{I'm S:T:R:O:N:G:E:R than this}--LOUIS!

[Lilah Krum]

The slight turning of wheels could obviously be heard in Lilah's mind as she ran up the corridor. She was heading towards the Room of Requirement to tell her best friend everything about her and James. She was a little sketchy about it though. Whether she should actually tell him or not. She wanted to at least. Everything that had happened lately seemed to build up in her mind giving her a massive headache. It felt as if her brain was actually pressing against her skull with way too much force. She had to get everything out. Then maybe... just maybe... she would be able to go to sleep.

It was true that the boy Lilah was about to spill her guts out to, was her best friend, but she had also had a huge crush on him way before James. James was her life now though. She could no longer see herself with Louis, or even feel herself with him. James had changed her life, though so had Louis. Just in different ways. She was meant to be with James, she knew that much. She was also meant to be extremely close to Louis too though, she thought that much. Lilah sucked in a deep breath as she walked across the path of the hidden doorway three times thinking the sentence over and over again.

'I need a relaxing, friendly place.'
'I need a relaxing, friendly place.'
'I need a relaxing, friendly place.'

Finally, the door revealed itself, opening for Lilah with a welcoming entrance. She stepped into the door gently, spotting Louis immediately. She grinned widely, her smile seeming to reach her eyes as she ran over to Mr. Weasely. She hugged him adoringly, but yet in a 'we are just friends' manner. She pulled away from him, finally taking in the several scents that filled the air magnificiently. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, turning her chocolate brown orbs upon Louis Weasley. She smiled again, the act vanishing just seconds later. Her words filled the air simply and calmingly as she spoke, "Louis... I--I need to tell you something,"

[Louis Weasley]

For once in his life Louis had found himself in the Room of Requirement, instead of outside. He was relaxing. Physically and mentally. He liked to just escape sometimes and this was the best way to do it, as the Room for a quiet place to relax where only his friends could find him, and that was what he'd done today. He was happily stretched out on a comfortable, plush red sofa, one of his favourite books in hand as he read to himself, enjoying losing himself in a world of fiction.

As the door opened he looked up to see his best friend, Lilah, had found him. He smiled and closed the book before rising from his seat just as her arms wrapped around him. He returned her hug happily, after all she was his best friend. And he had always had a soft spot for her, but he'd never found the courage to tell her, and then she'd gotten together with James and he settled himself, happily, into the role of her best friend.

"Lilah." He grinned, as she pulled back, though his smile fell as she spoke. "What is it my dear? You know you can tell me anything." He said simply, running a hand through his hair as he waited for her to tell him what was wrong, because it seemed apparent that something was.

[Lilah Krum]

Today had been such a great day until it was Lilah's time to spill her guts. It would be hard to speak the words to Louis, considering how awkward it truly would be. Eventually though, Lilah sucked in a deep breath, her voice low but audible, "Well, it's about James for starters. If that helps calm the nerves at all," She said, obviously with sarcasm, "Well, I--I'm in love with him, as you very well know. Uhm... well, we were in the library and we almost..." She trailed off, running a hand through her hair, wishing she would just get the whole conversation over with.

Lilah shook her head in denial, seeing the expression light up on her best friends face, "Okay... I know what you're thinking, but we didn't have sex Louis! I swear! We were close, yes, but I stopped it from happening. I couldn't bear to do it yet, I--I wasn't prepared." She sighed, taking in another deep breath before continuing on with her next confession, "After I declined his offer to do it with him, I--I felt bad about. Like I should have said yes, you know? I wanted to have sex with him, Louis... I did! I didn't though, and now I have that on my conscious." She sighed heavily, continuing on with more confessions of what had happened that night in the library.

"You know that my birthday is coming up, right? And that I'm throwing a small party? Well, uhm... he said that he would do it with me on my birthday, and I said yes. He said that it would be my second present, and I--I wanted it sooo bad. I just need your advice, Louis. Do I do it with him, or not?" Lilah's eyebrows furrowed as she said this, unsure of how to continue, "I'm deeply in love with him, and I know it's all happened sooo fast, but I feel as if I could marry him right now. I want to, don't get me wrong, but it's not like I'm going to get down on my knee and ask him."

[Louis Weasley]

Louis waited with baited breath for Lilah to speak. But when she did her words set him a little on edge, of course this was about James, what else had he really expected? She almost...? What? His mind was whirring and he wasn't completely sure he wanted to hear any more, he had told her she could tell him anything, and that was true, but it didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to hear it all.

He allowed her to continue, keeping his face devoid of any emotion, he wasn't processing anything just now, he was simply listening, letting Lilah rant. When she'd finished he would think. So he listened to her explain how she'd nearly slept with James, but how she didn't, then he continued to listen to her tell him about the 'plan' for her birthday, and finally she mentioned marriage. Her and Potters relationship had happened rather fast, but he knew the girl before him well enough to know that she wouldn't say or do something she wasn't sure about.

As she finished speaking Louis fell back onto the sofa, sitting still as stone while he thought through everything. She wanted him to tell her what to do? Didn't she realise his whole conflict of interest? No, of course she didn't, he'd hidden his feelings very well. So he sat there a while longer in silence before he looked up at his best friend.

"I don't know what you want me to say." His voice was quiet but carried in the silent room. "I know you love James, but honestly, from what you've told me, you don't sound ready to have sex. The biggest clue for me being that you're asking me if you should sleep with your boyfriend. Darling, I know we talk about everything, and honestly, I love that we do, but some conversations you should be having with your significant other, and this is one of them." He offered her a soft smile, holding in the explosion that was brewing. If James ever hurt Lilah or forced her into anything, he would kill him. Cousins or not.

[Lilah Krum]

A heavy sigh escaped Lilah's lips as she watched Louis fall back down onto the sofa. She listened to him contently, her eyes huge orbs of warmth and curiousity. She wanted to know what to do, and what not to do. She was new to all this huge romance stuff, though she had had plenty of boyfriends. "Well, Louis... I want you to tell me the truth, not some stupid, superficial lie." She said, her voice slightly cracked. Her eyes went droopy as she continued to listen, finally speaking when he finished, "I know, but I just don't know how to say... no."

Lilah sounded flushed, but for some reason she still wanted to have sex with James. She wanted him, which obviously meant she wanted his virginity. If he still had it, that is. "Do you think he still has his virginity?" She asked absentmindidly, her eyes filled with curiousity and understanding. Slowly, Lilah walked over towards Louis again, her hand falling on his chest. She pushed him down on the couch, smiling gently. She layed down next to him, her head in the crook of his shoulder.

Lilah played with his hands, finally feeling like she was at home once again. Just like it use to be, when Lilah had been growing up in Hogwarts. It would just be her and Louis. All the time. No one else was around them when they would just be hanging out. That was the way Lilah liked it, and she missed it. A lot. She sighed heavily into Louis' chest feeling safe. Like she felt around James.

[Louis Weasley]

He sighed softly as she said she didn't know how to say no. He wished he had the answer for her, that he could tell her what to do and what to say but he couldn't. That's not how relationships worked, they were between the two in said relationship. As she pushed him onto the couch he smiled and wrapped his arms around her as she lay next to him, kissing the top of her head lightly as she played with his fingers.

This was how they were supposed to be. It was always so simple between them, nothing ever got that complicated. He'd missed her recently, missed spending time with her like this, sure he saw her around school and whatnot, but it was never the same because there were always other people around, and they worked best when it was just them.

He took a deep breath before he answered her last question, "I don't know. James and I don't exactly talk about that kind of thing." He smiled softly. Honestly he and James hadn't talked a whole lot since he'd started going out with Lilah, and before that their conversations at school were hardly ever personal, more family based.

"You need to talk to him Lilah." He said after a while of just holding her, and enjoying that sense of home. "You need to tell him that you're not sure. That you might not be ready." He really wanted to help her sort things out, he just wasn't happy that him helping her could possibly lead to her sleeping with his cousin.

[Lilah Krum]

Hearing Louis' heavy heartbeat beside her was enough to nearly put her to sleep and calm her stress. A smile lit up her face, as she felt Louis' lips press against the top of her head. She sighed once more, her eyes closing tenderly. "Well, we talk about that kind of stuff? Why can't you guys? Is it just extremely awkward or something?" She asked, her eyeborws furrowing, showing her obvious curiousity.

Lilah smirked, listening to Louis speak, "Ugh, I don't want to ask him that, or tell him that. I mean, he's ready! I should be ready to have sex with him, Louis! I--I want to be, and almost think I am... but I'm soo... inexperienced, you know?" Lilah sighed again, feeling so frustrated about this whole thing. Finally, deciding that she should ask him something, she turned on her veela charm, knowing that he would fall for it.

Her lips barely moved as she spoke, asking a question that she had been waiting to ask him for as long as she could remember, "Since you obviously know who I like... or am in love with... I think it's only fair if you tell me who you have a crush on. Eh?" She asked, turning her head to look at Louis, giving him a innocent smile and wink.

[Louis Weasley]

"It is extremely awkward for us, especially since he's my cousin and going out with my best friend." Louis smiled, he couldn't believe he was having to explain why he and her boyfriend didn't talk about sex related things. It was safer for all of them if he and James kept things as impersonal as possible.

"There's nothing saying that just because he's ready, that you have to be. If he loves you half as much as you love him, he'd wait for you. No matter how long that takes. And for the record it doesn't matter how 'inexperienced' you are, again, he won't care if he loves you." Louis said quietly, he knew it sounded cheesy but it was true. If it were him for example, he'd wait forever.

As she turned on her Veela charm he closed his eyes tight, he knew the signs to look for when someone was going to do that, having grown up around girls with the same ability. "Lilah." He whined quietly, his voice pleading with her not to go down that track, it was too dangerous for their friendship. "Can we not go there?"

[Lilah Krum]

Lilah laughed gently in Louis' arms, her voice filling the air once more, "I just don't get it. Us girls can talk about that kind of stuff. I thought guys could too..." Lilah thought hard, thinking of guys and how confusing they really were. She was never really the kind of girl who could figure out a puzzle, or better yet any guy. Considering guys were like jigsaw puzzles.

Lilah chuckled softly, smiling up at her best friend. She rolled her eyes at him her voice continuing on, "Kay, well then let's just drop it considering I can't even figure out how I feel about the whole sex thing, okay? I led him on... I shouldn't have done that, Louis. UGH! This is so damn stressful!" She swore for what seemed to be the first time in front of Louis.

Lilah had never been the cussing type. It never really flowed through her blood like it seemed to other girls and guys. She sighed heavily, looking at Louis to see curiosity in his eyes. "What? Yeah, yeah! I cussed, get over it!" She said, turning her head back away from Louis, but looking back at him just as quickly.

"He does love me more than you will ever know, Louis! He can wait... but I don't know if I want to wait." She groaned, feeling stressed out again. "Kay, no more on this conversation, okay?" She said, finally looking deeply into Louis' eyes. "Why can't we talk about it? You're just gonna tell me who you have a crush on!"

[Louis Weasley]

Louis was slightly taken aback as Lilah cussed, but laughed as she looked away from him, "Sorry, but you never do that." He managed to say before she started talking again. He sighed as she said that he'd never know how much James loved her, I think I have a pretty good idea, he thought bitterly to himself.

"Ok, no more about you and James sleeping together, for now." He nodded, looking back into her eyes for a moment before looking away. His head falling back against a cushion and his eyes closing. "I just don't want to talk about it Lilah, Ok?" He really wanted her to drop the subject but doubted she would. She could be a stubborn girl.

He knew, if things had been different, namely if she wasn't with James, he'd tell her, without thinking about it. But what could he say now? It's you Lilah, has been for years, I was just too scared of messing things up between us that I didn't tell you and now everything is messed up because I love you and you love my stinking cousin. No he couldn't say that. He could never say that.

[Lilah Krum]

Lilah shrugged underneath Louis' arms as he spoke to her once more. "Well, y'know... things change... people change." she chuckled with sarcasm, smiling up at her best friend. "Does me cussing bother you, Mr. Weasley? If it does I can stop, I swear." She said, her chocolate brown eyes swimming in a pool of warmth and friendliness.

Cracking up at Louis' next statement, Lilah turned into his chest, laughin hysterically into his buff chest. "HA! Well, when you put it like that it sounds hysterical, love." She chuckled, rolling her eyes with humor. Gosh she loved that boy. He was indeed her best friend, and she felt so close to him. She missed the old days when it was just the two of them. No one else.

Lilah crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly as Louis rejected her. Her jaw clenched, in the way that it always did whenever she didn't get her way. "Why can't we talk about it?!" She asked, her eyes wild, "Oh. I get it. She's weird isn't she? I don't give a crap, Louis! Just tell me who it is! Please?" She asked once more, batting her eyes up at him.

[Louis Weasley]

"Indeed they do, but no, you cussing does not bother me, Miss Krum. If anything it amuses me, greatly." Louis laughed, his blue eyes dancing with laughter as they looked into her deep brown ones. They were home. Whenever she was around him he felt happy, and grounded.

His chest rumbled with a stifled chuckle as she laughed into his chest. "I suppose it does." He managed to say without laughing before it finally escaped him and he couldn't help but laugh. It was her fault, her happiness was infectious, and together they always seemed so free, not caring what anyone thought because they didn't judge each other.

He bit pack a smile as Lilah assumed her stubborn, but slightly annoyed stance, one of his hands reaching up and running a finger along her clenched jaw. The weirdest. But that's not the point Lilah, I just don't want to talk about it. Please, just drop it, it'll be best for every one." He sighed, closing his eyes again, he couldn't stand saying no to her when she looked at him like that, and the worst thing was that she knew it and used it against him. Regularly.

[Lilah Krum]

Lilah Krum. The last name didn't say it all in truth. It just told about her father, but nothing about her mother. Her looks and inevitable charm said everything about her mother though. You could tell that her mother was blond and a full blooded veela. Though, Lilah's mother had passed. Shaking her head, Lilah turned her attention back to Louis. "Okay, although I wont be cussing all that much, my friend... so don't get too use to it, okay?" Lilah smirked, leaning her head down on Louis shoulder. She sighed heavily once more, her heart thudding.

Louis' laugh was calming as he finally busted out into hysterics. She closed her eyes gently, the past coming back. The wonderful, humor filled past. Lilah's eyes flickered open as she listened to Louis, feeling his finger run along her clenched jaw. A half smile pulled up on her face, and she batted her eyes once more, her hand lingering on his chest. "I can't drop it, Louis. You know I can't. I have to know! You know who I'm in love with... I mean it's only fair, don't you think?" She said, her eyes filled with veela charm, and curiosity.

"Please, just tell me Louis. I don't see any harm in it, so what's the big deal?" She asked, pulling herself closer to him. Her face was inches away from his as her veela charm elevated to the highest point. She bit her lower lip, eying his lips seductively, but fakely. All she wanted was to know who he liked, that was all. Why couldn't he tell her? I mean it was a simple question and answer! Her mind whirled and she winked at her best friend gently. "I wont tell anyone, I swear..." She said slowly and gently. She wouldn't tell anyone the secret that she was about to withhold.

[Louis Weasley]

"Fair enough." Louis smiled as she smirked at him. Sure he knew she was half Veela, and while he wasn't quite half Veela, he still had Veela blood in his vains. Thanks to his grandmother.

He took a deep breath as she rested a hand on his chest, knowing what was coming, he could see it in her eyes. "You can drop it Lilah, you know you can. But you won't!" He sounded a little exasperated. "It's not like everyone doesn't know who you're in love with, after all, you are in a relationship with the guy." He sighed, "So I don't see why I should tell you."

As she moved her face closer to his he closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them he felt the full brunt of the Veela charm, it wasn't good, not at all. Taking a deep breath he tried to push it out of his mind. When he spoke his voice was just above a whisper, his voice soft and silky, his on charm coming through, "Of course you don't see any harm in it, but I'm not telling you. So, please, just let it go."

[Lilah Krum]

Rolling her eyes again, Lilah pressed herself against her friend, the charm getting slightly out of control. "NO, I WONT! So why don't you just tell me?! Huh? Because trust me... this can go on forever, my friend!" She talked slightly above average, shaking her head angrily. "Uh-uh! You can't tell if someone is in love with someone if they are just in a relationship! I specifically told you who I was in love with, so there!" She said, her eyes filled with fury. She wanted to know more than anything, and she wasn't planning on letting it go anytime soon.

Lilah leaned back against the chair, her veela charm turning off. She didn't want to do this anymore. She knew that soon enough he would hate the anger that she was showing him and eventually tell her. She could tell when he turned on his veela charm, and turned back to look at him. Her eyes were fierce, and she pounded hard on his chest with anger, "UGH! Gosh damn it, Louis! You're being such a pain in the ass! Just tell me already! SHIT!" She yelled, shaking her head in fury.

"You WILL tell me, and you know it! You simply wont be able to resist it, my love." She smirked, finally deciding to make a compromise. "Fine. I'll tell you one of my deepest secrets, if you tell me who you like! One of my deepest, darkest, secrets. I swear, Louis. Just tell me, because it's KILLING me!" She said, leaning her head back down against his chest comfortably. Her heart thudded with anger as she spoke, and her head spun with the secret she was about to tell him.