Different

Yeah, I know! I'm terrible with updating and keeping on track. I've been busy and dealing with certain things.

But hey, here's another chapter to enjoy with this small story I'm doing.

Enjoy!

Chapter Four:

Confused

Lily moaned as she felt the heat of the sun on her face, slowly opening her eyes as her vision started to come back. She was confused as to where she was, although recognizing the softness of a bed beneath her.

Soon, her eyesight became clear and saw that she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Moving her hands to her eyes, she rugged them and slowly leaned up, feeling her muscles ache a little bit as she did. She felt a little sore throughout her body but was able to move.

Next to her bed was a table of 'get well' letters and even flowers, some from secret admirers. She smiled as she reached over and took letter from Mary McDonald, reading it.

Madam Poppy walked in and saw her reading the letter. She smiled and walked over.

"Ah, Miss Evans, glad to see that you are awake. They said that the antidote would act fast, although I would have suspected that you would have awaken last night. Do you need anything?"

Lily turned to the healer and smiled, "No, I'm okay. Just… confused."

Poppy nodded, "That's to be expected."

"Wait… what happened?" She tried to remember why she was there and what had happened, but her memory came up short.

The healer sighed, "This would be better for the Headmaster to tell. I'll be back."

Lily watched as the healer left the wing and went into her office.

Leaning back against the bed, Lily closed her eyes and tried to think about the last thing she could remember, but her mind was foggy. She remembered listening to Severus and Regulus discussing something and them going down some kind of hole in the abandoned girl's bathroom, and then… nothing.

Sighing, she turned to the letters and began to read them. She threw out the one from James Potter, knowing what it already said. She saw Severus' and decided to save it for later.

About half an hour later, Dumbledore and McGonagall walked in.

"Ah, I'm happy to see you well, Miss Evans," the Headmaster smiled.

Lily smiled back and nodded, "Thank you, Headmaster."

McGonagall walked up and smiled, "You gave us quite a fright."

Lily's smile faded, "What exactly happened?"

The two professors turned to each other, sharing a look.

"I don't mean to alarm you but what happened was quite serious," Dumbledore began. "You were petrified for almost three weeks."

Her heart sank, realizing that she had missed the train ride back home. Although, she saw the bright side that at least the OWLs had been, so at least she wasn't missing any school work. The last thing she needed was three weeks of homework to catch up on.

"You were found on the other side of the lake, by Severus Snape and Regulus Black."

Lily's heart raced at hearing their names, remembering what she had seen in the girl's bathroom.

"They brought you in to Poppy in the middle of the night. They knew right away that you had been petrified, claiming to have found you that way."

Lily listened, but she couldn't remember being outside that late, nor could she remember being attacked. Trying to think about it only made her mind hurt.

"We searched the forest and the school grounds, but no animal or creature that could cause this was found," said McGonagall. "Which is why, we want to ask you something rather serious."

Lily looked up at them, frowning, "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore's expression turned slightly serious, "I apologize if I may be stepping over a line, Miss Evans. But given the circumstances, we only wish to get to the bottom of this matter. Can you remember anything about that night? Anything that may involve Mr. Snape and Mr. Black?"

Lily paused, thinking hard about how to respond, "All I remember was seeing Severus and Regulus together."

"In the forest?" McGonagall pressed.

She shook her head, "No, it was in the second-floor girl's lavatory. I can't remember what, but I saw them sitting and talking about… something. I can't remember what."

She paused again.

"Can you remember anything else?" Dumbledore asked.

Sighing, Lily nodded, "I remember them opening… some hidden entrance. A tunnel of some kind that dropped down. I saw them go down it and then… that's it."

Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at each other.

Lily's eyes widened as she leaned up, "Wait… you don't think they did this to me, do you?"

"No, not at all," Dumbledore quickly replied, despite the neutrality of the sound of his voice told her otherwise. "Although, your side of the story is quite curious, considering that Mr. Snape and Mr. Black said the same thing, although they never mentioned you being there."

She began to blush, "Um… well… that's because I was…" Her face was about as red as her hair. "… I was… spying… on them."

McGonagall gasped, her eyes wide with surprise, "Miss Evans! How inappropriate!"

Dumbledore's eye twitched, "If I may ask, how come?"

Lily felt her heart sank, feeling ashamed, "I… well… Severus and I… we were struggling for quite a while. With everything that was going on. The Marauders. Avery, Mucliber, and Rosier. What happened with Mary. We were just… drifting apart.

"But then, he started to act strange after his coma. Something about him just… I don't know how to describe it, aside from just how different he was. Like a whole different person, yet still the same person I knew. He began avoiding Avery, Rosier, and Mulciber, and started hanging out with Black more."

"Regulus Black, I presume," said Dumbledore.

Lily nodded, "He's even managed to keep out of trouble with Potter and Black."

McGonagall sighed, "Well, that streak ended the moment you ended up here. The two had been harassing the poor boy for the entire week until everyone went home, convinced that he had something to do with what happened to you."

Anger rose within her, making a mental note to confront Potter the next time she saw him. No! Better yet, she planned to send a howler or two in the middle of the night to wake him from his slumber and give him a piece of her mind.

"I know Severus has been acting weird, but he would never do this to me," she declared. "Surely, they must had found me just as they had said."

Dumbledore said nothing as he looked towards the ground, "It would seem that I would need to speak with both Mr. Snape and Mr. Black again, now that you are awake. As for you, once Poppy has cleared you to leave, I will personally escort you back to your home. I know your parents will be very happy to see you."

Lily's head rose, "How are they?!"

"Worried but happy to hear that you are fine. I will come for you once Poppy sends word."

Dumbledore and McGonagall nodded to her before walking away. Lily watched their retreating forms, unsure what to make of the conversation. So much confusion surrounded her mind as she tried to make sense of what she had heard from them.

She couldn't remember being outside that night, nor could she remember what happened after watching Severus and Regulus go down that hole in the girl's bathroom. It was driving her crazy, even questioning how real it was.

Realizing that Poppy had left the hospital wing, Lily made a rather bold decision, unable to help herself. Rising from the bed, she changed into her robes and put on her shoes, immediately making her way to the second-floor girls' lavatory before anyone could see her. She marched directly to the abandoned bathroom, her eyes focused and her mind determined.

Standing at the entrance way, she entered and began to retrace her memory of where the two boys were. She moved towards the sinks and looked around, tracing her hand over carvings, until she came to one that was in the form of a snake.

Suddenly, a memory came back to her.

She remembered Severus and Regulus standing in front of a large metal door, while a metal snake moved on the outskirts of it, causing the locks to move out of its way.

Shaking her head, she pressed the snake and it moved inward, causing the sinks to begin parting away from each other, revealing the tunnel that she had remembered. Her eyes widened and her heart raced with excitement to find that her memory was real, that she had seen exactly what she saw.

Shocked and fueled by pure adrenaline, she ran out of the bathroom.

Hours later, Lily looked on in awe at the sight of the large snake that lay dead on the floor of the now officially discovered Chamber of Secrets. Its mouth was wide open, with two pieces of its teeth missing, while its eyes had been torn to shreds, and its blood stained the floor. The cause of death was determined to be a series of sword stabs from the top of the head.

Aurors investigated the chamber, trying to find evidence or anything that was dangerous. Aside from the Basilisk, only a pair of destroyed specially designed glasses were found.

Dumbledore stood beside her, along with Auror Mad-Eye.

"Well, I can safely say that we have enough to bring in Mr. Snape and Mr. Black," said Mad-Eye. "It's no coincidence that Miss Evans here remembers them in the girl's bathroom and discovering the entrance way. My only concern is that if we can't find anything else, we won't be able to tie them to this."

Suddenly, his head popped up and turned towards Lily, "Unless, of course, you happened to be here that night and witnessed the whole thing."

Lily frowned, "You think that I'm involved in this?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, Miss Evans. He isn't accusing you. Rather, he seems to be thinking the same thing as I am. That maybe the reason you can't remember is because it was oblivated from you."

She gasped, "You mean… that Severus took the memory from me?"

"It would make sense," said Mad-Eye. "In order to keep us off their tracks, taking your memory was most likely their safety net."

"I believe Slughorn has some Memory Potion to help. If Mr. Snape did it correctly, then recovering it shouldn't be a problem."

Although she wished to object, Lily nodded in agreement.

In Slughorn's office, Lily was presented with the Memory Potion by the Head of Slytherin, with Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, and McGonagall next to her. Taking it, she drank the bottle and sat it down on the table before taking a seat. As they waited, she felt its effects immediately and the memory came back to her.

I couldn't help myself! Find out what exactly happened in the next chapter!

Haha!