Lily wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her hand, staring blankly out the large, ornate window in the Gryffindor common room. A fire blazed beside her, sending a warm glow throughout the room, and casting long, dark shadows on the walls.

Lily inhaled deeply, but her breath caught in her throat, and she exploded once more into tears. Lily shut her eyes tightly and steadied her breathing. The crying stopped as quickly as it had started, but her eyes still glowed red in the firelight.

"Evans?" A familiar voice called from the top of the boys' staircase. "Lily, what's wrong?" His voice was anxious now.

Lily wiped her eyes again, self-conscious. "I'm fine," she answered roughly.

James Potter sat down beside her, hesitant. "No, you're not fine," he decided.

Lily's eyes blazed. "Why do you even care?" She asked him angrily, though her voice cracked, and she turned away, embarrassed.

James fell silent, his eyes filled with pain. Lily's eyes met his briefly, and her anger flowed away.

"What are you thinking?" She questioned timidly.

James shook his head. "I'm wondering how to explain it to you. How I can't stop caring. How it's never been a choice; how I've never had any other option but to care. How its always been you."

Lily's gaze dropped to the floor, and she hid her face from him with a veil of her dark red curls.

"What are you thinking?" James prompted her quietly, not expecting an answer.

Lily sighed. "That I was right. My whole life, I've felt like something was missing. And I finally found out what it was," Lily began. "That's why I was crying. Because I feel like the biggest idiot in the world. Because part of me wants him to feel the same way, and the other part wants him to hate me as much as I'm hating myself."

James ran a hand through his thick black hair, and Lily laughed suddenly as he stopped himself immediately.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Don't be," Lily told him with a smile. James looked taken aback. "I'm the one who should be sorry. That I've been such a jerk, to you and to myself. I don't want to fight anymore."

James' eyes widened. "Wait… really? You don't hate me anymore?"

"I never hated you James," Lily promised him.

James shook his head in disbelief. "So, do you want to be friends?"

"No," Lily answered confidently.

James' confusion faded abruptly. "Oh," he mumbled, looking hurt.

Lily reached for his hand tentatively, and James trembled at her touch. Lily smiled.

"I'm sorry I've been so stupid James. I'm sorry that its taken me so many years to figure it out." Her eyes filled with a blazing passion as she stared up into his bright hazel eyes. "I was missing you James. Its always been you."

Lily's lips crashed into his, and James pulled her closer, shaking as he deepened the kiss.

It was like nothing in the world, but it was everything in the world. Lily pulled away, gasping for breath, her arms snaked tightly around James' neck.

"Wow," James breathed.

Lily nodded. "I knew it," she laughed. "I may be top of the year," she teased James, sticking out her tongue, and then laying her head upon his shoulder, "but I am an idiot. All this time I thought I hated you; that you were all wrong for me, and I was all wrong for you. But it turns out, I'm in love with you. I guess we're perfect together after all."