clues. Do some detective work!"

"What's a detective?" I ask confused. He ignores me, too wrapped up in his marvelous plan, "Are you nuts Caleb? I can't just go looking for clues where there are none. There's nothing to find!"

"There's always something to find, if you know where to look." Smiles Caleb. I sigh.

"Ok, so where would we start?...Hypothetically." I know, I know, I folded fast. But who could say no to that face.

"Let's follow him!" At this point I'm running to catch up with him as he strides through the empty hallways. Stupid short legs!

"But where do we start? We don't even know where he is!" This makes Caleb stop short for a moment and I stand beside him. It's so cold and Rikki still had my cardi. Automatically - even though he's deep in thought - his arms goes around my shoulders, pulling me flush to his side. We sit down to think for a moment, once we are out of the dungeons.

Surprisingly, I come up with a plan first. And it's good.

"No. We're doing this together, Brown-eyes. Plus, it was my idea to follow him in the first place." Grumbles Caleb, when I tell him my ingenius plan.

"I know, but this is my plan. And it's good too. Now - all you have to do is come with me to the Gryfindor Common Room and while I go up to get it, you ask if anyone knows where James is. Then-"

"-But why would I be looking for James?"

"I don't know, to thank him for giving us his approval or something."

"But he upset you. And I don't need his approval."

"Pretend you don't know that. And act like you do need it, and that your grateful."

"But Lil-"

"No shhh. Let me finish. So while you are asking where James is, I'll run up and get the cloak. Then I'll follow you to wherever James is and you can thank him or whatever. Then you leave and I'll follow James around a bit under the cloak. But if I don't find any clues or see anything suspicious then I'm just going to go to bed. I'll tell you what happens at breakfast tomorrow."

"But Lily this plan's a bit-"

"-Too fantastic? Ingenius? A little bit too perfect?" I swing round and face him, looping my arms around his neck. He smiles at me and leans in close.

"A bit unrealistic. A bit mental. I mean, I know this whole thing was my idea but now I'm not so sure... It's not really ... you." He says, trying not to hurt my feelings. But he doesn't. I mean, I get it, I know I'm not the rebellious type. And I won't be doing anything too rash in the Caleb department anymore, not after this morning. Wow, our fight, Al's fall, they feel like a lifetime ago.

I play offended anyway, for a laugh.

"And what, may I ask, is that supposed to mean?" I pout. He kisses my nose.

"I mean, Brown-eyes, that you're a little goody-goody. And that's one of the things I love about you."

He said it so casually. The L-word. I try to act casually too, but there's a look that we share. We've both registered this moment in our minds. But I make a joke out of it.

"Oh, so you have a thing for saints then?" I grin. He nods in mock-seriousness.

"Yes and the straighter the better. I'm talking full out teacher's pet, good grades and, of course, full on frigid. No kissing or anything. That totally gets me going." He winks at the end. We start ambling towards the Gryffindor common room, almost subconciously.

"So I'm far from your perfect woman then?" I sigh. He nods again, his violet eyes twinkling in amusment.

"Indeed. You're just a stepping stone darling. Next year I'm going for the big leagues - Head Girl. Then, when I'm out of Hogwarts, I'm going to go for a Ministry worker, you know they're always the most strict. And then ... well, who's more saintly than a Ministry worker?" By the time he's done I'm in stitches and so is he. He puts his arm around me again and I realise that we are outside the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Right, Good Girl, are we doing this?" Instead of answering right away, I grab him by the collar (startling him immensely) and pull his face inches away from mine. I look up through my eyelashes in what I hope is a seductive fashion and mutter softly,

"You may think you like 'em saintly ... but everyone loves a rebel." Then I kiss him fiercely before muttering "Spindleback" a little breathlessly to the chuckling Fat Lady. We enter the room.

I walk right past some of my family members who are playing Wizard Chess, blowing Caleb a kiss as I go, and rush up to get my Fathers invisibility cloak - My invisibility cloak- from the bottom of my trunk. Luckily neither Rikki, Mel or my other 2 roomates are there. I pull it on and trundle downstairs.

I can here Louis telling Caleb that he thinks James went to visit Hagrid while I sneak up behind him. I am inches away from Caleb, and while he's thanking my cousin, I think an entertaining thought. While he is mid-sentence I smack him lightly on the arse. He almost jumps a foot in the air.

"Well - um - I'm gonna go f-find him now. Yeah. So -uh - thanks Louis. See you guys."

As we turn to leave, I hear Fred mutter under his breath,

"Is that bloke a bit weird, or is it just me?" I snigger, and Caleb covers it with a cough.

"I am going to kill you, Brown-eyes." He growls playfully, but I can hear the humour behind it.

"How can you kill me, if you can't see me, Babe?" I joke. Caleb laughs.

"Babe?" He scoffs. I shrug and then remember that he can't see me.

"I was trying it out. What can I say, the power of invisibility has gone to my head. Do you prefer Sweetheart? Darling?"

"How about plain 'ole sexy?" He smirks. I flick him on the nose and he yelps.

"I would Caleb, but us good girls don't like to lie." I murmer in a lispy, sing-song voice. He chuckles and holds out his hand. I put my own, invisble hand in it. And we walk to Hagrid's.

Turns out we don't half to walk far because, just before we reach the doors, James' walks right through them, deep in thought. I squeeze Caleb's hand lightly before dropping my own sweaty palms to my side.

James gives a start when he spots Caleb, obviously scared that McGonagal or another teacher had caught him. He needn't worry about the prefects - if they are male then they admire him and if they're female ... well, James is good at sweet talking. His high eyebrows crease into a frown when he realises who's standing there. Caleb clears his throat.

"James. Hey." James folds his arms across his chest. I hope for his sake he's nice, because I am a-hell-of-a close to disowning him.

"Calum. What do you want?" I could laugh at his obviously phoney attempt at making Caleb think he doesn't know his name. Or I could, if I wasn't so pissed at him.

"Caleb, actually. I was wonering if we could have a word. About Lily and me." He says. James burns a hole through his forehead and steps closer, threateningly. Caleb isn't fazed and his casual grin doesn't fall.

"What about her?" James says through gritted teeth. He's not doing a very good job at this accepting thing.

"I just wanted to say thank you. For your - um - approval ... of me," I can see he's having a hard time saying this stuff. I want to put a hand on his back but I daren't move, "It's meant a lot to her."

James' stance relax and his frown lessens. Not completely, but hey it's something.

"Oh. Yeah, I know. I - I did it for her." He says simply. The words "not for you" are implied. Caleb nods and coughs akwardly.

"Um, yeah. Sure. So, yeah, I'm going to go now now. Night." He says. Then he turns and leaves.

I look at my brother, who watches Caleb leave before making any attempt to move. And, as suspected, he doesn't head towards the Gryffindor Common Room. Instead, he turns, walking the same way as Caleb, towards the dungeons.

I follow a few paces behind, silently thanks to the charm I put on my shoes.

I am silent, I am sneaky. And I have never been more happy to be invisible in my life.