One day, on the second to last day from the end of the year, I was out flying. Snape and Malfoy were mad that they had lost the Quidditch finals to none other than...Gryffindor! Thanks to my superior chasing abilities...oh, yeah, and Potter's seeking skills...oh, well...Back to the point, Snape and Malfoy decided it would be funny to play a prank on the ickle Mudblood. They snuck out, and hexed me to where I was afraid of flying, and that was what I was doing then! When I started to panic, they made my broom soar out of control. I, one of the best flyers in the school, was left trembling and sobbing, clutching to my broom in fright. Then I saw James through my tears. He was flying towards us. He leapt of his broom, and drew his wand. He hexed the two bloody idiotic gits into oblivion, and then sped on his broom to me. He physically pulled me off my broom, onto his, and dived to the ground. He gracefully jumped off, holding me in his arms. I had my arms around his neck and my face buried in his neck. He tried to put me down, but I clung to him.

He gave up and sat down with me in his lap. He said, in the gentlest tone I'd ever haerd from him, "Lily? Normally, I'd love to have you like this, but right now, I need to know what's wrong." I started shaking as I explained what happened. It scared me when he started clenching his fists and grinding his teeth, so I turned around. Then, purely on instinct, I hugged him. "It's alright, I'll be fine. The spell will wear off, I know it. Don't worry," I mumbled against his chest. I could feel him having trouble breathing, so I sat back and thanked him. He gasped out, "You–you're–wel–it's fine, yeah..." After a minute, he could breathe normally, and he offered me a ride back to the castle. I knew it was a long walk, so I accepted fearfully. He climbed on the broom, and motioned for me to get on behind him. Instead, I climbed on in front, put one of his arms around me, wrapped my arms around him, closed my eyes, and leaned against him, "I've seen you fly, Po–James, you can do it." He laughed and said, "Was that just a compliment, Lily...from you?" I ignored that and kicked off the ground.

He seemed kind of startled, but quickly gained control of the broom. He guided the broom carefully back to the castle, with me screaming all the way. Then, we glided to a stop in front of the castle, and jumped off, with me in his arms. I asked in a small voice, "Is it over?" He replied comfortingly, "Yeah, Lil, it's over. I promise." I squirmed to be set down, and he complied. I took a step and stumbled, but he swooped down and carried me, protesting, to the common room, where he sat me down on a couch. I shivered, missing the warmth of his arms. He started to say something, but turned around and walked off. I called to him, "Hey, wait...James!" He walked back to me, and I stood up on shaky legs and said, "I–I just wanted to thank you for being so nice...and all." I grinned and he swallowed hard. I decided that I would give him what he'd wanted for over five years; I leaned in to kiss him. (After all, this guy was gorgeous!) Than Sirius burst in (thankfully, he didn't see us) yelling, "James, mate, we got him!"

James' eyes flashed in annoyance, before he whispered, "'Bye, LIl, I'll see you later, right?" I nodded and he ran towards Sirius, calling, "Hold on, Padfoot, I'm coming!" I noticed in disgust that tears had welled up in my eyes when he left. I ran up to my room, trying to ignore the emotions bubbling beneath the surface. I refused to come to dinner, and no one made me. Alex was out...somewhere with Sirius, and Jackie was studying with Remus. I thought about him, and decided that I needed to forget. I dimmed all the lights, and buried my head under my pillows.

I finally struggled awake at 11:48. I had a day and a half to figure out what to do about James. I laid back, closing my eyes. Then I had a brilliant idea. I got dressed in jean shorts, green and white spaghetti strap shirt, and green flip-flops. I charmed my hair to straighten it and left it down. I applied green eyeliner and clear lip-gloss. Then, I trekked down to a tree by a lake and laid down on my stomach. I opened a copy of an American magazine, Seventeen, and started through it for "Guy Advice."

However, I was interrupted by loud swearing and scuffling noises. I peeked around a tree and saw James on top of Sirius, about to give him a black eye. I screamed, "What the heck do you think you are doing?" They abruptly stopped and James panted, "I just wanted to come talk to you…he followed me—and he looked down your shirt!" My jaw dropped open, and I stared at Sirius. Finally I said, "I'm telling 'Lexi!" His eyes widened and he started begging me not to. Then I pulled out my wand and muttered a jinx. He yelped and started to speak, but all that came out was, "Sirius is a bad dog!" He looked stunned and tried again. "Sirius is a bad dog!" He turned and stumbled back to the castle, clenching his mouth shut. Back at the lake, James and I cracked up, falling on each other. After we finally gained control, James asked, "Um, can I still talk to you?"

I said yes because it was so odd to see James nervous about anything. He took a deep breath and plunged in, "I started liking you five years ago, but I know you don't like me like that, so I'm gonna leave you alone. But I don't want to, you know, lose you. I'm willing, if you are, to just be friends." I was shocked; he was giving up after all these years! "Oh," I said feeling rejected, "I would love to just be your friend!" He grinned and leaned in, and I gasped, "You said—just-just friends!" He laughed, "That's why I can do this," and squeezed me in a tight hug. I smiled hesitantly, which made of his smirk change into a full out grin. "Yessssss!" he said, punching the air, "Hey, Lil, you and your friends wanna sit with us at the feast?" I nodded and he rushed us towards the Hall.