A/N: This is Beater 2 of the Chudley Cannons checking in for Round 8 of Season 5 of the QLFC.

Headcanon to use: Seeker, windflight13, Cannons: The first person Lily told she liked James was Sirius.

Prompts: 8. (restriction) no Hogwarts staff is to be mentioned 14. (word) possible 15. (object) suitcase

Word Count before A/N: 1241 words

"Sirius, you're taking forever," James threw himself onto his four-poster bed, his lanky limbs sprawled across like a squashed spider. "At this rate, we're gonna miss the train, and I doubt my parents will find that amusing, having to trek all the way up here to get us."

"You're being dramatic," Sirius told him, carefully folding his jumper and placing it into his trunk. For some reason, opposite to what most believed, Sirius was very precise when it came to organizing and packing. He blamed his family, pureblooded and proud, for that kind of attitude, yet he did it anyway. James, on the other hand, was fond of rolling his clothes into a ball and chucking them into his trunk.

"I'm not dramatic," James's tongue clicked along with the khhh sound. It made Sirius smile.

"Just yesterday, you were whining that Lily never notices you. You said you might as well flush yourself down the toilet, because without her in your life you're drowning."

James sat up. "That's not dramatic - that's pure, unadulterated love, you twit."

"Twit," Sirius turned to look at James, "good one."

"I can't take this abuse!" James jumped up, hauling his trunk with him. "If you miss the train, have fun walking to Godric's Hollow."

The door creaked slowly on its hinges as James disappeared from sight. Remus and Peter would already be on the platform, no doubt, both a bundle of nerves waiting for James and Sirius to arrive. Of course, Remus's worry would be genuine. Peter would be nervous by association. Sirius rolled his eyes, meticulously folding each garment, not really wanting to leave Hogwarts just yet.

It was the end of their sixth year, and that meant they'd only have one last hurrah the next year. Maybe it was nostalgia - Sirius couldn't stop thinking about the times he had with his mates at the school, and he dreaded the end.

Of course, a lot could happen in a year, so he was looking forward to the summer months of planning an ultimate prank for his final days. But…

But he also knew that once school was over, he would have to decide what he was planning to do with his life. He didn't know where he was meant to be, and he didn't feel like a sixteen year old should decide. Yet, in one year's time, he'd have to.

The door creaked behind him.

"Did you get lost walking to the station, Twit" he teased, placing his socks on top of his books.

"No, I knew where I was going."

Sirius stood up straight, his back quickly stiffening. He felt heat emanating off his neck before he even turned around.

"Lily, I'm so sorry, I didn't know-"

She smiled. "It's okay, I know you were talking to James."

Sirius dropped his final shirt on top and closed the lid to his trunk. Then he looked at Lily, small in the doorway, her head angled downward, a suitcase in her hands. He used to tease her for having a suitcase, but now that he was older, it didn't seem quite as funny as it once did.

Lily's parents - Muggles they were - did not understand the benefits of a trunk. They thought a small eleven year old girl would have been too weak to lug the whole thing, and instead insisted she be strapped with a hoard of suitcases. Over the years, the number of suitcases Lily brought shrank down to one, due to an undetectable extension charm.

She stepped in and placed the suitcase on James's bed. Her green eyes scanned the mattress, like she was looking for the crazy-haired boy to spring out at any moment.

"I came to talk to him," she said, her back still to Sirius. "But I think I'm happier that I ran into you instead."

When she turned to look at him, Sirius could see the fire in her eyes.

"Yeah?" He said.

"You're not ready to leave yet."

"Well, I just finished packing," he motioned to his closed trunk.

"I don't mean now, physically," Lily leant against the post on James's bed. "I mean next year. Hogwarts. You're not ready to leave yet."

"How-"

"I can see it in your actions, Sirius. You're growing up. You participate more in classes, like it means something now. Like you don't want to forget a single moment or miss out on what's here," now she looked out the window. "I wish James was, too."

Sirius felt his eyebrows crinkling in thought. "You wish James was what, too?"

Her eyes landed back on his. In one moment, they looked clouded as she debated internally whether or not to let him in on her thoughts. Sirius watched Lily's mouth open and close twice without saying anything, the words catching in her throat. Finally, her shoulders slumped, and she nodded to herself as if to say, "yes, he's trustworthy."

"It's possible that I might return Mr. Potter's affections," she said. "I do. I like him, too. I like the man he is when we're alone. But I can't see myself with the boy he is when others are around."

Sirius tilted his head, but before he could ask his question, Lily continued.

"He's immature. He acts like a child still, and I don't want that. I need James to grow up, just a little bit," she sighed. "I mean, he's still picking on Severus after all these years-"

"You're upset at that? Even after what he said?" Sirius felt his hand reflexively curl into a fist. How dare Snivellus call her, the nicest and kindest person Sirius had ever met, that awful name!

But Lily didn't seem as angry. She approached Sirius and took his balled up fist in her hands. Slowly, Sirius opened his palm and let Lily hold it in her soft hands. "What Severus said hurt me, but one boy's words don't excuse another boy's actions. They both need to grow up a little bit if they ever want to be in my life."

Sirius nodded.

"You'll tell him then?" Lily asked.

"Tell James?" he said.

"Yes. Tell him I like him, but I'm not prepared to love him until he gets himself together," she let go of Sirius's hand and grabbed her suitcase off the bed. Without looking back, she left him alone once again.

"Love?" Sirius asked the empty room. In some way, he was extraordinarily happy for his best friend. In another, he was terrified at the prospect of a lovesick James. After all, as much as Lily would like for the boy to become a man, Sirius had a feeling that the dramatics wouldn't ever go away. It was like that boy had been born for the theater and instead ended up in a scrawny-necked, bespeckled git's body.

Mostly, though, Sirius found himself hopeful at the potential affair dancing between these two. Maybe, just maybe, their final year at Hogwarts would bring them unseen adventures. They only needed James to straighten himself out.

An easy summer project to be sure, thought Sirius. He smiled, grabbed his trunk, and closed the door shut behind him. His room would have to wait till September to find out what happened next.