A/N: Hullo:)

How are you today my lovely, lovely readers? I suppose I should put a trigger warning on this, shouldn't I? It's such a hard topic to deal with and I want to do it realistically but I don't have that much experience with it, so it's difficult.

So, this chapter is a good deal shorter than the other ones. I'm not sure why. It felt about the same length while writing it.

Anyone know a good place to get a nice but cheaper trumpet? Used works. I desperately need a new one and my sister wants to start playing too, so my parents are going to get me one, but they're so expensive. My private lesson teacher said he would get me a new mouthpiece which will help, but my trumpet just isn't that nice and the sound is awful. It sounds like it has a cold.

Anywho.

Please review, and I'll love you forever. I love you anyway, but I still love reviews. It's nice to know what I'm doing well and what I have to work on.

Harry Potter and characters from Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling, her majesty of writing.

Music recommendation: Samson by Regina Spektor

XOXORose

-DdLM-

I most definitely did not go to Madame Pomfrey. Part of it was that I didn't want the girls to see me. Pride? Maybe. Terror? Oh, yes. I don't even know their names, but they scare the crap out of me. I'm not a weak witch and they just walked in and I felt like all my power was gone. My parents hired someone to teach me voiceless and wand less magic because they didn't think I was good enough. I am powerful. And those three girls walk in and I feel like I can't do anything anymore. They'd beat me and I couldn't do anything to stop them.

Another part of it is that I don't want anyone asking questions. I have been avoiding eating as much as possible, only eating what I need to, to keep people from asking questions, and a lot of that ends up coming up again as soon as I can get alone. Even though I had been losing weight as quick as a snitch, I was still fat.

We'd been pranking the boys, yes, but I hadn't been able to focus on the planning so they weren't as good as they used to be.

At that moment I was sitting on the toilet and hiding from people. Remus just told Marlene and Jay that Ancient Runes is my best subject and that I've never needed to study so much. They're worried.

"Dia? Dia, where are you?" It's Lily. I hear three girls in here with me. I pull my feet up on the toilet and draw them to my chest.

"Hey, is there anyone else in there?" Peter.

"No, just us. And Dia, of course. Remus, could you check the map again?"

"She's in here." I feel cold all over, and then suddenly warm, then cold again. My vision flickers. I wave my wand, praying that I've practiced enough for the spell to work without me saying anything. It did. The locks on all of the stall doors slid shut.

"Evans, we're coming in!" I look at my arms. My fat arms. Covered in bruises from where the girls have hit me. I've been sliding down this destructive path for a while.

It's December first.

If I can just make to the holidays I can spend my days alone in my room away from my already completely oblivious pureblood parents. Hopefully they'll be too busy planning their annual Christmas party to notice that I'm not eating. I spend most of my time in my room anyway.

I'm so close to a free fall off a cliff where the path to completely and utterly devastating self-destruction ends. I wave my wand so that a glamour makes them look as normal as they can possibly get. I can't change their thickness.

Fat. Fat. So fat. Fat. Fat. What will they think when they see me? So fat, fat, fat.

"Dia? Come on out? We're just worried about you." I again remain silent as I wave my wand and words appear above their heads out of nowhere.

"Everybody but Lily please leave. Okay guys, let's go." James. Oh, they're all here.

"Thanks. It's her handwriting, but it's shaky. That was the first spell she mastered voicelessly, it should look a lot better than that. I'm worried, but I think I know what it's about." I felt them all leave. "Come on out, Dia. And take off any glamours you've casted. There's enough that I can feel the magic." I put my feet down and unlock all the stall doors, then lock the door to the corridor. I hear the others outside. Their even more nervous now. I peek outside of my stall. It's just Lily. I take off the glamours and step out so that she can see me. I can't hide from her anymore. I can't do that. It's Lily. She'd figure it out anyway. My arms are wrapped around me and I'm shaking. Everyone just finished dinner and thankfully, I finished puking before they all got here. People are swarming the corridors and they're whispering about all of them sitting outside the bathroom, but they don't question the Marauders. That's not how it works.

Lily gasps.

"Hi." I stare at my feet. Hi? That's it? Stupid. Stupid and fat. Fat and stupid.

"Dia! What happened?" She's rushing over and I automatically cringe away from her. She stops.

"It's these girls. And specifically one. She wants Sirius and she thinks that I'm trying to take him away. And it's my fault. Just for being near him. All my fault, Lily. I should have stayed away from him, she thinks I'm in love with him, says I'm a slut, says that he's her's. Says that she could make him love her, says that I'm nothing compared to her. Says that all of those girls he goes out with are working for her and that he'll be all her's."

"Dia, what have they done?"

"I wouldn't blame him if he did love her. She's beautiful and smart and talented. Completely his type, too. Tall, blond, chest out to her desk and legs up to the moon. Big blue eyes."

"Dia, there are a bunch of girls that look like that. Who did this to you?"

"I don't know their names." I'm whispering now, and tears spring to my eyes. "Her and her cronies."

"Can you describe the other girls, please?"

"Black hair, blue eyes, dark skin. Even taller than the blond one. The other one's short and pale with small brown eyes, 'cause they're always narrowed, and strawberry blond hair with one blue streak, one green streak. They always find me."

"Okay, Dia. It'll be okay. We'll tell –"

"No! No. Don't tell anyone. I'll go home for Christmas and I'll be fine. I'll heal and I'll learn some simple blocking and disillusionment spells. I'll be fine. You're good at healing spells, do you think you get rid of some of these?"

"Okay. I'll fix you up as best as I can, but the others are coming back in so we can talk about keeping you safe until the holidays. Oh, and before I do…"

"What?"

"I don't think she's his type. James told me he's had a crush on a girl since the beginning of fifth year. She doesn't look anything like Blondie."

"Why did you bring them all with?"

"The boys have this thing called the Marauder's Map. I found it one time. It shows everywhere in the castle, even secret passageways. Just not the Room of Requirement. And it shows where everyone is. And I needed to find you. And even though we're just prancing them all the time, I think they're getting used to having is around. They care about you too."

She walked over to the door and let them back in. Tracey, and Jay, and Marlene, and James, and Sirius, and Remus, and Peter. And I'm standing here. My arms crossed over my chest, tears running down my face, every glamour gone except for the one on my cheek. It's getting worse. It got infected. No one's seen it since Sirius did a month and a half ago. No one except for me.

"Dia!" Tracey.

"Oh my God." Peter.

"Merlin's beard, Dia!" James.

"Dia! What happened?" Jay.

"Oh, no." Remus.

Marlene burst into tears.

Sirius just wrapped me in his arms and I cried into his shoulder.

"I know who did it, but she doesn't want to me say anything, and for now I'm going to honor that, but if it gets any worse I will scream to the world exactly what has been going on for the past –" She turned and looked at me.

"Almost two months." My voice is quiet. I turn and bury my face in Sirius' shirt again.

"Dia… Look at me." Sirius put two fingers under my chin and pushed up slightly until my eyes locked with his. "Were these the same girls that…" He brushes my cheek with his fingers and I flinch.

"Mm-hm."

"Dia, did you actually go to see Pomfrey?"

"I'm fine."

"Dia!"

"I'm fine, Sirius." He stares at me for another few seconds and then lets me go.

Everyone else watches us and then looks to Lily for further instructions.

"Okay. What we need to do is just keep an eye on her… Constantly. We can't let these girls get near her." Lily, as always, takes charge.

And I'm grateful for that.

"How are we supposed to know who to keep her away from if you guys won't tell us?" Lily runs an exasperated hand through her hair.

"I don't know. Maybe, eventually, Dia will tell you guys on her own, but I don't know. I really don't know. Just try your best."

They all agree and walk out of the bathroom. Thankfully, everyone had already gone back to their common rooms. Gryffindors in Gryffindor tower, Ravenclaws in Ravenclaw tower, Slytherins in the dungeons, and Hufflepuffs in Hufflepuff Basement behind the vinegar barrels in the kitchen.

I stay behind in the bathroom. Sirius sees me and stays as well.

"Dia…Who did it? Why won't you tell us?"

"They're Slytherin sixth years. Lily said… Their names are… Sirius, I can't…"

"I know. It's okay."

"Sirius, you have to promise me that you won't say anything."

"Like you promised me?"

"Sirius, please?" I must sound really broken, because –

"I promise."

"Thank you." My arms are wrapped around his neck and his hands are on my waist. He leans in.

"Dia, whatever they say… it's not true. Don't listen to them. I don't know what they say, I don't know what they claim you have done, but they're wrong. To do this to another person is sick. I still can't believe that they – whoever they are…" He rests his head on my shoulder. If they saw me – us – like this they might murder me in my sleep.

Being this close to another human being is bliss. Just to be there, to be held, to be so close and not be hurt. I needed this. I think he could tell.

"Sirius… I really gotta go. I have a lot to do. Hiding from you guys takes up a lot of time." I pull away from him.

"Dia, show me your cheek. No glamour. If you're not going to Pomfrey I want to at least make sure you'll be okay."

"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me. You're going to have enough to worry about for yourself if I know these girls. Anyway, my dorm-mates and I have some work to do." I walk out and vaguely hear him a few feet behind me.

"Password?"

"Bumba wumba." I'm tired. I don't want to have to think about anything. I got most of my homework done during lunch and the rest of it during my free period at the end of the day. All that's left is the next phase, then I can go to sleep.

"Lily, Jay! Grab the others, we have planning to do!" They grab their stuff and we all run up to our dorm.

"Alright, ladies… What's the plan?" We all sit on our beds as Jay takes charge, per usual. I think that she was burned the worst. Sirius asked her out in the beginning of fifth year and they went out for three weeks. He told her he loved her and she believed him. He said that she was special, that she was different. She walked in on him two days later, at their planned time and place, kissing her former best friend, who is a year younger than us.

"Jay, I'm dedicating this one to you." I pull out a vial of rose-colored liquid. "Amortentia. I sneaked some today after potions. We drop a little everywhere they go and they go completely mad, thinking everyone's taking the piss out on them." They all nod in agreement.

Seems like the whole incident in the bathroom has been forgotten. Good. I don't want to think about that.

"So, what's the goal? Besides watching them sniff everything."

"They need a break from girls. I know Sirius has been seeing two at once and I can't believe him. He might not be a complete prick, but he is the worst boyfriend ever. James has a girl at his neck and call and she needs to understand that boys aren't everything, so this is partly for her. Peter is trying to get this girl to make a bet she can't possibly win so that she'll go out with him. It's just wrong.

Remus agrees on this one, so he's going to help us out."

"Sounds like a plan!" Lily and Tracey both turned over to go to sleep, but Jay and Marlene look at me like they think I might break.

Here goes. I waved my hand and their hangings moved like a breeze ran through them. Concentrate… I waved my hand again and their hangings close around them. I pull my knees to my chest.

I can't stay in here. I can't sleep in the Common Room, especially not if I'm just wearing an over-sized Harpies t-shirt. Maybe… the boys?

I climb out of my bed and make my way to the boys' dorm. I can't believe I'm doing this. I know that I can't stay with the girls, their pitying looks will drive me insane, and there's no way that I can stay in the Common Room, my pajamas aren't concealing enough, but the boys? I guess they're my only other option, but if I have to, I'll sneak into the Room of Requirement every night. If a single one of them looks at me like I can't take care of myself, I'll scream.

James is the only one still awake.

"James?" He looks up, a little startled.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't stay in my dorm. They keep looking at me like I'm going to shatter at any second. Like they need to be extra careful around

me. I can't sleep in there. Can I stay in here? Just for a couple days, until things go back to normal?"

"Of course. Come here." He holds out his arms and I curl up next to him.

"Thank you." I wave my hand and one of the pillows that Peter is hoarding floats over.

"Dia… was that wandless? And voiceless?"

"Yeah. My parents have always expected that I would be the best, bring some honor to our name. We're pureblood, but we aren't very high up. They think I'm not pretty enough to marry off just based on my looks, so they've been brushing up my learning. They had someone teach me Occlumency every summer until fourth year."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."