Lily Evans stared gloomily at the piece of blank parchment in front of her. It was well past midnight and the bright, fiery haired witch sat alone in the dark Gryffindor Common Room, trying to put together a semblance of an essay for her Potions class tomorrow.

She stared hard at the paper, trying to think of everything she knew about the merits and demerits of Moonstones in potion making. She'd turned the library upside down but found no references to this particular topic. Maybe Slughorn wants me to fail, she thought miserably. She, unlike her classmates, was doing this research entirely for extra credit. Goodness knew why Slughorn was interested in such an unusual subject.

Finally, she decided to scribble down its basic healing properties and what it cured. She could clean his photographs for merit later on. As Lily busied herself with this task, she did not hear the portrait door open as a disheveled, seventeen year old boy scrambled inside. He lumbered noiselessly across the carpeted floor, towards the boy's dormitories. His ruffled hair practically covered his eyes and his robes were torn and ragged at some places. Noticing the small figure of his favorite redhead crouched in the extra large chairs, he smiled involuntarily, regardless of his weariness.

Lily was unaware of his approach. "What keeps you up at such a late hour, Evans?" he asked standing very close to her chair. Lily jumped and her head shot up to see James Potter grinning at her.

"I could ask you the same. Where've you been?" her curiosity got the better of her as she noticed his ragged robes and tired eyes.

"Nothing of importance," he said quickly, seeing her eyes narrow at him. It was the full moon tonight and he, Sirius and Peter had gone off to keep Moony company under the Whomping Willow. It was the cruelest time of the month for the Marauders because the pale, bitter moon that illuminated the night sky transformed their best friend Reamus into a cold blooded, ravaging werewolf. Peter was with Sirius who got injured during Reamus' transformation. They were currently under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey at the hospital wing who was becoming increasingly suspicious of the three illegal animagi in the castle. Of course, he couldn't tell Lily all of this, so he decided to change the subject.

"Evans, go get some sleep. You look busted." Her hair was a mess and she had dark circles under her eyes. But to be honest, she looked beautiful despite her exhaustion. But then again, she always looked beautiful to him.

"Thanks for your concern, Potter. But I can do without a few hours of sleep. Now, IF you don't mind, I'd like to finish this up before I can-," she stopped abruptly as her stomach interrupted her with a loud growl. The sound, much to her horror, carried effortlessly across the quiet of the Common Room. There was a moment of silence and then James doubled over with laughter.

"Shut UP, Potter," she hissed furiously, barely controlling her temper. Glancing at her reddened cheeks, James tried to put on a straight face, but his eyes were still dancing with mirth. She mentally cursed her stomach for betraying her, especially in front of this obnoxious twit. Lily Evans was not to be made fun of, unless you liked getting turned into a boneless puppet.

"Come on, Evans. Get up. You're getting nowhere near to sleep or completing whatever you're doing with your grumbling stomach." He extended his hand, smiling down at her annoyance.

She ignored his hand. "So what are you suggesting?" she asked suspiciously. Perhaps, Potter would leave her in a corridor full of dung bombs.

"Come ON, Evans! No tricks, I swear." He sounded sincere enough. Lily was too tired to argue anyway, so she decided to go with him. Besides, she hadn't eaten anything for almost seven hours now, now that she came to think of it….

She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet, his arm lingering a moment longer than necessary. Lily's stomach gave a slight tug. It's just because I'm hungry, she reasoned with herself. Withdrawing her hand quickly to her sides, she slid through the portrait hole with Potter just a few paces behind her.

He led her through the long hallways. Left, right. A staircase, they climbed slowly. Another passageway and a few more turns and Lily was sure that she was lost. She glanced at Potter; he looked his usual, relaxed self, completely at ease. "Where are we going?" she asked, a bit worried now that it was almost five minutes since they began walking.

"The kitchens," he replied. He had been rather quiet throughout the entire walk which Lily found rather unusual. He was always talkative, always teasing her or poking fun or asking her out twice in ten minutes (if Lily stuck around that long).

"You okay?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Never better. Guess why? The famous Lily Evans just spent over 8 minutes with me without hurling insults or hexing my head off." He grinned down at her, and Lily rolled her eyes, feeling foolish.

They finally arrived at a small door, intricately carved with abstract paintings and bold, living strokes of color. There was a tiny pear at its center. Lily stared fascinated as Potter approached the door, standing directly in front of Lily and before she could peer over to see what he was doing, he opened it and stood aside to let her in. She scowled at him.

"Ah, Marauder's secrets, you wouldn't want to know," he smirked.

She stepped inside and the first thing that hit her was the absolutely delicious fragrance of her favorite butter hazelnut cookies. Her stomach rumbled involuntarily, and thankfully no one heard it this time. Lily stood awestruck as she watched thousands of house elves cooking, washing and baking. The kitchen was entirely another world inside Hogwarts. How come she'd never been here before? Having heard the door open, a few elves turned to look. Their faces brightened into cheerful smiles on noticing James. They rushed over to greet him, stumbling upon one another to reach him first. It was clear that they adored him. Lily looked on with amusement as James crouched low and shook their tiny, wrinkled hands one by one. He's no stranger to this part of the castle, she thought wryly.

"Oh, Mr. Potter, sir, how nice of you to stop by!" said one, beaming up at him.

"Where are Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Pettigrew sir?" another asked rather disappointed.

"Mister Potter, I have made your favorite ham and cheese porridge!" exclaimed another.

This was followed by a list of a load of others things which Mister James Potter liked to eat. It was quite a long list, Lily noted dazedly.

"Okay, okay!" James said with a smile. "Before you lot start stuffing me, meet Lily. She's…ah…my friend." The elves turned to a shy Lily standing in the corner and rushed over to shake her hand. She too, crouched low and shook their tiny palms and patted their heads.

"So pretty!" One of them exclaimed making Lily blush as the others murmured in agreement. The elves rushed off to bring them plates of food, while one of them lingered around and tugged her hand. She looked down and smiled at the small little fellow and allowed herself to be led. He took her to one of the larger wooden stools near the far end of the room. Lily sat down and the elf rushed off to bring her a plate of food as well. James leaned against the wall across from her, looking at her intently.

"You called me Lily," she said, trying to avoid his gleaming hazel eyes.

"Hmm…I guess I did. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Pity I didn't call you that all these years." He said it so seriously that Lily just stared at him.

Did he just call me beautiful, after ignoring me for the almost the entire year? She wondered, surprised by her bitterness.

Before she could reply, however, there was a flurry of activity as the house elves rushed back to them. James added hurriedly, "Oh and... don't let them stuff you up. They're pretty good at that. It was a nightmare when I came here first," he shuddered at the memory.

The table in front of Lily was filled with all possible luxury. Gleaming scones, raspberry jam, pumpkin juice, cookies, tarts and various other things that she'd never even seen before. She picked up a scone and dipped it in the generous bowl of jam and took a bite. Delicious, it melted in her mouth. She gave the anxious looking elves two thumbs up and dug into the food. They exhaled in relief and profusely informed her to call them for second helpings. James picked up a long stick of bread and nibbled at the end as he watched the redhead munch down the food without a care for the world. When she couldn't possibly take another bite, she realized the truth behind James' warning. Staring longingly at the hazelnut cookie, she stood up unwillingly.

"Ready to go?" he asked, trying to hide his laugh. He'd seen that look before. His friends had it every time they left the kitchen. He was pretty sure he did too. Lily nodded at him, looking a lot better than she did in the Common Room.

Lily thanked them for the meal and they waved goodbye and good night to the elves, laughing at their gleeful expressions as they made their way back.

"Are they always like that?" She asked James, slightly drowsy. He bit back a smile before he answered. She realized that he was quite fond of them. "Yeah, always."

"Thanks for taking me there. They're wonderful. The food was better than usual." She hadn't stuffed herself like this at any of the feasts before. Lily didn't realize that their arms were touching now. She'd slowed their walk to a slow, unhurried pace.

"No problem. You're the only one who knows apart from the Marauders and maybe, Dumbledore. The elves like their privacy. They must have realized you were pretty special because I walked in there with you."

Special? She wanted to scream in frustration. What are you doing, Potter! She'd convinced herself that he finally giving up on her was for the best. She'd pretended to Marlene and to everyone else that it didn't bother her. But it did. She missed him. She missed their fights, his constant presence, she hexing him upside down and him returning back the following day as though nothing had happened.

Lily walked next to him in silence, completely lost in her morose thoughts, until he suddenly grabbed her and pushed her into the wall with unbridled force.

"Potter, wh-"

His arm automatically came over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. His other hand pulled something from his back pocket and he covered them up with it. An invisibility cloak, she thought astonished. She stood paralyzed between the wall and his warm, crushing body. Snapping out of it, she glared up at him from under the cloak. She brought her hands up to pry his palm away from her mouth, but his other hand effectively grabbed both her wrists in his own. He bent low to her ear and whispered, "Filch."

Lily jerked her head and sure enough she could see the gruff framework of Flich strut up along the hallway with a lantern. His cat, Mrs. Norris wandered ahead of him. She came dangerously close to where they were standing, sniffing about their feet. Lily was sure that her gleaming eyes could pierce through the cloak, but the cat walked away, apparently dissatisfied. Filch too, passed by a few seconds later muttering something about loitering students and fire blisters in his office.

He was so close, pressing her slender figure into the hard stone wall. His messy, unkempt hair covered his eyes and all Lily could see was a ghost of a smile lurking on his lips. Her heart thundered erratically in her chest and she groaned internally, absolutely certain that he could hear it. His grip on her hand relaxed and she rushed at the opportunity to free them. He gave her an amused smirk, but wisely chose to keep quiet.

"He's gone, now move, Potter," she muttered into his chest. She was going paranoid. That painful feeling in her stomach had grown increasingly intense. His proximity was overwhelming and she was afraid that she would do something stupid like leaning up and kissing him. Yep, that'd be really stupid.

"You can say thank you for saving you from detention and a weekend worth of trophy scrubbing, eh Evans?" She could hear the smile in his voice, as they resumed walking.

"You're the one that brought me here in the first place! And we were caught; I'd be solely your fault!" She huffed. Lily knew this wasn't true and she'd agreed to go with him but he was so infuriating.

She felt laughter rumble in his chest. "Oh, but you can't deny you enjoyed it, considering how you stuffed yourself up." Lily punched his shoulder. He didn't as so much as flinch. Damn Quidditch players, she thought miserably.

They continued bickering as they ambled up seven stories up to Gryffindor Tower. Stopping at the portrait hole, James mumbled the password to the Fat Lady. Gesturing Lily to go in, he mentally cringed at his inherent etiquette when she raised an eyebrow at him.

He walked her up till the edge of the stairs that led up to the girl's dormitories, his hands stuffed in his pockets. She looked up at him, his face illuminated by the pale moonlight casting a dark shadow across his features. His hair looked like dark ripples of water, and she was at a loss of words in spite of having enjoyed a humorous banter with him minutes earlier.

"Well, thanks for that," she smiled.

"Anytime, Evans. Sleep well, yeah?" he smiled a lopsided grin, cocking his head to one side.

"You too. Goodnight, James," she swallowed, turning her back and sprinted up the stairs. Once at the top, she turned to glance back at him. He was leaning against the wall, watching her with hooded eyes.

"Goodnight, Lily," he caressed her name, his lips effortlessly forming the words. Lily's heart stuttered as she hurried towards her room, flinging herself into her bed, without bothering to undress.

Oh Merlin! What had just happened? Did she really have it that bad for him? Lily sighed, stuffing her head into the pillows. He was Potter, impulsive, rugged, spontaneous, a troublemaker. She was Lily, meticulous, steadfast, incisive, a rule enforcer. They were in no way alike; in fact they were the opposite poles of a magnet. But she couldn't deny that raw temptation that she felt towards him. It was almost overpowering her senses, infringing her barriers and luring her to the inevitable. She groaned, cursing the cruel methods of fate. She had to fall for him when he'd given up all hopes on her after worshipping the ground she walked on for years. Hell, he might even say no, she thought desolately. She couldn't even remember the last time he asked her out. Sighing, Lily kicked out her shoes as they landed with a thud on the floor. She glanced at the poster on her wall; it was her favourite line from one of her much loved muggle authors: New day, new possibilities, it read.

Yeah, right, she thought grumpily and she fell into a troubled sleep.

...

Lily woke up with a start, surprised to find bright rays of sunshine pouring in from the window. She glanced at the time and-

"Shitshitshitshit!" she cursed aloud, scrambling out of her bed and frantically flying into the bathroom. "Stupid alarm clock doesn't bleeding ring when it should!"

Five minutes later, she was stuffing her books and quills into her bag as she teared out of the Common Room. She didn't bother stopping for breakfast, given that Potions started fifteen minutes ago. She ran through the third floor corridor, and banged open the classroom door.

"Miss Evans," Horace Slughorn was not happy to see his favorite student so late.

"Sorry, professor!" she said apologetically, "I overslept because I err, got caught up last night," A distinct bark of laughter erupted from the corner. She ignored it, although her face reddened considerably, "you know, finishing up on the essay you assigned me," she finished with mustered dignity.

"Oh yes, right, but please Miss. Evans, refrain from these kind of situations in the future," he said, continuing from where he broke off. Lily huffed, dropping her things into the seat next to Marlene.

"What did I miss?" She asked her friend, pulling out her quill.

She rolled her eyes, "Honestly, all Sluggy's been talking about for the past fifteen minutes is wondering where you were. And now that you're here, we might actually learn something. Not that I care," she added, grinning.

Lily smirked back at her, "Good to be best in class, eh?"

They paired up with each other for the remaining of the period. Slughorn had assigned them a dreadfully complicated potion and it took all of the girls' attention to not let it blow up in their faces. A sudden explosion told them someone hadn't paid very good concentration. They turned to see Black and Potter's faces covered with black soot.

"Padfoot! You were supposed to stir it exactly twenty eight times! How many did you do?"

"Mate, it's not my fault. You forgot to add the crushed beetles!"

"No I didn't! I put them in there when you were busy looking down Isabelle's shir-" Black smacked his mouth shut.

Laughing at their pitiful state of affairs, the two girls turned back to finish up their potion. By the time they were done, both of them were awfully exhausted. But they cheered up significantly when Slughorn awarded them 10 points each for a great effort.

Before dismissing them at the end of the class, he called for their attention. "I am sure that you are all aware that there will be a celebratory party tonight honoring the 78th birthday of my very close friend, Gregory Darfins. And he has assured me that he will be coming, curious to see how well I'm moulding young witches and wizards." His eyes twinkled towards Lily. "Invitations are already out. And you may bring a friend if you so wish."

This was not new to the class. Slughorn and his elite Slug Club always had something pompous to gloat about. Unfortunately, Lily was also a part of it, being one of the first ones to get roped into it by him. Now she'd have to find something to wear or he wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

...

Lily hated parties.

Especially if they were too loud and filled with little, semi and majorly drunk kids. She'd decided to come alone, given she had absolutely no time to find a date and Marlene was obviously disinterested and chose to abandon her to spend time with her boyfriend. So, basically, Lily had dressed to impress none. She was wearing her black, knee length cocktail dress, with her hair tumbling down in soft red waves. She hadn't given any thought to her makeup which was kept strictly to a minimum. She had already been introduced to the infamous Mr. Fields, by a gushing Professor Slughorn, who was nevertheless impressed by her talents in Potions, much to her chagrin.

Now, she was critically eying her fellow mates messing about on the dance floor and indulging in rather indecent activities in the corners of the room. She was waiting for a best chance to slip out unnoticed, and much to her luck Slughorn excused himself to go to the rest room. She rushed at the opportunity and hurried towards the door, when a voice caught her off guard.

"Leaving so soon, Evans?"

She cringed involuntarily, turning to meet that unmistakable voice.

James Potter was leaning against the wall, sipping from his cup. He was dressed in muggle clothes, a black full sleeved shirt which he'd rolled up to his elbows and black trousers. His hair was again a shock of black thicket falling against his eyes which were framed by his black, round rimmed glasses. The only thing different about him were his eyes, which were deep caramel, speckled with green.

She nodded. Her mouth had gone too dry to speak. The tugging in her stomach was almost painful.

He laughed at her expression. "Oh come on, Evans. Don't leave a poor bloke alone. Slughorn said he'd have my head in his next brew if I brought along Sirius," he said picking up a cup from behind him on the table. Handing it to her, he sat down on one of the chairs, crossing his legs.

She eyed it decisively, sitting down opposite to him, "Potter, I don't drink," she said. His eyebrows shot up. "Alcohol," she clarified. His eyebrows disappeared into his hair.

"Merlin, Evans," he said astounded, running a hand through his hair. "Go on then. Take a sip! Never drank firewhiskey…" he looked staggered. When she continued to look dubious, he almost yelled. "Oh just drink it, Evans!"

It was tangy, bitter and positively gruesome. She barely held it in; pretty sure he'd badger her into drinking another if she spat this one out.

"Ughh! It's revolting!"

"Good," he smirked, grabbing another off the table. "Since we're gonna be here a while, let's make the most of it. So, you know party games, right?

She was sure that this would end up badly, but her curiosity was piqued. "What do you have in mind?" she asked regretting the question as soon as it left her mouth. A devilish grin appeared on his face.

"It's called show and tell, love. I say something and if you've done it, you gotta take a shot. If you haven't you gotta take two." James was a little guilty for bending the rules. He was pretty sure that those who hadn't done it did nothing. But given that Lily had never drank before, he wanted to have some fun.

She looked alarmed. But his taunting expression filled her with vehemence. Hell, it was Potter! She would never back down to him.

"Okay, Potter. Bring it."

His eyes got brighter and his smile got broader.

"Okay," he said, leaning towards her, "I've eaten an entire treacle tart down in two bites," he tipped up the little glass into his mouth. He didn't as so much as flinch as it travelled down his throat.

Lily scowled at him, grabbing her choice of poison. Quickly in succession, he emptied two. It wasn't as difficult as the first time, she noted. She didn't miss his roguish grin.

"My turn. I once dyed my hair green to match my eyes," she laughed at his horrified expression. She drank the shot. He dutifully drained two glasses in two swift gulps.

"I set fire to my room when I was ten," he smiled impishly. One shot.

Lily grinned. James noted that she too gulped only once. His eyes narrowed.

"I've let someone else take the axe for me," she said. "You remember that time when McGonagall screwed you for bewitching the Charms corridor upside down?" He nodded; he'd scrubbed her table till it practically glowed for that. "That was me," she added. His eyes grew appraising. He would have never guessed, his darling perfect prefect Lily.

This time, they both drained one. She had expected that much. She was feeling a dull elation. It was a warm fuzzy feeling. She kicked off her shoes, tucking her legs underneath her.

"I stole the Sorting Hat and made it sing for Sirius's birthday." One shot.

Lily wordlessly swallowed two.

"I've never gotten detention." One shot.

He choked, accidently knocking a glass onto the floor. It broke with a loud crack. Neither paid attention to it. He stared at her for a long time before finally gulping down two, this time with a little resistance.

Hours passed, but their game seemed to go on. Finally, when she felt that she was ready to pass out, she cried, "Stop! Enough, can't- too much," she swore, breathing heavily.

She didn't know what time it was. She didn't remember standing up. She didn't remember leaning down at him. She wondered why her face was inches from his.

He stopped breathing. Fuck, he'd cracked her.

"James,' she slurred. "You are such an arrogant prick," she said, swaying slightly. Oh here it comes, he thought miserably, bracing himself. "But, you're not-hic- the same," she frowned. "James Potter, Captain, infamous Marauder Extraordinaire!" she said giggling. He speculated how she could say extraordinaire in spite of being so completely drunk. "But, I like you. I do, I do," she nodded. "Do you like me, hic- James Potter?" She fixed him with those bright, emerald eyes. Was she serious?

He simply nodded. She squealed in a most un-Lily like way and fell into his chair. Her eyes were half-closed, lips hovering over his. Her hair created a deep, red curtain around their faces. His eyes went wide in his sockets. She was going to be the death of him. She closed the distance between them, her lips moving in desperate frenzy against his. Her lips smoldered his senses and clashed against his sanity. She was cold and hot at the same time, her skin like the touch of liquid fire. Her fingers raked through his hair, making him shudder against her.

"Lily-no, wait," he hated being the reason behind her sorrowful expression. His lips burned with the aftertaste of her skin. His hand clenched and unclenched behind her as he desperately looked up at the ceiling, for what, divine intervention? "You're drunk, Lily. You don't know what you're doing. Let's get you to bed, yeah?" he said finally. She looked at him with her big, green eyes, still straddling his lap. She looked so gullible and innocent, that he wanted to simply crush her against him again and never let go.

She nodded once and slumped against him.

...

Lily woke up the next morning and registered only one thing. Pain. It was all she could feel. Her head felt like the epicenter of an earthquake. It throbbed, emitting a pulse of pain waves. She barely made it to the bathroom before throwing up into the sink, retching agonizingly.

She had to brush her teeth ten times and take two showers before she could come back to reality. She trudged up to the Great Hall, banging into the wall on the way. Wallowing in her own misery, she saw Marlene beckon her over. Giving her a painful smile, she scooted down next to her.

"How's the hangover?" she asked conversationally.

"Bad, Mar, bad," she replied dolefully.

"Oh look, here come the bunch to parade over your rain," she said cheerfully.

Lily looked up to see the three Marauders clamber down noisily into the chairs around them. Lily scrunched up her eyes as memories of last night came flooding into her mind. She remembered the drinking, she remembered the game, and she remembered the kiss. Oh God, what had she told him? What had she done? Hell, she didn't even remember leaving the party. She gulped; she didn't remember going to bed either.

Oh why oh why did she have to get drunk with Potter?

"Aww, why the long face, Evans?" Black asked sliding into the seat opposite hers.

"Shut up, Black. Where's James?" she snapped, causing him, Peter, Reamus and Marlene to look at her with mild amusement.

"Here," said a quiet voice behind her. She whipped around, coming face to face (more like face to chest) with the singular reason for her misplaced rationality.

"Potter, I-last night-"she began but he cut her off.

"Lily, I'm so sorry. I don't know how much you remember but, I swear I put you to bed after you collapsed on top of me!" he said this all very quickly, drawing a long, slow whistle from Sirius.

"No, but before that-" she tried again, ignoring the jeer.

"Yeah, well you were drunk, Evans. You practically attacked me and I was so surprised, not that I didn't enjoy the kiss, but-" his words drowned in his mouth as she stood up on the ledge of the stool and pressed her lips against his right there in the Great hall. He was so taken aback that he didn't respond at first, but when he did it was one of the most blissful moments of her life. They broke apart, grinning idiotically at each other, unaware of the deafening silence, staggered faces, half raised spoons and stunned expressions that had befallen on the rest of the hall.

It was Sirius who recovered first, "Alright!" he roared to the rest of the table. "Pay up, people!"

Almost everyone groaned but soon broke out into laughter while whistling and thumping James on the back. He took her hand and squeezing gently, he pulled her to his side.

"So, all I needed was firewhiskey to get myself a redhead?" he murmured, twisting a lock of her hair around his fingers. Lily blushed and grinned, "Potter, I vowed to myself that I'll never drink after that again, so you better do a damn well good job of keeping me around."

James laughed, flinging an arm around her shoulder and smirking at Amos Diggory's sour expression over her head, "That's what they all say. Oy Padfoot! I can't believe you bet on this!" he exclaimed after the last sullen fifth year had deposited a galleon in his friend's hand.

"Always knew you had it in you, mate," Sirius winked, jiggling the gold galleons in his pocket. "Oh and I call dibs on best man."

A slice of toast and a piece of bacon promptly landed on his face.