Summary: Inside, my heart was thumping madly, and I could hardly comprehend how far James and I had come, from hating each other to becoming friends and now this. A date. Sequel to "Stupid Boys" and "I Blame Sirius." Lily James. One-shot. COMPLETE

A/N: Thanks for stumbling across this story. If you haven't read "Stupid Boys" and "I Blame Sirius," this fic may confuse you greatly. So do that first.

This story should be the last of this little saga. I couldn't really end it without showing their date; it just took a while for me to figure out what I wanted to happen there. Hopefully you all will be happy with how it turned out.

Little White Lie

I never thought three weeks could go by so slowly, where the tick of the clock held a thousand breaths in between it and the next.

It was tiresome, pretending that the friendship between James and I stopped at being just friends and constantly masking our feelings for each other.

I looked at my watch for the third time in ten minutes and sighed loudly when I discovered that I still had a half an hour left of class.

James turned around and smiled at me. I didn't know how he was still awake. This was History of Magic after all. Hell, I didn't know how I was still awake. I should have taken a nap like Lexi was currently doing on my left, and now there just wasn't enough time. I never perfected the art of power napping. I looked at Lexi, who was so deeply asleep that a bit of drool was collecting on her lip. Not the most attractive thing in the world, but I envied her, if only just for her extremely relaxed state.

Professor Binns droned on monotonously. He seemed oblivious to the fact that half his students were fast asleep. He did not even twitch when Sirius let out a loud snore, waking at least two of our classmates.

Again, James looked back at me, and he saw the mix of horror and amusement on my face from the sound that came out of our friend.

"That's what I have to live with," James mouthed.

"You know you love him," I replied.

James shrugged to which I just rolled my eyes.

Boys and their inability to acknowledge their affection for each other.

I turned my attention back to the lecture but soon found myself watching James instead. It was beyond me how everyone hadn't realized that we fancy each other. All the sly glances and time spent solely in the company of the other. People must be completely oblivious. Or maybe we are just that good at pretending.

Who was I trying to kid? People are just oblivious. Even our friends weren't catching on.

We were all hanging out in the Common Room over the weekend, complaining about all the homework we had to do instead of working on it.

"At least we have a break over the holiday to look forward to," Grace reminded us.

"Except we'll probably have loads to do then too since we're getting close to NEWTS," said Remus.

I felt like smacking my head on the table from the stress of seventh year, and we weren't even half way to the end yet.

"Don't be such a sour puss, Remus," Sirius said, lobbing a ball of parchment at his friend's head.

"I agree with Sirius," Lexi said, mimicking his actions by throwing more parchment at Remus. "Are you going to find something wrong with the Hogsmeade trip next weekend?"

"Not at all," he replied, tossing the parchment back at Lexi. "I'm actually quite excited for it. My chocolate stash has gotten dangerously low."

"Probably because Lily's been stealing from it."

"Sirius!" I could have hit him. "You weren't supposed to tell him."

"Whoops." He shrugged.

"Lexi, I'm too far away. Please smack him for me."

She did.

I knew I kept her around for a reason.

"Ouch. Geez, Lily. This girl can hit almost as hard as you."

I stuck my tongue out at him. He just smiled in return.

"So, while these two finish acting like they're five, what are everyone else's plans for Hogsmeade?"

I turned slightly to raise an eyebrow at James. He shouldn't be talking about childish antics because he was the same way.

He gave me that trademark Potter grin, and I had to fight my hardest to reign in the butterflies that were rampaging around my stomach.

Our friends discussed all the possible places they would want to stop at as I tore my eyes away from the boy.

"And what about you, James?" Amanda asked. "Any plans?"

I think I paled slightly. I wanted to somehow motion for him to keep his mouth shut, to make something up, to say anything but the truth.

But he didn't get a chance to say a thing because Sirius answered for him.

"James has a hot date."

All heads and questions swiveled their focus onto James, and Sirius took that moment to wink at me.

I breathed a little easier. Somehow I knew Sirius wouldn't say anything. He just wanted to create shock beforehand, which would only be emphasized when they, and the rest of the student body, found out who James Potter took to Hogsmeade.

"Come on, James. Just tell us who you're going with," Peter said. "It can't be that big of a secret."

Oh yes it could be.

"You'll just have to wait and see," James replied.

"Sirius, you know. You could tell us," Amanda said.

"I cannot," he said, deepening his voice to sound dramatic. "My lips are sealed." He made this large gesture as if he were locking his lips and tossing the key.

"You're such a tosser," Lexi pouted. "Both of you." She looked around the group. "Do any of you have a date you're not telling us about?"

Sirius and James shot knowing smiles in my direction, while the rest of us shook our heads.

That was such a lie. But it was for the right reason, right?

Besides, it wasn't like James and Sirius were helping matters any. And how our friends did not catch on to their grins or the fact that my head shake was more aggressive than the others was beyond me.

They're all blind. Blind and oblivious.

And I thought they were more perceptive than that.

Obviously, I was wrong.

Rustling throughout the classroom brought me out of my mind wanderings.

My friends were nearly finished shoving their things into their bags. All except Lexi, who was still sleeping peacefully.

I nudged her, and she startled out of her slumber. Even in her groggy state, she had enough sense to wipe the drool from her lip, but not enough to avoid running into a suit of armor. Luckily, I caught her in time. Collision was averted, but I thought it best to lead her down to the Great Hall for lunch. I couldn't have her making a ruckus and embarrassing herself (and me).

We arrived at lunch without any further mishaps. Although, Lexi almost used a plate of mashed potatoes as a pillow.

Sirius plopped himself on my right side, giving Lexi an odd look before grinning.

"Is someone still a bit tired? Was your nap not good enough?" Sirius said in a baby-like voice to which Lexi had enough energy to shove a rude gesture in his face in reply.

Sirius guffawed loudly before shoveling food onto his plate and into his mouth.

I watched in awe and horror as his food disappeared into his stomach. I don't think he even chewed.

"That's quite disgusting, you know," Grace said, using her fork to point out his horrible eating habits.

"You would think that he'd show a bit more class around ladies instead of eating like he's starving from hunger," James joked.

"Well then I'd have to be classy all the time with you as my mate."

James laughed lightly before saying "touché" and raising his glass to his best friend in defeat.

I smiled at the two and met James' eyes. His grin stretched across his face and he sent a subtle wink my way as he brought his goblet to his lips.

A blush threatened to take over the color in my cheeks.

That boy knew my ability to turn beet red at the slightest provocation. Did he want to give us away?

I turned my head, unable to look at him any longer in fear of encouraging the heat to rise in my cheeks once more. But I couldn't help glancing a few seats down at him when he would let out a burst of laughter, or when he had to smack Peter on the back to keep him from choking, or when he was doing nothing but listening intently to the conversation around him.

"Mooning after James?" Sirius whispered into my ear, causing me to startle out of my short daze.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm not mooning," I said.

"Sure you're not." The disbelief and mocking was evident in his tone. "You know that you could go over there right now and snog him senseless. That would make both of you quite happy."

My mouth hung open and my brain couldn't think of an adequate response, most likely because I was honestly considering his suggestion. Instead, I flicked him in the shoulder which only increased the level of his laughter.

He was off his rocker.

And drawing attention to us.

"Shut up, you fool," I snapped quietly.

He only laughed harder.

I groaned, laying my head on the table and burying my face in my arms.

"What's going on?" asked Remus. "Why is Sirius acting like he's been hit with one too many Cheering Charms?"

"He's being an idiot, as usual," I mumbled into my arms.

Sirius stopped cackling long enough to say, "You know you love me."

"Not particularly."

I lifted my head to see his smirk, which I had a great urge to smack off.

"You know what? I'm leaving. Before Sirius' insanity rubs off on me."

I quickly grabbed my bag and left the Great Hall. I was nearly to the staircases when someone spoke behind me.

"He's just trying to get a rise out of you," he said, falling in step beside me after what must have been a quick dash out of the Great Hall to follow me.

"Yes, I know. And he was succeeding. That boy gets so much pleasure out of embarrassing others. It isn't right."

"But it wouldn't be Sirius any other way."

"Yes, but he's going to give us away. If he continues to hint towards it, someone is going to catch on and then our plan will be ruined."

"Would that really be the worst thing in the world if that did happen?" he asked.

James pulled me to a stop and cupped my cheeks with his hands, ensuring eye contact.

"Where's the harm? So what if our secret comes out a little early?"

"So what?" I removed James' hands from my face. "Have you forgotten that your girlfriend of five months just broke up with you a few weeks ago? A girl who fully expects you to still be completely heartbroken and not moving on with the next pretty little thing in a skirt that walks by."

"You weren't the first to walk by. Although, you are very pretty." He tried to brush a piece of hair away from my face, but I smacked his hand away.

"That is not the point!" I said, hitting him after each word. "This will kill her."

"Didn't I tell you ages ago that you needed anger management?"

"James!" Another hit.

"I know. I know. I'm listening. I promise. Please don't hit me again."

I lowered my arm a bit, and he took that as an opportunity to grab my hand.

"Lily." His tone had lost all sense of joking and urged me to meet his eyes again. "I know that we set up this plan to keep Christine from getting hurt, and I fully support that. But is it wrong for me to want people to know that I'm happy with you, even if we haven't officially started dating yet?"

I melted. Or I would have if it were physically possible.

He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me.

"James Potter, you surely know what to say to get a girl uncross with you," I said into his shoulder.

He chuckled softly. "It's a skill. One that I wish I would have acquired before last year. Then maybe you would have spent less time yelling at me and more time being friends."

A pointed look was sent my way, albeit a mock serious one, as if to say that I had hindered the possibility of a friendship before now.

"Yes, but this skill would have needed to be paired with you being less of a prat and growing up a bit." James pretended to be offended, even though he knew I was joking. "Which at least you did at some point," I continued. "I couldn't tell you when. It took me by surprise. But it was quite a pleasant surprise."

Just like how we could joke about our volatile past now instead of using it to aid in another argument like we would have years ago. It was definitely a much needed change.

"Good to hear," he said. We shared a smile before he pulled away and released me from his embrace. "We should be heading to class now. Flitwick will have our heads if we're late. Actually, he'll have my head; he'll let you off with nothing more than a smile. You are his favorite after all."

"I am n—" I started to protest before James shot me a look. "Okay. Yes, I am. But I would get you off as well."

James didn't believe me. His face clearly read, 'like hell you would.'

I didn't say a word to convince him otherwise. I merely hit him. Maybe it would knock some sense into him.

"Fine. I believe you," he said, rubbing the back of his head a bit.

"Good," I replied. "Now let's get to class before we have to test my sway over Professor Flitwick."

With that said and a firm hold on his hand, James let me lead him to Charms.

Just before we turned the corner into the corridor where our classroom was located, I released my grip and dropped my arm to my side. I gave him one last look, which read 'be good,' and continued walking. I couldn't have any more moments like the ones that occurred within the last few days. It didn't matter how happy James was with me or how I nearly turned to mush after his speech. All that mattered was that Christine did not find out about us until we meant her to. There was no need for her to figure out that James had been acting differently around her because he unconsciously wanted to be with me. I just couldn't do that to her.

Thankfully, James stopped being as flirtatious and Sirius toned down his knowing winks, but that didn't stop the gossip among our friends.

Lexi, Amanda, Grace, and I were up in our dorm, attempting to do homework, when Lexi let out an aggravated sigh.

"I am getting absolutely nowhere on this assignment, and it's all because of stupid Potter and his stupid date. Who could he possibly be taking and why won't he tell us?" Lexi vented, throwing her homework aside and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Maybe it's Kaylie," said Amanda over her parchment, still writing furiously.

"The Gryffindor Chaser?" asked Grace, ignoring how ink was dripping on her parchment and her lap.

"Yes."

I had to hold back laughter. Hell would freeze over before James broke his no-dating-teammates rule.

"Not a chance," Lexi said. "James wouldn't break one of his own rules. Especially when Quidditch is involved."

Good girl, Lexi, I thought. At least one of my friends was using her brain.

"What about Meredith?" Lexi said after a moment of silence.

"The Slytherin?"

I took back my using-her-brain comment. James was a Gryffindor though and through and would see it as a betrayal to his House if he so much as gave a Slytherin a second glance.

Grace and Amanda merely shook their heads at the suggestion.

"And why not?" Lexi asked. "She's pretty and a lot better than the rest of her housemates."

"That's not a good reason for James to date her," Grace argued. "He'd rather die than date a Slytherin."

"A bit extreme, Grace, but fairly true," said Amanda.

Lexi let out a huff of annoyance. "Well, I don't hear you coming up with anyone better."

All three were silent then, as if they were running through a list in their heads of every available girl at Hogwarts.

"I've got nothin'," Lexi exclaimed a few minutes later. "At least, no one that's an actual possibility."

"Ditto," said Grace.

Instead of agreeing with the other two like I expected her to, Amanda said my name.

My breath caught in my throat, nearly choking me and causing a large coughing fit.

Me. She was actually guessing me.

"Are you off your rocker? That's as likely as Kaylie," Lexi said, looking at Amanda like she had indeed gone mad.

Not exactly, Lexi. Because she's right.

But I wasn't about to tell them that.

Amanda shook her head. "Not as a possibility."

If only she had said that before she had given me a heart attack.

"I was trying to get her attention," she continued.

Well, congrats, Amanda, you definitely did.

Amanda looked to me. "Lily, you and James are close, right?"

Yes…

"And he tells you a lot of things?"

Yes…

"So did he tell you who he's taking to Hogsmeade on Saturday?"

Since he's taking me, I would say that notifying me would have happened at some point.

Thankfully my thoughts stayed in my head, and I did the only thing I could do. I lied. Just one word came out of my mouth and that was the word 'no.'

All three looked a bit down and defeated at my answer.

"Maybe we could ask the Marauders," Lexi suggested, desperate for answers. "They might know."

I shook my head. "Remus and Peter don't know, and Sirius would take this secret to the grave if he had to."

If he told, he would be in his grave because I would have put him there.

Lexi let out a frustrated sigh.

"Damn those Marauders. Their secrets and their loyalty."

I couldn't help but laugh, and I received a rude hand gesture in reply.

She'd get over it, the fact that no one would let her in on the secret, probably the moment she saw who he had taken. If she didn't die of shock first.

Which was quite possible, if you thought about it.

She had, after all, said that the likelihood of James taking me to Hogsmeade was the same as the likelihood of him breaking one of his precious Quidditch rules. In other words, it wasn't ever going to happen.

Yet, in three days, she was going to find out just how wrong she was.

Those next days passed by faster than I had thought they would, especially since time had made a habit of slowing down whenever you were looking forward to something and wanted more than anything for it to speed up and get to said event.

On Friday night, James and I held a quick prefect's meeting to discuss the Hogsmeade trip and their obligations as prefect.

"You don't have to do patrols or anything of that sort," James said, and a few prefects exhaled in relief.

James smiled at me. We knew they would react that way. "But," he continued, "we want you to look out for the younger ones. Make sure they don't get into trouble."

"Also, remember that you are acting as role models, so don't do anything stupid," I added. "And, most importantly, have fun. Meeting adjourned."

A few let out shouts of celebration and they all rushed to the door. I looked at James and rolled my eyes at their antics. The meeting wasn't that long.

"Hey, Lily?" a male voice asked behind me. I turned to see Jackson Phillips, the seventh year Ravenclaw prefect.

"Hi, Jackson. What can I do for you?"

"Can I speak with you in private?" he asked, shooting a pointed look in James' direction, who was still standing beside me.

James' eyebrow was raised in an amused sort of way. I silently urged him out. He strolled out the door, which he neglected to shut. I assumed he would be standing right beside it, listening to my conversation.

I turned my attention back to Jackson.

He smiled. "Lily," he said, "I realize this is sort of last minute and you probably have plans already, but if you don't I'd be honored if you came to Hogsmeade with me."

I stared, dumbfounded, for a moment. Of all the things I thought Jackson wanted to ask me, that had not made the list.

I didn't really know what to say. I hadn't had that much practice letting a bloke down easily. The only proposals I had ever denied had numerous insults tagged on to my response.

"Jackson," I started, "I'm flattered but I'm already going with someone."

He looked a bit disappointed but not utterly heartbroken, which I guess was a good sign. His lips lifted into a soft smile. "I kind of figured that would be the case," he said.

Really? I thought. This boy thought quite highly of me if he assumed I already had a date. Has he not been paying attention the past few years? Most of my Hogsmeade trips were spent with the girls. I could count all my dates on one hand, but I wasn't about to tell Jackson that. He could continue thinking I was well sought after. It was a bit of an ego boost after all.

"If you don't mind my asking," Jackson said, appearing a bit nervous for the first time during our conversation, "who are you going to Hogsmeade with?"

Uh oh. Lie, Lily. Lie. I urged myself.

"I'd rather not say."

Not exactly a lie, but all secrets were kept unrevealed.

"I understand," he nodded. "You don't want it spreading through the school. He's probably a Slytherin." The last statement was said more to himself than to me. It was so far from the truth that I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it.

Instead, I heard a chuckle outside the door. I nearly rolled my eyes at the sound. Of course he was listening. I had been correct in my assumption.

"Well, I should probably be going," Jackson said. "Have a great time tomorrow. Maybe I'll see you there."

"It's possible," I replied. "Good night."

Just as Jackson left the room, James reentered it. He propped himself against the doorframe with a smug smile adorning his face.

"You're going out with a Slytherin, huh?" James laughed. "He's going to be in for quite a surprise." I nodded, agreeing. Surprise was going to be the least of the reactions we would probably receive. "Besides," James continued, "you have better taste than to date a snake."

I let out a short scoff. "You think so highly of yourself."

"And why shouldn't I? I got you, didn't I?"

"That could change," I stated. I bent down to pick up my bag, and when I straightened James was standing in front of me, his arrogant grin gone. He took my bag from me and placed it on a chair. His fingers laced themselves through mine, and he took a step closer.

"You wouldn't, would you?" he asked, his voice quiet.

I held back a smile. He was so worried that I would cancel our date and any chance of us that the joking tone in my statement was completely lost on him.

I shook my head and some of the tenseness in his face and stance dissipated.

"Good," he said. He released my hands in order to wrap his arms around my waist. He placed a light kiss on the top of my head, and the butterflies that had been fluttering around steadily for months now whenever I was in his presence became rampaging hippogriffs.

"I wouldn't let you get away any way," he whispered. I smiled slightly against his chest and snuggled more securely into him.

We stayed that way for a few moments, focusing on how good it felt to be in each other's arms, before we pulled back. He gave me a quick smile, grabbed my bag and his own, and left the room, leaving me to follow in his wake.

Before he turned the corner toward the staircases, I heard him scoff, "A Slytherin?"

My laugh could be heard echoing down the corridor.

The next day, the sun shone down on a fresh coat of snow, and the wind blew gently. I was quite surprised by the beautiful weather. I had half expected it to be a dreary day to mirror what the day could possibly become, but the pleasant weather made my worries disappear.

I got ready quickly and rushed down the stairs. I saw Sirius, Remus, and Peter standing by the fire and joined them, asking the obvious, "Where's James?"

"Still in our dorm. Primping," Sirius said. "I think he's trying to make his hair lie flat."

"Like that'll ever happen," I said. Sirius laughed in agreement. James' hair was a force of nature; you couldn't stop it.

Remus looked toward the boys' staircase and sighed. "Whoever this girl is, she must be something special if James is taking this long to get ready."

Sirius slung an arm across my shoulders. "She is. She definitely is."

I smiled, successfully keeping my blush at bay.

Peter glanced at his watch, and I heard someone's stomach rumble.

"That's it," Peter threw up his arms. "I'm starving. James can come join us when he's ready." Remus and Sirius nodded in agreement. "You coming, Lily?"

"No," I replied. "I want to be able to make fun of him as soon as I can for taking longer than me to get ready."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan," said Sirius. He began to follow Remus and Peter but turned back and whispered in my ear, "Give James a kiss for me."

I smacked him and watched him walk away, a smirk firmly in place.

Typical Sirius.

I waited another minute or two before James descended the boys' staircase, wearing a red turtleneck sweater and looking like he spent far too much time trying to tame his hair before giving up.

"Don't you look nice," I stated when he stopped in front of me.

He smirked and ruffled his hair a bit before replying, "I would say the same about you, but today is no different from any other."

I blushed, having no chance to ward off the color in my face that closely resembled the color of my hair.

I didn't know what to say to a comment like that. I never did. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

"So you ready to go?" he asked. "Breakfast sounds wonderful right now."

"Of course. Lead the way."

I followed him out the Portrait Hall and fell into step beside him.

"You know, you would have been eating long before now if you hadn't decided that today was the day you were going to care about your appearance," I grinned.

"Well, I had to give you some reason to keep me around," he said, throwing his arm around my shoulders.

"If I haven't tossed you aside yet, I don't think I'm going to anytime soon."

"Good to know."

We spotted the doors to the Great Hall, and James released me. I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the Inquisition. Our friends would try one last time to figure out who James' date was, and I would try my best to hide the fact that I knew.

"Ready?" James asked. He had that soft smile on his face that I had grown extremely fond of.

I nodded and strolled into the hall, immediately spotting our friends at our usual spot in the middle of the Gryffindor table.

"Prongs! You made it!" Sirius said, as we took our seats. "I thought maybe you had drowned in hair gel or something of that sort."

"Sorry, mate. No such luck."

James took no time heaping every possible food onto his plate and inhaling half of it within minutes.

"Whatever happened to eating politely in front of ladies?" Remus said.

James quickly swallowed before answering, "I'm hungry."

"Then you shouldn't have taken so long to get ready," Peter said. "I see your efforts failed."

James ran his hand through his hair. "Blame my dad. His is the same way."

Sirius scoffed. "I feel bad for your future kids. You better hope they get your wife's."

"Speaking of…" Peter said. "Do you think this date of yours has a chance of becoming anything permanent?"

James' attention snapped to Peter. "Holy topic change, Wormtail."

The group laughed at James' expression. Eyes bugged out and color wiped from his face, he closely resembled a deer in the headlights. He was probably afraid that the topic would scare me off, even though I had told him that I wasn't going anywhere.

James took a calming breath. "I think it's a little early to be hearing wedding bells. It is only the first date, after all."

Peter shrugged and continued eating, letting James do the same, until Lexi spoke up.

"Are you going to tell us who your date actually is, or are you going to keep up waiting?"

That mischievous glint lit up his eyes, and Lexi knew the answer before he gave it.

"You will just have to wait."

"And you are such a git," she pouted. "So just how long is this wait?"

"How does one o'clock at the Three Broomsticks sound? That's only three hours from now. Can you survive that long?"

"It's not like I have a choice."

Despite Lexi's unhappiness with the wait, they all agreed to meet at the given time and place before grabbing their heavy cloaks and departing for the village, the Marauders in one carriage and the girls in another. Lexi used the ride as one last chance to get answers about James' date from me.

"Please, Lily. Don't make me beg." She looked like she was about two seconds away from getting on her knees and doing just that.

"She's not going to tell you," said Amanda, looking back out the window and away from Lexi's glare. "Because she doesn't know, remember?"

"She knows. I know she does. You can't be that good of friends with James and not know." Lexi crossed her arms over her chest.

"Regardless, I'm not going to tell you," I said, earning a glare of my own.

Lexi let out a huff of annoyance and stared out the window the rest of the way to Hogsmeade. The moment we arrived, she hopped out of the carriage, spotted her date, and dragged him down the street. I turned to the rest of the girls and rolled my eyes as Lexi put more and more distance between us.

"She can be such a drama queen sometimes," Grace said.

"Yeah, but we love her anyway," I replied. Plus, the only reason why she was so upset was because I was keeping things from her; we usually told each other everything. She was mad now, but she would forgive me later. I knew she would.

"So, where is everyone off to?" I asked, already knowing the answer. James and I had made sure that all our friends already had plans and we would be able to go our separate ways from them and begin our date without provoking suspicion.

I half listened to their answers, if only just to remind myself where not to go while I was with James. I didn't want any of them finding out I was his date until we all met in the Three Broomsticks.

I watched our friends head off to their destination of choice before looking over at James. He wore that classic grin of his, and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Well, my lady," he said, imitating a posh accent. "We are alone at last."

"You are such a dork," I giggled, hoping I wasn't becoming one of those girls, the ones who giggled at every possible thing their crush said whether it was funny or not.

"Yes," he agreed. "And yet, you're still here." When I didn't reply, he merely nodded.

"So where would you like to go first?" James asked.

"It doesn't really matter to me," I shrugged. Even with all the various emotions this date brought up, I was still happy that I was finally on it.

"How about Scrivenshaft's?" he suggested.

Of all the possible suggestions he could have given, that wasn't one I had thought of. I gave him an amused look. "Need a new quill?" I asked.

"No," he said. My nose scrunched up in confusion, and James began to smirk. "I don't," he continued, "but you do."

My features smoothed out before my lips stretched into a smile.

"That would be quite creepy if it wasn't so sweet."

James puffed out his chest, sending me into another fit of giggles, before he grabbed my hand and led me to the quill shop.

We didn't stay there longer than a few minutes. I grabbed what I needed and got out of there as quick as I could, sensing that James was nearly bored to tears by the array of quills and parchment surrounding him.

As soon as we exited, James was leading me to another shop. And another. And another, joking and laughing the entire time. We entered Honeydukes with a hoard of Hogwarts students. Squished together, we forced our way through the crowd to our favorite snacks. When our hands were full, we proceeded to the checkout. I set my snacks down on the counter and waited for my total. Before she could give it to me, James dumped his candies of choice down on the counter as well. "These too," he said.

"You don't have to pay for mine," I stated.

"I know," he replied. "But what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't? My mother would be very upset with me if I didn't pay for my girl on the first date."

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?"

James nodded. "I'm glad you see things my way."

He put his payment on the counter and grabbed our purchases. He weaved his fingers through my own and led me through all the people and into the street.

I looked down at our entwined hands and smiled. Sure, he had been holding my hand through much of our date but I hadn't really thought about it. It was such a simple gesture that meant so much. And it felt completely natural.

My smile barely lifted at the corners, but inside my heart was thumping madly and I could hardly comprehend how far James and I had come, from hating each other to becoming friends and now this. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He turned his eyes to mine and gave me this look of such utter adoration that I immediately flushed, feeling the heat in my cheeks through the cold air blowing across them.

That color left the moment I saw the person exiting the shop not ten feet from us. I quickly hid our hands behind my back as she turned our way, putting James slightly behind me as well. Why I didn't just drop our hands, I don't know. I panicked.

"Lily. James. "Hey!" she said, closing the distance between herself and James and I.

"Hi, Christine. How are you?" I asked.

"I'm good. Ready for this term to end though. It's been awful." She looked at James and then back at me. "So what about you? I haven't really seen you around lately."

Because I've been avoiding you, I thought.

"I've been busy. There has been so much going on," I replied.

Like I'm dating your ex.

"I completely understand. I'm dreading next year. But maybe after the holidays we can get together and catch up a bit."

"Yeah. Sure." I think I was shaking a little bit. Christine was so sweet, but I just wanted her to leave. "I would like that."

"Perfect. I'll owl you. Have a happy Christmas."

And with that said, she was gone, smiling and greeting other friends as she went.

I let out a little breath and released James' hand, which I'm sure I had been holding with a vice grip since he started rubbing it, most likely to get the blood flowing there again.

"Didn't you say she would find out about us today?" James asked softly.

"I lied," I said, facing him. "Is it wrong that I want to delay that moment as long as possible?"

"Not at all." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "But she probably would want to hear it from you."

I batted his hand away. "She'd kill me."

James laughed, and I glared at him. Yes, I was being dramatic, but I was really worried about how she would react.

"Listen," he said. He took my hand in his and waited until I was looking him straight in the eye. "She will not kill you. Nor will she hate you. That's reserved for me. She may be a little hurt, but she'll get over it. She really likes you—she told me so—and she wouldn't let this have an affect on your friendship. It will be okay."

I nodded, and he kissed me on the forehead. I swore I could hear whispers around us. But I couldn't bring myself to care.

Everything would be okay.

"We should get to the Three Broomsticks. It's almost one, and they're probably already there."

"Probably," I agreed. "Let's go."

He gave me that smile of his, the same one that sent me reeling when I wasn't expected it like that.

James led me down the street to the pub, talking animatedly about who knows what, probably Quidditch or something he did with Sirius or the Marauders. I just smiled and nodded when I thought it was appropriate. I was trying to prepare myself for our friends and how they would react to our little revelation.

"Lily?" He pulled me to a stop.

"Huh?"

"Have you been listening?"

He didn't look angry, just amused, so I answered, "Not at all. Sorry."

He chuckled. "Well then, let's get this show started."

The Three Broomsticks was right in front of us. He opened the door for me and I nearly stumbled backwards from the force of the noise housed in that place. It seemed like every seat was occupied. I didn't know how we would find our friends among all these people.

I began scanning each table but was saved the trouble when James said, "There," pointing to a booth on the far wall. Sure enough, there they were, laughing loudly at something Sirius had said. He was gesturing wildly, telling what must have been a very amusing story.

It was going to be difficult getting to their table, but James made it seem quite easy. I walked behind him, letting him guide me and knowing he wouldn't lose me because of the firm grasp he had on my hand.

We arrived at the table, and our friends greeted James. Sirius even offered to go get him a drink. They hadn't seen me yet since I was mostly hidden behind James. I had to wait for another student to move before I could stand by his side. When I did, there was a rousing chorus of "Lily!" Grace even asked where I had come from.

I laughed. I was about to tell her that I had shown up at the same time as James when Lexi exclaimed, "Bloody hell!" She was pointing at James and my entwined hands.

She stammered, "You? And him? You're his…"

"Date?" I supplied. "Yes."

Lexi's mouth hung open in shock. Grace and Amanda looked just as stunned, just in a more tasteful way, while Remus and Peter shared a glance as if to say that they should have expected it. And Sirius just sat there, arms crossed with a smirk plastered on his face.

Lexi shook herself from her shocked stupor to ask, "When did this happen? And why didn't you tell us?"

"We wanted to keep it a secret. You know how the Hogwarts gossip mill is." I answered, not really wanting to reveal that Christine was the real reason, although I had thought about the rumor mill too.

"Yes. But when?" Lexi asked, getting agitated.

James answered for me. "A month ago."

"A month? You mean that when we were all trying to figure out who he was taking he had already asked you?"

I nodded.

"But you said you didn't know."

"She also just said that they wanted to keep it a secret," said Amanda. Lexi stuck her tongue out at her.

"Don't be such a sour puss, Lexi," Grace said. "You're the one that said it would never be Lily."

I couldn't help but laugh as I watched my friends banter. They would never agree that none of them saw this coming. I had never been on the list of possibilities.

Finally, they gave up.

Lexi looked down at our hands again. "So you two are actually dating now?"

I nodded, while James dropped my hand so he could wrap his arm around my waist. It wasn't a second later that Grace threw herself on me with a squeal, hugging me, and everyone else shared their congratulations, their shock completely gone.

"It's nice to see that you've gotten your act together. Now you can stop running circles around each other," Lexi said.

"So you're not mad?" I asked, needing to be sure I hadn't upset her too much.

"It would have been nice to know when it actually happened, but I understand your reason why. Just don't do it again."

"I don't plan on it," I replied, and all was forgiven and forgotten. That's just how Lexi is.

Amanda and Peter went to get the next round of drinks and some rolls for us to snack on, and the conversation shifted away from James and my new status for a few minutes as we discussed Christmas plans and a possible New Years Eve get-together at the Potters'.

"Your mum won't mind?" Amanda asked.

"I don't see why she would. She loves you guys," James said, finishing his Butterbeer.

"Besides, she'll need someone to help her restore her sanity after a few weeks with those two," I said, pointing toward James and Sirius.

Sirius tried to look offended before failing and cracking a smile instead. "I would be insulted if Mum Potter didn't tell us that very same thing multiple times every time we're home."

"Too true, mate," James agreed.

The two of them clinked their mugs together and took a drink. Well, Sirius did; James looked at his empty glass in disappointment before getting up to get himself another, only to be assaulted by drink requests from the rest of the group.

With James gone, Sirius asked, "So, Lily, you'll be around before New Years, won't you?" I couldn't see why I would be since I knew my parents would want to monopolize their time with me. Seeing my confusion, Sirius continued, "Well, you see, Mum Potter will want to see you, especially after she finds out you are now dating her son."

I had been doing so well keeping my redhead tendency to blush contained, but I flushed quite brilliantly this time. I knew that when Mrs. Potter found out James and I were dating she would immediately remember our conversation from the summer when I told her I had fallen for someone who was completely oblivious to my changing feelings. Of course, she would give me a hard time. It was her son I was talking about, after all. But she would be completely over the moon for me. She had told me time and time again that James and I would make a good couple, even when he was dating Christine. It wasn't that she didn't like Christine; it was just something between James and I that she couldn't explain. And I didn't understand it, but I was also too focused on ridding myself of my crush that I didn't try to comprehend the dynamics of James and my relationship. But that was all in the past now, and I couldn't wait to tell Mrs. Potter all about it.

"Hey, Lily?" Amanda asked once my flush disappeared. "I'm still a bit confused about how this entire thing happened. Not too long ago you were moping about how James was giving you the silent treatment, and then a few weeks later he asks you out. What happened?"

I didn't know how much I actually wanted to tell them.

Sirius took that little problem away from me. Somehow, whenever I was at a loss for words, Sirius was there to supply them for me.

"It's all because of me," he said. He puffed up his chest and thrust his thumb at himself.

Lexi snorted. "Well, aren't you arrogant?"

"Yes," he admitted, which made all of us laugh. "But not this time. It really was because of me."

"Right…" Lexi drawled sarcastically. She turned to me. "You can tell us what really happened later."

"She'll just tell you the same thing," Sirius said, his eyes completely fixed on Lexi, as if that would convince her.

"Uh huh." Lexi sipped her Butterbeer. "You are many things, Sirius, but a matchmaker is not one of them."

Sirius was about to continue arguing when James returned, arms laden with drinks. He threw himself down on the seat next to mine and glanced around the table, which had gone quiet at his reappearance. He noticed how Sirius was still looking quite intently at Lexi.

"So what were you all talking about?" James asked.

"Not much," Lexi said. "Just Sirius' arrogance and how he fancies himself to be you and Lily's matchmaker."

James didn't comment. He turned to me and smiled. We both knew that Sirius played a huge part in getting us together.

The corners of James' lips twitched up into a smirk. "How should we repay him for his services?"

I chuckled.

"I think naming me godfather would be fair," Sirius joked. I threw a leftover roll at him. "What? I thought it was a good suggestion."

And it was so ridiculous that I couldn't help laughing along with our friends.

"You're lucky I like you," I said.

"It's not like you really have a choice," James said, right next to my ear.

When did he get so close to me?

"With one, you automatically get the other," he finished.

"You neglected to tell me that," I said, turning toward him, matching his smirk. "Is it too late for me to back out now?" I made a move to stand, but James quickly grabbed me and settled me back firmly in my seat, wrapping his arms securely around my waist.

"Not a chance," he answered, kissing me lightly.

I could hear the gasps and wolf whistles and cheers over the pounding of my heart, but I knew I could deal with whatever the Hogwarts rumor mill threw my way as long as James continued looking at me like he was now.

Maybe someday I'd get used to it.

The End

A/N: Thanks so much for reading. Drop me a review or a PM and let me know what you thought.

This should be the last of this little saga. I don't have any more ideas for this storyline. Besides, we all know what happens next, (they date all seventh year, marry, have Harry, and die at the hand of Voldemort) and I don't feel the need to write any of those events, at least not with these specific characters in mind.

Also, real quick. I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who read and reviewed "Stupid Boys" and "I Blame Sirius." If it wasn't for all of you, I don't think this story would have been written (and I think it needed to be). You're all wonderful!

~ Sam