A/N: Hullo:)

Okay. I'll admit. I really don't know what I'm doing next. However, I have a couple friends looking at this for me and maybe they'll have some ideas as to how I can connect some things. I honestly have no idea what's going to happen during their seventh year, but I have a few ideas, so maybe I'll be able to draw those things out into a whole section of the story. If you guys have any ideas, I'm totally open, but I do have a certain direction this is going so I don't know if any will actually make it in.

I don't have much too much going on right now, which is very rare, I just have to get my debate research done and my partner and I are working on our cases, so I'll be able to write a bit more this week and hopefully have another chapter up soon. My next possible competition isn't until December 5th, so I have a while to prepare. I will be taking a short break until I can finish my Congress research, but I should be able to get that done by the time Thanksgiving break is over and then I'll be able to write more.

A short message to you all: if anything about this triggers you, please don't read it. Or at least know that none of it applies to you at all. Just as I'm sure you all know that Dia beautiful, I know that you guys are beautiful too. I know that things can get tough. Things can get really tough. But it will be okay. I promise. And if you ever need anyone, I am here for you. This is tough to write about and tough to talk about and I can't even imagine what it is like to go through so please talk to me or someone if you think for a second you might need to or want to.

This chapter dedicated to my friend who is still getting better. She was hospitalized for an eating disorder a while ago and is staying so strong, even when teachers don't seem to understand. I know our gym teacher doesn't really get that she wants to exercise too much.

Sorry for making this so long, I just wanted to update you all on my schedule now that I can't just post seven chapters over the course of twelve hours, and I also felt like my little message needed to be said.

Please, please review, you lovely people you. They are so greatly appreciated. I cannot even tell you how much I love having a review message pop up.

Harry Potter and all of those characters that go along with him on his adventures belong to JK Rowling, God of Writing.

Music recommendation: Aprés Moi by Regina Spektor as well as the cover by Peter Gabriel

-DdLM-

"Mum! Mum! Are you okay? Pop!"

James ran off to find them and make sure they were okay while Sirius hung back by me, hugging me against his side.

"James! James, we're fine! What's going on? Are the other two alright?"

"We're fine, mum."

Sirius squeezed me and then let me go so that he could go to Mrs. Potter and reassure her. I spoke up to tell her what happened.

"There were Death Eaters. In Diagon Alley. We were the only ones there to stand up to them. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, so I sent them all inside, and then it was just the three of us against ten of them. I put us all in danger."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

She grabbed all three of us and held us close for a moment.

"That's the last time I let you three out on your own, I hope you know."

"But mum!"

"No buts, Sirius Black! Pop or I are to go with you whenever you leave these grounds, understood?"

"Yes mum."

Both boys turned and looked at me before looking back to Mrs. Potter. They looked like they were going to explode. Finally, James did.

"Oh, mum, you should've seen her! They didn't know what they were doing, so it was just the leader, a nasty Slytherin that was a seventh year while we were firsties, mouthing off to Dia, and she just lifted him. He was floating and she spun him and then she tied him to a lamppost and they all just stood there and watched!"

I flushed and grinned, but I also felt sick. I had eaten so much while out with the boys. I hadn't eaten so much in a while. I couldn't handle it. I needed to get out of there.

"Nobody knew what to do, everyone was running away, and we were stuck there while this tossed insulted her for being an Arrington, and Prongs and I were frozen, and so were the rest of the Death Eaters, and she just - " He made whoosh sounds and waved his hands about. " - and then he was tied up to the lamppost and then when the other Death Eaters just stood there gaping at us, we grabbed our wands and tried to help her, and she just kept walking like nothing happened. It was -! It -! Blimey, it was something."

Mrs. Potter raised her eyebrow at me.

She knows.

"I just reacted. He talked about my family and I didn't want him to connect me to my family and I just... Reacted. That's all."

Sirius and James both protested, talked about how amazing I was, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. I turned and ran to the bathroom just in time to lose my lunch.

"Dia? Dia, dear. Are you alright?"

"I guess being attacked by Death Eaters just doesn't sit well with me. I'm okay."

"I don't think that's it."

"I'm fine."

"You are as fine as you were last year as you are the same size."

-DdLM-

Mrs. Potter set me up on a meal plan. She called her friend from St. Mungo's, and her friend talked to me for what must have been an hour.

She told me that if I didn't start eating more I was going to die.

I told her I didn't want to die. I just wanted to be pretty.

She told me I was beautiful.

I told her she was lying.

She told me I looked like her sister, who died from an eating disorder that got out of control.

She told me again I was beautiful.

I believed her that time.

She thought I was pretty.

That meant nothing if no one else did.

They wouldn't like me if I wasn't pretty.

They would just keep hurting me until I couldn't hurt anymore.

I don't want to hurt anymore.

-DdLM-

At 7:30 am Mrs. Potter put a slice of toast, an egg, and an apple in front of me. I ate the toast, half of the apple, and a little bit of the egg.

I threw it up half an hour later.

At 8:05 am James and Sirius made their way down to the kitchen. They each ate as much as I ate in a week.

I threw up again just watching them eat so much food.

Sirius held my hair and James rubbed my back.

At 9:00 am we all went outside by a small pond on the property. It hadn't snowed yet, and the clouds were thick with it. The entire sky was weighed down by the heavy grey color that looked like Sirius' eyes. I brought a blanket out with me, and a book. We sat in a tree and just stared at the world for an hour. I didn't even open my book.

At 10:34 am James handed me a cup of cranberries in a light whipped cream with cinnamon. I kept it down.

At 11:15 am it started to snow. The sky opened up, white blustering about and pushing away the grey. It was blinding. The clusters of flakes froze my eyelashes together and melted on my lips and when I smiled Sirius told me it was even more brilliant than the scene from a painting that was happening all around us. I wanted remind him about Sarah but I didn't have the heart, He looked so happy in that moment. Happier than I had ever seen him around Sarah. But I knew that she was good for him. At least, I knew that her being good for him was good for me.

I felt selfish for that. I should be putting them first.

Even through all of the constant pranking and payback, I think I had come to really love them all. Even though we couldn't stand each other, we couldn't be apart for fear that something might happen while we were gone.

Even though not eating could kill me, it had brought us all together, and for that I was grateful.

At 12:01 pm we all went inside and Mrs. Potter had lunch ready for us. My portion was much smaller than everyone else's and I wanted to crawl underneath the table and hide from reality, but they all acted like nothing was different. So I didn't either.

I had a slice of roast chicken and some mashed sweet potato. It wasn't much. It wasn't much. It wasn't even everything in front of me.

But I kept it down.

And I was proud of myself.

At 1:45 pm Remus and his family arrived to stay for Christmas through New Year's. He brought a postcard from Peter. He talked about everyone he was meeting on vacation, but he never talked about where it was. He just told us how beautiful it was and how he wished we were there.

At 2:00 pm Mr. Potter started a fire in the fireplace in the front room. The boys sat on the sofa and I laid down across them. We watched as the snow fell, and I fell asleep.

At 4:30 pm I was woken up by Lily's owl landing on my stomach. It wasn't heavy, just sudden. I felt warm all over and the owl's feathers were still cold from being outside.

Dia -

I heard you were staying with the Potters. James wrote me. I think he was just looking for an excuse, but I'm glad. Being alone wasn't helping you any.

I'm staying with my family for Christmas, as it's the one time of year when Petunia is forced to be nice to me, but I'll see you for New Year's. I'll give you your present then.

I think Tracey and Jay were talking about coming too, but Marlene is spending the holiday with some new beau. Some McKinnon.

I can't wait to see you again!

Maybe on New Year's we can convince Sirius he should be kissing you and not Sarah, although I don't think he'll take that much convincing. Even if it's not you, it shouldn't be Sarah. I wish you would let me tell them it was her, but I know that if Sirius dumped her, she would just start taking it out on you again. So I won't. I promise.

Give my love to the idiots.

Lily

"Well?"

They all looked at me expectantly.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to read it to us?"

I flushed.

"No, but she sends her love."

"She blushed. Now I've got to know."

All three of them went to grab the letter, but I rolled off the couch and out of the way. I ran upstairs, hoping to get away, but they all followed. Remus was first as he had the longest legs, then James, then Sirius. James snagged his wand during the chase and jinxed me so that I fell over and Remus grabbed the letter.

He turned pink too.

"Oh."

I huffed and blew the hair out of my face.

"Yeah."

"It was Sarah?"

"It's better this way."

"No it's not."

I paused. He's right.

"It feels better."

"Then what about what you feel?"

"You know that's not what I meant."

"But I'm asking."

Please don't ask me that.

"I'm not answering that, Remus. Besides. You already know the answer."

"I'm telling him."

"Please don't."

"You can't stop me."

"I know. But I can still ask you not to."

He paused.

"That's a low blow."

"Is it working?"

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm still telling."

I blinked up at him, tears nearly welling up in my eyes. I could see him start to cave.

"Please?"

"You have until we go back to school. You fix or I fix it."

I sighed. That's the best I'm going to get.

"Deal."

He helped me up. James had been watching us the whole time, no clue what was going on, and Sirius, thank Merlin, knew even less.

"Telling what?"

"You just watched me agree not to say anything and now you're asking me?"