This early in the morning, the Leaky Cauldron was nearly deserted. The only people there were just passing through to reach Diagon Alley, and Lily was one of them. As she reached the back door, she heard a voice calling her name and spun around. "James! What are you doing here? I thought we agreed to meet at Gringotts at nine?"

He looked a bit sheepish. "Well, we did, but my mum wanted to get an early start on some of her shopping. Apparently she's worried all the lacewing flies will be gone by nine—"

"It's fine, James. I just wasn't expecting to see you here, that's all."

"I thought about sending you an owl this morning, then decided I might have already missed you, so I just...came here."

"I already told you, it's ok. I still have to get to Gringotts to change my money, though. I didn't want to make you wait through that."

James assured her that he didn't mind, and the two of them walked out the back of the Leaky Cauldron to the brick wall that concealed Diagon Alley. James tapped the brick that would let them through, and then made an elaborate bow to Lily. "After you, my lady." It was all she could do not to fall over laughing at his exaggeration, and that seemed to have been his purpose.

After stopping in Gringotts, Lily looked over her book list for sixth year. "Slughorn wants us to to get Advanced Potion Making, McGonagall wants Advanced Transfiguration, and Flitwick wants The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six."

James sighed. "This is going to be a lot harder than last year, isn't it?"

"Of course it is, James. We're NEWT students now," Lily told him. "They have to get us ready for real life outside of school."

They picked up their books in Flourish and Blotts, and Lily dragged James into the apothecary. "Why are we in here? You know Slughorn would give you anything you want out of the classroom."

"I know, but I can never find anything in his cupboards," she admitted. "Besides, I'd rather be sure I'm using the exact right ingredients. Younger students tend to put things in the wrong places, and vials of salamander blood and pomegranate juice look a lot alike."

He laughed. "No wonder my potions don't always turn out quite right."

Lily dipped her hand into the barrel of frog eggs next to her. "Maybe you should get some of your own ingredients, too, James." She grabbed a handful and threw them at him, then tossed a Knut to the shop owner and dashed out the door.

James chased her through Diagon alley, knocking several people over in an attempt to catch her. No matter how fast he tried to run through the crowded streets, she always managed to stay at least a few meters away from him. When she ran past Fortescue's ice cream parlor, he shouted to her. "Lily! Truce!" She paused, but looked ready to run again at a moment's notice. "Come on, Lily. I'll buy you ice cream." She still looked unconvinced, but agreed to his truce, and they walked into Florian Fortescue's shop completely out of breath.

"What can I get for you two today?"

Lily and James looked at each other. "Go ahead," he told her. "I'm buying." She looked as if she might argue, but the determination on his face stopped her.

When they were sitting down with their ice cream, Sirius walked in with Meghan Hess, a soon-to-be Fifth Year from Slytherin whom they both knew had liked James for a few years. She looked thrilled to even be with Sirius, but he looked like the day couldn't possibly get any worse. He spotted James and came to sit at their table, scarcely noticing Lily. "Hey, Prongs, we have a minor problem. The princess found the dog, and the dog just found the stag. The princess is elated at the discovery and the dog needs help getting rid of her."

"What's going on?" Lily interrupted. "What's he talking about?"

Sirius turned on her. "It's a private matter, Evans." He ignored her for a fraction of a second, just long enough to process what he had said, then turned back to stare incredulously at her. "Lily Evans? Prongs, what did you do to her?"

"Nothing, Padfoot. Come on, Lily. Let's go."

She crossed her arms. "I am not moving from this spot until you tell me what Sirius is talking about, James."

"JAMES?" Sirius shouted. "She's calling you James now? What the hell did I miss, Prongs?" He glared at his best friend.

James looked uncomfortable. "I sent her an owl yesterday—several owls, actually," he amended quickly when Lily looked at him. "We talked for a while, and she agreed to meet me at Diagon Alley today."

"You've sent her thousands of owls. She's never responded. What was different this time, Evans?"

She glanced at James. "It wasn't a creepy love letter. He actually said something worthwhile and considerate."

Sirius wasn't satisfied. "What exactly did he say, Evans?"

Meghan Hess interrupted. "Does it really matter? He'll be back to normal in a few days and she'll go back to hating him." Her smile grew with every word.

"This is normal, Hess," James insisted. "And maybe Lily doesn't hate me, though I wouldn't ever assume anything at this point."

Lily finally decided to have mercy on him and grabbed his hand from where it rested on the table. "Come on, James. I still need a few potion ingredients."

He stared at her, not sure what was going on.

"I promise I won't get distracted this time." James stood up to follow her. As they walked out the door, she turned around to mouth thank you to Sirius. The jealousy on Meghan's face was priceless, and Lily found herself smiling even more than before.