The Rise And Fall Of The Stag And The Doe

Bleeding Out

"We'll be back in a couple of hours." Sirius told Marlene, she sat on the edge of James's bed.

"Okay, don't get arrested," She laughed, "Because I'm not bailing you idiots out of jail."

He walked over, took her in his arms and scooped her up into a kiss. "I make, no-promises."

Marlene rolled her eyes, but backed away from Sirius the instant she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Both of the amusement faded from their faces as Sirius had to sit away from her. They had successfully kept their relationship a secret for awhile now, but as the school near was only two months from being over, it was beginning to wear on them both. Neither one of them would say it, but it hung between them.

Remus and Peter walked in, "Everything's all set. James is waiting downstairs." Peter announced with a smile.

"Have fun." Marlene told them with a half forced smile.

She walked down with them and went back to her room without another word. Sirius thought to say something to her, but he couldn't think of what he would say so he let her go. Instead he looked at James, thought of all the things they had planned and said, "Well boys, it's time."

Lily checked in to do her patrol. She waited a few minutes for her partner to show up, but the Ravenclaw sixth year never showed up so she just went alone. It didn't bother her at all to be by herself. She much preferred it, especially considering the busy day she'd had. For the first time ever, she considered James. On her own she didn't have to fear anyone asking what she was thinking. She could just …think.

It started off simple, her thinking of what it would be like to go on a date with him while she wandered around the third floor, the idea of his lips on hers lingering when she passed the Great Hall. The strangest thing was that the thought of them kissing didn't scare her anymore. He didn't scare her anymore. They'd gotten to a point where she trusted him and knew he wouldn't hurt her. There was a lie blocking her from seeing the truth. She fancied James, it was there and she couldn't ignore it anymore. She had to be mad for feeling this way. It not a good idea to fancy James, but it wasn't a choice. Lily always liked to think she was perfectly in control of her actions and could chose where her life was going at all times, but she realized something. Liking someone is involuntary, it just…happens and there is nothing anyone can do to stop or control it.

When she rounded the dungeons to do one last check threw, she wondered if she should tell James how she felt. It seemed such a simple thing to do, but now that the idea had presented itself to her it made her want to throw up. Sure he had said how he felt countless times and proved that he was sincere, but how the hell was she supposed to bring this up to him after all the times she had rejected him? Lily let out a large sigh, and spun around to go back up the stairs. All she had left to do was check back in at McGonagall's office, which wasn't enough time at all for her to figure out what to do about James.

There was a noise behind her, and she sighed in annoyance, taking out her wand. "If it's you four, I'm going to lose my mind! I told you not to-"

"You told us what?" Four Slytherin boys crept out of an empty classroom with sneers high on their faces.

Lily gulped, but tried to not seem afraid of them. If she showed fear then they would feast on it like vultures. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Well," Nott began, glaring at her, "Mudblood, that really isn't what you should be focusing on. What you should be worried about is what we are going to do to you."

"What are you talking about?" She snapped back, more confidently then she felt.

Lestrange spoke this time, his voice was much colder than the other three. "Well you think because you are friends with blood traitors that the rules don't apply to you. But that's the thing. We are going to torture you, and we're gonna kill your friends for affiliating with you."