Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter 4: Pennies and the Question Game

Lily glanced over at James through the corner of her eye. He was wearing a thoughtful expression and Lily couldn't help but think that it was kind of nice to have James as company.

She must have been staring for too long because suddenly James' hazel eyes met hers and the familiar sensation one gets when they are caught shot through her body.

Lily felt her cheeks begin to redden as she waited for the inevitable to occur.

Yup, any minute now, James was going to rumple up his hair, flash his most seductive smile her way, and say something witty and roughly along the lines of 'See anything you like Evans?'

Instead, James grinned at her genuinely, slightly embarrassed himself for no apparent reason whatsoever. Lily often did that to him, much as he hated to admit it.

"What?" he asked.

Lily stopped and composed herself. The way he had said it was in no way suggestive or sarcastic. This was obviously not what she had expected James Potter to say-at least the arrogant James Potter she knew who never missed a chance to make a smart remark.

Lily shoved her right hand in her pocket and her fingers fell on a small and cool circle shaped object.

"Um…penny for your thoughts?" she replied finally, pulling out the penny she had found in her pocket and flicking it over with her thumb in James' direction.

"What's a penny?" James asked catching what Lily had tossed to him and examining it closely.

"You're holding one." Lily replied simply.

James looked at her again, still wearing the same confused expression as before, which was Lily's cue to elaborate.

"It's muggle currency." She explained.

James looked up at her again still fingering the small coin between his fingers.

"Wait, I thought muggles used pounds in England." James replied knowingly.

"We do, this is muggle currency in America." Lily explained.

"So all muggles don't use the same type of money?"

"Nope, Lily responded. "With wizards, wherever you go its galleons, sickles, and knuts because wizards only have Gringotts as their bank. But the muggle world is so much bigger, it's just impossible for all of us to use the same type of money, so lots of countries have their own-Like America for example uses dollars and cents."

"And you just randomly carry around pennies and other types of money in your trouser pockets?" James enquired, trying hard not to make fun of her too much.

"I can think of stranger things to carry around in one's pocket..." Lily replied smartly.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" James asked playing along.

"like a certain stolen golden snitch." Lily replied grinning.

James opened his mouth to reply but he couldn't think of anything to say. Instead, he put his lips together once more and smiled.

"Touché." James replied through his grin which slowly faded off of his face allowing his expression to become pensive once more.

"What?" Lily asked, figuring it was her turn to ask this time.

"Well, I was just thinking-I never really understood what that expression meant, I mean I've heard it in passing and all-but still…" James trailed off, referring to the expression 'a penny for your thoughts'.

"Well, I guess it means you have to tell me what you were thinking at the time I asked you." Lily replied thoughtfully.

"I have to tell you exactly what I was thinking?" James asked.

Lily laughed at his obvious shocked expression.

"Well, I guess you don't have to…" Lily trailed off before adding, "But, I'd like to hear it."

"Well…" James began. "I guess I was just thinking about how nice it is to hang out with you and have you not judge me. I was thinking about how nice it is to just enjoy your company I guess."

Lily searched his deep hazel eyes for a moment before realizing that what he said was the genuine truth.

She had often heard that eyes were the windows to one's soul and James was the perfect example of how this was true. You could always tell how he was feeling if you searched the depths of his eyes long enough-at least if he wanted you to.

The truth was however, Lily didn't know how to respond to a comment like that from James. She wasn't really used to the new way he was acting because she had never seen him like this before.

Or maybe, he's always been like this and I've just been too much of a jerk to actually get to know the real him…

Lily thought.

"How about we play a game? It's gonna take a while to get downtown anyway." Lily suggested.

"Alright, have any games in mind?" James said agreeing.

"Actually I do," Lily replied grinning.

James looked at her, clearly implying for her to explain what she had in mind.

"Well, I was thinking, we don't really know too much about each other, so maybe we could play the question game. So we'll ask each other a question and then when the other has answered, we'll answer the same question and then the next person will go. Get it?"

"So, I ask you a question, you answer, then I answer, then you ask me a question and we repeat the process?" James replied.

"Yeah." Lily replied.

"What if one of us asks a question and the other doesn't want to answer it?" James asked.

"Well, I guess you technically don't have to answer if its something you strongly believe against, but it's kinda like truth or dare but without the dare, other than that, the rules are, answer the questions and answer them truthfully…" Lily trailed off. "So, wanna play?"
"I'm in." James replied smiling "So, should I go first?"

"Sure."

"Ok…tell me about the penny-why did you have it in your pocket?" James asked.

Lily smiled.

"Oh, that! Alright." She replied composing her thoughts. "Well, when I was younger, my dad used to take a lot of business trips to the states for the advertisement company he works for. I must have been about three or four when mum and him decided we should all go with him on one of the trips he was taking to California because we had relatives who lived down there. When we got there, my sister Petunia ate some strawberries and it turned out she was allergic, so my mum left me with my Aunt Rose while she took her to the doctor's office. Anyway, Aunt Rose took me and my cousin Maggie who was my age to this park on the old saw mill that used to work in the Gold Rush era. Maggie and I got there and we were playing tag on the saw mill and trying to jump from one log to another. I was chasing her and then suddenly she stopped running and pointed to a penny on the ground." Lily explained. "I was only four so I didn't know what she meant, and then she explained what a penny was and how if you found a penny face up on the ground and picked it up, you would have good luck for the rest of the day. Then she said I should pick it up because she had found loads of lucky pennies before and because they didn't have pennies back where I lived, so I did and then I put it in my pocket because I thought it was lucky. And even after I got back to England, I kept that penny with me everywhere I went," Lily paused and then laughed. "My dad took a few more trips back to the states before his company finally said he could stop traveling and every time he would go, he would always ask me and my sister what we wanted him to bring back. Petunia would always choose something materialistic like clothes or makeup, but I always asked him to bring me back pennies." Lily replied smiling. "I guess it's just an old habit or something but I still almost always carry one around in my pocket even though I sort of stopped believing they were lucky around the same time I stopped believing in Santa Claus or the Tooth-Fairy." Lily finished with a shrug.

James smiled at the story before looking down at the penny she had given him in his hand.

"So, do you want your penny back?" James asked holding it out to her in his palm.

Lily looked down at it before putting her hand under his and closing his hand with hers.

"No, why don't you keep it, maybe it'll bring you some luck." She replied with a smile before dropping her hand from around his.

"Thanks." James replied softly before putting it in his pant pocket.

"So, you're turn." Lily replied.

"Well, I can't exactly tell you about carrying around a penny seeing as how I didn't know what it was until five minutes ago and because in the past I didn't carry one around on a daily basis with me." James replied good naturedly.

"Good point." Lily remarked. "Tell me about why you used to carry around that golden snitch then."

James laughed as the memory flooded back to him.

"Well, I guess it all started when Sirius and I were in this betting phase." James began. "Since we were both on the Quiddich team, he bet he could nick his position's ball before I could get mine, but since Sirius is a beater and bludgers move, he decided it wasn't fair since I was a chaser and the quaffle is stationary. Since I was a seeker before I got bigger and switched to chaser, he decided I had to nick the golden snitch." James explained. "Anyway, it was all set to happen at the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw game at the beginning of the season so Sirius and I snuck down to the bottom of the pitch and waited till we could try and get the ball we were supposed to. Sirius knew I'd probably wait till the end of the game to steal the snitch so he thought he'd be smart and try and go for the bludger early, so he cast a charm on the bludger when it got close enough to him so it would stop moving and when it did, he went over to pick it up." James trailed off.

"So Sirius won the bet?" Lily asked.

"Well, not exactly." James replied.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Well…Sirius wasn't very good at charms to begin with and aside from that it's really difficult to charm a Quiddich ball to do what you want it to because of the rules of the game," James explained. "So when Sirius went to pick the bludger up, it stayed still for about five seconds before it kinda shot up and hit him in the face." James explained.

"So while everyone was trying to figure out what the bloody hell Sirius was doing on the pitch in the first place and if he was ok, the snitch flew down by my feet and I grabbed it in passing before going with Sirius up to see Madam Pomfrey."

"So, you won then?" Lily asked.

"Well, technically yeah since Sirius never really picked up the bludger." He replied. "After that I kinda forgot about the snitch until I opened the shoebox it was in and it started flying around, I thought it was kinda fun playing around with it so I never bothered to return it and I didn't realize I was getting so much attention by playing with it until someone else pointed it out."

"Who was that?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well you of course." James replied.

"Oh." Lily replied smiling.

"Your turn?" James replied figuring it was time for the next question.

"Alright, hold on let me think…" Lily said looking up at the sky.

"Ok, I got one." Lily replied after a moment. "What was the first lie you ever told?"

"Easy," James replied laughing. "I met Sirius at a playground when I was seven and we were friends for about a year when he finally opened up about his home life and how he didn't really like his family because they were all a bunch of dark wizards so one day he was at the playground and he was crying because of something his mum had done and he said he didn't wanna go home, so I told him he could come live with me forever and I hid him in my closet for a good part of the day before my parents found out and made him go home."

"Wow," Lily replied "I never thought Sirius would have it so bad at home…so you lied and told him he could live with you forever and then he couldn't? Poor kid, he must have been heartbroken."

James smiled at Lily's kindness before responding.

"Yeah he was…but I guess technically it wasn't a lie…" James trailed off.

"How's that?"

"Well, because ever since Sirius walked out on his family last year and they disowned him, he's been living with me and my mum and dad. They've always seen Sirius as more of an adoptive son than my friend anyway so it all worked out well I guess."

"You mean Sirius is really living with you now?"

"Yup."

"Then how come I haven't seen him?" Lily asked.

"Well, he's staying at his cousin Andromeda's for the summer, Sirius hasn't seen her since the whole thing with his family and he really wants to meet her seven year old daughter Nymphadora. Andromeda's one of the only people in his family who didn't completely shut him out but that's mainly because they've been outcast as well." James explained.

"How many Blacks have been outcast from the family then?" Lily asked.

"Not too many of the pure Blacks anyway, the ones that I know of because Sirius still talks to them are Andromeda, his Uncle Alphard, and another one of Sirius' favorite cousins Alexandria, but she lives in the states so Sirius rarely ever gets to see her." James explained. "Alright, now it's your turn."

"I think I must have been five, I told my best friend at the time that I would take her to Disneyland- this big muggle park with all types of rides and themes- with me," Lily replied laughing. "I really shouldn't laugh, but I made her pack and everything but of course my parents said she couldn't go."

James laughed along with her before responding.

"Alright, so we were both terrible little children who broke the hearts of other little children by promising them something near impossible-"

"Nothing's impossible, James, just improbable." Lily replied automatically succeeding in cutting him off.

"Where did that come from?" James asked.

"Sorry, it's just something my grandpa used to tell all the time when I was little and it just sorta stuck with me." Lily replied waving it off. "But now we're getting off track and I believe it's your turn to ask a question."

"What's your favorite color?" James blurted out not even thinking.

"James!" Lily replied.

"I'm flattered Lily, but I'm not exactly a color." James replied jokingly.

"You know that's not what I meant." Lily replied slapping him playfully on the shoulder. "Do you always have to say the first thing that comes to mind? Can't you think of a better question than 'what's your favorite color?' I mean honestly, it's like me asking you what color the sky is-"

" Cerulean blue with two drops of sunset orange mixed in." James replied automatically.

Lily looked at him mouth open.

"What? Can't a guy be poetic?" James asked.

"I'll give you that one…but can't you come up with a better question to go along with that lame one?"

"Oh, fine!" James replied pretending to have it be a bother. "Ok, I got one- but you still have to tell me your favorite color!"

Lily nodded in agreement.

"Alright, if you could pick three people to have dinner with, dead, alive or fictional who would they be?"

"Now that's a better question! Let's see…" Lily replied thinking. "Judy Garland because my favorite movie is 'The Wizard of Oz', Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, and someone from the future, just to see what its like, not necessarily to tell me what happens in my particular life." Lily finished. "Oh, and my favorite color is lilac."

"Alright, I'd choose the captain from the Chudley Cannons Quiddich team, Albus Dumbledore because he is quite possibly the most brilliant man alive, and you."

"Me! You'd want to have dinner with all those amazing people and then me? That's it, you James Harold Potter are officially off your rocker." Lily exclaimed.

"And why is that?"

"Because, no one in their right mind would ever have dinner with me instead of anyone they could pick out of the past present or future. That's a waste of perfectly good table space!"

"Look, Lily you're a person, and I happen to find you interesting, smart, funny, and believe me the list can go on and on and besides its my decision and if I want to 'waste table space' as you so eloquently put it on you then I will." James replied. "And now, I believe it's your turn again Lily."

Lily opened her mouth and closed it abruptly twice before letting the matter go and continuing on with her question.

"When was your first kiss and who was it?"

"Getting a bit personal aren't we?" James repied smiling good naturedly.

"I figured we were moving in that direction, yeah."

"Alright, well to be technical about it, my first kiss was when I was four years old. I was on one of those tube-ie play structure thingies and this girl and I were playing, she was chasing me through the thing and then all of a sudden she rams into me and we go tumbling down a tunnel and then she just flat out kissed me out of the blue and everything and kept going like nothing had happened." James said laughing. "I can't believe I still remember that."

"Aww! How cute! I wish my story was as cute as yours…I was probably around four or five too- my parents had me in preschool - anyway I was going to get a blanket out of my cubby for nap time when all of a sudden I feel someone tap me on my shoulder and when I turned around, it was this boy and before I knew it he had kissed me right on the mouth and all I remember was being so angry!" Lily replied laughing at her own memory. "And then he asks me if I'd marry him saying we can get married in the play section before nap time and that gets me even madder. Poor kid, I pushed him into the nearest bookshelf, but seriously, were does he get off doing a thing like that without asking if its ok first?"

James couldn't hold it in anymore and allowed the fit of laughter which had been boiling deep inside him to come out.

"James!" Lily wined as he laughed. "I'm not going to play this game with you anymore if you keep laughing at me."

"S-sorry Lily," James replied through the last of his laughs, "It's just- you're so funny. I can't believe you still take something like that so seriously…the kid was five he probably thought you were kinda cute for a girl, give him a break."

Lily opened her mouth to argue the point James was trying to make before James cut her off with his next question.

Soon they were walking up the last road before they got to downtown which happened to be on a rather steep hill. James had learned a lot about Lily like that her sister and her didn't really get along all that well, that she used to hate her green eyes, and that if she could ever take back one thing she ever did it would have been the decision to not go in and see her grandfather in the hospital before he died. Lily in turn learned lots of things about James that she didn't know before. He truthfully admitted that he had not been too comfortable with his appearance until around third year despite his outward confidence, that he had a secret obsession with old American singers like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, his favorite colors were red and gold but that green was okay as well (A/N: psh! Wonder why that is-could it have to do with a certain someone's eye color? Cough, cough-Lily-cough, cough.), and that he had once gotten locked into one of the frozen food freezers at a muggle supermarket by Sirius.

Lily by this time was trying her hardest to control her breath from huffing and puffing, although Lily herself wasn't out of shape, the hill was rather long and steep. She stole a side glance at James who seemed to be doing perfectly fine and internally cursed him for being more in shape than she was.

"My turn!" James replied after they had finished Lily's question: 'if you could have one thing in the world what would it be?'

"Who was the first person you ever kissed?"

"James, I think we already did this question--" Lily replied with a smile. "Actually I know we did because I was the one who asked it."

"No, you asked when my first kiss was and who had kissed me, that's quite different. I'm not asking who the first guy to kiss you was, I'm asking who was the first guy you initiated a kiss with." James explained.

"Oh, I see…" Lily replied trailing off as she stopped at the top of the hill.

She could see the heart of the town in which she lived at her feet, nestled between the hillsides all of which were sporadically covered by gigantic redwood trees. (A/N: I know they probably don't have redwood trees in Europe, but I'm basing the town where Lily and James live off of my hometown so it's easier for me to write about and describe so bear with me!)

She thought about James' question until the answer finally came to her.

"You gonna answer the question anytime soon Lily or are you just gonna stand there all day?" James asked interrupting her thoughts.

Lily realized she had finally gotten to the point in the game where she didn't want to answer a question for fear of embarrassment. Lily looked desperately for away to get out of actually answering the question and she quickly found her opportunity.

"Race you down to the bottom!" Lily replied quickly.

"Huh!" James asked confused.

"Ready? GO!" Lily shouted not bothering to explain or repeat what she had said before hurdling herself down the steep street and breaking into a fast run.

It took James all but two seconds to realize what Lily had said before he raced down after her a grin plastered on his face as he began to pick up speed and catch up to her.

Lily looked back to look for James but found that she didn't need to look that far because he was trailing at her heels.

James flashed his infamous smirk of a smile at her.

"Wanna call it a tie before I beat you Lily?" James asked shakily as his feet pounded the sidewalk faster and faster.

"You really think you're gonna beat me Potter?" Lily replied through breaths as she gained speed.

"I. Don't. Think. I. Know…" James managed to get out still keeping up with Lily's fast pace.

Lily looked back once more at James before smirking at him.

"Guess again Potter!"

And with that, Lily brought herself up to the maximum speed her legs would carry her getting an extra surge because she was going down hill.

James tried to do the same but felt his body wobble on the brink of falling face first. It really was a rather steep hill and he could already feel his body getting way to fast for his control. He slowed down for fear of falling but still remained running at a fast pace and watched as Lily flew down the remainder of the hill utterly impressed at how graceful she looked.

"YES!" Lily whooped triumphantly raising both hands in the air. "I win!"

Lily laughed still slightly out of breath as she let herself collapse on a small patch of grass at the foot of the street just as James crossed the imaginary finish line and collapsed next to her.

"Only cuz you cheated!" James accused catching his breath.

"Puh-lease! I got a five second head start-maybe!" Lily countered. "Besides you were on my heels the whole time- your fault if you weren't fast enough!" Lily replied smugly.

"Well forgive me if I didn't want to fall face first into the asphalt just to beat you…I would have scratched up my face and if I my memory serves me, I remember you telling me once that I'd better pray I stay as good looking as people think I am my whole life because that would be the only way I would ever amount to anything in this world."

"One of my better comebacks,"

"Indeed, quite brilliant now that I think about it…didn't seem as funny at the time when you said it to me though…" James trailed off.

Lily searched his face, "I've said some pretty rotten things to you huh?" she said finally.

"Yeah, you have, and I won't lie and tell you that they didn't hurt cause some of them did." James replied as he lay down and looked up at the sky.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean most of the things I say to you-you just make me so angry sometimes." Lily explained.

"Don't worry about the past Lily, just worry about the future."

"Have you always been this wise and scholarly?"

"Only when it comes to life itself…with you though? Most of the times I've got the brain capacity to rival that of a walnut's and that's saying something seeing as walnuts don't exactly have brains."

Lily laughed and lay down next to him on the grass.

"You're getting better though."

"I could very well be…or it could just be that the infamous 'Potter Charm' is finally taking its affect on you."

"Quit while you're ahead buddy, you're doing very well so far and I'd hate to have to go back to hexing you just because you couldn't turn on the filter between your brain and your mouth."

James laughed and a comfortable silence covered the two.

"Hey, you never answered my question…" James trailed off still looking at the sky.

"That I didn't." Lily replied trying to buy herself more time.

"Well, aren't you going to answer it now?" James asked looking over at her.

"Oh look, an airplane!" Lily replied pointing to the first thing she saw in the sky.

"Lily," James said warily.

"Hmm…" Lily sighed as she continued staring up at the sky. "You're not gonna leave me alone until I answer are you?"

"Right-o."

Oh to hell with what he'll say! Lily finally said to herself.

"Fine, the first guy that I ever voluntarily kissed was you."

"What!" James replied completely shocked. "When did this happen? And more importantly where was I?"

"You mean you honestly don't remember?" Lily asked.

"No, I don't. Refresh my memory." James replied straightening up and looking at Lily with his full attention.

Lily kept her eyes up at the sky as she retold the story…

----------------Flashback---------------

Lily was nervous, and that was an understatement, but you would be too if you were starting a new school.

She thought back on the events of the week and couldn't decide what had been more surprising, the fact that exactly one week ago an owl had swooped into her kitchen window and delivered a letter to her, or the fact that she had just learned that there was a magical community living in secret along with the world she had come to view as 'normal.'

The letter she had received from that owl was the reason she was now standing at King's Cross pushing a trolly with a filled trunk full of spell books and all sorts of other things one having lived in the muggle world would have come to associate with the word 'make believe' and a large cage which held a silvery colored owl.

"Why did I make my parents drop me off?" Lily muttered to herself regretting the decision she had made when she told her parents that she was a big girl and could find the platform on her own.

Now she was standing here facing the barrier between platforms nine and ten re reading the note which had been attached to her ticket.

'The Hogwarts Express departs from platform 9 ¾ at exactly eleven o'clock from King's cross station in London on Monday, September 1st. Please be on time as the train will leave without you if you are not on it at the specified time above.

In order to get onto the platform, you must walk straight at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, we hope to see you at the beginning of term.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonnagal

Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School'

Lily looked at the barrier warily thinking that there was no way she would be able to get through. The whole walking through the brick wall that was the barrier completely defied all the laws of Physics as she knew them; there was no way one solid object could pass through another and by the looks of it, that brick wall looked pretty solid.

"Excuse me…I said Excuse me!"

Lily was awoken from her internal thoughts as she heard an outside voice. She snapped her head up and looked over to see who it had been. Not five feet away stood a boy with black hair that fell gracefully into his stormy grey eyes alight with a slight twinkle of something lily could not put her finger on. He was taller than Lily but not by much with a lean boy's physique but was very hansom nonetheless. Lily noted that the boy's eyes were on her and that she had been staring, thought the boy, whoever he was didn't seem to mind the fact that she had been sizing him up.

"Huh!' Lily replied confused finally managing to find her voice.

"Well, I was just wondering if you were gonna get onto the platform anytime soon or if you were just gonna stand there and look at the barrier all day." He replied in a good natured tone of voice.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked.

"You're going to Hogwarts right?" the boy asked.

"Well, yeah but how did you know?"

The boy laughed lightly tossing his head back as he did, his hair as if on its own accord fixing itself perfectly back into place when he straightened himself again.

"Well you've been standing there staring at the platform gate for about ten minutes already, but the dead giveaway was the owl you've got on top of you're trunk with the Hogwarts crest engraved on the side."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that would do it then." Lily replied slightly embarrassed at not realizing how blatantly obvious it was.

"I'm Sirius by the way, Sirius Black." The boy named Sirius replied holding his hand out for Lily to shake.

Lily regarded the hand before finally taking it in her own and giving it a shake.

"Lily Evans."

"You're muggle born right?" Sirius asked noting quickly that the name was definitely not that of a pureblood wizard.

"Yes," Lily replied briskly whilst letting go of his hand. "Does it make a difference?"

"No, not to me anyway, though mind you it will to some. Most wizards are accepting of muggleborns nowadays," Sirius explained. "After all, you were magical enough to get into Hogwarts so what does it matter if you're pureblood or not right?"

Lily nodded, satisfied with the answer before turning back to the barrier. Sirius watched the petite redhead as she did before speaking once more.

"It's a lot easier than it looks getting onto the platform," Sirius commented. "you won't crash into the barrier if that's what your thinking."

"A-are you sure?" Lily replied.

"Of course I am, I've been to drop off my cousin Andromeda loads of times. Just take it at a bit of a run if you're nervous, I'll even go before you if you want just so you can see." Sirius replied.

Lily contemplated this for a moment before speaking once more.

"Alright."

"Great!" Sirius replied. "Well, it was nice to meet you Lily, see you around Hogwarts I guess!" Sirius replied.

Lily watched as Sirius ran at the barrier, pushing his trolley in front of him, and just when it seemed he would most definitely crash, the boy disappeared.

Lily watched with wide eyes realizing that he hadn't disappeared but gone through the wall.

Well if he can do it… Lily thought to herself.

She mustered up all of the courage she had and then making sure that no one was watching ran at the barrier.

She was picking up speed and there was no turning back now. There was no way Lily could stop the trolley even if she had wanted to. The barrier was getting closer and closer-she was going to crash any minute. Lily shut her eyes tightly preparing herself for the inevitably painful contact with the brick wall, but it never came. Instead she heard a loud whistle emit from right in front of her, and when she opened her eyes she saw a gleaming scarlet steam engine with the words 'Hogwarts Express' encrusted in gold

on the side and just to her left was a beautifully crafted rod iron sign that read

'Platform 9 ¾'.

Lily looked around and watched the sea of students standing around with their family or their friends. She spotted Sirius, the boy she had just met talking with another boy off to the side a few feet away from where she was standing.

The boy he was standing with looked to be around the same height as Sirius and also had jet black hair which instead of falling gracefully as Sirius' did was stuck up in all directions especially around the back. He wore round black rimmed glasses which framed his eyes but unlike most, his glasses didn't hide his eyes, they instead enhanced them all the more. Lily, even as far away as she was could make out their rich hazel color. All in all, Lily decided that this boy, whoever he was, was quite cute, much more than she had found Sirius to be, but she'd never truly admit to that.

Suddenly the boy with the glasses turned and looked in her direction, their eyes met for a nanosecond before Lily abruptly looked away and pretended to tie her shoes, feeling the heat in her cheeks rising a bit. She chanced a quick glance through her hair which was partially covering her eyes and realized that someone was walking over toward her, looking up fully from her crouched position she realized with relief that it was only Sirius.

She stood up fully as he spoke.

"Hey Lily! I see you made it to the platform." Sirius replied brightly.

"Oh yeah, thanks for helping me with that." Lily replied through a smile.

"Oh, no problem really Lily, If there's anything else you'd like to know about Hogwarts by the way, I'd be happy to help you out." Sirius replied smiling.

"Well, I heard in Diagon Alley that everyone has to be sorted into houses, do you know how they choose Sirius?" Lily asked.

"Oh, right, the houses. Well, my cousin told me that it's some kind of test that they make you do." Sirius commented, a twinkle lighting up in his eyes.

"A test?" Lily asked now even more nervous. "You mean we actually have to do magic?"

"Yup."

"But I don't know any magic, no one else could possibly know any right? What if they put me in a really horrid house? Now what am I going to do?"

"Of course they expect you to do magic." Sirius said. "The sorting test of magic is an ancient tradition started by the founding members of Hogwarts. Back then all of the students were pureblooded wizards so they knew some magic before they came to school. But since it was such an old tradition even after they started letting in muggles, the school keeps doing it."

Lily gave him a horrific look and immediately began to panic.

"Oh no! But I don't know any spells yet! Sirius what am I going to do? You have to teach me some spells quick before we get there, please? I don't want to get put in a bad house, or worse! What if they send me home!" Lily replied in hysterics.

"Hey, hey! Just calm down there for a second, alright?" Sirius replied, clearly not knowing how to handle a hysterical girl.

"Y-you mean you're going to teach me?"

"No, I can't. I don't know nearly enough,"

"But, there has to be another way right? I mean you must know another way to help me out with this sorting test thingy."

"Well," Sirius began, the same light in his eyes growing all the more brighter. "there is another way, mind you it is quite drastic…but what am I saying, you wouldn't possibly be interested…" he trailed off.

"What? What is it? Oh please tell me Sirius, anything would be better than going up there and making a fool of myself in front of the whole school!"

"Well, alright." Sirius replied slowly.

Lily squealed.

"Oh thank you Sirius, you don't know how much this means to me!"

"Well, don't get too excited yet Lily, I haven't even told you what you have to do." Sirius replied. "Ok, now this is an ancient bit of practiced magic that I once heard my great aunt Meredith telling someone. Supposedly, there is a way to enhance a muggle born who is a witch or wizard's magical powers. It is said that if they come in intimate contact with a wizard of pureblood decent, their magic will strengthen slightly because this will be the first direct contact they have with the magical world."

Lily thought for a second.

"Intimate contact?" she replied. "Like, a hug or something? So if I hug you I may stand a chance?"

"Not exactly." Sirius replied nonchalantly "Intimate contact, as my aunt explained to a muggle woman who's daughter was coming to Hogwarts is in fact kissing said pureblood wizard. Secondly, I wish I could help you out Lily but I'm not nearly pure enough, I have something like ¼ muggle blood in me and you need a true pureblooded wizard for this to even remotely work." Sirius regarded Lily's expression and then added. "See, I told you, you probably wouldn't be interested…" he trailed off.

"W-well," Lily began nervously. "Lets just say that I actually did take your advice, how am I gonna find someone to…you know…" Lily replied softly.

"Oh that's what you're worried about?" Sirius replied "I thought it would be something bigger."

"So you already know someone pure enough that I could k-ki--" Lily stumbled as she tried to get the word out of her mouth.

"Sure I do." Sirius replied. "See that boy over there? The one with the glasses and the really messy hair?" he said pointing.

Lily however didn't need reminding, it had been the same boy she had been regarding earlier, the one with the hazel eyes.

Oh great! Out of all the guys on the bloody platform, Sirius has to pick the one I sorta kinda not really thought was cute for me to kiss! She thought to herself.

"You mean I've got to kiss him!" Lily replied realizing a few moments after that she had said that last comment out loud.

"Oh come on Lily! I don't particularly swing that way because I'm obviously a bloke and all but he's not that bad is he?" Sirius asked.

Lily thought to herself for a moment about what Sirius had said, thinking to herself that it could be worse and completely missing the wink Sirius threw at the messy haired boy and the look of suspicion the boy shot back.

"N-no, I guess it could be worse…" Lily trailed off. "but Sirius are you sure this is the only way? Are you sure this'll work?"

"Of course I am!" Sirius exclaimed. "Have I ever steered you wrong yet Lily?"

"No, I guess not." Lily answered thinking back to how he had helped her get onto the platform.

"O-ok, fine. If you think it'll work then I believe you Sirius."

"Great! So all you have to do is go up to him and say 'Magic Awaken!' and then you just…you know…" Sirius replied omitting the words 'kiss him' as Lily had before. "A quick peck on the lips would do-at least that's what I heard my great aunt Meredith tell that muggle lady."

Lily nodded mutely before mustering the courage to do what she was about to. It would be worth it if they didn't send her home or put her in a bad house right?

Suddenly she felt her feet carrying her step by step toward the boy until she was standing right in front of him.

The boy grinned at her as she came up and a slight blush grazed his cheeks.

"Hi I'm J--" the boy began.

"I know." Lily replied cutting him off.

"You mean Sirius told you?" The boy asked.

Lily nodded assuming he was talking about the ancient ritual thing Sirius had told her about and not knowing the boy was about to introduce himself.

"Yes." Lily replied. "Does it bother you?"

"No, I guess not, I mean it's all the same right?" the boy replied.

Lily thought this odd.

Maybe they're just used to muggles coming up to them and doing that so they can pass the sorting test. Lily thought to herself.

"So, are you going to te--"

"Yeah. I guess I'd better do it now huh?" Lily replied assuming again he was referring to Sirius' advice and again not realizing that he was actually going to ask her what her name was.

Without waiting for the boy to say anything else, Lily did exactly what Sirius had told her to do.

"Magic awaken." Lily replied. And with that, she took one step closer to the boy and planted a soft sweet kiss right on his lips.

---------End Flashback--------------

James' face was contorted in concentration as he put his fist in his mouth. His shoulders quivered slightly as he willed himself not to laugh though his efforts quickly went down the drain as Lily gave him a semi-deathly glare.

"My face must have been priceless!" James replied through a laugh trying to lighten the mood.

"Your face? Your face! You just made me re-live what was quite possibly the most embarrassing experience of my life and all you can talk about was how priceless your face was?" Lily retorted.

James could tell however by the tone of her voice and her facial features that she wasn't as annoyed as she was putting herself out to be. His laughs diminished slowly and soon he was left with a slight grin on his face before he spoke once more.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, but now that you reminded me of that particular incident I can truthfully say that I don't think my face has turned so many shades of red so quickly before in my life." The slight smile which had been playing on his lips left and he became serious once more. "If I remember correctly, that was the same moment you started to completely loath me."

"James, loath is such a strong word…hate maybe but I was eleven what did you expect?"

"But still! You didn't even let me explain, you just assumed I had conspired with Sirius to publicly humiliate you!"

"Well, didn't you?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know anyway? I all I knew was that one minute I was kissing you because I though It would help me pass some stupid test-which by the way didn't even exist!-and the next, you're looking at me all funny before saying 'eew! What did you do that for?-"

" Come on Lily, I was barely eleven, I wasn't about to admit I fancied you. And besides, shouldn't that have been your clue that I didn't have anything to do with it?"

"Didn't help your case much when Sirius came over and clapped you on the back in congratulations!"

"Sirius is a pathological liar, Lily even you should know that by now."

"Well yeah now I do…but how was I supposed to know what that funny gleam in his eye meant when I had just met him?"

Suddenly James laughed.

"He got the twinkle in his eye eh?"

"James Potter! Do not turn this into something funny! I am trying to argue with you!" Lily replied willing herself to stay angry.

There was just something about James however that wouldn't let her, weather it was the way he laughed so that it reached all the way up to his eyes or his knee weakening lopsided grin Lily did not know, all she knew was that it was contagious and for the first time in her life, she felt herself let go of the grudge she was trying to hold and joined him in laughing.

"Now there's the Lily Evans smile I know and love…" James replied. "Alright, so we were both guilty for the horrible relationship we've had in the past six or so years?" James added as a compromise.

"Ok, forgiven and forgotten…actually I take that back, I don't even think a memory charm will make me forget that."

James' face took on a pensive look as he picked at a blade of grass close to his knee.

"What are you thinking about now?" Lily asked.

"Just that it's kind of awful really…that we spent all those years at each other's throats all over some silly misunderstanding…Now that-now that we know why, don't you feel like you wish we could have taken it back? That we could have gotten over that stupid incident and been friends for six years instead of, well, not exactly being on friendly terms?"

Lily took a breath before answering his question.

"Honestly James? Well, no."

"But wh-" James began before Lily held up her hand and cut him off.

"Let me finish first alright?... the reason is simply because if we'd become friends early on can you honestly say that we would still be friends today? I'd bet every single pound I own that at some point or another we would have gotten tired of each other, had a massive fight and then proceeded to hate each other even more." Lily replied. "Besides," she added thoughtfully, "If we had already been friends then we wouldn't be able to build the frein-" Lily stopped herself, they weren't exactly friends yet… "-to work toward building a friendship like we are now."

"You my dear have a very dizzying intellect that I'm not even going to try and keep up with-" James replied.

Lily opened her mouth to protest but James stopped her.

"-- however! Before you say anything about me not listening to a word you just said, I'll have you know that I was indeed listening, and out of all the words that came out of your mouth, the most important ones were 'building' and 'friendship' so as long as we're going toward that now, we don't have to worry about anything else you just said."

Lily opened her mouth then closed it again a couple of times before finally sighing in defeat and saying the only thing that came to her mind at the time.

"I-I really am sorry you know…for blaming you." She replied quietly while inspecting a ladybug which was currently crawling on a dandelion by her shoe.

James lifted Lily's face before replying.

"Me too."

A smile played on her lips as she let herself drown for a moment in the hazel pools that were James' eyes deciding that he really wasn't all that bad as she had thought.

"Come on, lets go! We have a whole town to explore and we're wasting time sitting here at the edge of it!" Lily replied shooting up and dragging James along with her.

All too soon for James' liking, Lily had let go of his hand, and he found himself in the center of a quaint and cute looking town which looked as if it had been taken straight out of a movie.

After Lily had shown James some of the more popular shops such as the record store and the popular bookstore right in the heart of the town which sat atop the old train depot, she led him over to the ice cream parlor where they ordered a humongous banana split sundae to share.

"Favorite book?" Lily asked scooping a cherry off of a mound of whipped cream and popping it in her mouth as they continued their game from earlier.

" Um…The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." James replied.

"Wait, That's a muggle book!" Lily replied shocked.

"Lily, I may be a wizard but that doesn't mean I don't go outside the box once in a while…"

"But, how did you pick up a book like that?"

"Truthfully? You left your copy one day in the common room so I picked it up and thought that maybe if I read it I'd have something to talk about with you…you know, if I ever managed to say more than three sentences before you hexed me."

Lily smiled slightly.

"And here I thought you never made an effort to get to know me before you started asking me out."

James shrugged.

"It was the least I could do, you didn't particularly strike me as the type of girl who would respond to an invitation to the nearest broom closet right off the bat."

"Quite right, and don't you forget it!" Lily replied through a giggle.

"Hmm…I'd have to say my favorite book is probably Alice in Wonderland."

"You mean the one written by that wonky muggle who was clearly on crack when he wrote it?"

"Well, that wonky muggle as you so called him happens to be one of the most respected writers who more commonly goes by the name of Louis Caroll." Lily replied sniffing. "And he was not on crack!" she added as an undertone.

"Was!" James said through a cough.

Lily smiled slightly and crumpled a spare napkin in her hand before chucking it at James' cheek. James tossed it back and Lily blocked it letting out a triumphant 'Ha!' before taking another bite of ice cream.

"Favorite ice cream flavor?" James asked.

"Mmm! Strawberry!" Lily replied without hesitation, taking a generous spoonful of strawberry ice cream from the bowl in the middle of the table and eating it, a smile playing on her lips. "And I'm practically positive yours is chocolate."

"How'd you know that?" James asked bemused.

Lily leaned over until she was but inches from his face.

"Because, you've got chocolate all over your chin silly!" Lily replied through a laugh as she wiped it off with her thumb.

"Well, that's embarrassing." James replied feeling his cheeks stain pink.

Lily gasped.

"What? Is the James Potter actually embarrassed? I think the world's coming to an end!' Lily replied jokingly.

"Ha bloody ha, Lily…" James trailed off.

Lily laughed as she tossed three pounds on the table for the sundae before standing up.

"Come on, there's still a bit more to see!" she said, pulling James to his feet and leading him down the sidewalk.

Lily dragged him into a trendy and unique looking store called 'Famous For Our Look'.

They entered the store and James was immediately taken aback as he watched a rather older looking man bouncing up and down on a contraption which James had never seen before which looked like it was a stick with some sort of spring attached to the bottom. If James had ever found Dumbledore to be weird, he was nothing compared to the man bouncing before him, who he soon found out was Larry, the queer man who owned the store and insisted upon personally meeting and getting to know anyone who entered his store and happened to live in the town. Lily, who had known Larry for quite some time already, went straight to the women's clothes section of the store-she needed a birthday present for her cousin Maggie, the one she had told James about earlier, who's birthday was in a week- while James preoccupied himself with Larry who was teaching him how to use the po-go stick he had been bouncing on when they had walked in.

Lily finally decided on a simple mint green and blue vintage t-shirt that had an artsy silhouette of Big Ben and the British Flag imprinted on the front and brought it over to Larry at the till.

"Hello Lily!"

"Hey Larry." Lily replied smiling brightly, their conversation was cut from shouts of glee coming from behind her.

"WAHOO! Hey Lily you gotta try this thing! It's great fun! YIPPEE!" James yelled gleefully as he bounced up and down on the po-go stick acting positively childish.

Larry smiled down at Lily.

"I suggest holding on to that one Lils…he's definitely a keeper." He replied with a wink.

"Oh, no Larry, he's not my boyfriend." Lily replied fast.

"I didn't say anything about that Lily, you assumed that on your own."

"Larry! Since when did you become so cheeky?" Lily replied.

"Meh, it comes and it goes…" he trailed off.

Lily rolled her eyes as he handed her the receipt and the shirt in a bag.

"James! Time to go!" she called over to him.

James, who was getting the hang of the po-go stick, bounced over until he was right next to her bouncing in place.

"Aw man! Lily do we have to?" James asked.

"'fraid so…but we'll come back some other time." Lily replied, feeling more like she was talking to a five year old rather than a practically adult wizard.

"Alright." James replied, hopping off the po-go stick and handing it to Larry.

"It was really nice to meet you Larry, and thanks for teaching me how to use this thing." James replied shaking the man's hand.

"It was my pleasure James…" Larry replied through a laugh. "Why don't you go ahead and keep that one."

"Oh no! I couldn't possibly-" James countered quickly holding the toy out to him.

"Nonsense my boy! I've got many more where that came from and lots more toys than I have time to play with. Now you be sure to stop by anytime you like and I'll let you test out some other ones." Larry replied pushing the po-go stick firmly back into James' grasp.

"Thanks Larry."

"Alright, you kids have fun now." Larry said as he walked them out of the shop.

"We will! Bye Larry!" Lily called out as her and James left the store.

"I like him." James announced once they were a few feet away from the store.

Lily smiled.

"I thought you might…he's kinda like you really." Lily replied.

"Larry? Like me? How so?" James asked.

"You know, little kid at heart and all...it's actually kind of nice, that you can still act like a kid sometimes." Lily said.

James smiled at the thought, making a mental note to make sure that he and Lily did some fun kid things before the summer was over before speaking once more.

"So, my lovely tour guide…where to now?"

"How bout we just walk down the street until we find something interesting?"

James nodded and they proceeded to do just that.

This town was different from any other he had ever been in. The whole place seemed to reverberate with the feeling of relaxation. Everywhere he went, people smiled warmly and it seemed to him like no one was really in any sort of rush at all as they stopped and talked to people they knew. It was a refreshing change from the fast life of muggle London that he had occasionally had to visit with his parents and James decided that he was quite beginning to like it here.

James and Lily rounded the corner of the street, at the end a rather large looking building painted in cream and wine red with hints of powder blue came into view.

A large elongated sign read the words 'The Sequoia' written vertically in what were unmistakably neon lights.

"What's that?" James asked curious.

"It's the old movie theater," Lily replied as they came up to the front of it.

"Lily? What's a moo-vee?" James asked.

"Obviously not paying attention in muggle studies were you James?"

"But how can I my dearest Lily when you're beauty is such a distraction?" James replied sweetly.

"You're pushing it again James…" Lily replied with a smile.

James just smiled at her reply.

"And what are you so happy about now?" Lily asked.

"Just the fact that I think you're starting to like me a little bit more."

"And what would ever bring you to that conclusion?"

"Well, a few months ago, you would have gone straight ahead and cursed me into oblivion and not even bothered with the fair warning."

"Keep that smug attitude up and you will get cursed into oblivion." Lily replied.

"Aw, come on Lils, don't you like me even a smidge more than when we started out the day?"

"Don't call me 'Lils' James."

"Alright, Lily," James replied putting an emphasis on the name. "If how much you liked me was based on how many Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans were placed in an empty Bertie Bott's Bean bag, and we've already added a couple of beans to that, would it be safe to say we've added a few more since then?" James asked hopefully.

"No," Lily replied knowing it wasn't fully well true but liking the fact that she could keep him on his toes.

"Not even one more bean?" James replied.

"Well, maybe one of those soap flavored beans." Lily replied finally.

That was a lie as well, if they actually were measuring how much Lily had begun to like James as a person with how full her bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans was, he would have already succeeded in filling more than half the bag if not more.

"Soap? Why'd you pick soap? Eurgh! Those are disgusting. Couldn't you have picked some other flavor like a nice toffee?"

"Because, soap may taste horrible but depending on the bar, it can smell rather nice so the smell balances the icky-ness out."

"This may be by far the weirdest conversation I've ever had…I'm being compared to a bar of soap for Merlin's sake." James replied shaking his head disbelievingly from side to side.

"Hey you started it." Lily countered smiling.

"All I asked you was what a moov-ee was." James replied innocently, succeeding in looking adorably confused.

Lily laughed.

"A movie, is kinda like a whole bunch of wizarding photographs played together only with music and dialogue and much, much bigger. It's like a story told by moving pictures." Lily replied trying to explain it as simply as possible.

"Can we go see one?" James asked.

"Oh look! They're playing The Wizard of Oz!" Lily squealed excitedly as she noticed the movie poster on display in the glass case just by the theater entrance, completely missing James' question.

Realizing that James had said something, she spoke to him once more.

"Sorry, James, it's just The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies…" Lily trailed off. "What was it you were saying?"

"Can we go see a movie?" James asked again.

"Sure…I guess that'd be okay." Lily replied.

"Great! Let's go!" James replied.

"Hold your hippogriffs there James." Lily replied pulling James back by his arm as he walked toward the ticket counter.

"What?"

"We can't go see one now." Lily replied with a smile.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because, it's almost seven and by the time we walk back home it'll be closer to eight." Lily replied.

"Oh." James replied, a tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"But we could go tomorrow." Lily offered.

"Really?" James replied slightly surprised. "You mean you'd come and watch a movie with me-tomorrow?"

"Sure," Lily replied with a smile. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to."

James flashed a lopsided smile at her before responding.

"Alright, tomorrow then…should we start heading back?"

"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea." Lily said airily leading the way back home.

Lily and James walked in silence for a while before James spoke once more.

"This isn't the way we came down here." He replied

"I know," Lily replied. "But if we go this way, we won't have to go up that steep street we took to get here…this road isn't as steep as the other one is."

"You mean that murderous hill could have been avoided the whole time?" James replied.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have been able to watch you suffer and where would the fun have been in that?' Lily asked innocently before taking off and running down the street, leaving James to figure out what she had said.

It took all but three seconds for James to realize what Lily had said before he bolted after her shouting a mock-resentful 'Hey!'

James caught up with Lily who had abruptly stopped about an eighth of a mile away.

He touched her shoulder gently and opened his mouth to speak, but she didn't even glance at him.

Instead she held up one hand and simply said.

"Shh! Look." She said in all but a whisper.

James turned in the direction she was looking and realized at once why Lily had stopped at this particular spot because what he saw before him was quite literally breathtaking. The sunset was beginning and the sky above was changing from a piercing blue into warm shades of oranges, pinks, yellows, and even purples. Every single ray of light the sun gave off seemed to be gobbled up by the vast body of water under it, causing similar colors to tinge the ocean below and reflect back up to the sky. A light and cool breeze was blowing, causing small waves to splash rhythmically on the shores of the taupe colored sand, the sound calming and soothing everything around it.

And all of this was at his feet, as James stood awestruck standing on the edge of a small cliff next to Lily.

He looked at the girl standing next to him whose beauty inside and out was equally as breathtaking as what lay before him and realized at that moment that he was truly in love with her, that he always wanted to be there for her and protect her, and he promised himself right at that very moment that he always would no matter what.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Lily asked finally breaking the silence.

"I-I didn't know we were close to an ocean." James replied, kicking himself mentally for not thinking of something better to say.

"Actually, it's part of the English Channel," Lily replied. "But the English Channel eventually either spills into the Norwegian Sea or the Atlantic Ocean, so I guess you're not too far off."

"It's beautiful." James replied. Wanting to add 'Just like you.' but knowing that Lily would take it for some sort of cheap line if he did.

"Come on, we'd better get going…" Lily trailed off, rubbing her bare arms to rid herself of the goose-bumps the cool breeze had produced as she lead the way down the street.

James followed her, taking off the light flannel button up shirt he had been wearing over his white t-shirt as he went.

"Here." James said, handing his shirt to Lily.

"What?" Lily asked bemused, looking at the shirt James had in his outstretched hand.

"Put it on, you're cold." James replied simply.

"Oh! No, really it's alright James, I'm fine." Lily replied quickly, feeling slightly embarrassed at the fact that James was offering her his shirt in order to keep her warm.

"I'm serious, Lily, please? I don't want you to get sick." James replied.

"No, then you'll be cold," Lily reasoned.

"Who me? Nah," James replied. "after six years of training for quidditch in rain, sleet, and snow this isn't so bad." James replied with a smile. "So now you have no excuse." He added handing Lily his shirt.

"I-" Lily started, intent on refusing his offer once more, before deciding against it. "thanks, James." She said finally with a smile as she slipped the slightly large flannel shirt on.

"Don't worry about it." James replied with a grin as he ran his hands up and down her arms to warm her up before they continued down the road back home.

At times they walked in comfortable silence, wile at others they spoke to each other, carrying out interesting or strange conversations, but as they neared the street on which both of their houses sat side by side, both Lily and James slowed their pace, dragging out the time they were spending in each other's company.

All too soon, however they had reached their homes, and James was walking Lily up to her door to say goodnight.

James turned toward Lily to find she was already facing him.

"I had fun today James." Lily replied.

What she said barely registered in his brain before he spoke.

"Lily, I just wanted to say thanks." James said slightly embarrassed.

"For what?" Lily asked a smile playing on her lips.

"For everything, you know, for a really fun day, for showing me around," James paused before adding the most important thing and meeting her eyes. "For giving me a chance."

Lily smiled as she took his hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"You're really not so bad you know, James." Lily replied.

She awkwardly let go of his hand as he smiled down at her.

"Well, goodnight Lily." James said finally. "See you tomorrow? We're still on for that moving picture thing right?"

"It's called a movie James, and yes, we are…say around twelve?" Lily replied.

"I'll come pick you up then." James replied with one last smile before he turned away from her and descended the porch stairs and heading for his own house.

Lily smiled slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself breathing in deeply and realizing that she was still wearing James' shirt.

"James, wait!" she called out.

He turned around abruptly and walked back to the foot of her porch and looked at her expectantly.

"Um…you forgot-well I mean, I still have your shirt, here." Lily said making to take off the flannel shirt James had given her earlier.

James placed a hand on her arm gently to stop her as he spoke.

"Why don't you hold on to that for a while, it looks better on you anyway." James said giving her a smile that would have made any girl melt.

Lily nodded and he turned around to leave once more.

"Oh, and James?" Lily began once more.

"Yeah?" James asked turning to face her again.

"You know, my Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean Bag, the one we were talking about earlier?"

James nodded showing that he understood.

"Well, just so you know, its more than half full…" Lily trailed off, pink slightly brushing over her cheeks.

James grinned before bidding her one last goodnight and finally making it all the way back to his own house.

------------

Once inside, Lily walked up the stairs and into her room. She took off her shoes and socks before falling tiredly on her bed, still wrapped up in James' old flannel shirt. She breathed in deeply the smell of his scent on the article of clothing as she fell into a relaxed sleep with a smile on her face.

A/N: Well, there you all have it, Chapter 4…wow, 32 effing pages, can you all believe it? It took me ages to write so I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry for the drastic delay in updating (originally, my goal was to have it out on the 18th , just in time for Goblet of Fire, but that didn't happen-this chapter turned out to be way longer than I thought it would.) but I really have been swamped with work lately and I didn't want to rush through this chapter because I knew exactly what I wanted it to be like.

So, yeah, basically that's it…thank you all so much for being patient and waiting for me to update. But now to get down to business:

A few of you asked about Sirius in the past reviews so I made sure to mention where he was in this chapter…originally I hadn't planed on including him in this story but I'd like to know what you all think about that…so in your reviews could you please tell me if you would be bothered by me not including him or not?

I am starting the fifth chapter soon, I have it planned out, I just need to find the time to type it, so I'll have it out as soon as possible. In case any of you are also Saving James readers, I have started the next chapter so that will be posted as soon as possible.

So, what did you all think of GOF? I loved it in case you all are curious…

Anyway…that's about it…

Don't forget to REVIEW if you want another chapter out soon!

Toodles!

~Luminous Star