Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, any characters you notice aren't mine, ones you don't notice are mine.

Chapter 1

Lily Evans climbed the steps to the boys' dorm. Reaching the seventh year dorms, she walked to the third door on her right, on which she knocked lightly. A boy with dark hair that fell into his eyes with elegance opened the door.

"Hello, Ms. Evans. How may I help you?" he asked, putting on a smile that would make most girls melt.

"Hi, Black," Lily replied, not returning any of the enthusiasm to see him. "Is Potter around?"

"Yeah, he's here. Come in," the boy said, standing aside.

Lily stepped into the room.

It was overt that the dorm belonged to boys: Clothes littered the floor, along with books and other items; only one of the five beds was made; and Quidditch posters covered the otherwise blank walls. Two other boys were also in the room: A sandy haired, pale looking boy was putting his books in his bag, while a chubby, mousy haired boy frantically tried to finish his homework.

"Hi, Lily," said the sandy haired boy.

"Hi, Remus," Lily replied.

"I'll get James for you," said Black, walking over to a door. "Prongs, Lily's here to see you."

"Okay, I'll be right out," replied a voice on the other side.

"Sirius, how many times have I asked you not to leave your pants lying on the floor?"

"Sorry, Moony."

Lily had always wondered what was with their nicknames. When she asked Remus about it one year while they were Prefects together, he only told her it was something they just came up with. "We're the Marauders, we figured we needed nicknames," he had said. However, Lily got the feeling there was something more to it, but she never pressed the issue. Lily was unable to ponder more about this for the bathroom door opened. A boy wearing trousers but no shirt came out, running a towel through his jet-black hair. The boy was built from playing Quidditch and glasses framed his hazel eyes.

"Hey, Lily."

Lily did not return the greeting. "I just came by to tell you that we have to be at a Prefects' meeting after breakfast," she said before turning to leave the room.

"Thanks, Lily, I-" James began, but she was already gone. "-really appreciate it," he finished to himself, sulking over to his bed. "I don't understand her," he sighed. "I mean, breakfast is in two minutes, yet she comes up here to tell me about the meeting. She doesn't even speak to me in public. Even at the meetings, she only talks to me to discuss ideas, and she leaves right after it's over, so I can't talk to her then. I changed over the summer, but how am I supposed to show her that when she won't even give me the time of day?"

Remus stepped forward.

"James, you have changed a lot, and eventually, Lily will see that; you just have to give her time and keep up with your responsibilities. We've only been back at Hogwarts for three weeks, and she's probably still in shock that you made Head Boy. She'll come around; it just might take a while. You can't really blame her though; you two haven't exactly had the best history."

"That's an understatement," James snorted. He stood from the bed, sighing. "Well, we better get down to breakfast."

*******

Lily walked back to her own dorm to gather her books. Immediately upon entering the room, she was greeted with a question from her best friend, Faith Mendel.

"Lily, have you seen my blue hair scrunchie?" Faith asked, rummaging through her trunk frantically.

Lily looked over at Faith and noticed a baby blue scrunchie on her wrist.

"Uh, Fay," she said, using her friends' nickname, causing her to look up.

Lily glanced back over to the hair tie. Faith followed her gaze and laughed.

"I hate when I do that," she said, pulling her dishwater blond hair into a ponytail.

Lily and Faith heard someone snicker and looked over to discover that two of their roommates had seen the whole thing.

"Any dumber and she'd be a doorknob," one of them sneered.

"Being a blond must really get to her," the other chimed as they walked to the door.

"Then what's your excuse, Johnson?" asked a voice.

All four girls looked over to see their fifth roommate, a black haired girl, walking out of the bathroom.

The girl's response was a huff as she left with her friend.

"I hate those two."

"Me too, Carmen, me too," Lily agreed before turning to her friend. "Don't let them get you down, Fay."

"Don't worry," Faith said. "I know I'm a klutz; I'd loose my head if it wasn't attached," she laughed, grabbing her bag. "Well, let's get down to breakfast. I'm starving."

Lily and Carmen gathered their things, and the three girls walked out of the dorm. When they reached the Common Room, they quickly noticed a small group of people gathered around the couch. Many were cheering and some gave out catcalls.

"I wonder what's going on," said Faith.

The three girls looked over at the couch. One of their roommates was straddling a boy, and they were engaged in some pretty heavy snogging.

"Gross, ever heard of a room?" Faith asked as Lily walked over to the couch.

"Hem, hem." Her cough caused the couple to look up. "I'm sure you two wouldn't mind continuing this somewhere else, like say in detention. Tonight."

"Excuse me?" asked the girl, flipping her dark brown hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Robyn, maybe I should clarify myself so your simple mind can understand: You two have detention tonight as seven o'clock for inappropriate display of affection, A.K.A snogging in public and causing a scene."

Robyn got off the couch, grabbing her boyfriend by the hand, scowling at Lily as she brushed past.

"She's such a ****." Lily heard Robyn say on the way to the portrait.

"You just earned yourself another detention, Smith," Lily called to her.

She turned back to the group of people who were standing around. "Okay, show's over."

As everyone walked away, Lily went back over to Faith. Carmen had already left the Common Room.

"Have I ever told you how happy I am you're Head Girl?" asked Faith.

Lily laughed as she turned to leave the room with her friend.


Hey, everyone, this is my third Lily and James fanfic, I hope you all enjoy it. Please tell me what you think here

Okay, here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to get up. And don't worry, I'm not giving up on FFY or SR, my muse for those stories just seems to have taken a little vacation, but I'll have them up as soon as I can. In the meantime, I hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 2:

On Thursday morning, Faith walked out of the bathroom to discover that Lily was still in bed. This was not like Lily at all; she was usually up before anyone else.

"Lily, are you going to get up?" Faith asked.

"I don't feel good," Lily grumbled.

She didn't look too well either: Her face was pale, and she seemed to be shivering beneath the covers. Carmen, who was closest to Lily, walked over to her bed, pressing her palm to Lily's forehead.

"She's burning up," Carmen said. "Do you think we should take her to the hospital wing?"

"I don't know, "Faith shrugged. "I mean, sometimes she gets real high fevers, but she usually sleeps them off." Faith walked over to the bed and stood beside Carmen. "Lily, does your stomach hurt? Do you have a headache? Anything like that?"

Lily only shook her head.

"Yeah, it's probably just has a fever." Faith said, before turning back to Lily. "You stay here and rest. I'll come check on you at lunch, okay?"

Lily nodded whilst Faith tucked the covers around her, making sure she was nice and snug.

Faith and Carmen finished getting ready and left the dorm fifteen minutes later. Down in the Great Hall, they found Carmen's boyfriend, Kevin, and sat next to him. Faith had began piling eggs onto her plate whilst talking to Carmen about their Charms essay.

"I stayed up half the night finishing the bloody thing. I didn't even get a chance to start on any of my other homework. I understand that it's our 7th year, but this is ridiculous. We've only been back for a few weeks and already they're giving us tons of homework-"

Faiths' ranting was soon interrupted.

"Where's Lily?"

Faith looked behind her to find James Potter standing there.

"She's still in the dorm, she's feeling ill," Faith said casually.

James' hazel eyes filled with concern.

"Ill?" he repeated. "Is she going to be all right?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She has a slight fever, but she's sleeping it off."

After breakfast, Faith went and the others headed to Potions class. Faith, Carmen, and Kevin sat at their table in the very front, while James and his friends sat at the table behind them. The bell rang shortly after and Professor Slughorn, an overweight, slightly balding man took role before addressing the class.

"Okay, class, today we are going to begin a project that will be due before Christmas break. You will get to work with a partner, which I will assign you." He paused for a second, looking around at his students. "This is your big project for the year. It's worth fifty percent of your grade, and I want you all to have an ample amount of time to complete it, which is why it's not due until Christmas. Now, the project: I want you and your partner to write about a potion. You have three to choose from: Poly Juice Potion, Veritaserum, and Felix Felicis." He wrote each on the board. "I want an essay on its history, uses, what part each ingredient plays in the potion, along with anything else you want to include. Are there any questions?"

Everyone was silent and the only sound was the scratching of quills on parchment as the students wrote down the information. Slughorn clapped his hands together and walked over to his class roster.

"Okay, I'll pair you up now. When I call your name and that of your partners, I want you to sit there quietly until I'm finished. Then, you may get with your partner. Today, I just want you to decide which potion you are going to research. Okay, first group, Ms. Adams...you will work with Mr. Pettigrew-"

Remus turned to James. "When Slughorn gets to Lily, he's going to let people volunteer to be her partner. You can volunteer and this will be your chance to show her you've matured."

James nodded. He loved the way his friends mind worked sometimes.

"Ms. Baldwin, you are with Mr. Echols...Mr. Black, with Ms. Johnson...Would anyone like to be paired with Ms. Evans?"

Faith was about to raise her hand when she heard someone behind her speak.

"I will, Professor," said James, his hand in the air.

Faith looked behind her as she heard Slughorn say, "All right, Mr. Potter. Thank you?"

She gave James a questioning look before turning in her seat and exchanging a similar glance with Carmen.

Slughorn continued to call out names. He ended up pairing Faith and Remus together, and when he was done pairing everyone up, he let them get with their partners to begin choosing their potion. After class, Faith walked up to James and his friends.

"What are you trying to pull, James?" she asked.

His friends looked between the two of them.

Faith continued to talk. "You know Lily's not going to be too happy about this."

"I know," James agreed. "But I changed over the summer, and I just want Lily to see that, but she won't even give me the time of day."

"He really has changed," Remus chimed in. "And even if, in the end, Lily doesn't like James that way, at least she'll see that he's more mature. Then, she'll be more likely to work with him as Head Girl. They'll get a lot done."

Faith studied Remus.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?"

Remus nodded.

Faith sighed. "It's going to take a miracle for this to turn out okay."

"I know, but trust me; I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't believe anything good could come out of it. Please say you're okay with it. You and I are partners and if you're mad at me, we're not going to get much done."

Faith was quiet for a few seconds. Then she sighed, and even though every part of her body was telling her this was going to turn into a disaster, asked, "Who's going to tell her?"

The boys smiled.

"I guess I will," said Remus. "Seeing as how it was my idea and all. Plus, Lily might be more likely to be somewhat accepting of the whole situation when she learns that I think it's a good idea."

"Believe me," Faith scoffed. "I don't think there's anything that could make Lily accepting of this. I really hope you all know what you're getting yourselves into."

"Well, in that case, Faith, would you go with me when I tell her? Maybe the two of us can keep her from hurting us or James."

Faith nodded.

"What about me?" James asked. "Should I be there too?"

"Uh, that's probably not a good idea," said Faith. "Lily's going to be pretty peeved, and you being there will probably just make things worse. No offense."

"None taken. I understand," he said. "Well, we better get to our next class."

Faith went up to check on Lily during lunch, as she said she would. She walked into the dorm to find Lily sound asleep in bed. Her friend had kicked off most of the covers.

'She's going to be so mad when she finds out,' Faith thought to herself as she tucked Lily in for the second time that day.

She felt her forehead. Lily's fever had gone down a little, but she was still warm.

Faith walked out of the room wondering what she had gotten herself into.


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Chapter 3

Lily woke up the next morning feeling much better than she did the day before. She climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Everyone else was still asleep. Once in the bathroom, she turned on the warm water and shed of her clothes. After being in bed for a whole day, what she needed now was a nice hot shower. Lily left the bathroom thirty minutes later with a towel wrapped around her.

Faith and the others were now awake and Robyn was waiting by the door.

"It's about time," she commented, pushing past Lily. "Merlin, how much time does one person need in the bathroom?"

"I don't know, Robyn. How long do you think it will take you to put on enough make-up to hide that hideous pimple on your forehead?"

"Pimple?" Robyn shrieked, slamming the door.

Lily, Carmen, and Faith all started laughing as Lily walked over to her bed. The bathroom door flew open and Lily looked over.

"What are you talking about, Evans? There was no pimple on my face."

"Sorry, I thought I saw a pimple," she said, glancing at Faith and smiling.

Robyn slammed the door and the two girls started laughing.

"I swear, if she did have a pimple, she's probably have a melt-down," Carmen said.

Lily agreed with a smile before getting dressed. After she was ready, she grabbed the stack of parchment on her bedside table and leafed through them.

"Thanks for getting my homework yesterday, Fay."

Faith looked up from brushing her hair. "It was no problem," she said. "Oh, by the way, Remus and I need to talk to you before breakfast."

"All right," Lily said, still going through the parchment.

Even though the group didn't have Potions again until Monday, Faith and Remus had decided it would be best to tell Lily before she saw James again. They figured it would give her enough time to get used to the idea and hoped that over the weekend her anger would have subsided enough for James to be safe around her. A few minutes later, the two girls were ready, walked downstairs to the common room, and then up to the boys' dorm. Faith knocked lightly on the door, opening it after Remus' voice told them to come in. The rest of the boys were already gone, and Remus was sitting on one of the beds.

Lily looked at him. "Faith said you two wanted to talk to me."

Remus nodded. "We do, but you might want to have a seat."

"Okay," Lily said slowly, sitting down on the closest bed with the same caution. "What is this all about?"

She watched as Remus walked over and stood next to Faith, who was the first to talk.

"We have something we need to tell you. Something that you're probably not going to like." Faith paused.

"What is it?"

Faith inhaled, trying to think of the best way to say this. "Do you remember on the parchment where I wrote your assignments down?" Lily nodded. "And did you read the Potion's assignment?"

"Do you mean the project?" This time Faith nodded. "What about it?"

Faith remained silent so Remus decided to pick up.

"Lily, we have partners for that project. Your partner is..." He took a deep breath. "Your partner is James."

Both Remus and Faith expected the redhead to explode, but she didn't. Instead, she looked back and forth between the two as if expecting them to say it was all just a joke. Neither of them, though.

"Did you just say my partner was James?" she asked calmly.

Remus nodded, thinking her fortitude was a good sign. Faith, however, wasn't so sure.

"How in the hell did this happen?" Lily asked, and Faith's suspicions were confirmed: Her best friend was keeping herself from yelling.

Faith quickly answered her question. "Slughorn asked if someone wanted to be your partner and James volunteered." Faith knew the next question and answered that one as well. "I tried to volunteer, but James said he would do it and Slughorn said okay.

Lily looked over at Remus, ready to ask him why he didn't stop James, but the guilty expression on his face told her all she needed to know. "This was your idea, wasn't it?" Remus suddenly became interested in the floor. "Remus, how could you do this? You're supposed to be my friend."

Remus looked up. "I am your friend, Lily. I'm sorry about this, I truly am. But James really has changed."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Lily scoffed as she stood from the bed. "I better get going; I want to get a start on my homework."

"What about breakfast?"

"I don't have much of an appetite," she said, leaving the dorm.

"I think that went pretty well," Remus said.

"It went better than it could've," Faith agreed. "But believe me, she's mad. She just held back from yelling for fear of what she might say."

"This is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?" Remus asked with a sigh, and Faith nodded. "Well, we might as well get down to breakfast. We're going to need our energy."

In the Great Hall, Faith sat with Remus and his friends. James looked up at the two.

"Where's Lily?"

"She wasn't hungry."

"She didn't take the news too well, did she?" he asked with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, James," Faith said. "She'll come around. Just give her some time. I know Lily, and she can be very stubborn, but if you really have changed, she'll eventually see that. She won't always hate you. Nevertheless, I really hope you have patience because you're going to need it. I mean, you do have six years to make up for."

James nodded. "I know."

Twenty minutes later, Remus, James, and Faith walked down to Ancient Runes. Lily was already sitting at the table she shared with Faith; a book was open in front of her. The three stopped in the doorway. After a second, James stepped forward, and Faith grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"I was going to go talk to her."

"That's probably not a good idea," Faith advised. "She's going through an I-want-to-kill-Potter stage right now, and you talking to her will only make it worse. No matter what you say to her," she added as James opened his mouth to protest.

Hesitantly, James agreed.

"Okay."

"Just stay close to Remus," Faith ordered as the three walked to their tables.

Lily didn't look up as Faith sat down at the table, nor when Remus and James walked past. Lily didn't even acknowledge her best friend the whole class period. When the bell rang, she gathered her books and filed out the room with the rest of the students, leaving Faith alone at the table. Remus and James walked up to her.

"I am so sorry, Faith," Remus told her.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because we dragged you into this, and now Lily's not speaking to you."

"Nobody dragged me into this, Remus. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I'll accept the consequences. She'll get over it."

"James and I talked about it, and if you don't want to do this anymore, we understand."

"Did you not hear me? I'm in this for the long run. I'm not giving up now. Besides, you two are going to need me: I know Lily better than anyone else does. Moreover, you're going to need someone who can keep Lily from attacking you. Telling Lily was the hard part. The rest is up to her."


Let me know what you think of the chapter here

Chapter 4

It was nearing nine o'clock and Lily sat in the common room, with a book on her lap. She was copying notes down on a piece of parchment. Since it was Friday night, many of the other students were still in the common room. Faith searched the crowd for her friend. She spotted a mess of red hair and made her way over to it.

"Mind if I have a seat?" she asked once she reached the couch. Without waiting for an answer Faith knew would not come, she sat down next to the redhead.

For a few minutes, the two girls sat in near silence: Lily taking notes as if she were alone, and Faith humming a tune.

"You can't ignore me forever, Lily," Faith said finally.

However, Lily did just that. She continued to ignore her, and thirty seconds later, Faith stood from the couch, worried. Faith turned, her back facing Lily, and took two steps away from the couch. Lily sighed behind her.

"Wanna bet?"

Faith smiled and spun to face her best friend, knowing she had been forgiven. After a fight with Lily, those were the best two words in the dictionary, and vise versa. It was their little way of saying they forgave the other. That was how they ended their fights, ever since their third year. Faith had actually started the whole thing, unintentionally, of course. She and Lily had had a fight in which Faith stopped talking to Lily; one night, Lily tried talking to her, and said she couldn't ignore her forever. Faith, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to talk to Lily, said, "Wanna bet?" and just like that, the argument was over. The next argument, it was Lily who was mad, and the same thing happened. From that point on, that was how they knew the other forgave them. It was sort of their way of calling a truce. Looking back, Faith couldn't even remember what the argument had been about. What she did remember, however, was sitting up with Lily the rest of the night, talking.

Now, she stared down at the girl. Lily looked miserable, as if she was agreeing to something that she really did not want to do. Faith studied her curiously.

"I guess if I'm going to get through this, I'm going to need my best friend to talk to," Lily told her. "What I don't get, though, is why you agreed to this in the first place."

Faith shrugged and sat down.

"I only agreed to it after the whole thing had already started. I'm on your side, Lily. You have to believe that. Just because I agreed to help James doesn't mean I'm against you."

"I know, I guess I just felt like you were taking their side over mine. You of all people know how much I despise Potter, and I guess I just thought you would agree with me. I expected Remus to do something like this; he's James best friend, but you're supposed to be mine."

"But Remus is the reason I decided it wasn't a horrible idea. I know you've always respected Remus' opinion, and I figured that I could trust him as well. And he truly believes James has changed."

"Yeah, but James has always been kind to Remus. And just because he thinks James has changed, doesn't necessarily mean that he has. James has always been a good friend, to the Marauders, but I'm thinking about how he treats people who aren't his friend."

Faith sighed. "Maybe James has changed, maybe he hasn't, but the only way you're going to know for sure is if you give him a chance."

Lily didn't reply, instead, she picked up her quill. "I've got to get back to my homework."

Faith grinned triumphantly; Lily knew her friend had a point but was unwilling to admit it.

"Then, I'll get out of your hair and let you get to work." Faith stood from the couch and walked off to find Carmen.

****

The weekend passed quickly and before the group knew it, Monday came. Faith, Remus, James, Sirius, Peter, and Carmen were anxious to see how Lily would behave in Potions. That morning was like any other: Breakfast was still held in the Great Hall; Faith, Carmen, and Lily still had Double Muggle Studies and Herbology; and the three girls walked to their third class of the day. Potions. The Marauders were already sitting at their regular table. Slowly, the rest of the students made their way to the class. A few minutes later, the bell rang and Slughorn called for the class to settle down. After taking role, he turned to his students.

"Okay, class, get with your partners and continue working on your potion."

The sound of shuffling and chitchat filled the room as students did as instructed. Everyone knew there was no chance of Lily walking over to James, so instead, he and Faith switched seats.

It was the longest forty-five minutes of James' life. Both he and Lily sat in silence, each taking their own notes. Finally, the bell rang and James stood to gather his things. He was shoving his books into his bag when he heard Lily speak.

"Meet me in the library at seven."

By the time James looked up, Lily was already heading for the door.

'Okay,' he thought to himself, 'This is my chance to prove myself to Lily.'

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he filed out of the classroom with Remus, Sirius, and Peter, who had been waiting for him.

*****

That evening at five to seven, Lily made her way down to the library. She opened the door to the room in which she had spent so much of her time. Many other students were there also, sitting at the round tables, books open in front of them, copying down notes. At some tables, there were only one or two students, at others, groups of four or five sat quizzing each other quietly. Lily glanced around for an empty table. There didn't seem to be one, but she continued looking anyway. During the search, something caught her eye. At a table, there was a boy sitting alone with books spread out on the table. His head was bent as he copied notes, and all Lily could see was messy black hair.

'Is that...' Lily wondered to herself.

She walked over to the table.

"James?"

The boy looked up and it was indeed James.

"Lily, have a seat."

Shocked, Lily pulled out the chair and sat down. She glanced at the various books scattered around the table. There were books on each potion.

'Is this really happening?' Lily asked herself. To say the least, she was mildly surprised, and, though she would never admit it, somewhat impressed that James had been there early and already working.

James voice snapped Lily out of her small trance.

"I was thinking that we could do Veritaserum." Lily looked up at him as he continued. 'Polyjuice Potion would probably be the easiest, but Veritaserum, while more complex, is quite interesting. Felix Felicis has some interesting ingredients used in it," he said, glancing at his notes, "but I still think Veritaserum would be the best one to do, in terms of what we could learn. Nevertheless, which ever you want to do is fine with me."

It took Lily a second to realize that James was watching her patiently, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, um we can do Veritaserum, that's fine."

"Okay," James said as he stood from the table. "I'll just put these books away, and I'll be right back."

He gathered the books on the table not pertaining to their potion and carried them away, leaving three books: The one he had been copying from and two others.

Lily took out parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink, picked up one of the remaining books, and began copying notes. When James returned a minute later, he sat down and resumed taking notes. For the next two and a half hours, they wrote in silence. With her hand nearly cramping, Lily placed her quill on the table and began stretching her hand. Only realizing what time it was after glancing at the clock.

"We should probably call it a night," Lily said to James whose head was still bent over a book.

He looked up at her.

"Huh?" James glanced at his watch. "Oh, wow. I didn't realize it was that late. Time flies when you're having fun."

Lily nodded uncertainly as she closed her book and rolled up her parchment. After putting the books away, James walked back to the table. Lily was about to ask when they should get together next when James spoke.

"Hey, Lily, I have Quidditch practice for the next few days..."

'I knew this was too good to be true,' Lily told herself. 'It was typical James behavior and I should have seen it from the start: He figured he would work for three hours and then not have to do anymore.'
"So, I was wondering if maybe you would like to meet me during lunch on Wednesday."

"What?"

"I-"

"No, sorry. I heard what you said, I'm just..."

"Shocked because that's not something the normal James Potter would say?" he suggested.

"Well, yeah. Sort of."

James chuckled. "I understand. So, what do you say?"

"Oh, to Wednesday. Uh, sure."

"Okay, well, I've got to meet up with Sirius, so I'll see you tomorrow. All right?"

"Yeah."

The two walked out of the library together but then headed off in different directions.

Lily walked back to the Common Room, replaying the events of the past few hours. The Gryffindor Common Room was nearly empty with only a couple students sitting on the couch, talking. Lily went up to her room to find Faith and Carmen waiting for her.

"How'd it go?" asked Faith.

"Better than expected," Lily answered before going into detail.

"So, does this mean you've changed your thoughts about James?"

"Hardly," Lily scoffed. "I was pleasantly surprised, but I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt just yet. It could've easily been an act. I mean, James has been an insufferable git for the past six years, and six years versus two and a half hours doesn't exactly balance out."

Faith sighed, but decided it best not to argue.


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Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it. I'm sorry for the long wait.

Chapter 5

Wednesday afternoon, Lily walked out of Charms and, instead of going to the Great Hall like normal, headed for the library. When she arrived, it was fairly empty: At the few occupied tables, students sat scrambling to finish last second work. Lily wasn't all that surprised when she didn't see James; his class was all the way at the other end of the castle. She sat down at a table and got out her notes from last time. She went over them, highlighting important details.

Five minutes later, James still wasn't there, but Lily didn't think much of it. 'He probably had to go his dorm to get his notes,' she told herself. However, after ten minutes had passed, she was starting to get annoyed. Another ten minutes passed and she was mad. She rolled up her parchment and put the lid on the inkbottle.

*********

James walked out of his classroom and pushed past students in a hurry to get to the library. He was halfway there when he realized he had left his notes in his dorms. Swearing quietly, he turned back and practically ran to his Gryffindor Common Room and up to the boys' dorm. On his way back to the library, he heard yelling.

'What now?' he asked irritated.

He looked over to see a small group of students watching two others. With a sigh, James checked his watch; he was already twelve minutes late for meeting Lily. Nevertheless, he knew he had to stop this. He glanced around for a teacher, or even a Prefect. Of course, none was in sight. With another sigh, he whipped out his wand.

"Okay, that's enough. Break it up," he said, walking over and standing in between the two students. He didn't really recognize either of them, but they looked to be fifth or sixth years. The patch on their robes told James they were Slytherins. "As I'm sure you are both aware of dueling in the corridors is against the rules."

"He started it," spat one of the boys, pushing his light brown hair off his forehead.

James did recognize the boy; he was on Slytherin Quidditch team, but he couldn't remember his name. Now that James thought about it, both boys were on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

The other boy merely smirked. "Can I help it if you're unable to satisfy your girl? She came to me practically begging to be shown a good time. How could I refuse?" The first boy stood there, clutching his wand so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Shut up," he hissed in a low voice.

"A girl like that has needs. It takes a real man to answer said needs. Don't blame me for you inadequacies."

"I said 'shut up!'" the boy roared, raising his wand.

"That's enough!" James yelled. "Regardless of who started it, you both have a week's detention and 50 points deducted from Slytherin. Each. Now get to lunch all of you," he demanded to the group.

The small crowd dispersed and James continued to the library, checking his watch again. He had just wasted four more minutes. He was a few feet away when he heard the brown haired boy speak.

"This ain't over, McNair."

"Maybe not," James heard McNair reply. "But it will have to wait; I'm supposed to meet Kendra."

James was about to turn the corridor when he heard one simple word. "Crucio!"

James spun back around just as McNair responded with "Stupefy."

Thankfully, both spells missed their targets, but this fact did nothing for James' mood.

"Accio wands," James yelled and both wands came flying towards them. He caught them, shoving them angrily into his pocket, along with his own. "Apparently," he began, his voice so dangerous that neither boy dared to move, "detention and docked points didn't teach you to a lesson." He grabbed the boys roughly by the neck of their robes. "So maybe, a visit to Dumbledore will do the trick."

With a slight shove, the three of them began walking. For a few minutes, none of them spoke, but then McNair broke the silence.

"You know, Scott, I really don't blame you for not being able to satisfy Kendra. She can be a bit hard to handle. Even I had a little trouble."

"Shut your mouth," the boy growled, much like he had minutes before when telling him to shut up.

"I doubt that many men could handle her," McNair taunted. "I'm just glad that she found someone who could give her what she needs."

Scott's hand balled into a fist as tried to lunge at the boy. Fortunately, James tightened his grip on the boys' collar at the last second.

"That's enough!" he yelled at McNair. "Quite egging him on. The next time you open your mouth, I'm taking 200 more points from Slytherin. Got it?"

Both boys nodded, but the smirk remained visible on McNair's face. Once again, there was silence. And, just like before, it was McNair who broke the silence after only a few minutes.

"I thought you said we were going to the Headmaster."

"Huh?" James asked.

"You said you were taking us to Dumbledore, but this isn't the way to his office."

"I know," James answered. "We've got to stop somewhere first."

Moments later, they came to a stop in front of the library.

"Wait here," James instructed the boys.

James entered the library just as Lily was shoving her parchment and other material into her bag.

"Lily," James called out, walking over to her.

James could tell by the look on her face that she was not happy. James didn't even make it to her table, for she started walking as if she had not heard him.

"Lily, something came up," James said, only to be shushed by Madam Pince.

For the first time, Lily acknowledged the boy. "James, if you weren't planning on showing up, why did you even ask me to meet you here in the first place?"

"I had every intention of showing up, but there were these students-"

"I don't want to hear it, James."

"And neither do I," hissed the librarian. "Some people are actually trying to work, so if you would be so kind as to take it outside."

"Just chill out," James said to the woman.

"Unbelievable," Lily muttered, shaking her head as she pushed past James to the door.

"Lily, wait," James ran after her, catching her by the arm just as they exited the library. "What did I do this time?"

"What did you do-- James, you can't just talk to the librarian like that. You're Head Boy; you're supposed to be setting an example. And that doesn't include yelling at the staff."

The two Slytherins stood, watching the scene. It became apparent to them that Lily had not yet noticed their presence.

"I'll go back and apologize. Will that help?"

"You don't get it, James. You shouldn't have to apologize. You should've known better than to do it in first place."

As she turned to leave, Lily finally noticed the two Slytherins standing against the wall.

"What are you two doing there?"

"They're the reason I was late," James explained. "I caught them dueling in the corridor and I'm taking them to Dumbledore. I stopped by here because I didn't want you to the think I'd stood you up, so to speak."

"If they were dueling, why didn't you just give them a warning," Lily asked, crossing her arms.

"I did, but they couldn't leave it at that," James told her. "Look, I know we won't have time today to get together. And I won't be able to try again tomorrow at lunch. So, I was thinking, we could get together later on tonight."

"I thought you had Quidditch practice."

"I do, but the guys can manage without me." James shrugged. "You think about it and let me know later. I've got to get these two to Dumbledore." He turned to the Slytherins. "Come on, let's go."

Lily merely stood there as the three walked off. After a few seconds, she headed to the Great Hall. For the first time, she actually started to toy with the idea that maybe James had changed. He loved Quidditch, yet he was willing to give it up to study. That was something Lily didn't even think was possible. That night at dinner, Lily walked over to James and his friends.

"Uh, James, I was thinking about what you said earlier, about meeting tonight."

"Uh huh."

"Well, we can just meet some other time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's fine."

"All right. If you're positive."

Lily nodded before going back over to her friends.

"So?" Faith asked as her friend sat down.

"I told him to go ahead and practice Quidditch."

"I still can't believe he actually offered to skip practice. I mean, I completely believe he's changed, but that boy lives for Quidditch."

"I know, that's why I couldn't let him go through with it." Lily, who had been piling potatoes on her plate suddenly stopped. "James knew that I couldn't let him skip Quidditch practice, I would never let myself live it down. He knew that. He knew that he was never in any real danger of having to give up Quidditch, and he gets credit for asking."

"Oh, come on, Lily. Now you're just being ridiculous. You've always been strong-willed, and that's one thing I admire about you, but now you're just being bull-headed."

Lily didn't say anything. Instead, she lowered her head and began eating.

Later that evening, Lily and Faith were in their room, studying. They both looked up as the door opened and Carmen walked in.

"James is looking for you, Lily," she said. "He's down in the Common Room."

"All right, thanks," Lily said, closing her book. She looked at Faith. "I wonder what he wants." Her only response was a shrug from her friend.

Lily left her room and walked down the steps. She found James sitting on a couch in the semi-crowded Common Room.

"I thought you had Quidditch practice," Lily said, walking over to him.

"I ended it early," James said. "I figured we could get together and work on our project. If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sure." Lily was in a bit of shock that James had cut practice short. Nonetheless, she went upstairs and gathered her notes. She and James spent the next forty-five minutes going over their notes.

Here's the next chapter everyone. I hope you like it. Sorry for taking so long to get it posted.

Chapter 6

Lily and James were on the couch, open book settled in between them. Lily was sitting with her legs crossed, parchment on her knee.

"So, what are some of the ingredients you found?"

"I think the most important one was-" someone coming in through the portrait cut off James, or rather two some ones.

Summer giggled when Sirius kissed her neck. After a few seconds, she looked up and her face of pleasure turned to one of surprise.

"Oh. Hi." Her tone suggested that she had known they were there the whole time.

Sirius pulled away from her neck and looked at the two on the couch.

"Hey, James. Lily."

Both merely nodded in response.

"Well, I guess we'll head upstairs," Sirius said, grabbing Summer by the hand.

Lily and James watched as they walked across the room and disappeared up the stairs, heard Summer's giggle echo through the empty stairwell.

"When did they start going out?" Lily asked.

"Probably the second they got paired up for the project." James' reply was half-serious.

Lily couldn't help but smile, and James couldn't help but notice how well it suited her.

"You have a nice smile."

His comment caused Lily's cheeks to turn slightly pink, James couldn't help but notice this either.

"I'm sorry if I offended you or anything."

"No. No, you didn't. It's just weird, I guess: Getting a compliment from you. Plus, I blush easily."

"Well, we should probably get back."

"Back where?" Lily asked, confused.

"To work."

"Oh, right," replied Lily, her blush deepening.

*****

A few weeks later, on a cool November Saturday, Lily and James were sitting outside under a big tree. Lily was propped up against the tree. She stretched out her legs, which had currently been crossed. For a couple of seconds, she watched James as he skimmed through his notes, making marks with his quill every occasionally. She set aside the book that had been doubling as a table for her to write on.

"James?" she began, unable to believe she was going to do this.

"Yeah?" He looked up from his own notes.

Lily took a deep breath.

"There's something I need to tell you-well ask you, really." She paused and James waited patiently. "And to do this, I have to swallow my pride. This isn't all that easy for me and I'm not exactly sure how to put it into words, so you may need to bear with me."

James rolled up the parchment and put the lid on his inkbottle, placing them next to him.

"I'm listening."

Lily drew another breath. "Here goes nothing. James, when Remus and Faith told me you were my partner for this project, that was due at Christmas, no less, I was furious. I was certain that I was going to hate working with you." Lily realized that once she got started, it easier than expected to put her many, jumbled thoughts into words. "That first day, when I told you to meet me in the library and you were there before me, I was pleasantly surprised. Nevertheless, I still wasn't convinced that you had changed; it could have been an act. Even after you cut Quidditch practice short to study, I was in denial. In the back of my mind, I knew you had changed, but it took a few days for me to quit being stubborn and accept that you had changed. In the past week or so, I've found it easier to get along with you. And I was wondering if you-if we could be friends," Lily finished.

James smiled but managed to hold back a laugh.

"That's it?" he asked. "That's what you wanted to ask?"

"Yeah." Lily bit her lower lip; she knew this was a bad idea.

James chuckled and shook his head.

"You must've really hated me if you had to swallow your pride and go through all that just to ask if we could be friends."

Lily smiled.

"You have no idea." Then, she realized what she had said. "I mean, that was how I used to feel. I don't feel that way anymore. I know you've changed. I-"

James cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about it. I know what you mean, and I don't blame you. I was a jerk. Sometimes, I think back to some of the things I did and I feel ashamed and embarrassed that I acted that way. But the past is in the past and there's nothing we can do to change it. What we can do, however, pretty much all we can do, is focus on moving forward. So, to answer your question, request, whatever you want to call it, yes. I think it would be great if we became friends."

"Wonderful," Lily said.

Without knowledge of reason, or even registering her actions, she threw her arms around his neck. Noticing whom she was hugging, Lily pulled away slowly.

"Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed.

James chuckled a little.

"It's fine. Friends hug, see," he said, pulling her into another hug.

Being this close to James Lily realized how good he smelled: Like body soap and shaving cream. Unlike most boys his age, who usually drowned themselves in cologne, James didn't appear to have on even a drop. One thing was certain: His scent was intoxicating. When James released her from the hug, Lily became self-conscious about her attraction to the way he smelled. She felt her face warm as he looked at her.

"What?" James asked.

"You smell good." She did not just say that aloud, did she? The confused expression on James' face told her that she, in fact, had spoken aloud. "Not that I was-I mean, you don't stink either-I just...Oh Merlin, please just shoot me now." She dug her head into her hands.

"Friends compliment each other, too," James said. "For example, I couldn't help but notice the pleasant scent of your hair; like green apples. Why don't we start over?" he suggested. "Hi, I'm James Potter, Head Boy and ex-egomaniac. And you are?"

Lily looked up slowly.

"I'm confused. I used to be Lily Evans, but she doesn't seem to be controlling my movements or motor skills anymore."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Confused, regardless of who is in control of your mind." James held out his hand.

Lily couldn't but laugh as she shook his outstretched hand.

"So, is there anything you'd like to accidentally blurt out?" James asked.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, maybe something about how rough, yet smooth, my skin is; or maybe how my handshake is firm yet gentle."

Lily laughed yet again.

"I thought you said you were an ex-egomaniac."

"There's a difference between having self-confidence and being conceited."

Lily placed her hand on her feigning admiration. "Wow, James, that's deep. Really deep. But you know it would be more convincing if you actually believed it."

James laughed.

"Congratulations, I believe that Lily is in control once again."

Lily laughed also.

"I guess she is." After a few seconds of silence, she became serious.

"You do realize that now since we're friends, our friends are never going to let me live down that I was wrong about you."

"Don't worry," James said. "I'll tell them to lay off or they'll be put in detention."

Lily felt her lips form into a smile. She heard the distant yet distinct sound of the bell from inside the castle, whether it was signaling lunch or dinner, she couldn't be sure. James must have thought the same as her for he looked at his watch.

"We should probably head inside."

"Why? What time is it?"

"Six," James answered as he gathered his things and stood, Lily did the same.

"Oh, wow. Already?" The question was rhetorical but James nodded anyway. "Time flies when you're blurting things out like an idiot."

"I thought it was kind of cute." Noticing the look on Lily's face, he quickly added, "I mean it was nice seeing that aren't perfect."

"Me, perfect?" Lily repeated. "I'm nowhere near perfect. If anyone's close to perfection, it's you."

"Me? But I thought you hated me."

"I did, but that didn't change the fact that you were good at every thing you did: You're school work, Quidditch, even being mean to people, you were great at that."

"Lily, I'm not perfect. There are plenty of things I can't do. For example, I can't cook to save my life. I remember this one time, Sirius and I tried to make pancakes. We'd made a complete mess of the kitchen before we realized that neither of us had any idea of what we were doing."

Lily laughed. "No way," she said as James opened the oak doors to the castle and followed her in.

"Yes way. Flour was everywhere. It was a disaster."

They were laughing when they felt hands pulling them into a broom closet.

"What the-"

"Lumos." Lily held out her wand, the light illuminated two faces. "Remus? Faith? What are you two doing?"

"We saw you guys hugging, so spill," demanded Faith.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Lily's head. She looked over at James and winked before walking over to him. She stood in front of James and leaned back into him while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, you see," Lily began. "James and I were working and I told him that I knew he had changed, giving this whole big speech. Then, I asked if we could be friends."

"And I said yes," James finished.

"Wait a minute. Just friends. That's it?" Faith asked.

"That's all I can handle. We like each other as friends. No more, no less," Lily said, stepping away from James. "Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to take my books up to the dorm."

After Lily had left the closet, Faith looked at the boys.

"She has no idea how perfect you two looked standing there with each other," she told James.

"Yeah," agreed Remus. "But don't worry, mate, she'll come around."

"Maybe," James said. "But for right now, I'm just happy she doesn't hate my guts. I'm perfectly content with being friends."

Hey, everyone. I'm really sorry for the long wait. Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it.

Chapter 7

A mere week had passed since the Saturday afternoon under the tree, but it had felt like an eternity. Lily and James were getting along better than ever; it wasn't uncommon to find the two of them in an empty Common Room or up in the boys' dorm, talking. They often lost track of time during their conversations. Anytime Lily had to vent about something, James was there to listen or offer his advice. In return, Lily listened to James, though he usually shared amusing stories about his friends' antics. With the stress of her final year and Head duties, Lily often found it was just what she needed.

Coming back from the owlry, Lily gave the portrait the password to the Common Room. There were students scattered about: Some were playing Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess; some were attempting to study; and others were just hanging out, but two particular students caught her eye. Occupying a chair off in the corner, the couple was embarrassed in a heated snogging session. Lily marched over to the couple.

"Hem, hem," she coughed loudly.

Sirius and Summer disengaged themselves from each other and looked up at the Head Girl. Immediately, Sirius put on his heart-melting smile.

"May we help you, Ms. Evans?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you may, by getting a room," Lily said. "You both know very well that PDA is against the rules."

"We were only kissing," protested Summer.

"No, you were setting a bad example for the younger students," corrected Lily, motioning to a group of giggling first-years watching.

Summer scoffed. "Who died and made you Mother Theresa?"

"C'mon, Sum, let's just go somewhere else," requested Sirius.

"As a seventh year, you're obligated to be a good influence on the grades below you," Lily retorted, both she and Summer ignored Sirius.

"Well, I'm sorry not everyone can be a stuck up prude like you."

"Seriously, babe, let's just go," Sirius insisted, pushing Summer up off the chair and standing behind her. Taking her hand, he practically dragged her out through the portrait.

Lily stood in dismay for a few seconds before going over to the steps and heading up to the boys' dorm. Without bothering to knock, Lily threw open the door and entered.

"Do you think I'm a prude?" she asked.

James looked over from his desk, slightly confused at her entrance and question.

"Um, no. Why do you ask that?"

"No reason," she sighed. "It's just something someone said." Lily walked over and sat on James' bed. After a moments silence, she spoke again. "Actually, it was Summer Johnson; I caught her and Sirius kissing."

James turned in the chair to look at her directly. "What did she say, exactly?"

Lily told him of the encounter.

"Don't mind her," James said after she had finished. "She's just mad that she got in trouble. You're not a prude." James could see that Lily wasn't convinced, so to lighten the mood, he added, "Of course, if you really want to prove her wrong, you could always sleep with me." Lily gave him a skeptical look and he continued, "As a bonus, I'll even tell my friends how great you were, and you could be overheard saying that I was good, but you'd had better."

Lily managed to cover her smile with a scowl.

"Do you want me to sound like a Scarlet woman?"

James shrugged.

"It's better than a bunch of snobs thinking you're a prude."

Lily sighed. "You're right." James wasn't entirely sure what he was right about until Lily added, "I was being ridiculous. I mean, since when do I care what people like Summer Johnson think? When she said that, though, I just got to thinking that maybe she was right. I've only had one boyfriend and even then, all we did was kiss. And it probably doesn't help matters that we broke up because I wouldn't do more."

"Did you love him?"

Lily didn't really see how the question was relevant, but she answered anyway. "No." She scoffed, "That's really the reason I left him: He tried pulling the 'If you loved me, you'd do this.' I just laughed in his face and said, 'Well, it's a good thing I don't love you.'"

James couldn't help but think that was definitely something Lily would say. However, what she did next utterly confused him: She cracked up laughing.

"Merlin," Lily said, catching her breath. "I must really be losing it." James decided it was best to keep his comment to himself, fearful of how she might react. "I guess all the school work and Head duties must be getting to me."

James studied her face for a second. "I don't know; your skin looks pretty clear to me."

He was right; she did breakout when she was stressed. Now the question was how James knew that. He must have sensed what she was thinking for he spoke hurriedly.

"Remus told me. After that day in fifth year, down by the lake, I had said something about the volcano on your chin; Remus told me to lay off, that you got pimples when you were stressed."

Lily nodded. "Oh." After a few second's thought, she smiled. "So, it must be you that's caused me to lose my wit."

James crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "This I gotta hear."

"It's quite simple, actually. Since we've become friends, I no longer have to put up with your daily harassment. Therefore, I don't have to produce cheeky comebacks. It's a case of if-you-don't-use-it-you-lose-it."

James considered this for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I see your point. So, what can I do to help?"

"Excuse me?"

"I would like to know how I can be of assistance in helping you get your wit back. I, too, have a busy schedule and, quite frankly, can't afford having you running to me every time you feel insecure."

Lily smirked. "Well, I'm terribly sorry that I've imposed on you. Maybe I should be consulting someone with more intelligence. Besides, talking to you doesn't seem to be that effective, otherwise, I wouldn't always need more advice."

Before James could get a word in, the door opened, Carmen and Kevin emerging from behind it. The couple, embraced in a kiss, failed to notice Lily and James' presence. With a shared look, they decided to see how long it took to be "discovered." In the meantime, they watched as Carmen, caught in between the wall and her boyfriend, pulled Kevin's shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. It became increasingly difficult to tell whose hands were whose. After about a minute, Kevin pulled away from Carmen and began kissing her neck. Carmen's hand, starting at his shoulder, slid down to Kevin's belt. It was then that she opened her eyes and noticed Lily and James, who were smiling.

"Kev," she gasped.

The boy must have taken this as a sign of encouragement for he continued to kiss her neck as his hand made its way up her shirt.

"Kevin, stop," Carmen said firmly, pushing him away slightly.

Kevin looked at her, confused. "What is it?"

"Hem, hem." Lily's cough was gentle, unlike the harsh one that she had used on Summer and Sirius.

The boy's head jerked toward the sound. His face reddened a bit. He spoke while still trying to catch his breath. "James, Lily, I-I'm sorry, we didn't see you there." His hand reached the doorknob. "We'll just go somewhere else."

James stood from the chair; Lily followed his lead. "No. No, it's okay. We'll leave." They made their way to the door. "You two have fun," he mused, following Lily out of the room.

Once out in the hall, Lily laughed. "Well, we know Carmen's definitely not a prude."

"That's for sure," James agreed as he and Lily headed to the steps.

Upon reaching the Common Room, which was still relatively full, James turned to Lily.

"Well, I should probably head to the library; I need to finish my report," he said, before his face dropped. "Blimey, I left my stuff upstairs."

"You could always wait until they're done," Lily suggested sympathetically, though a smile was playing at her lips.

"That could be a while and it's due Monday." James shook his head with a sigh. "No, I'm going to have to go up and get it."

This time, Lily laughed half-heartedly. "Good luck."

"Yeah, I'm going to need it," James grumbled as he trudged to the steps.



Lily went up to the girls' dorm. Deciding that she needed to start on her own homework, she grabbed her stuff beside the bed and sat at the desk. The parchment was placed before her on the desktop, and Lily was about to dip her quill into the ink when the door flew open.

"Lily, you will never believe who just asked me out," Faith announced ecstatically. Before giving Lily a chance to guess, she blurted, "Dean Vessel."

"No way," Lily replied, standing up. "You mean, the Dean Vessel?" Her friend nodded, a grin permanent on her face. "The one you've fancied since fifth year?"

"The one and only," Faith beamed. "It turns out that he's liked me for years too; he just couldn't work up the courage to ask me out."

"I need details," Lily insisted, sitting on the bed.

Faith, however, was too excited to sit and dove right into the story. "Okay, so I was coming out of the library-I had to get books for the Ancient Runes essay. I don't understand why Professor Gortyna insists on giving us a foot-long essay to do over the weekend- but anyway. That's when we bumped into each other, literally. MY books scattered everywhere and he helped me pick them up. Both of us were apologizing profusely, adamant it was our own fault. As we were standing, he said 'You're Faith Mendel, aren't you?' I said yes, and he introduced himself-as if I needed an introduction. We started walking and I noticed he was acting nervous, rubbing his neck and all. He mentioned Hogsmeade weekend, asked if I had any plans. Of course, by this time, my heart was about to burst. I was afraid I might say something daft, so I just shook my head. Then, he says, all casual like, 'Well, I was kind of wondering if you'd like to hang out.' Before I could stop it, I squealed. Embarrassing, right? I was so afraid I'd scared him off, but he just laughed; he thought it was cute. There was an awkward silence. Then, he did it, he leaned forward and kissed me.

"We just spent the past half-hour talking. Well, actually, we only talked for ten minutes; the rest of the time we snogged." She got a dreamy look on her face. "He's an amazing kisser. And look-" She moved her blonde hair off her neck, revealing a bruise-like spot. "He gave me a love-bite," she said proudly. "By the way, what's wrong with James?" Lily wasn't in the least surprised about Faith's sudden change of topic. She was used to it. "I just saw him in the Common Room and he looked a bit traumatized."

"Oh, that's probably because he walked in on Carmen and Kevin." Lily went on to explain her conversation with James.

Faith laughed. "That poor lad, even after he's proven himself decent, you still find a way to blame him for everything."

A/N Hey, guys, I wanted to give you all my deepest apologizes for taking so long with this chapter. Nevertheless, I really hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 8

Dinner that night was unusual, to say the least. Though it wasn't as if anything particularly bizarre happened, several minor differences were apparent. Any one of these events alone wouldn't have been decisive but with all of them occurring at the same time, it seemed like a phenomenon. Outside of the Great Hall, Lily became formally acquainted to Dean Vessel, a somewhat lanky, brown-haired boy. Dean was a whole head taller than Faith, whose height had never been her strong suit. The two made an odd pair but seemed to balance each other out. The three headed into the Hall, and being from a different House, Dean walked over to the Ravenclaw table, only to join Faith at Gryffindor moments later. Everyone noticed that Sirius and Summer were missing. The final, and probably most humorous, thing was the fact that James, Carmen, and Kevin could not look at each other without shifting awkwardly in their seats. After dinner, everyone went their separate ways: Faith and Dean retired to the library; James and the guys walked with Lily and Carmen to the Common Room where they all departed to their dorms.

"Bloody hell," Carmen said when she and Lily reached their room. "I didn't think I was going to make it through dinner."

Lily smiled. "I figured it must've been pretty bad when Faith said James looked horrified."

Carmen shook her head. "You have no idea," she mumbled. "So, Faith and Dean finally got together," she said, changing the subject.

"Yep."

*****

"I'm going to go get a shower," Carmen told Lily, who was sitting on her bed, cross-legged with her books spread out in front of her.

While Carmen was in the bathroom, the bedroom door opened and Robyn, literally, stumbled into the room, tripping over her own feet. Lily could smell the alcohol and looked up to find her drunken roommate sneering at her, daring her to say something about her condition. Lily considered handing out some form of punishment but decided it wasn't worth it and went back to work. She could practically see Robyn's triumphant grin.

A few minutes later, Carmen emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She immediately picked up the pungent scent.

"Blimey, Robyn, did you leave any Firewhiskey for the rest of the world?"

The girl threw Carmen a dirty look before tripping into the bathroom, yelping as her toe hit the tub. Carmen snorted while Lily shook her head with a smile.

"I don't see why she drinks," Carmen began. "I mean, she's hardly graceful sober."

Lily laughed as the door opened once again. Carmen and Lily looked over to see Summer make a more quiet and practical entrance than her friend had minutes before.

"Where's Robyn?" Summer asked.

As if summoned, the drunken girl emerged from behind the bathroom door.

"Hey," she crooned with a mischievous smile. "You missed dinner. Sirius wasn't there either."

Summer smiled. "Yeah, we were...busy."

"So, you two..."

Summer nodded, still smiling.

"Well, all I can say is it's about time," slurred Robyn. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to give it up."

Lily noticed Summer's smile falter a bit. However, it could have been her imagination because in the next second, she was smirking.

"Hey, a girl's gotta have standards. You can't just shag the first guy bloke that offers. We can't all be you," she added in a teasing tone.

"What's wrong with being me?"

Carmen scoffed. "You got a while?"

Robyn turned to her with a scowl. "Was anyone talking to you?"

Carmen met her scowl. "You asked a question and I answered. Is it my fault that the truth hurts?" She smirked.

Robyn glared at Carmen, but before she had a chance to retort, the door opened and Faith walked in, wearing a smile. Robyn merely huffed and turned on her heel.

"Have fun studying with Dean?" Lily asked.

Before Faith had a chance to answer, a different, more annoying voice broke in.

"That's right, you're dating Dean Vessel. You could do so much better than him." Robyn eyed her up and down. "On second thought, maybe not."

"Don't mind her," Carmen told Faith. "She's just ****ed because I told her off. So, studying, huh? What was the subject?"

"Each other." Noticing Lily and Carmen's exchange of glances, Faith added, "Not like that. We talked-about our families, likes, dislikes." Faith sighed dreamily. "He's such a gentleman."

"Someone gag me, please." Robyn's voice broke in. This time, Lily was certain of the glare she threw at Summer.

"Seriously," the girl agreed, though her heart didn't seem in it.

"--I can't wait until Saturday," Faith continued, ignoring the interruptions. "Dean and I will get to spend the whole day together. Just the two of us." She let out another dreamy sigh.

"Put a sock in it already," Robyn snapped, earning a glare from Lily.

Nevertheless, Faith was unfazed, the grin on her face remained. Lily admired her friends' insouciance: only Faith could be completely insulted and not pay a lick of attention or care. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Faith.

"I'm glad for you, Faith," Lily said.

"Yeah, me too," Carmen assented.

"Thanks, you guys," Faith said, pulling them into a hug.

Lily yawned. "I'm going to hit the sack. I'm knackered; it's been a long day." She bid the others goodnight and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed.

Hours later, after the rest of the girls retired to bed, Lily thought she heard the sound of a door opening and closing but assumed it was just someone in the bathroom. A bit later, having woken up completely, Lily pulled back the hangings. The first thing she noticed was the bathroom light was off. The second was that Summer's bed was empty. Lily figured she was in Sirius' room, which only annoyed her; Sirius knew how much trouble she and James could get in for two students of the opposite sex sleeping in the same dorm, especially when both of those students were from their own dorms. Throwing the covers off, she climbed out of bed and left the room. As she reached the common room, the distinct sound of crying filled her ears. Not like a sob, but more of a muffled cry. Moving closer, Lily noticed a crumpled heap on the couch.

"Summer?"

The girl looked up, startled. The dying fire provided enough light to make out the large teardrops sliding down her cheeks. More spilling from red and puffy eyes when she blinked. Summer hastened to wipe off her face but broke into a fresh wave of sobs before she could actually achieve anything. Her face disappeared behind her hands. Lily shouldn't have cared; Summer had never been anything but a complete cow to Lily and her friends, but her heart was too soft to just walk away. It was clear this girl was seriously hurting, regardless of past behavior.

"Summer, are you all right?" Lily asked, sitting on the couch. She remained seated even though her only response was crying. "I know we've never really...gotten along, but if you need to talk, I'm here," she offered softly.

She waited a few more minutes before getting a reply.

"I didn't want to," Summer finally said as she fought to catch her breath. "I-I was...saving myself," was all she managed before breaking down again.

Lily had a pretty good idea what Summer was talking about but was still confused. Sure, Sirius was a bit...hormonal, but he would never pressure a girl into doing something they didn't want to do. Lily waited patiently as Summer composed herself.

"Robyn has always sort of hassled me because I was a virgin, and the past two years, she's really been pushing me. I've always managed to avoid it: I'd say the guy was a bad kisser; I'd heard other girls say he wasn't good." She paused and drew a shaky breath. "When I started dating Sirius, I knew it was only a matter of time. I was out of excuses. He was everything I could ask for: He was kind, considerate, and I even...you know. The only problem was that I don't love him. It's not as if I was saving myself for marriage, but I was waiting until I fell in love with someone. I've always wanted my first time to be with someone I truly loved, someone who loved me back. Sirius is great and all, but there's just not that over-the-moon feeling. I see other girls hooking up with random blokes and I just don't get that. I believe that your first time, or any other time for that matter, should be special and shared with someone you love.

"I'm never going to have that. Especially now that I've already done it, Robyn's going to be on to me about not being choosy. I mean, before, she at least attempted to understand why I was so particular, but now..."

Lily was speechless; this was a side of her roommate that she had never seen before. Fortunately, there was no need for her to find words of comfort. Summer was speaking again.

"I've lost the chance to have that ultimate first time where I was head-over-heels in love, overcome with it. Instead, I wasted it on a fling--a shallow, practically meaningless relationship. And I can never get it back--"

"Summer?"

The two girls looked up to see a figure standing at the foot of the steps leading to the boys' dorm. Though his face was lost in the shadows, they could tell it was Sirius by his voice.

"Is...is what you just said...true?"

"Oh, God." Summer buried her head in her hands again.

Guilt spread across Sirius' face as he hurried over to scoop Summer into his lap.

Lily stood from the couch awkwardly. "I'll just leave you two alone."

"I had no idea," Sirius said, searching his mind for clues he might have missed. Some sort of indication of hesitance: a missed look, an ambivalent sigh. He couldn't recall a single one. In fact, she had been the one to initiate it.

"I made sure you didn't." Her voice was surrounded by a sob.

"Oh, Summer." Sirius hugged her tighter. "Why did you go through with it if you were saving yourself?"

"I was sick of Robyn mocking me." She repeated what she had told Lily.

Sirius sat dumbstruck, not sure of what to say, how to make this better. He didn't love Summer, by any means, but that didn't mean he wanted to take something that didn't belong to him, see her falling a part like this.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. Wishing the words could take away the pain he had caused but realistically knowing they couldn't, which only made him feel worse. "For everything. The way Robyn was, ruining your first time, everything."

Summer glanced up at him, tears streaming from her swollen eyes. Sirius saw the pain on her face, the guilt. What he didn't expect was the conviction.

"You can't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. I initiated the sex; I gave no indication that I wanted it any other way. This whole thing was nobody's fault but my own. Mine! I was so dumb, so stupid. I was too weak to stand up for myself. Too weak to tell Robyn to shove it. I got what I deserved."

"Don't say that!" Sirius' low growl startled her. She jumped and glanced up at him. Sirius immediately softened his voice, wiping away her tears. "You didn't deserve any of this. Not Robyn being a ****, not being denied your first time. None of it. You were entitled to wait as long as you wanted, to save yourself until you found the right guy. Robyn had no right to make you feel you had to sacrifice that in order to be her friend. A true friend would understand. Your body is your own. And sex is a big deal. No matter what anyone says." As Sirius said this, he wondered how many more were like her. How many other lives had he affected? He never initiated it in his relationships, and if the girl was even just a bit hesitant, he always stopped. But how many other girls had played it cool like Summer? Most importantly, what could he do to help?

Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. It's more of a filler than anything, but let me know what you think anyway. Please and thank you. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 9

The first thing Lily noticed the next morning was that Summer was absent from her bed. Despair overcame her as she remembered the ordeal the girl had suffered, and all to please Robyn. What had surprised her most was that last night she had seen the real Summer, and she had been nothing like the girl she had been pretending to be for the past seven years. In fact, now that Lily thought back, Summer wasn’t always that way. When they started sharing a room in First Year, Summer had actually been quite friendly and even a little shy, but then she started hanging out with Robyn and that lot, and she became a total cow.

Lily couldn’t fathom having to pretend you’re someone you’re not in order to be accepted by your ‘friends.’ Faith would never expect her to act a certain way and vice versa.

The room was quit, but for the soft snores coming from behind the curtains of the other girls’ beds. Lily made her way to the bathroom--thankful that it was Sunday, meaning she didn’t have to deal with classes after such an eventful day--and drew herself a hot bath. The good thing about a general Sunday, the others didn’t wake up for a few more hours so she had plenty of time to soak in the bath and interruptions were very rare.

Stripping of her clothes, she stepped into the tub and slid down until, allowing the warm water to loosen her muscles. She let her mind go blank; there was no schoolwork, no snobby girls, no Voldemort, no Head duties, just her and the water. This was her drug of choice: baths.

Sometime later, when she was all pruned, Lily stepped out of the tub and wrapped a white, fluffy towel around her body. Re-administering the towel after using a Drying spell on her body and hair. She brushed her teeth quickly and relished in the clean, refreshing feeling.

When she finally left the bathroom, Carmen was gone and Faith was sitting up in bed, stretching.

“Good morning,” Lily said, cheerfully on the way to her trunk.

“Yeah, yeah,” grumbled her friend. The only time Faith was grouchy in the morning was on weekends, when she would have liked to sleep in late but woke up before she felt she was fully ready to.

“Faith, you do this every weekend,” Lily began, as she took out Muggle clothes to wear. “You know you’re not going to sleep in the way you hoped so why does it always upset you?” she asked, though she knew she wouldn’t have it any other way. Truth be told, she didn’t know what she would do if she woke up on Saturday or Sunday morning and Faith was chipper.

Faith merely grumbled as she stood and made her way to the bathroom.

“I’m heading down to breakfast,” Lily called. “Do you want me to wait for you?”

“You’d better wait for me,” Faith said, her voice cheerful. Lily knew that the prospect of food would cheer her friend up.

With a slight shake of the head, Lily went to the task of making her bed. She was a bit of a perfectionist; she couldn’t function the rest of the day unless she knew that her bed was made nice and neat. She was smoothing out her pillow when Faith emerged from bathroom. Lily waited as Faith threw on a pair of jeans over the shorts she slept in. Another thing Lily didn’t get was how people could traipse around in their nightclothes; she had to be decent before she could go present herself to the world. By decent she didn’t necessarily mean make-up, but just clothes that would cover her sufficiently more than her flimsy nightgown. However, Faith didn’t care what people thought, Lily suspected that she would go to class in her pajamas if the Professors would allow it.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Faith announced, running a brush through her hair before slipping her feet into flip-flops.

The two girls left the dorm. On the way to the Great Hall, Lily listened to how Faith couldn’t wait to see Dean.

“I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the week,” she was saying. “I mean, we don’t have but a few classes together and even then we don’t sit any where near each other. I think we have a free period together on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Of course, there’s weekends, but with all our homework, who knows how much of that we’ll actually get to spend together?

“At least we get to have meals together,” Faith said, always looking on the bright side of things. “So, what’s going on between you and James?”

The question startled Lily. “What do you mean? We’re just friends.”

“Uh-huh,” Faith cooed. “For now maybe.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lily insisted.

“Okay, whatever you--”

A voice saying, “Guess who,” cut Faith’s words short as an anonymous pair of hands covered her eyes.

“Dean!” Faith squealed as she spun around and embraced the boy in a hug. And just like that, Lily was practically invisible. Not that she minded, with the way that conversation had been going. Plus, she loved seeing her friend happy.

“How are you, Lily?” Dean asked as he and Faith laced their fingers.

“I’m all right. You?”

“Never been better,” announced Dean, with a smile directed at Faith. “After you, my lady,” Dean offered, holding the door open for Faith as well as Lily.

The girls thanked him as he wrapped his arm around Faith and followed them to the Gryffindor table. Dean waited until Faith had gotten herself settled on the bench before taking a seat.

“See, I told you he was a gentleman,” Faith whispered to Lily with a never-ending smile.

“How come you never do that for me?” Carmen asked her boyfriend.

“Because you would probably call me sexist pigs if I waited for you sit down. I can hear you now, ‘Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m incapable of seating myself.’”

“Oh, right,” said Carmen, as the others chuckled.

“You two know each other so well,” Dean said. “You must’ve been dating for ages now.”

“It’s been a few years,” Carmen answered. “I figure, I’ve got a good thing going with this one, why break it off?”

“Oh, ha-ha,” Kevin retorted, though he wrapped his arm around her waist as Carmen smiled triumphantly. Four people walking over to the table captured his attention. “Well, well, well look who decided to join us. I have to say, Sirius you must be a pro at those Silencing Spells because I didn’t even know that Summer had stayed the night in our dorm until I woke up this morning and saw that she was in your bed.”

“What?” Carmen inquired indignantly, “You mean you let Summer sleep in their dorm with Sirius but I’m not allowed to stay up there with Kevin.”

“Nothing happened,” Summer insisted with a blush while taking her seat.

“Summer, this is Sirius we’re talking about. Do you really expect us to believe that?” Kevin asked with a smile.

Lily tried to catch James’ eye as to discern what he knew of the situation, but he was busy piling eggs on his plate, oblivious to the conversations around him. Lily couldn’t help but noticed harshness with which he stabbed at his food--not to mention that he barely said two words to anyone, including Sirius.

Robyn finally joined them a few minutes later, taking her seat next to Summer, who was also being uncharacteristically quiet.

“Aww, the happy couple.” Robyn‘s coo came out sounding more like a sneer; Lily doubted that Robyn had ever cooed at anything in her life. Summer’s laughter at a joke--told to her by Sirius--died down a bit as the newcomer accommodated herself.

“Hey, Robyn,” Summer replied as if everything between them was wonderful.

“Lily, would you pass me the gravy?” James asked, speaking for the first time all morning.

“Yeah, sure,” Lily said. Glancing around for the requested item, she noticed that it was over by Sirius. Uh-oh. She reached over slightly and Sirius handed her the bowl. “Here you go.” She placed the dish next to James.

********
Breakfast had ended and everyone was going their separate ways. Carmen and Kevin were heading to the library; Robyn had already dragged Summer away from the others, so that left Lily, James, Sirius, Faith, and Dean standing outside the Great Hall.

“Hey, Faith, I kind of already made plans with my friends today,” Dean explained as his mates approached the group. “But they said I could bring you along if you wanted. We’re probably just going to hang out.”

“No, go ahead, hang out with your mates today,” Faith said, but Lily could hear the regret in her voice.

“It’s no problem, really, they’re totally cool with it,” Dean insisted.

“Yeah,” agreed one of his friends, “we’ve been wanting to meet the infamous Faith that Dean won’t quit talking about.” The comment brought a blush to Dean’s cheeks.

“You’ve been talking about me, huh?” Faith teased, smiling as she placed a hand on his arm.

“Don’t worry, Dean,” Lily assured him, “she couldn’t shut up about you last night either.”

Unlike Dean, the confession didn’t bother Faith in the least.

“Oh, really now?” It was Dean’s turn to give Faith a look of amusement.

“Are you two coming or not?” Dean’s friend asked.

Dean turned to Faith. “What do you say?”

“Sure, why not?” she answered before allowing Dean to take her by the arm and lead her off, his friends following.

When Lily turned back around, she saw Remus and James walking off. “We’ll be at the Library,” Remus informed them.

Lily was about to head back to her dorm when Sirius’ voice stopped her. “Can I talk to you?”

Lily turned back to him. “I take it you didn’t tell him,” she said, already knowing about what he wanted to talk to her.

“I wanted to, but Summer wouldn’t let me. I explained to her that James would understand, but she insisted that she didn’t want anyone else to know…”

“So, instead you let your best mate be ****ed at you and think you betrayed him?” Lily guessed with an understanding voice.

“James’ll get over it, but I’ve already put Summer through enough. If she doesn’t want people to know, then the least I could do is give her that much.” Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor.

Lily studied him for a second. “Sirius.” She placed her hand on his arm and waited until his eyes met hers. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re a bad person.”

Sirius nodded, but Lily noticed how his hands balled into a fist in his pockets as his gaze drifted back to the floor.

“Look, if Dumbledore or anyone finds out, I’ll take the blame and say that you and James had no idea,” he offered in a mutter. “I’ll even say that I coerced Summer into it so she doesn’t get in trouble.”

“How’s she doing any way?” Lily asked.

“She cried herself to sleep last night,” Sirius said miserably, and it was then that Lily realized that the boy looked like he hadn’t slept a wink. “I feel so responsible. I mean, I know she says I shouldn’t, that she acted like it was what she wanted, which she did a great job of, but I should’ve known.”

“There was no way you could’ve known, Sirius. Summer’s a great actress. She’s fooled everyone into thinking she’s someone she’s not for the past six years,” Lily insisted. “I mean, if anyone is to blame, it’s Robyn--she made Summer feel like she wasn’t good enough. That she had to be someone else to get her approval.”

“And yet she’s still friends with her!” Sirius stated angrily. “After all that Summer went through last night, she went back to that--” Sirius calmed himself with a deep breath. “I’m sorry; I just don’t get how any one could be friends with someone like that.”

“She’s been doing it for so long, she doesn’t know anything else.”

Chapter 10

Lily was half-way to the Gryffindor Common Room when she stopped. Turning around, she headed to the library. This wasn’t right: James shouldn’t be mad at Sirius. Sirius didn’t deserve that. With Summer and everything, he shouldn’t have to endure James’ wrath as well. She was ready to give James a piece of her mind for acting that way towards Sirius, but then something reminded her that James didn’t know the whole story. She, too, had been ticked when she thought Sirius had allowed Summer to sleep with him in the dorm.

Reaching the library, Lily opened the heavy doors as quietly as possible. A few people glanced up at the newcomer before going back to their work. She spotted James and Remus sitting at a semi-secluded table. Remus was the first to notice Lily approaching; he moved his books over to make room for her.

“Thanks, Remus,” Lily said, getting James’ attention. “But I’m not here to study. I was hoping I could talk to you, James.”

“Sure.” He closed his books and rolled up his parchment. “I’ll just meet you at the dorm later, okay, Remus?”

“All right,” Remus said. “I have more work I need to finish here.”

Lily waited as James gathered his books, checking out a few, before following him out of the Library.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” James asked, walking quite awkwardly as he pressed the three books and parchment against his thigh, desperately trying not to drop them.

“It’s about Sirius,” Lily explained, watching his struggle with amusement. “Do you want me to take some of those?”

“Huh?” His eyes drifted down to the haphazardly balanced library books. “Oh, no, I’ve got it.”

Lily shook her head, ever the macho man, he was. “James, you’re going to drop them.”

A thick volume slipping from James’ grip emphasized her point. Luckily, his reflexes from Quidditch kicked in just in time for him to catch astray item with ease.

“Just let me take some,” Lily insisted, reaching out. She sighed dramatically when James turned from her--which was about the only efficient thing he could do. “Having a girl help you with your books doesn’t make you any less of a man. Not to mention you‘re walking as if you have a…”

The unfinished statement immediately caused a distraction from their argument. Apparently, Lily’s blurting out of words had returned.

“A what?” James studied her as she reddened while a smile crept upon his own face. The redhead bit her lip, avoiding his eyes. “What does it look like I have, Lily?” he persisted, enjoying his little banter entirely too much.

“Just let me take a bloody book or two!” Lily snapped, fighting the urge to smile while also vowing never to speak again. Her harsh tone immediately wiped the smirk from James’ face.

James frowned at her but sighed, nonetheless. “Okay, fine.”

When Lily reached over, James held out a book, the smallest, of course. Lily took the offered item and snatched a second from his hands. She smiled triumphantly at him as he dropped the remaining materials back to his side.

“I don’t see why guys carry their stuff like that,” Lily commented. Quickly adding, “Like your books and parchment,” when James gave her an amused grin accompanied by raised eyebrows. “This way is much more practical.” Demonstrating as she held the books to her chest.

“Guys are more laid back. You girls look so vulnerable when you walk around with your stuff’--he put an emphasis on the word with a smile--“pressed close as if someone’s going to attack you.” Noticing the glare Lily was giving him, he now put on a reassuring, somewhat condescending, smile. “But it’s a cute kind of vulnerable.”

“And of course you big macho men can’t help but assist us?” It was more of a statement than a question, said with a sharp tongue.

James feared that he had seriously offended her. That is, until her lips curled into a smile as she shook her head. James didn’t know how to respond, so he didn’t say anything. Lily broke the silence a few seconds later.

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit hard on Sirius?” Lily chewed on her bottom lip, preparing herself for James’ reaction, whatever it might be.

James stared at her as if she had grown another head. “Lily, he let Summer sleep with him in the dorm. Not only could he get in trouble, but if anyone found out, you and I would be in hot water.”

“But what if nothing happened,” Lily suggested quietly, knowing James would think she’d gone nutters. “What if they didn’t do anything?”

James scoffed at the notion. “It’s like Kevin said, this is Sirius we’re talking about. Do you honestly expect me to believe that he had a girl in his bed--a girl he’d already slept with, no less--and nothing happened between them? No offense, but Sirius is my best mate; I think I know him a bit more than you.”

Lily wanted so badly to explain. How, when everything came out about Summer, Sirius had stepped up.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t do that to Summer or Sirius, so instead she said, “Sirius told me nothing happened. He said that Summer had a bad day and she snuck upstairs because she was upset. He was going to send her back to her own dorm, but he couldn’t. She was in need of a friend. He let her lie with him and they fell asleep.”

Lily was amazed at how easily the lie came to her. At first, she felt bad but told herself it was the only way she could make sure that no one was hurt further. It was this thought that helped Lily maintain her stance when James studied her for a few moments as if to discern her honesty. Finally, after a few seconds he spoke.

“If that’s what happened, why didn’t he just tell me?”

“Would you have believed him?” Lily asked, giving him a knowing look.

Again, James didn’t respond, a look of guilt crossing over his features instead. The silence serving as his answer, Lily spoke.

“He feels horrible about the whole situation, and he’ll take the blame if anyone finds out,” she assured James. “But you can’t stay mad at him, he’s got enough on his shoulders right now and he could really use his best mate.”

A small nod followed James’ sigh as he dug his free hand into his pocket. “I wasn’t really upset about him having a girl in his room, or even what the consequences would be for me. It was more the fact that he risked your position. I mean, you deserve to be Head Girl more than anyone else, and I was so mad that he would compromise that for his own selfish needs. You’ve been working towards this since First Year, and I just…I don’t know--I guess I was pretty quick to blame him.”

“James, nobody thinks badly of you for that. I mean, your whole dorm believes that Sirius and Summer--But in this case, everyone was wrong. We all make mistakes.”

“The thing that gets me is he didn’t even try to defend himself. He didn’t even say that nothing happened. He just sat there when I was yelling at him.” Lily watched as guilt crossed his face once again. “Bloody hell, I yelled at him when he didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t even give him a chance to explain.”

Lily placed a comforting hand on his arm. “James, you can’t blame yourself,” she insisted warmly. “You assumed the same as everyone else. I think Sirius will understand.”

“Where is he anyway?” James glanced around as if his best friend would appear in the halls.

“He went up to the dorm,” Lily answered a second before a student in a hurry to reach their destination knocked into James.

He muttered a harsh word as the materials flew out of his hand. Lily couldn’t suppress her giggle but did manage to maturely resist the urge to say, “I told you so.” Kneeling, she helped James gather the books and parchment strewn across the floor.

“Wait, there’s another piece of parchment.”

For the life of her, Lily had no idea why she didn’t just point to aforementioned and let James get it. That would have been the smart thing to do, instead of reaching across him to retrieve it herself. Then, she wouldn’t have been lying on top of James, wishing she had thought before she acted. To make things worse, an amused voice floated down the hall.

“Tsk, tsk, Lily and James, is that any way to set an example for the younger students?”

Lily quickly pushed herself up from the luxury--she did not just think that--of James’ chest. Well, to be honest, he was warm and he did have a somewhat soft, comfortable feel to him. They shared a small, embarrassed smile before glancing up to see Carmen and Kevin strolling towards them. Lily could feel her cheeks flushing.

“I can totally understand that need for it right then and there, but in the middle of the hall? You couldn’t find a broom closet?”

“Nothing happened,” Lily said, hastily shoving the parchment to James and tentatively taking the hand he offered to help pull her up. His skin was warm, and clammy? James was as nervous as she was. “I was helping him pick up his books--”

“And then passion took over, so you pounced on him,” Carmen finished with a smile.

Lily glared at her roommate, praying that no one walked by. James, however, was examining Kevin.

“A broom closet, huh?” he asked, smirking.

Lily was about to twist towards James in disbelief when the other couple shared a sheepish grin. She suddenly registered their disheveled clothing and the fact that their hands were in each other’s back pockets.

“Carmen,” Lily chastised in a defeated voice.

“It stopped at kissing,” the girl quickly defended herself before smiling. “We were heading up to the dorm, actually.” Her grin turned into something mischievous that Lily didn’t trust. “But if you lot need-”

Lily gritted her teeth, clearly fed up, and James stepped in front of her, preventing what could have been an unpleasant confrontation.

“That won’t be necessary, it’s all yours,” he said softly.

Ten minutes later, Lily and James were sitting in the crowded Gryffindor Common Room. The frigid air outside meant most students opted for keeping warm in the common rooms. Various, blended conversations swirled around like leaves in the wind. One could catch bits about boys, schoolwork, and teachers.

As Head Girl, it was Lily’s duty to make sure all was well. She glanced around the room, watching two third years playing Wizard’s Chest, a group of girls gossiping in the corner, and a student in the corner attempting to study. Next, she zeroed in on a couple getting a bit too comfortable in one of the chairs. She made to stand up and march over to them, but before she was even off the couch, an arm pushed her back down.

Lily turned to James with a scowl. Her annoyance only heightened when she saw that he hadn’t even glanced up from his work.

“Leave it be,” he told her sternly. “They’re just cuddling.”

“You didn’t even see them.” Lily pouted, crossing her arms. However, she settled back in her seat.

“I did too,” answered James, still not lifting his eyes from his book. “In the chair by the fireplace, she’s got her legs over the arm of the chair, and they’re talking closely.”

“Lucky guess,” Lily mumbled, sticking out her tongue.

“I saw that.” James finally looked over at her, smiling. His smile faltering a little as something else caught his attention. “Oi, Padfoot, over here.”

Sirius shifted awkwardly where he stood. He glanced at the portrait hole, then at James, and back again. Noticing Lily, he decided it was safe and walked over, readying himself for James’ anger.

Noticing that his friend was tense, James assured him that all was okay. “Lily explained everything.”

Sirius shot the redhead a look, wondering what she had told James.

“About how Summer came upstairs and you two fell asleep,” Lily offered as a matter-of-factly, hoping James didn’t catch her small smile or Sirius’ discrete relaxation.

“Yeah, and I’m sorry, mate,” James apologized, standing from the couch. “I shouldn’t have accused you like that. Do you forgive me?”

“Of course,” Sirius said immediately. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sure it looked bad.”

Lily watched as the friends shared a man hug, and merely gave a small nod when Sirius mouth, “Thank you,” over James’ shoulder. When they pulled away, Sirius smirked at something to his right.

“At least someone’s having fun.”

Lily and James both glanced at the couple in the chair. They were now more…enthusiastic about their affection. Once again, she intended on approaching them, and a second time, James pulled her back. Lily glared at the hand on her upper arm with extreme dislike.

“James, they aren’t cuddling anymore,” she stated decisively. He tightened his grip when Lily attempted to continue her stride towards them. Finally, she stopped fighting and glowered at him. “There are younger students--”

“Nobody’s even paying any attention to them.” James was correct; everyone else in the room seemed oblivious to the couple.

Lily gave an aggravated sigh of defeat and James released his hold on her arm.

“James is right,” Sirius chimed in. Lily and James jerked towards him, both having forgotten he was there. “They could be imitating Carmen and Kevin.”

At first, the statement confused Lily, and then she remembered that Sirius was already upstairs when the couple headed up there.

Chapter 11

Lily could feel James’ chest--defined from Quidditch, yet oddly cushioning--beneath her, the warmth radiating from his skin. These things combined created a rather pleasant place to be. She certainly had no complaints. Placing her hand on his chest in order to push herself up, she found herself keeping it there longer than necessary. She glanced at the boy beneath her and found her own emerald eyes lost in a pool of hazel. Slowly, as if it weren’t even moving at all, his hand ventured through the air, until--after what seemed like hours--it was resting upon her cheek, his thumb brushing over her lower lip. She could feel her face burning as James tucked hair behind her ear, purposelessly for within seconds it was once again curtaining her face.

The space between them gradually disappeared until his breath fell on her lips, their eyes never breaking contact, hazel still locked on emerald. She kept the one hand on his chest--unwilling to part with its comfort--while placing the other on the considerably colder concrete floor, providing most of the support. Her lips parted of their own accord, and when his lips claimed hers the world stopped spinning. Nothing in her life had ever felt more right than this.

In the next second, against all logic or understanding, she was on a bed, pinned beneath a shirtless James. Her hands were shamelessly alternating between roaming his bare back and burying themselves in his unruly hair. James’ soft, warm lips were pressing open-mouth kisses to her neck, his hands inching up her shirt. His name--once considered taboo--passed her lips in a guttural moan.

“Lily,” James responded…in Faith’s voice?

“Lily, time to wake up.”

Her eyes snapped open to find Faith and Carmen at the foot of her bed, grinning smugly at her. She felt her cheeks burning. It had all been a dream; Lily didn’t know if that made it better or worse.

“I thought you said nothing happened between you and James,” Carmen mused, clearly enjoying Lily’s discomfort. Worse, definitely worse.

“Nothing did happen. And nothing was going to happen,” Lily added irritably, throwing back the covers.

“I’ve always known James was attractive,” Carmen began, licking her lips just slightly, “but hearing you moan his name made him sound so appealing.”

Lily mumbled something incoherent as she trudged across the room, pushing past the girls on her way to her trunk.

“A cold shower will help you with the unquenched desire,” Lily heard Carmen say as she headed to the bathroom. Lily replied with a rude hand gesture, which only caused her ‘friends’ to laugh.

The morning started out bad…and only got worse as it continued. While packing her books, Lily endured more tormenting from Faith and Carmen. Ignoring questions such as “So, was he a good kisser?” and “How far did you go?” In their defense, though, they did stop once Summer and Robyn started waking up, for which Lily was very grateful.

Nevertheless, they weren’t done yet, and Lily knew this. The only question was when they would continue. The answer: At breakfast…in front of James and the rest of the Marauders. To be quite honest, Lily wasn’t sure what Sirius had said exactly. He was talking about some weird dream he’d had--something to do with hippogriffs or something-- Lily had been focusing on her food, keeping her eyes on her plate as the conversations surrounded her. And in the next second, she heard Carmen saying, “Lily had a rather interesting dream too, didn’t you, Lily?”

The girl’s head snapped up quickly. Her eyes zeroing in on her roommate, who was grinning at her. She also noticed that Faith was fighting back a smile. The boys were watching her with curiosity.

“Really, what did you dream?” Remus asked, his fork halfway to his mouth.

Lily felt her ears burning. She was going to kill Carmen. “Oh, it-it was nothing. Really,” she stammered, her eyes drifting back to her plate.

“It didn’t sound like nothing, Lily,” she could hear the smile in Faith’s voice. Killing them would be letting them off easy; she would use the Cruciatus Curse instead.

The boys alternated their glances between the three girls, wondering when someone was going to tell them what Lily had dreamt. Lily sat there quietly, wanting to melt into the floor, just waiting for the girls to get it over with. Then, Carmen dropped the bomb, relieving Lily of the agonizing wait.

“Maybe James could tell us what Lily was dreaming; he was there, after all.”

Her whole face was on fire, at first, nobody said anything, and then Sirius let out a bark-like laugh.

“Wait,” he said through a snort. “You’re telling me that Lily, here, had a dream…about James?”

On second thought, Lily wished someone would use the Cruciatus Curse on her.

“What kind of dream?” Sirius just had to do it, didn’t he? He could have easily left it alone, but no, he had to rub salt on the wound.

Carmen flashed a smile before saying, “Well, we don’t know the details, but judging by Lily’s moan, they weren’t doing homework, that’s for sure.”

“Moan?” Sirius repeated. “She moaned?”

Lily stared at her eggs, yellow and fluffy, and wondered what they would look like if she were to melt all over the table. Ironically, the one thing that lessened her humility was James’ voice.

“How do you know she was dreaming about me?” he asked sympathetically. Lily could feel his gaze falling on her, and she lifted her head just enough to see him give her a small, apologetic smile.

Glancing around timidly, she also noticed that Sirius was grinning at her like a mad man, Remus was keeping his eyes on his plate, staying out of the conversation. Peter’s gaze quickly dropped to his plate when he saw her looking. Kevin was attempting to hide his smile, as was Dean. And Faith and Carmen weren’t even aware of her scanning the table.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Carmen was saying. “Maybe it was her saying, ‘James’,” her imitation was almost identical to the way Lily had said it, “that gave us a hint.”

At this, Sirius surrendered to his fit, Lily could see his whole body shaking in laughter. Soon, everyone else--minus James, Remus, and Lily--was clutching their sides in laughter. Noticing Lily’s scowl, Faith nudged the redhead gently.

“C’mon, Lily, we’re just poking fun. We don’t mean anything by it.”

The others filled in with “Yeah” and “We’re just playing.” Lily forced herself to smile and nod, her eyes drifting back to her plate.

The rest of Lily’s day was riddled with good-natured teasing and references to her dream. She avoided all eye contact--or any contact, for that matter--with James. It was easier than one would imagine to avoid someone she had three classes with, but Lily also suspected that James was deliberately staying out of her way.

It wasn’t until after dinner, when Lily was studying by herself in the library, that James approached her for the first time that day. Immersed in her reading, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice.

“Can I join you?” he asked nervously.

Lily glanced up and answered his question with a slight nod of the head. She watched as he pulled out the chair closest to her and sat down.

“It’s very considerate of you,” Lily muttered, her eyes dropping back to the book.

“What is?”

“You waiting until we’re alone to tease me,” she said, looking back up at him.

“That’s not why I’m here,” James assured her.

“Oh, right, you just came over to talk about the weather,” Lily bit sarcastically, immediately regretting her bitterness. None of this was his fault, and he hadn’t even said anything remotely derogatory towards her.

Fortunately, James wasn’t one to take her tone seriously. “Actually, I came over to tell you that I’m not assuming the same as everyone else. I know that a dream can just be a dream.” Lily’s look of skepticism faded to bewilderment as he added, “I could never feel any type of passion for McGonagall.”

She gazed at him, surely he was kidding. The way he shifted in his seat told Lily that James was, indeed, serious. Revulsion passed her face, followed by a small grin.

“Wait,” Lily began, lowering her voice to barely a whisper, “you had a dream about McGonagall?”

James’ ears reddened as he nodded curtly. “I have never told anyone about that, not even Sirius or Remus.”

Lily’s face broke into a full grin. “Well, I’m sure I’ll be flattered once I get past my disgust.” She had to make an effort not to laugh, or gag. “When was this? Not recently, I hope.”

“No, it was back in third year, at a time when I was having to change my sheets just about every morning. Puberty was hell,” he said lightly. “I couldn’t look her in the eye for weeks….As I said, I’ve never told anyone else. It’s not pleasant to talk about.” He shuddered visibly. “And I only told you to prove that dreams don’t necessarily reflect on how you feel in a conscience state.”

“But I’m not some hormonal teenage boy. Those types of dreams aren’t as common for girls. I mean, I know I like you as friend, but why would I have an intimate dream about you?”

“Well, we have been spending a lot of time together, and we’ve gotten to know each other. Maybe, it just signified our relationship, in a symbolic aspect. You despised me, and now, we spend more time together then we do apart. And, you have to admit, we know each other pretty intimately,” Lily blushed and he quickly added. “We’ve spent hours talking, we know about each other’s fears, dreams, families, and just about everything else. Maybe the kisses…or whatever, just symbolized your vulnerability to me, or some other mumbo jumbo like that.”

Lily glanced up at him, meeting his eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile. He was right, she was more comfortable around him than she had ever been with any other boy. She even felt safe around him, spending countless hours alone.

“You’re pretty amazing, James Potter,” she said warmly.

James grinned at her. “Thanks, you’re not so bad yourself.” Then his smile turned into something curious, mischievous even. “So, in this dream, I made you moan? What was I doing exactly?”

Lily groaned, placing her head in her hands. Looking back up, she glared at him.

“I may be ‘pretty amazing’ but I’m still a guy, one who loves ego-boosts.” He flashed a grin. “And don’t I deserve something for my wonderful advice?”

Lily shook her head in disbelief but Merlin help her if she could stop her lips forming into a grin. “Well, if anyone has the right to know, I guess it would be you.” James’ eager nod earned another shake of the head. “All we were doing was kissing. Nothing more.”

She nearly smacked him when he grinned cheekily and asked, “Kissing where?”

She did, however gasp. “You’re horrible!” she said in a hushed voice. “What happened to the James Potter who was sitting there a minute ago? What did you do to him?”

“That bad, huh?” Just like the day before, he feeding on her embarrassment.

Lily scowled at him, before sighing. “On the lips, okay? And the neck. And we weren’t even kissing that long. It started out with us on the floor where we fell yesterday. I was on top of you, and we were just looking at each other, working our way closer. And then, just as we started kissing, the dream changed or whatever and we were on a bed.” --(“Ooh, a bed, I’m liking this dream.” James’ comment earned him a scowl.) “You…you didn’t have shirt on and I was…underneath you. I was fully clothed, but your hands were under my shirt…not like far up or anything, just on my stomach. You were kissing my neck. That’s when I….” Lily trailed off, her eyes no longer on James, instead studying the table.

“Moaned my name with hot, untamed passion,” James finished bluntly.

Lily glanced up at him, her face hot with embarrassment. “I hate you.”

James merely smiled. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist. In all seriousness though, I still don’t think the dream has much meaning to it.” Then he was back to being conceited. “But I wouldn’t have minded being there.”

Lily smirked. “Maybe I’ll give you a preview some day. McGonagall can join too.”

At this, James grimaced. “Lily, I told you out of pure obligation. You have to promise not to mention it ever again.” He was staring at her as if this was the most important thing he would ever ask of her.

She let out a sigh, knowing she had to be the bigger person. “Okay, fine. I won’t speak another word of it again.”

“Promise?” Lily couldn’t tell if it was more a question or demand.

“Yeah, I promise.” Even as she said this, she noticed James visibly relax. “But you have to promise me the same thing, about my dream.”

James looked as if he would protest, then he did. “But that’s so unfair. It’s totally understandable that you would dream about me! I mean, had it been Slughorn or somebody like that, then yeah…but it wasn’t. You dreamed about someone young and desirable, you can’t possible compare me to McGonagall.”

“Who said I was comparing you to anyone? I’ve gotten my amount of grief from the rest of our friends. I’ve been assured by Carmen and Kevin at least five times that the dorm was ours tonight. I need one person who I can go to without being reminded of the dream.” Then a smirk crossed her lips, “And besides, if neither of us are talking about our dreams, then your little secret would be less likely to slip.”

James stared at her but finally nodded. “Okay, fine. I promise I won’t tease you about your dream, and not because you’re black mailing, but because that’s what the James you’ve come to respect would do.”

“Thanks,” Lily replied sarcastically.

“So, what are you working on?” he asked, glancing at the books spread out before her.

“Nothing, really, just researching. I needed someplace to hide out.” She was already closing the heavy text, standing to put it back.

When she returned to the table, James had her books and other materials packed in her bag. She thanked him and they left the Library together. True to his word, James didn’t mention the dream the whole time they walked to Common Room. Their friends were another story. Carmen and Kevin were the first to notice their arrival.

“And where have you two been?” Carmen asked, smiling. Sirius and Remus glanced up from their game of Exploding Snap, exchanging amused glances.

“We were starting to wonder if you were ever going to show up,” Sirius informed the couple.

Lily smiled but felt the blush creeping up her neck, her nerves calmed a bit when she felt James’ hand on the small of her back.

“The dorm’s ours, right?” he asked, glancing mainly at Kevin and Carmen, who both grinned.

“Yep, it’s available until bedtime,” Kevin answered as the others made noises of encouragement.

“Good,” James said. “If anyone bothers us, there’ll be hell to pay,” he announced threateningly. “C’mon.” He nodded to the redhead, letting her lead the way.

Chapter 12

Lily was sitting up in her room, alone. Her books spread out before her on the bed. The others were all out with their boyfriends so she took advantage of her quiet time. The Beatles coming from the radio she had bewitched to get Muggle station filled the room… She highlighted a passage in her History of Magic book, sucking on the end of her quill before dipping it into ink and jotting down her next sentence. Just as she was reaching to flip the page, the door to the dorm opened.

Lily tore her eyes away from the text to see Summer entering the room. She didn’t even seem to realize anyone else was there as she headed to her bed.

“Hey, Summer,” Lily said kindly, an eye on her books. “I thought you were with Sirius.”

The girl mumbled something that ended in a near sob. Lily closed the books and glanced up, noticing for the first time that the girl looked close to tears. Getting from the bed, she stepped closer to Summer.

“Summer, what’s wrong?” she asked gently, reaching out.

Blue eyes filled with sadness met Lily, immediately dampening her mood. With a flick of her wand, the radio could barely be heard.

“Sirius--” Her first attempt wound up a croak. It was obvious she was trying not to cry. “Sirius and I…we b-broke up.”

Lily didn’t know what to say. “Oh,” was the only thing she could think of. Fortunately, actions spoke louder than words so she placed her hand on Summer’s arm.

Summer sniffled a few time, trying to recompose herself.

“I don’t know why I’m so upset, I’m the one who broke up with him.” She paused to wipe away a tear. “It just wasn’t a relationship anymore….Every time he looked at me, I could see that sadness in his eyes, the guilt. No matter how many times I told him it wasn’t his fault, he still blamed himself. It wasn’t fair to either of us--him especially--that we stay in this ‘relationship.’ He shouldn’t have to deal with my emotional baggage, nobody should.

“It was for the best.” It sounded to Lily like she was trying to convince the both of them. “But it still hurts…That’s the most confusing thing, I didn’t love him, but it feels like my heart’s breaking.”

For the first time, Lily saw Summer as a real person, with real feelings. Sure, she had seen a softer side of her that night, but this…this was when it had clicked that Summer actually had a heart, one that could break and feel remorse.

“Breaking up with someone is hard, even if you know it has to be done. What you’re feeling is normal.” The girl nodded, her lower lip quivering. “You can--you can even cry, if you want,” Lily assured her.

The words had barely even left her mouth when she felt Summer’s face buried in her shoulder, tears soaking into her shirt. Lily did the only thing she could, pat Summers heaving back. She mumbled soothing words to her.

They stood like that for a few minutes before Summer finally lifted her head and attempted to pull herself together.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, wiping her eyes with the tissue Lily had summoned. “What you said makes sense, about the breaking up, but I’ve never felt anything like this when the relationships ended with any of my other boyfriends. I mean, they were just guys, there was always another one. It’s not like that with Sirius. It’s just…not.”

Lily found herself wishing James were here. He would probably say something about Summer going through so much with Sirius having a factor in her feelings. She’d actually felt something with somebody and that had ended. Lily even considered going to find James before remembering that he didn’t know about Summer and Sirius. The truth was, she didn’t know how to help, didn’t have any words of wisdom, so she just stood there, smoothing out Summer’s long, brown hair.

Lily handed her another tissue.

“Thanks,” Summer said, meeting her eyes. “For everything.” Suddenly her eyes grew wide, and she glanced around. “Robyn isn’t here, is she?”

Lily shook her head, “No, she’s out with some bloke. She left about half an hour ago.” She noticed Summer visibly relax. “Can I ask you something?”

Summer nodded slightly.

“Why do you hang out with her? I mean, all she does is treat you and everyone else like rubbish. And look at what she’s turned you into. First year, you were so shy and kind, but now, you’re just like her.”

Lily watched the girl contemplate this, trying to come up with an answer, finally after a few seconds, she shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she admitted. “I mean, Robyn has been my only real friend, my best friend. And I don’t want to lose that. I know she can be horrid sometimes, but she’s fun to be around.”

“Real friends don’t judge you because of your sexual experience,” Lily said, letting her words hang in the air for a few minutes. “You and I both know what she would say if she was to see you like this, and that’s not a real friend. Much less a best friend.”

Summer nodded guiltily, her eyes truly understanding Lily. “I know, but what can I do?” she asked. “I can’t exactly stop being her friend, do you have any idea what she would do to me? What kind of rubbish I’d be put through, and not just by her, but all our friends.”

“It seems to me like you need better friends.” Lily stepped away from Summer, returning to her bed. “I’ve got a lot of work I need to finish.”

Summer nodded. “Thanks again, Lily.” She headed to the bathroom. Minutes later, Lily heard the shower running.

The next morning, on her way out of the common room, Lily watched as Sirius walked over to Summer, he asked her a question and Summer nodded. Sirius had pulled her into a hug when Robyn sauntered over and the two pulled apart. That girl was really something else, she always had to ruin everything for everyone. Lily noticed the slight scowl on Summer’s face as she walked off with Robyn.

“Hey, Sirius,” Lily called as the boy turned to head back upstairs. He switched directions and headed towards her.

“So, I take it Summer told you.”

“Yeah, did she give you a reason?” Lily asked.

“That right now wasn’t a good time, she needed to find out who she was. But we’re still friends. That was the condition, she couldn’t push me away completely.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Merlin, I sound like a father or something, but I just feel responsible…” He ran a hand through his hair.

“I know what you mean, that girl definitely needs someone to keep an eye out for her. And you’re a wonderful person for wanting to help her.”

“The only way she’s ever going to truly be herself is if she dumps Robyn, that girl’s at the heart of this whole mess.”

Lily nodded in agreement.

“What mess?”

The two looked over to see James.

“It’s nothing,” Lily said quickly. “Walk me to breakfast?”

“Sure, I can never refuse the company of a beautiful girl,” James said, linking her arm in a playful manner. He glanced over at Sirius. “You coming, mate?”

“Of course, I never refuse a good meal.” He grinned taking Lily’s other arm.

********

Summer was walking down the corridor alone during her free period. Truth be told, she wasn’t even sure where she was, she knew the general location and how to turn around and find her way back but she had never been in this part of the castle before. Not that it mattered; she was just taking a stroll, clearing her head. Everything was so messed up right now. Everything was falling apart.

Nothing made any sense anymore. Why did she go through with it? Why was she still talking to Robyn when there were people like Sirius and Lily in the world? Maybe it was karma, she treated people like **** just to keep friends and now it was coming back to bite her in the butt. Maybe she deserved every bit of this.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t even hear the footsteps behind her. In the next second, an arm had snaked around her waist, holding her close to a solid form.

“Hey, sexy,” a voice hissed in her ear.

Her panic waned but not much as she was released. She turned to look at the culprit.

“Oh, hi, Michael.” Michael had been Robyn’s most recent boyfriend, if you could even call him that. He kind of creeped Summer out but she was comfortable enough around him. “You scared me.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Michael said with a slight sneer. “So, what are you doing wandering around the castle?”

“Free period. You?”

“Ditching Potions,” he said carelessly.

“Yeah? That’s cool, that class is kind of dumb.”

“Yeah, and Slughorn’s an overgrown hippogriph. Can’t they find descent potion teachers these days?”

“I know what you mean,” Summer agreed though she didn’t really. Truth be told, she rather liked Slughorn, he was a bit…out there but he was all right. That was another thing about hanging out with Robyn and her crew; you had no thoughts of your own. Their opinion was your opinion.

“So, I heard you and Black broke up?”

Wonder where he heard that? Summer though to herself.

“Yeah, things weren’t working out.”

“He wasn’t your type anyway,” Michael said in what, she supposed, was to be a reassuring manner. Was it just her or was she getting closer? “He was too much of a pretty boy for you,” he stated. His hand was next to her head and she was backed into a wall. “You need someone more rugged, who doesn’t spend more time in front of the mirror than you.”

“Someone like you?” Summer asked, nearly gagging at the thought. Michael was as far from her type as you could get.

“Yeah, someone like me,” he said, completely missing her repulsion. “We’d make a cute couple, don’t you think? I’ve kind of fancied you for a while, but Robyn told me to stay away because you weren’t…ready for my expertise yet, but now that you’ve been--”

Summer wasn’t even listening anymore. She couldn’t believe Robyn would tell everyone that she had lost her virginity; well she could believe it because it was Robyn, after all. Still, it wasn’t any of their business; it was hers and hers alone. The next thing she felt was Michael’s lips on hers. She pushed him away and found herself slammed into the wall.

“What, you’ll let Black have a go but not me? Too good for your own kind?”

This was not happening. It was a dream, just a horrible dream.

“Hey!” The voice echoed in the corridor. “Leave her alone!”

Summer glanced over to see Sirius jogging towards them, his wand out. Michael back away slowly.

“Hey, it’s cool; we were just having a little fun. You’ve had your turn, now it’s mine. You have to share.”

“Get out of here now! I don’t think the Headmaster takes too kindly to sexual assault.”

The boy eyed the wand pointed at his chest and at the scared girl pressed against the wall.

“Okay, fine. She’s probably not even worth it anyway.”

Sirius didn’t even watch the boy leave, instead turning to Summer and doing a quick examination.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you? He didn’t…”

“No, it’s fine, Sirius, he just kissed me. I’m okay really.” The girl was already shaking and in the next second, she slid down to the floor, nearly in tears.

Sirius kneeled next to her. “Summer?”
“God, I was so scared, I didn’t know what he was going to do. If you hadn’t come along…”

“Shh,” Sirius embraced her in a hug. “It’s okay, I’m here. He’s not going to hurt you.”

It was the second time in the past twenty-four hours that she had found herself crying on somebody’s shoulder. She’d cried more these past few weeks than in the last seven years of her life. Being a friend of Robyn’s, you just didn’t cry. It was a sign of weakness.

“Sirius, what’s wrong with me? How have I stayed Robyn’s friend for so long? Michael said something about you not being my type, but…I don’t even know what my type is, every boyfriend I’ve ever had was picked out by Robyn. How dumb am I to have stayed with her for so long?”

Okay everyone. Again I apologize for taking so long to update, but I had so much trouble with this chapter, it just wouldn't turn out. And I didn't know what to write, so this chapter is more focused on Faith and Dean...I'm not sure how much I like the end becuase it jsut didn't want to work but it's better then what I had, so here you go and leave lots of reviews please and thanks. You guys are awesome!

Chapter 13

So, this is Heaven, Faith thought to herself as Dean ran his fingers through her hair. They were occupying a couch in the Ravenclaw common room. Her head was resting on his lap.

When they had first started coming here, Faith had been given weird looks but now everyone was used tot them hanging out here. Sure, it wasn’t the alone time the both of them would have liked but with everyone was preoccupied and nobody bothered them. And they were lost in their own little world anyway, so it didn’t matter. Faith shifted her head slightly as Dean stroked her cheek.

“Are you awake?” he asked.

Faith looked up at him and smiled, “Yeah, I’m awake. Just enjoying being here with you. Play with my hair some more, that feels really good.”

Dean chuckled but obliged. They sat in silence for a few more seconds before Faith pushed herself up into a sitting position. Scooting closer, she rested on Dean’s chest.

“Hi,” she said, grinning up at him.

“Hello.” Dean replied. “What’s with the smile?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m just happy. You make me happy.” Faith admitted unabashedly.

“You’re beautiful,” Dean told her, Faith glanced away and gave a slight shake of the head. Dean caught her chin with his finger and lifted to make eye contact. “I mean it,” he said. “I have never met anyone as beautiful or amazing as you.”

“Wow…I don’t know what to say…” Faith blushed slightly. Something Dean had never seen her do.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Dean told her, grinning. “I just thought you should know.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her fore head. “I don’t know how I made it the past six years at Hogwarts without you…I know that sounds corny but…it‘s the truth.”

Faith was speechless. Her mind couldn’t comprehend anything but “Awww!” It was a good thing humans couldn’t melt; otherwise, she’d be a puddle on the floor right now. He was so sweet. He made her feel like a Princess and when she was around, he acted as if he was in the presence of royalty. Just thinking about him putting a smile on her face and the mere anticipation of seeing him again had butterflies in her stomach.

She wouldn’t go as far to say she loved him but she was pretty sure this was as close as one could get. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. His scent engulfed her and she listened to his heartbeat. His hand gently rubbed her arm, making small circles on her shoulders.

She was so lucky. Dean was the sweetest guy in the world, when he told her she was beautiful, she believed him. She knew when he complimented her that it was just some ploy, that he actually meant it. She didn’t know how she knew this but she just did. She could tell by the way his eyes lit up he saw her, and the way he held onto her as if he would never let her go. The way he held her hand so he wouldn’t lose her. And when he kissed her, she knew he was thinking the same thing as her: This was all too good to be true.

Faith wouldn’t even allow herself to wonder how this one was going to end as she had in the past. Probably because she didn’t want this one to end, she wanted to see where it would take her. She wanted to see what kind of future she and Dean had because he was the first guy she could see herself with in five years. She didn’t even want to think of the possibility of this ending. In fact, it wasn’t even a thought that had crossed her mind. Every second she was with him, was the best moment of her life. Each day she found she liked him even more. She was falling for him fast. And for the first time in her life, she didn’t care. She found she rather liked liking him.

Dean’s voice interrupted her train of thought.

“I’ve been thinking…”

“Yeah?” Faith said, lifting her head and meeting his dusty gray eyes.

“Well…” Dean began. Faith noticed the tension in his voice.

“Dean…what is it?” Faith asked, pushing herself away from him slightly and watched Dean’s hands join together.

“We’ve been dating for only a month or so and…I don’t want to jump into anything…or assume too much since Christmas isn’t for another month…but…”

“But?”

“Okay, I was wondering if…and you don’t have to…but I was thinking maybe you could come home with me for the Holidays and meet my family…” By the time he had finished, his eyes had dropped to his wrung hands.

“Oh…” Faith was speechless, and filled with joy. He wanted her to meet his parents! He wanted to share her with his family! That meant he really did like her! She couldn’t help but smile. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Dean glanced up at her slightly confused. “Okay what?”

“I’ll go with you to meet your family,” Faith clarified, still grinning. She watched as his lips curled into a smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah, really!” Faith grinned. “I mean, as long as you want me to.”

“Of course I do!” Dean insisted. “My Mum’s been waiting for me to find a girl I wanted to bring home…And I think I’ve finally found her.”

Dean pressed his lips to hers and pulled her in for a kiss , his hands burying themselves in her hair. It didn’t matter that they were surrounded by people, it was only them. They were alone in their own world. She was infatuated with this boy and she didn’t care who knew.

Unfortunately, Dean was not so open to PDA, and pulled away before she had even gotten a proper taste. With a small groan, she ran her fingers through her hair.

“We need to get our own place,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“Sorry,” Dean muttered, he knew full well about her disposition to his opposition of snogging in public. “But I was raised to be a gentleman and groping my girlfriend in public doesn’t qualify as courteous.”

“I know, I know…” Faith grumbled. “That’s why I’m saying we need to get a place.”

“Ooh, a place…To do what?” Dean asked, grinning.

“Whatever you want,” Faith said with a small wink.

Dean chuckled and reddened slightly. Faith loved the fact that he was so chaste. Merciless minutes were often spent teasing him. Even though she was about as experienced as he was, she was more open about her desires while he expressed them in more subtle ways. Dean was not like other guys. He was more quiet, more reserved. While she was loud and outgoing. They balanced each other out. It amazed her how much she wanted him. She had wanted anyone, or anything, more. She eagerly awaited the next time she could be with him and just cuddle…or kiss. Though they spent more time doing the former.

A small pout replaced her mischievous grin. “But seriously though, can’t we kick your roommates out of the dorm?”

Dean chuckled. “They’re studying. If there’s one thing you never mess with it’s a Ravenclaw who’s studying.”

“I know…” Faith sighed.

“Speaking of studying, I should really be getting work on my homework. I’ll walk you to your common room.”

“Okay,” Faith said with dismay.

She disentangled herself from Dean and they stood and left the common room. On the walk to the common room, Dean grabbed her hand and smiled down at her.

“So, is there anything I need to know about your parents?” Faith asked.

“Um, no they’re pretty easy going. And don’t worry, my Mum’s not one of those types that’s overly stuck up. She’s gotten used to giving her boys away to girls.”

Faith smiled. “Well, she has a while before I’ll be stealing you away from her.”

Dean’s own smile dropped. “Oh, I didn’t mean…I mean, I was…I don’t want to rush anything…I mean…We’ve only been dating a month…I--”

Faith giggled. He was so cute when he got flustered. “Dean, I was just kidding. I know what you meant.”

“Oh…Okay,” Dean blushed slightly, “I just didn’t want you to think I was implying…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Faith insisted. There was an awkward silence in which only their footsteps could be heard. “So…We’ve covered your Mum…What about your dad.”

“Oh, my Dad…He tends to think he’s actually funnier then he is. Just make sure you laugh at his jokes, even if they’re not funny.”

Faith nodded. “I can do that. I’m good at laughing.”

“You have a beautiful laugh.”

Faith felt the warm feeling she always got when Dean complimented her. A few minutes later, they arrived outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. Faith pushed herself up for a quick kiss.

“Have a good night,” he told her.

“You too. Bye,” Faith said. She watched as he turned and walked away. Waiting until he was out of sight before saying the password and walking inside.

****

“Hey, Lily, what’d you get for number 12?”

The redhead yelped in surprise and jumped away from him.

The first poke had been an honest mistake. He had merely wanted to get her attention. Her reaction is what caused the mischievous grin to creep up on his face.

“What?” Lily asked, eyeing him wearily. She did not like that look, not one bit.

“Ticklish?” he asked devilishly, scooting closer.

“James, no. I don’t like to be--”

Her words were drowned out in a loud squeal as she tried to escape but found she couldn’t go anywhere. The smallest movement would result in her landing on the floor. A quick assessment decided that being tickled was definitely better then having a sore bum. She curled up as James began tickling her mercilessly. His hands attacked her stomach, sides, and back.

“Please…stop,” Lily gasped between giggles. “Can’t…breath.”

“You seem like you’re breathing fine to me, Lily,” James said through a grin as he continued his attack.

He watched as she squirmed, trying to get away from him but having nowhere to go. Sure, he could stop at any moment, but he was enjoying this. Adorable. That was the word that came to mind, the one that described her at this moment. Her laugh was beautiful, something he would cherish forever. He found himself laughing, he couldn’t help it.

“Sorry,” Faith said, walking into the room. “I really hope I’m not interrupting.” She grinned at the sight before her.

“No, of course not,” Lily said hastily sitting up. “We were just…”

“Doing homework!” James provided, waving a crumpled piece of parchment.

“Uh, sure,” Faith laughed. “Well if you guys are done with your homework, I’d really like to speak to Lily.”

“Yeah, we were just finishing up,” Lily said nervously, standing from the bed.

“I could tell,” Faith laughed.

Lily glared at her friend before gathering her books together. Telling James goodbye, the girls left the room.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Lily asked once they were upstairs in their own dorm.

Faith smiled. “Ah, I see, trying to distract me before I can make any comments about you and James…I get it…Smart move.”

“Faith…” Lily said with raised eyebrows.

“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you…Dean invited me to go spend Christmas with him! He wants me to meet his family!” Her statement ended in a squeal.

“Oh my God, Faith, that’s wonderful!” Lily said, embracing her friend in a hug. “I’m so happy for you! His parents are going to love you.”

“Yeah,” Faith’s voice faltered a bit. Something that Lily picked up on immediately. “Yeah, but…what if they don’t?”

Bloody hell! Lily was afraid of that.

“Faith, they will. Dean seems to really like you and you make him happy. How can his parents not like you?”

“I guess you’re right…But, I mean. I can be a bit…ditzy sometimes. What if I break some really expensive vase or something?”

“Faith, you are a great person. His parents are going to love you…just don’t offer to help in the kitchen…or with any heavy lifting and you will be fine. I promise. Just be yourself. You’re the most likeable person on the planet.”

“If you say so…” Faith agreed half-heartedly.

“Faith, do not do this to yourself. I know how you are. You’re get all worried and cancel the plans. Just be yourself and don’t think about it too much. Everything will work out. You’ll see.”

Finally, Faith nodded. “Okay. I’ll try not to think about it. I mean, it’s like you said, Dean really likes me…”

“Of course,” Lily smiled. “It’ll be okay.”

Now, it was Faith’s turn to smile. “So, what’s going on between you and James?”

Lily groaned, she knew this was coming. “Nothing. We were just doing homework.”

“That’s not what I walked in on,” she gave a knowing smile.

“James was just tickling me, that’s all. It doesn’t mean anything.” Lily insisted.

“Uh huh, sure. If you say so.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Here's the next chapter. I really hope you all like it. Thank you soo much Taylor, for helping me with this. Words can't describe how grateful I am for you. You made this chapter soo much better!!

Chapter 14

By the time Summer made her way back to the dorms, everyone else was in bed. She snuck in, closing the door behind her quietly being careful not to wake anyone. She really didn’t feel like explaining where she had been all day. After the whole thing with Michael, Sirius had taken her to the Room of Requirement where they sat and talked about everything under the sun. It had been obvious to Summer that Sirius was avoiding anything that had to do with Robyn, and for this Summer was grateful.

Summer wasn’t even sure what all they had talked about. They went from one conversation to another with such ease. She couldn’t recall a single awkward silence but for the one when they first got in the room. For a good five minutes, they had sat there, neither knowing what to say. Then Sirius asked if she had started on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. Somehow, it escalated from there.

The time passed and both were surprised to find that it was already nine-thirty. The walk back to the Common Room was a little quieter but not awkward, per se. It was a nice silence: one that allowed Summer to think about the days events and clear her head.

Kicking her shoes under the bed, Summer removed her cloak, climbed into bed, and fell asleep within seconds. She hadn’t even realized she was this tired until her head hit the pillow.

“And where were you last night?”

A rather unpleasant voice brought Summer to consciousness. She opened her eyes to find Robyn standing at the foot of her bed, sneering at her.

Summer froze. What should she say? She couldn’t tell Robyn she had been with Sirius. Well, she could…but she didn’t want to. She knew that telling Robyn would result in her friend assuming things had happened that weren’t necessarily true. Of course an obvious to this would be to just tell Robyn what they had been doing. However, her time with Sirius was something and she didn’t want Robyn to mock it because Robyn would surely find it ridiculous that Summer time with Sirius talking rather than taking advantage of their time alone.

“I was at the Library,” Summer lied, the words leaving her mouth before they had fully formed in her mind. “I needed to study.”

“Oh,” Robyn said in a tone that suggested that she couldn’t fathom why anyone would set foot in a library. Nevertheless, it got her to leave Summer alone.

Summer let out a sigh of relief as Robyn turned and walked away. Pushing the cover from her body, she stood from the bed and stretched.

“You must’ve been out pretty late.” Startled, Summer glanced over to see the Head Girl watching her with curiosity. “What time did you get in?”

“Ten.” Panic set in again as Summer realized that Lily was sure to know that the Library closed long before ten.

“Curfew is ten,” Lily informed her. Summer noticed something in the girls’ eyes, something kind and understanding. Something that told Summer her secret was safe with Lily. She would eternally be grateful and had to resist the urge to thank her roommate. “Next time just try to be in before then, okay?”

Summer nodded timidly. Catching Lily’s eye, she mouthed ‘Thank you.’

Lily shook her head in a Don’t-worry-about-it kind of way.

“She was in by ten, Miss Prude,” Robyn spat scathingly. “Therefore, you can’t tell her what to do!”

Even though it would seem that her intentions were honorable, Summer immediately knew that Robyn had ulterior motives to defending her. Summer really didn’t want an argument to break out and figured she could try and inhibit it. “Robyn, it’s fine. Just let it be.”

“No,” Robyn continued. “Lily has no right to tell you what to do.”

“Neither do you,” Summer almost said aloud but caught herself just in time. She did, however, mumble it under breath. Something only Lily caught.

“I wasn’t telling her what to do, Robyn,” Lily defended herself. She knew that Summer arguing wouldn’t do any good and the only way to possibly stop Robyn would be to deal with her herself. “And even if I was, I am Head Girl and have the authority to make sure that students are in their beds when they are supposed to be.”

“Yeah? Well you can take that authority and shove it up your--”

“Robyn, leave it be.“ The three girls looked over to see Faith emerging from the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. “Lily was just doing her job.”

“Right. Sorry, I forget part of her job was acting like she’s better then everyone else.” Robyn shot a smirk at Lily.

Lily, however, was much too mature to take the bait. Instead she pretended not to hear her and proceeded to the bathroom. This only annoyed Robyn more and she stormed over to her dresser in a huff. Faith and Summer exchanged a look of understanding, which was interrupted by a rather loud snore emitted from Carmen’s bed. The two girls both giggled but Summer noticed that Robyn was staring at the sleeping girl as if the snore had been a personal insult.

Ten minutes, Summer was walking across the Common Room, heading for the portrait hole, when she sensed someone fall into step with her. She glanced over to see a tall, lean figure.

“How’re you feeling today?” Sirius asked.

“I’m okay,” Summer answered, a stowaway smile crept upon her face; after the near drama this morning it was nice to see a friend who wouldn‘t start drama of the cat-fight persuasion. “Thanks for last night. It was nice having someone to talk to.”

“Yeah, I enjoyed it too,” Sirius agreed as they walked out the portrait hole.

Summer felt her smile fade slightly, and a sense of doubt overcoming her. Where this feeling was coming from, however, she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Sirius, you didn’t tell anyone about what you saw yesterday, did you?” Summer blurted out suddenly, surprising herself by answering her own question.

Sirius didn’t look offended, as she had half-expected, instead he merely shook his head. “No, I didn’t. It’s not my place to tell anyone.”

“Okay…I didn’t either. Tell anyone, that is,” Summer clarified. “Do you think I should?”

Sirius shrugged, but not in a I-could-care-less-what-you-do, kind of way. It was more of an I’m-really-not-sure-what-I-should-tell-you type of shrug. “I don’t know. That’s up to you. Do you want to tell people?”

Summer was silent for a few seconds. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like anything happened. He only kissed me. I don’t want people to fuss about it. It’s really not a big deal.” Sirius could see that she was clearly trying to convince herself of the words she had just spoken.

“Well, just do what you feel is right,” was really the only thing Sirius could think of telling her. Then, after a moment’s thought, he added, “If you do tell anyone, it should be Robyn though. It was her ex after all.”

“Robyn will probably be the last person I’ll ever tell. She’ll ask me why I didn’t go for it.” Summer glanced around. She was thankful that the corridors were empty.

“What kind of friend is she if she’s more concerned about you not wanting to kiss a guy then the fact that you were attacked?”

“I wasn’t attacked!” Summer asserted, immediately regretting raising her voice at him. Sirius was only trying to help. “Look, that’s just how Robyn is. She can’t help it.”

“Yeah, you can’t blame a dog for being a dog.”

Summer felt bad about the giggle that slipped from her lips. This was her best friend he was talking about. Then again, when had Robyn ever acted like a best friend to her? Summer’s eyes drifted to the floor. After a few seconds, Sirius’ voice broke into her thoughts.

“Do you think maybe you should tell Dumbledore?” he asked reluctantly, almost as if he was afraid of doing so.

Summer glanced up at him, she hesitated for a second. “I don’t know, should I?” she asked. “I mean, it’s not like he really did anything, and it’s not like we can prove it. Dumbledore’s not the type to just prosecute someone without evidence. It’ll be our word against his and, in all honesty, I’m not really sure it’ll be worth all the trouble. It really was just a kiss.”

Sirius nodded. “And that was just a thought.”

“Thank you,” Summer remarked appreciatively, biting her lower lip, not sure what to say next.

“So, where’s Robyn? Don’t you two normally walk down to breakfast together?”

“Oh, when I woke up she was ready to go and I was waiting for Lily to get done in the bathroom, so she left without me.”

“Oh,” Sirius replied. “Wow, that was kind of mean of her, wasn’t it?”

Summer shrugged. “She’s not very patient, and besides I didn’t really want to deal with her questions or constant badgering. What about you? Where’s the rest of your lot?”

Sirius smiled. “I told them to go ahead, I wanted to walk with you, make sure you were okay.”

Summer was speechless; it was a small gesture but it made Summer’s heart ache. She knew that none of her other “friends” would ever do that for her. No one cared if she was all right, especially not Robyn. If you had a problem, you dealt with it yourself. Don’t even bother whining to your friends, they would tell you to get over it. Summer smiled at him shyly. Before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. She immediately felt his arms around her waist.

She really didn‘t know what to say, or how to express her gratitude. How could she tell him that that was possibly the greatest thing anyone had ever done for her. That he had come at a time when she had all but given up on the kindness of people. She wasn‘t even sure there were words to describe it all, so she settled with, “You’re a great friend, Sirius,” she whispered in his ear. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Sirius said as they pulled away from the hug. Summer didn’t know why, but she knew that somehow Sirius knew that she was grateful, and that by waiting for her, he had showed her something she had never experienced before. “So, shall we continue to breakfast, I’m starving.”

“Yeah, of course,” Summer said, smiling. “I’m pretty hungry too.”

A few minutes later, they arrived in the packed Great Hall. Sirius led Summer over to Lily and the others, passing Robyn without a word. Summer glanced back to see that Robyn was glaring at her and whispering with another girl at the table. She also saw Michael, who sneered at her. Summer moved in closer to Sirius and he put his hand on her back.

“It’ll be okay,” he said as he allowed her to sit down on the bench before taking his seat next to her. “Guys,” he said, catching the attention of the others. “Summer’s going to be sitting with us today. I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Lily said, giving Summer a warm, welcoming smile. While the others seemed to stare at Summer as if wondering what she was doing here, though no one said a word.

“Eat,” Sirius demanded upon noticing that Summer was just sitting there. Summer picked up her plate and started piling food on it as the others slowly went back to talking amongst themselves.

Summer felt weird being here. Though it wasn’t much different than sitting with her other friends, she mainly ate in silence and listened to the conversations around her. However, one main difference was the nature of the conversations themselves. While with her friends, she sat and endured constant bad-mouthing of different people. She was always hearing about who’s skirt was too short, who was wearing too much make-up, who was going out with a boy that was way out of her league.

Here, though, it was different. This lot had better things to do other than bash other people. She heard playbacks from the latest Quidditch match, talk of homework and weekend plans. Not a single negative word was mentioned about anyone. In fact, other people were only mentioned in passing.

Summer had to admit it was a nice change, sitting here, where no one criticized her for putting ketchup on her eggs, or told her that she shouldn’t eat that second piece of bacon as she was bordering tubbiness already. Surprisingly, Summer found that she didn’t miss sitting with her friends. She was shocked out of her trance when she heard James speak to her.

“So, Summer, what’s going on with you and Sirius, are you together again?” he asked bluntly.

“James!” Lily said, slapping him in the chest as she glared at him.

“What?” James asked. “It’s a question. I’m curious.”

“If the girl wants to sit here, she can do so without having to answer any of your questions that pertain to her business,” Lily hissed.

“No, Lily, it’s okay. I don’t mind,” Summer insisted before glancing at James. “No, Sirius and I aren’t back together. I just needed a break from Robyn and Sirius was nice enough to let me sit with you lot. I really hope no one minds.”

“No, not at all,” Faith said. “I don’t blame you for needing a break from her.”

“I do,” Carmen said somewhat harshly. “I mean, you act just like her. You’ve never been anything but a **** to the three of us.”

“Carmen,” Lily said in a resigned tone.

“She’s right,” Summer said. “I have been rude to you girls, and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that, you’ve never done anything wrong to me. I was just trying to fit in with Robyn, and that’s not an excuse, but I have seen the error of my ways. That’s gotta count for something, right?” She was looking at Carmen.

“Sure, whatever,” the girl said before turning to Kevin and continuing her conversation with him.

“Sorry about that,” Lily said. “She’s just a little weary, we all are, but we’ll give you a second chance. Everyone deserves second chances.”

“Thanks,” Sumer said, once again feeling a pang at their kindness. “And I really am sorry for the way I’ve treated you guys in the past.”

Lily nodded. She glanced over at James and frowned.

“James, you have something…” she said, drifting off as she reached up and wiped a bit of gravy off the side of his mouth. It was only after she wiped her finger off on the napkin that she noticed everyone, including James, staring at her, somewhat shocked. “What?” she asked, clearly not seeing what the problem was. James had gravy on his face and it had been easier to wipe it off her self rather than try to explain to him where it was.

The others all gave her a knowing smile before going back to their conversations. Lily merely shrugged and went back to eating.

Once again, I apologize profusely for taking so long with this chapter. I had originally planned to elaborate on the touch between Lily and James, but the chapter just didn't seem to want to emerge. Then, I realized that I haven't ever really written much about Carmen and Kevin, and this chapter emerged, just begging to be written. So, I wrote it. I really hope you guys like it!

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Taylor.

Chapter 15

Carmen stepped through the Portrait hole, the sound of the crowded common room filling her ears. She glanced at her watch which read five till seven. Her hand gripped the piece of parchment in her hand. She wondered what Kevin wanted to talk to her about. Usually, they were already together and would head up to the dorms together. This time, however, he had requested for her to meet him there at seven. Her mind swam with possibilities. Maybe he was planning a really special evening, which he knew she wouldn’t take too kindly to. Maybe, she shuttered at the thought, he was breaking up with her.

This was something Carmen didn’t want to even think about. Sure, she was a strong spirit, she was independent and didn’t need a man in her life, but she was…connected to Kevin and she knew it would hurt if he broke her heart. She admitted, ashamed, that she had in fact given him her heart. It wasn’t something she did voluntarily. She hadn’t even noticed it was happening until it was done.

Carmen pushed the thought from her mind. If he wanted to break up with her, she would accept his decision. There was no point in worrying herself sick over it.

She paid no mind to the students in the room as she made her way to the stairs. She had climbed these stairs plenty. It also wasn’t the first time her heart had been racing with each step she took, this time however, it was more from anxiety. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. He was just a boy. Though, she never quite understood her feelings for him. Like how he could turn her into a puddle with just one look. Or how he could make her want him with a smile. She loved everything about him. It had taken her a while to admit this, and more importantly, accept it.

When she reached the door, she wasn’t sure if she should knock or go right in. Her hand hesitated towards the knob. Why was she so nervous? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be the end of the world. She let out a sigh, she most definitely did not like this feeling. Carmen was always so sure of herself, always in control. This person, she didn’t know. And she didn’t like her one bit.

Still debating on the proper way to enter the room, she compromised. The knob was cool in her hand, she twisted it, pushing the door open slightly.

“Kevin?” she asked, leaning towards the door.

“Come in,” his familiar voice called from the other side. The sound calmed her instantly. That was another thing about Kevin, no matter how anxious or angry she was, his voice almost always soothed her. He was her voice of reason when she was, at times, irrational.

She walked in the room, still a little weary. She glanced around, expecting candles or rose petals. She saw neither. This made her think that maybe he was breaking up with her. She noticed him standing by his bed, he looked nervous, which was pretty rare for him.

“Er…have a seat,” he insisted, motioning to the bed.

She eyed him while making her way to the bed. She had spent countless hours on this bed, and its familiar scent eased her slightly.

“Kevin, what’s this about?” she asked after he didn’t say anything. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. “Do you…are you breaking up with me?” She fought to keep the emotion from her voice. She never could’ve imagined it would hurt so much to say those words.

Kevin looked at her, bewildered. “No. Of course not!” His face dropped a bit. “Why…do you want to break up?”

“No, not at all!” Carmen insisted. “I just thought that maybe you were. You know…with all the secrecy and stuff…”

“Well, no…I’m definitely not breaking up with you,” Kevin assured her.

Carmen let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good.” She had learned long ago that she could show her feelings around Kevin. That, too, had taken a while. She didn’t want him to think she was weak or vulnerable, and he never had. He had even seen her cry once, for a brief period. She had once felt guilty, showing emotions around him, now it came natural. “So…if you’re not breaking up with me…then what’s going on?”

It was Kevin’s turn to sigh. He sat next to her on the bed. “I wasn’t sure how to do this…I mean, in my mind I had pictured when this moment came, I would have candles, flowers, candy maybe. But you’re much too difficult to let me do this the easy way.” He grinned at her. “That’s what I love about you, Carmen. You are so different from any other girl I’ve ever met. You are truly your own person. You are strong and independent and you don’t need a man to survive. When we first started going out, I could tell that you weren’t looking for a long term relationship, that you hadn’t even been looking for any type of relationship when we met.

“I never could’ve imagined that we would’ve lasted this long. We’ve had a bumpy road. You’re just too damn stubborn for your own good. We fell for each other. You fell for me and that kind of complicated things. You were giving yourself to me, and that was the best gift I could’ve ever asked for. You’re going to go far, Carmen, whether you have someone at your side or not…”

He hesitated for a few seconds. “However, I…I would really love it if you would allow me to be there with you, every step of the way.”

Carmen watched with disbelief as he pulled a small box out of his pocket. Her breath caught in her throat. Words abandoned her. He slowly opened the box, revealing a beautiful, breath-taking ring. The stone inside was her birthstone, Ruby. He knew she all but hated Diamonds.

“I’m not asking to get married right after we graduate, we can give it a few years. In fact, this isn’t even an engagement ring. It’s a promise ring. These past few years have been the best of my life, and nothing would make me happier than to know that we had a future.”

A million thoughts were going through Carmen’s head. A million emotions. She was happy, of course. She loved Kevin with all her heart. What he was asking, however, she didn’t know if she could handle that. He was asking for her hand in marriage, her future. He wanted to make her his. While the idea was all very romantic and ideal, it just wasn’t for Carmen. She was her own person. She gave her heart to Kevin, but the rest was still hers. He wanted to take that from her. She just didn’t know that she could do that.

“Kevin,” she began, not sure where to go from there. “I can’t,” she said finally. “I’m sorry, I just…can’t.”

With that, she stood from the bed, leaving Kevin heart broken and confused. Carmen closed the door behind her, tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She willed them back and made her way down the steps. She ignored the rest of students in the great hall and made her way up to her dorm. Faith and Lily were sitting in the room. They immediately glanced up at Carmen.

“Wow. That wasn’t long at all,” Lily said, glancing at her watch. “What did Kevin want.”

“Nothing, he just wanted to talk.”

“Talk?” Lily asked, noticing the look in Carmen’s eyes. “Did you guys break up?”

“I’m not sure,” Carmen answered truthfully. “I’m gonna get a shower.”

“If you need to talk, we’re here,” Lily assured her. Even though she knew that Carmen wouldn’t want to talk.

Once in the shower, the tears spilled. Carmen wasn’t sure why she was crying. Maybe because she had lost Kevin forever. Maybe because her heart was breaking. Mostly, it was because she knew she had done this to herself.

The next few days, the friends noticed the awkwardness between Kevin and Carmen. Both held a sad look in their eye, neither was able to look at the other. However, no one knew what was going on. Both had insisted that they didn’t break up, but neither gave any more details. Their unhappiness had considerably dampened the mood of everyone else. They others were worried about their friends . Carmen and Kevin had been attached at the hip since the middle of 4th year. All you had to do was see the way they looked at each other to see that they were madly in love.

They were indestructible, the couple had been through more than any of the other couples in Hogwarts. They had once survived a pregnancy scare at the end of last year. It was just that, a scare, but it nearly tore them apart. They broke up for about a month, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they got back together. This however, seemed more permanent, and it worried the others to no end.

Remus, Sirius and James all tried getting the details from Kevin, and the same with the girls and Carmen, neither caved though. All they would say was something happened and it seemed like things might be over. Neither wanted to talk about it. They knew that their friends wouldn’t understand . The guys would have not words of comfort to offer Kevin. Sure they could tell him to wait for Carmen, that she would come around, but they all knew how stubborn she was. Carmen, on the other hand, knew that Lily and Faith would never understand why she had turned down his offer.

However, three days after the proposal, Carmen found an unlikely source of help. She was sitting in a secluded hallway, the only place she knew she would be alone. The common room and dorm were much too crowded. Here in this corridor, she had no one looking at her sadly. No one pitied her here. There were no looks of confusion and curiosity.

James made his way back from the library, taking a short cut he and Sirius had discovered. He was shocked to find Carmen sitting against the wall.

“Hey,” he said timidly. “You okay?”

Carmen glanced up, annoyed. Couldn’t she get two minutes by herself/

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she insisted. She noticed James hesitate a bit before sitting down across from her.

“You don’t seem fine,” he told her. “Neither you nor Kevin have been fine for the past few days. All he does is mope around the dorm. What happened between you two?”

Carmen sighed, she knew this question had been coming. Everyone asked it. Even Robyn had been curious, though her question had been asked with a judgmental, nosey tone. For the first time in three days, Carmen wanted to tell James. It was strange, the two had barely spoken to each other. They were more acquaintances than friends, but something in her told her he would understand. That he knew what it felt like to want something you didn’t have, and to be afraid to get it all at the same time.

Carmen sighed. “Kevin proposed to me…well not exactly. He gave me a promise ring, he wants us to get married someday.” It had been the first time she’d said it aloud, and it kind of felt good.

“Oh,” James said. “I would say congratulations but it seems highly inappropriate. So you don’t want to marry him?”

“I don’t know,” Carmen answered truthfully. “I mean, I love him and don’t really want to think of my life without him. I mean, I know I would survive, my heart would eventually heal, but it would hurt. It does hurt,” she admitted. “But marriage? He wants to make me his, James. I’m independent, I’m my own person, and I’m not sure I would be able to give myself up.

“And then of course, if we get married he’s going to want kids. I’m just not the wife and mother type. I mean, honestly, can you imagine me being a Quidditch Mum? I don’t know the first thing about kids.”

Finally James spoke, “It seems to me like Kevin understands all of this already, which is why he’s only asking for someday. He knows you better than anyone else and I’m sure he’s figured out that this would be a tough transition for you, so he’s giving you time. I know Kevin, he’ll give you as much time as you need.

“You’re right, though, you don’t need a man. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as strong and independent as you. And this is coming from the guy who’s been pining after Lily Evans for the past 3 years. Lily is strong, yes, and independent, but she also wants that happy ending. She wants the true love, the husband, the kids. She doesn’t need it, but she desperately wants it. You don’t. You would do just fine without it, but what if it’s not that bad. I know you love Kevin, the whole world sees it. And believe me, we all remember how hard that was for you to admit that you loved him, to give your heart to him, but you did, because you decided it was a million times better than the alternative.

“That’s exactly how this is, I know you’re not the type for being a wife or a mother, but what if it’s better than you could’ve ever imagined. What if you find that you love it more than anything? You’ll never know unless you give it a shot, with Kevin, because I know there’s no one else you would rather experience that with. Anything else would be fake. It’ll be hard, I’m not saying it won’t be, marriage is a partnership, but if anyone can make it work, it’s you. You’re not the type to give up before giving it a shot, so you have to at least try.”

Carmen nodded, “You’re right.” She didn’t elaborate, Carmen wasn’t one to spill her feelings. Sure she had opened herself to James a little, but those had been facts. She wasn’t about to tell him that marriage couldn’t be worse than this feeling. That her heart was breaking and she felt like she had lost the most important person in her life. “Thanks, James, you’ve helped me a lot. I see why Lily comes to you with her problems.” She let out a small laugh. “And here everyone thought Remus was the sensitive one.”

“Oh, Remus is most definitely the sensitive one, I just fill in every now and then.”

Carmen smiled. “Thanks again,” she stood up and brushed herself off. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Kevin is, would you?”

“Last I saw him he was in the dorm,” James answered, standing to his feet. “I told you he never leaves but to go to class and meals.”

This made Carmen feel lower than dirt, she was the reason he felt this way.

“Lets walk together,” James told her, “I know a short cut.”

Carmen nodded. In a few minutes, they were standing before the Portrait Hole. James gave the password and the portrait sung open. Carmen let out a sigh of relief when she saw the others sitting on the couch. The all glanced up at her and James.
“Good luck,” James told her.

She could feel the others’ eyes on her as she walked up the steps. She took in a breath as she opened the door. She still had no clue what she was going to say. She wasn’t any good with this mushy, love stuff. She saw Kevin laying on his bed. His eyes widened and he sat up as he saw her walk into the room.

For a few seconds neither of them spoke. Their eyes locked on each other, confusion filled Kevin’s blue eyes. Carmen let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Hi,” she said quietly.

“Carmen?” Kevin asked finally. “What…what are you doing here?”

Carmen made her way to the bed. “I was wondering…I mean…I wanted to know if…if I could see that ring,” she said finally, still not sure if this was the right way to go about things. She wasn’t sure of any other way though, surely Kevin already knew how she was feeling, as James had said, he knew her better than anyone else, so there was no need to spill her heart to him.

“Why?” Kevin asked.

“Because I want to see it,” Carmen demanded lightly.

He let out a sigh before reaching into the bedside table and pulled out the small box. His eyes still held confusion, but she also noticed the tiny sparkle of hope. His hand was shaking slightly as he handed her the box.

She opened it, removing the ring from it’s case. It really was beautiful. She slipped it on her ring finger, it fit perfectly, just as she knew it would.

She glanced at Kevin who looked like he was about to have a heart attack. She suppressed a laugh at his expression.

“I love that it’s not a diamond,” she told him. “It’s a beautiful ring.”

“Carmen…what exactly does this mean?” Kevin asked.

“It means,” she let out a sigh. “That I’m excepting your proposal…It doesn’t mean, however, that we’ll get married right after Hogwarts. You asked something huge of me, Kevin, and I honestly don’t know how long it’ll be till I’m ready to give into your request…You’ll just have to hang in there and be patient with me.”

“I know,” Kevin smiled. “That’s why it’s a promise ring and not an engagement ring,” he told her, pulling her into a tight hug. “You have no idea how happy this makes me, Carmen.”

Surprisingly, Carmen found that she was happy too. She would never have to lose Kevin, and she was certain that someday, she would be ready to sacrifice herself in order to keep him. But with Kevin, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice, she just knew it.

“It makes me happy too,” she answered truthfully. She pulled him into a deep kiss.

A while later the two made their way downstairs. His hand was laced with hers. On her other hand, the ring fit comfortably on her finger, though the small ruby put the smallest amount of weight, letting her know it was always there, not that she was likely to forget any time soon.

When they made their way into the common room, five sets of eyes settled on the couple and their interlaced hands. Their friends smiled at them widely as they walked over to the couch.

“So are you two good now?” Lily asked.

“Never been better,” Carmen said, unable to contain her smile as she held out her hand.

“Oh my God,” Lily said, however it was Summer who stood from her seat and engulfed Carmen in a hug.

In the past week or so, Summer had been spending more time with them than Robyn, it was weird transition and Carmen was still getting used it, but she returned the girls hug.

“I’m happy for you guys. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you two,” she said.

“Thanks, that means a lot to me.” Carmen noticed Robyn’s glare from across the room. Summer had received more than her share of nasty comments from the group over the past few days. Luckily, they couldn’t do more than make comments as either Sirius or Lily were always by their side.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Lily asked as Carmen, Summer and Kevin all sat down on the couch.

“We don’t know yet,” Kevin said, “It’s just a promise ring.”

“It’s beautiful,” Lily said, examining the ring. “Can I see it?”

Carmen held out her hand, not wanting to remove the ring. She couldn’t help but laugh as Lily and Summer gushed over the ring. She thought it was silly how girls always got so excited about a piece of jewelry. Even if it was beautiful. And Carmen sure as hell wasn’t about to admit how thrilled she was to have it. It wasn’t just the ring, but what it symbolized.

Look! I actually got another chapter up less than a month later! Haha I went on a writing spree and got like two more done. So I'm just waiting for my beta to return the other one.

I would like to thank Alyssa, my new beta, for the wonderful changes she helped with. She added a little extra flair and I greatly appreciate her help.

Don't forget to let me know what you think!

Chapter 16

Lily watched Carmen and Kevin as they sat on the couch; their hands interlaced. She couldn't help but notice how Kevin stroked her friend’s leg, even as he talked to the others.Or how neither of them could stop smiling. Her bright green eyes fell on James and she noticed that he was also watching the couple. He held a somewhat proud look on his face, which caused Lily to wonder what was behind it until she remembered Carmen and James entering the common room together. She smiled to herself; of course, James had helped in some way. He was one of the most understanding people she knew. He always helped put things into perspective for her; he had a gift for saying just the right thing at the right time. It kind of amazed Lily, to be honest, for James had not always been this sensitive. There had been a time when he would rather mock your problems then help you solve them.

She had to admit he had come a long way. Though she wasn’t sure what had been the cause of this change, she was happy for it. She had grown to quite like this new James and was more thankful than anyone knew to have him in her life.

She hadn’t even realized that she was staring at him until he glanced at her and smiled. She blushed slightly and looked away, embarrassed to have been caught out.

“What was that all about?” Sirius asked in a whisper, leaning towards Lily. His presence startled her slightly. She had almost forgotten she was in the crowded common room.

“What was what?” She feigned ignorance, hoping she was convincing.

She forgot however, who she was talking to. Sirius Black, the master of deception, with the irritating ability to spot a lie a mile away. “You were totally staring at James with gaga eyes.”

“I wasn’t even looking at him,” she insisted defensively. “I was merely thinking about stuff and it just so happens he was in the direction I was staring.” She left out the part about James being the “stuff” in which her thoughts had gotten lost, she felt it had no relevance to the conversation at hand.

“Sure, if you say so.”

Lily only nodded, before she glanced at her watch with deliberate casualness, desperate for an escape.

“Wow, it’s getting kind of late. I’ve got some homework I need to finish.” She rose from her seat a little too quickly in her haste to get away from the current situation. “Goodnight, all. Congratulations, Carmen and Kevin.”

The group collectively bid her goodnight and Carmen thanked her. Sirius was the only one to watch her curiously, as she walked away. It was obvious to him that she was trying to avoid their conversation.

Once alone in her room, Lily wondered about what Sirius had said. Had she really been looking at James with desire in her eyes? Sure, she was thinking about him, but it wasn’t anything intimate. She and James were just friends; actually, they were a lot more than just friends. They told each other everything and she spent more time with him than anyone else. They were practically inseparable. They ate together, studied together, and walked to class together.

Not that it meant much; there were plenty of guys and girls that were closer than friends, but not quite that close. Like Sirius and Summer, for example, they didn’t exactly fancy each other, but you could clearly see there was something more than simple friendship. He was her protector. It wasn’t that way with James, though. They didn’t have a past that brought them together. There was nothing to explain this little extra attachment she felt with him.

She wasn’t even sure how she felt about him. She knew she liked him as a friend. Sure, there was probably a small part of her that wondered what it would be like to be more than that, but she never seriously considered it. This wasn’t right though, girls like Lily Evans didn’t fall for guys like James Potter.

What kind of guy was he though, exactly? He was kind, supportive. He was always quick to help someone else and he gave the best advice and helped put things into perspective when you yourself may have problems doing just that. He was smart, responsible, funny, athletic, rich, loyal, handsome…Perfect was the word that came to mind.

Sure, he’d been a bit of a prat in his younger years, but what kid doesn’t go through that? He was a very different person now. In fact, he had changed; he realized the error of his ways and made himself a better person.

Maybe he was the type that Lily fell for. Maybe he was everything she liked in a guy, and so much more. Nevertheless, did that mean she liked him? Lily was so confused. Her thoughts were all over the place and she found herself wishing she could talk to James. Wasn’t that ironic, she thought somewhat bitterly, he’s the problem and she wanted to go to him for the solution.

The memory of a few days ago suddenly came to mind, when she had wiped the food off his mouth. The others had noticed, but she didn’t. Had she really become so comfortable around him that she wouldn’t think twice about touching his face? The answer was yes, she had. Again, that could go back to the friend thing. He had become one of her very best friends. However, she knew there was something more there. She couldn’t ignore that this felt so much different from her relationship with other guys that were just friends.

She tried telling herself it was because she had never been this close to another guy as just a friend, but she knew this to be a lie. She and Remus had become extremely close during their time as Prefects together. They spent countless hours on patrol at night. They would often hang around talking after meetings when everyone else had left. They would come to each with their problems, knowing the other would have words of wisdom and advice. He, at the time, had been one of her closest friends, and she still considered him to be such today. But it was different from how she felt about James. She loved Remus, there was no doubt about it. As was the case with James. The only difference was that with Remus she knew her love ran no deeper than friendship.

Lily had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard the door open. In fact, she was only aware of her best friends entrance after the blonde tripped over her own feet and let out a stream of curse words. Lily glanced up at the girl who was clutching her foot in her hand. She held back a laugh, that girl tripped over air.

“Hey,” Lily said, smiling at her. “You okay?”

Faith glanced up, clearly unaware that she had an audience, not that she’d had much of a chance to observe her surrounding. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, releasing her foot and wiggling it a bit. “I tripped over my own stupid feet. Why must I be so damn clumsy?” She let out an exasperated sigh as she removed her cloak. “Oh,“ she said, her mind already on another subject. “Did you hear about Carmen and Kevin? That’s kind of crazy, isn’t it?”

“Huh?” Lily’s mind was so occupied with James that she had nearly forgotten about everything else. It only took her a second to remember her roommates news about her future. “Oh, right,” she said distantly. “Yeah. I’m happy for them.”

Faith couldn‘t help but notice her roommates nonchalance. It was very unlike Lily who was one of the most empathetic people she knew. Though she wasn‘t quite as intense as Faith who would all but absorb the feelings of those around her, Lily was usually happy for her friends. It shocked Faith that the redhead was anything less than thrilled for their dormmate. This could only mean that she had bigger things on her mind. Faith crossed the room to sit on Lily‘s bed. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Lily insisted, twisting her hands in her lap. She wasn’t able to look Faith in the eye, instead keeping her gaze fixed on her lap. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Oh,” Faith said, she had guessed as much. It was what Lily had been thinking about that had her so distracted. “Want to talk about it?”

“It’s about James,” Lily explained even though she really didn’t see how Faith could help her. She couldn’t even figure out her own feelings. She immediately noticed the grin on Faith’s face and scowled at her, how was it that everyone else was so sure of how Lily felt when she herself couldn’t even figure it out? “It’s just so confusing.” With a sigh, Lily put together a quick summary of the thoughts that had crossed her mind in the past few minutes.

When she finished, Faith was quiet for a few seconds, as if assessing her next words.

“Lily, it’s clear that there’s something more between you and James than just friendship. The whole world can see that just by the way you two interact,” Faith told her gently although Lily had already figured out that everyone else knew there was something more between them. Anytime the couple walked into the room, the others would greet them with knowing smiles. “It’s obvious he loves you, and you love him.”

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean I‘m in love with him,” Lily stated a little too defensively.

“No, it doesn’t,” Faith agreed with a nod. “But I think only you can figure that out for yourself. No one else can tell you how you feel.”

Lily grumbled. “Well I wish I would hurry the hell up and tell myself how I feel,” she groaned, leaning back as she put a pillow over her face.

“You’ll know,” Faith assured her, smiling down at her disgruntled friend. “In time, it’ll become clear. I mean, you might even know now. Do you get butterflies when you see him? Does it make you jealous to see him talking to other girls? Do you feel yourself missing him when he’s not around?”

Lily paused for a moment, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling as she considered her answer “I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t get butterflies around him. I’m not even nervous, it’s like being with him is the most natural thing in the world. And as for other girls, well he talks to plenty but most of them are just friends. And there are times I find myself wishing I could talk to him about a problem. We’ll usually together so much that I barely have time to miss him.”

“Well, for me, the way I know it’s love with Dean is that every time I see him, I can’t help but smile. My mood just brightens the moment his face comes into view and my heart starts racing. Next time you see James, maybe you should pay attention to these things. See if there’s any change.”

Lily glanced at her friend in surprise. That was actually really good advice. She loved Faith to death and her friend was always there for her, but it was rare that Faith was the voice of reason. Her usual line was “I don’t know what to tell you, Lily, but I know you’ll figure it out. You always do.”

Faith glanced back at her friend as if waiting for Lily to say it was a dumb idea, though Lily would never put it in those words. She was quite surprised when Lily smiled at her. “I think I might just do that,” Lily said.

“Really?” Faith asked. “I mean I know I normally don’t give the best advice. It was the only thing I could think of.”

“It was brilliant,” Lily said, pulling her friend into a hug. “Thanks.”

“Oh,” Faith sputtered, looking somewhere between surprised and proud of herself. Finally, the latter took over and she smiled brightly. “Well, you’re welcome.”

The next day, when Lily walked down to the common room to meet James, she arrived early so that she could assess her reaction upon first seeing him. She felt somewhat silly staring at the steps and she received several weird glances from the boys descending them. She was certain it looked creepy; The Head Girl standing a few feet from the bottom of the steps, staring intently. Some of the boys even hurried past her, trying not to look guilty or do anything that could get them in trouble. She smiled a little. She took her job very seriously and knew that her authority was a privilege and not a right. And though she would never abuse her power, it sometimes went to her head slightly. She felt all mighty at times, knowing that others cowered at her position, though it never lasted long before she put herself back in check. She was no better than the rest of the students and would never dream to think of herself as such.

Her eyes first caught sight of his unruly black hair. He was talking to Sirius and Remus, laughing at something Sirius had said. His lips curled into that familiar smile. She noticed the way he seemed to glide down the steps. How his bag was hung careless on his shoulder and he adjusted it every so often. He was the perfect balance between his two best friends; His tie hung somewhat loosely around his neck, his shirt tail tucked in partially. While his attire wasn’t perfect, he had put more effort into it than Sirius, who had removed his tie all together and left his shirt hanging out of his pants completely. Remus, the more responsible of the three, had his tie on completely and his shirt was neatly tucked in.

Lily had been so busy studying James that she had forgotten to check for changes. Her heart rate felt the same, her legs didn’t turn into mush, and she hadn’t lost the ability to speak. Her mood hadn’t changed much, as she had already been quite content at the anticipation of seeing him. Other than that, she had no hint as to her feelings toward him.

“Hey, Lily,” he called, walking over to her. Luckily, he had been so occupied by his friends that he seemingly failed to notice she had been watching him.

She smiled at him. “Hey,” she answered, noticing that Sirius was staring at her curiously. She shot him a glare and turned to James.

“Ready to go to breakfast?” James asked, lifting his bag on his shoulders. This too varied from his friends. Remus had his straps on each shoulder while Sirius was missing a bag all together. He never carried his books to class and Lily often wondered how he managed to pass them at all. In fact, he usually managed with more than just an Acceptable grade, usually getting only a few marks lower than Remus and James.

“Yeah, I’m just waiting for Faith,” Lily told him. Normally they would’ve walked down together but Faith insisted that she would be too much of a distraction and Lily needed to concentrate. She often had a problem knowing when to keep quiet.

“I’m here,” Faith said, walking over to the group, her books pressed to her chest. “I’m starving, let’s go.”

The others, minus Sirius, turned to walk away. “You lot go ahead,” he told them. “I’m going to wait for Summer.”

“She’s almost ready,” Faith assured him. “Carmen’s waiting up there with her. Robyn seems like she’s in an unusually nasty mood.”

A look of concern crossed Sirius’ face. He hated that Robyn was so mean to Summer. They all did, but Sirius felt responsible. If he hadn’t started dating Summer, she wouldn’t have left Robyn and felt that she lost the only friends she’d ever known. In addition, her former best friend wouldn’t hate her.

“You get your homework done last night?” James asked Lily as they walked through the portrait hole.

Lily immediately remembered that she had left so early for bed to “finish homework” and nodded.

“Yep, all done.” She smiled at him, knowing it wasn’t a lie, for all her homework had been completed long before she went to her room under the pretense. “What about you?”

“Of course,” he answered with a smile.

Lily immediately decided that being around James didn’t help her discern if she fancied him or not. She still felt all the things she remembered last night, there was no newness. There was no feeling in the pit of her stomach and her mind wasn’t fogging over. Nothing. It was the same as always, comfortable and just right. They had a connection, a spark of some kind. She just couldn’t figure out what it meant.

Lily decided that there really wasn’t any point in trying to figure this out. Looking for signs was only leaving her frustrated and disappointed. It was as Faith said, she would know with time. She immediately let the conversation go its course smoothly, as it always did between them. The silences between them were few and far apart, and almost never awkward. The others were with them, they held their own conversation, as usual. Faith and Remus didn’t seem to mind as they discussed the project and Remus asked about Dean. Faith told him that he had invited her to his house for the holidays. Remus seemed to pick up on her nervousness.

“They’re going to love you, Faith, you’re a wonderful person,” he told her.

The rest of the morning was about the same as any other. The others attended their classes and such. One main difference was the steady stream of people coming up to Carmen and Kevin, congratulating them on their engagement. Lily noticed how Carmen clenched her teeth each time the word was mentioned. Kevin would squeeze her hand gently and she would force a smile and thank the person kindly. It was an entertaining encounter to watch. It was also strange though, seeing Carmen hold back. She usually spoke her mind and Lily knew that Kevin must have had something to do with it. After the first person had come up to say they had heard about the engagement, she had snapped and said they weren’t engaged. Kevin had told her that it wasn’t polite to snap at someone when they were merely trying to be friendly. After all, no one they knew of in school was psychic and knew the situation between them.

Even funnier than these encounters was when the second person that came up to say how happy they were for the couple. Once again, the word “engagement” was used, and once again, Carmen opened her mouth to protest. Kevin had cleared his throat and Carmen rolled her eyes.

“Thanks so much,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. The girl glanced at her, her smile faltered slightly, and promptly turned on her heel and walked away.

“Good girl,” Kevin said, pressing a kiss to the back of her head, which resulted in Carmen snarling at him. Needless to say, he didn't make the same mistake twice. Now he merely smiled at her proudly. Luckily, after the tenth or so person, Carmen no longer clenched her teeth at the word, instead deciding people were going to use it and there was no point in getting upset.

The strangest sight greeted Lily, James, Remus, Faith, Sirius, and Summer as they walked into Potions, their last class of the day. Carmen was standing by her desk with Kevin by her side, his hand wrapped over hers. They were being congratulated by yet another person. It wasn’t the situation itself, as this had been repeated countless times during the day, but rather who Carmen was talking to.

“-heard the great news. Congratulations,” Robyn was saying in a fake cheery voice the others, besides Summer, had rarely heard. Her old best friend had heard Robyn use the fake cheery voice countless times on boys, professors, and just people she wanted something from in general. Summer didn’t trust that voice; it meant Robyn was up to no good. Or rather, up to more trouble than usual as she almost never had good intentions with any of her actions. The others exchanged confused glances. They walked closer to the threesome and noticed the bewildered look on Carmen’s face.

“Thanks?” she said hesitantly, not sure whether it was a trick or not. She didn’t trust Robyn one bit. She looked up at Kevin for an explanation but he merely shrugged, clearly as clueless as the rest of them. At last, she glanced up and noticed the rest of the group. “Hey, guys.” It was clear that she was thankful for the distraction.

“Hi, Carmen,” Lily replied before moving her stare to Robyn. Everyone had defensively gathered around Summer. Robyn noticed this and smirked.

“It’s all right,” she assured them, which didn’t help ease the group a bit and they stood their ground. Sirius had even placed his arm around her waist. None of them missed the look of contempt she threw Summer. She had made it painfully obvious from day one that she fully opposed the idea of Summer leaving her. “I didn’t come to cause trouble. I just wanted to congratulate Carmen on her engagement,” she emphasized the word, causing Carmen to narrow her eyes.
.
Robyn had been within earshot of the first encounter, when Carmen said it wasn’t an engagement. Typical, they all thought. Well at least they knew why she was over there. In fact, most of them were relieved that it wasn’t worse. Carmen knew Robyn was just trying to push her buttons and didn’t let it bother her too much. With a satisfied grin at Carmen’s tense stance, she smiled and made her way back to her table. The others found their seats just as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. Professor Slughorn walked into the room and all chattering quieted immediately.

He called the register as he did everyday. After he was done, he addressed the class.

“Today, we are going to be making [[potion]],” he explained. “These,” he flicked his wand towards the black board and the ingredients and instructions for the potion appeared, “are the directions.” He glanced around. “Ms. Smith, since your partner doesn’t seem to be here today, you are to work with Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter. Everyone get to work.”

Lily let out a groan as the rest of the class began moving around and talking. “That’s so not fair,” she grumbled. “Why can’t she go be a cow to someone else?”

James chuckled, patting her thigh under the table. “I’m sure we’ll live. You just have to promise you’ll stick up for me if she starts being mean.”

Lily smiled but rolled her eyes. “Oh, of course,” she teased. “I know how fragile you are.”

The two were laughing at her joke when Robyn sat down next to James. Lily couldn’t help but notice how unnecessarily close she was. The table sat four and there were only three people currently occupying it. Robyn noticed Lily glancing at her and threw a smirk her way.

“I’ll go get the ingredients,” James volunteered, noticeably uncomfortable. “I’ll be right back, try not to kill her,” he whispered in Lily’s ear, causing her to look at him and smile. He winked at her before heading towards the back cabinet.

“Wow, you must be totally daft,” Robyn sneered, not bother to look at Lily.

“What are you on about?” she asked, throwing a glance at her. She noticed that Robyn was studying her nails. Of course, only Robyn could be talking to someone else and still find that she was more important.

“James. I mean, it’s obvious he fancies you, but you’re too much of a baby to do anything about it. Pretty stupid thing to do in my book,” she emphasized, making sure to let Lily know she thought the girl was an idiot.

Lily huffed. “There’s plenty in your book that I don’t go by. So excuse me if I don’t take your advice,” she retorted.

“Fine by me.” Robyn shrugged, still not removing her eyes from her nails. “You’ll just be a prude your whole life.”

Thankfully, James arrived at this time, his arms full of vials.

“Wow, you two didn’t kill each other, I’m impressed,” he said lightheartedly, immediately picking up on the tension.

“What ever do you mean, James?” Robyn said, using her fake cheery voice again, finally tearing her eyes away from her hand. She smiled up at James. “Lily and I are close buddies. I mean, we’ve shared a dorm for seven years.”

“Yeah, about seven years too long,” Lily muttered to James who was once again standing between the two girls.

James smiled at her as he set down the various items, setting the knife in front of Lily. She usually did most of the cutting; he couldn’t ever seem to cut the pieces equally. Lily got out her notebook and glanced at the board. James questioned why she often felt the need to take notes on days they made potions. The ingredients were on the board and they weren’t required to make not of their progress.

“Okay, first ingredient we need to add is the taproot,” Lily stated as she dipped her quill in ink and jotted down the amount needed in her perfect handwriting.

“Allow me,” Robyn said with a grin. She reached across James, making sure to press herself against his chest as she did so. Lily glanced up, quill still poised on the parchment. She and James looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

They both watched anxiously as she made uneven slices of the taproot. They looked even worse then when James cut them. James couldn’t help but smile as Lily looked panicky; it was of the utmost important that things be perfect for the potion to work right. Moreover, she was kind of a perfectionist.

James cleared his throat as Robyn made the last cut. “Um, maybe we should let Lily do the rest of the chopping,” he suggested gingerly reaching for the knife. It admittedly wasn't one of the things he felt most comfortable doing. Though he didn’t honestly believe that Robyn was capable of such violence as stabbing him, she hadn’t exactly done anything to prove she wouldn’t harm someone that way.

Robyn examined her work and laughed. “Yeah, those do look pretty bad, don’t they?” she asked with a sheepish grin. Lily nearly choked; Robyn never admitted she was wrong. Never. She was the definition of perfect in her eyes. “Here.”

She placed the knife on the table. When James reached for it, her fingers lingered a little too long, brushing against James.

“There you go, Lily,” James handed her the knife, looking confused.

This continued for the next forty minutes, Robyn brushing against James ever so slightly at any given oppurtunity; She laughed a little too loudly at any thing remotely funny that he said and she smiled at him more than Lily had seen her smile in seven years. Each incident was followed by a shared, confused glance between Lily and James. Robyn annoyed Lily to no end. She had strongly disliked the girl to begin with, but to watch her flirt shamelessly with James was just plain exasperating. It was as if she was just begging for attention. Not that James was giving her much. Despite the distraction, their potion came out perfect. Slughorn commented on the color and thickness, saying that once again, Lily and James had mastered the potion.

He dismissed the class and the room was filled with the sound of people chatting while gathering their books and shuffling out of the room. Much too Lily’s annoyance, Robyn followed her and James out of the room. Of course, she walked beside James. The others stood just outside; all exchanging glances upon seeing the three emerge from the room.

“Well that was fun,” Sirius said, his arm draped protectively around Summer as he gave Robyn a warning glare.

“Yeah, about as fun as getting poked in the eye,” James commented.

“Oh, James, you’re so funny,” Robyn said, pushing her hand against his chest playfully. She seemed oblivious to others raising their eyebrows. “Well, it was fun working with you, James. We should do it again sometime.” She gave him a wink before sauntering away.

“What was that?” Sirius asked, still not removing his arm from Summer.

The others looked like they might gag while a scowl set on Lily’s face. It had been truly revolting to watch Robyn throw herself at James like that. There was something else there too. Then it clicked in Lily’s head. It was jealousy. Not of Robyn, exactly, Lily doubted she could ever be jealous of Robyn. Instead, she was envious of her actions. It was at that moment that Lily realized she didn’t want anyone else brushing James’ arm, or pressing against him. She wanted to be the only one.

“I don’t know,” James was saying. “She was like that all period.”

“Yeah, we heard her-” Carmen began but Lily soon cut her off.

“James, I need to talk to you.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the rest of the group, ignoring the curious looks.