She Said What?

Chapter 32: I Am a Secret Keeper Again

A/N: I'm super-duper excited about this chapter, to be very honest. There are two side stories I get to introduce that should be a lot of fun, and will weave throughout the rest of the tale. Plus, next chapter shall feature some stuff you guys will probably respond very positively to. Good things are beginning to happen, they really are, and I'm going to enjoy writing about it.

So, now that I'm done building myself up to a standard I shall likely never reach, I'll shut up now and let you go ahead. Please read, enjoy, and review – preferably in that order!

January 8

Morning Check:

Well, I've finally figured out how to work the alarm clock Livvy gave me. I set it up last night, feeling completely virtuous and motivated to get my waking-up routine perfected. However, in my haste to do so, I forgot to actually turn it on...which meant that Alice gave me some electric shock to wake me up and giggled while Livvy gave me another lecture about responsibility. What a failure.

Other Goals Check:

Pretty miserable, I'm sad to say. I have been eating like a pig since Christmas – don't ask me why, but I'm always hungry these days and I can't stop myself. Not good. I can feel the waistband on my skirt starting to get a tiny bit uncomfortable.

But, on the homework front, I'm more caught up than Alice is. I take great pride in this accomplishment and hope it shall continue forth this way. Livvy is going to field-marshal me into finishing my last Transfiguration essay tonight and I should be in business.

1:00 PM
Status: Weary

Well, I guess that History has now officially become my writing-in-my-diary class. I just noticed that, as I pulled out this diary to write. I guess it's mainly for two reasons – one is that everything always seems to happen at lunch, which makes me too giddy to wait until after school to write. The other is just that it's too bloody easy. Binns rarely pays us any attention as he plows through his notes. It makes for a very nice wash of background sound as I happily space out.

Anyway. I digress. I have something important to write about – for once – and it's a matter of great importance. I'm kind of worried.

Because today I had a...visitor, for lack of a better word.

See, the epic haunt of Jonathon Sanders returned.

It happened today during – of course – lunch. I had excused myself from my table to pee and I was on my way down the corridor towards the bathrooms when all of a sudden, Jonathon turned the corner and almost walked right into me.

"Whoa!" I said, instinctively shielding my face with my hands. Initially, I didn't know who the runaway Bludger was. "Watch it there, I don't want either of us getting hurt."

"Sorry about that," said a highly familiar voice. "Good afternoon, Lily!"

I lowered my hands and tried not to look too disappointed to see Jonathon standing there, smug but eager, before me. It wasn't as hard as I thought to smile when I saw him, and he positively beamed back up at me.

"Hi!" he chirped. "I was hoping to catch you alone. Had a good holiday?"

"Erm, yes, thanks," I said. "And you?"

"It was all right," he said dismissively. "Nothing special though."

"Sorry to hear it," I said, because I had nothing else to say.

"It's fine," he said. "So...I was going to wait until the prefect meeting, but since I ran into you now, I figure this is as good a time as any..."