Chapter 2: November 13th, 1976, Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I do not, never have, nor ever will own Harry Potter or any characters stemming from Canon fact.

I decided that Lily shouldn't be my focus point. I am going to try get a good view on her, the Marauders and maybe one or two others.

"I'm sorry, Evans." James had snook up on her while she was sulking in the common room. She was situated in the corner under a lamp which kept flickering, to James's annoyance.

"For what?" she hissed, not taking her eyes off of her book. James had noticed that Lily's eyes were not reading the book, just staring at the one spot on the page, as if to bore a hole through its pages.

"For embarrassing you earlier today. I'm sorry." he admitted, waiting for her reaction.

"You embarrassed yourself, Potter. I was merely a bystander who got a bit of backlash." she looked up at him momentarily before looking back down, cursing herself from letting him see her red eyes.

"Will you accept my apology?"

"Accepted. Please, I want to be alone."

"What Snivellus said..."

"Alone, Potter. Do you understand the meaning of the word?" she snapped again, snapping her book closed and tossing it onto the table in front of her. Between exams, and the absolute end of a friendship, her stress levels were at tipping point and her brain couldn't handle any more bullshit.

"I'm sorry. I just want to say that. For embarrassing you and defending you when you clearly did not need defending."

"Granted. Now please..." her eyes begged him. He could now see the red rings around her eyes from where she had been crying and rubbing them. They looked at each other for a long moment, a common understanding flowing between them.

The portrait swung open and a flustered Mary McDonald came through the door, her posture indicating annoyance.

"Lily, that friend of yours is outside. I thought you told him not to come up here!" she almost screeched, her body shaking.

"Mary, are you alright?" James stepped towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine once he's gone." her voice shook with what seemed like fear. It was common knowledge that Snape was present when his 'gang' had attacked Mary near the entrance hall the previous month.

"I'll sort it out." Lily groaned, getting up and marching towards the portrait hole.

"Do you want me to go with you?" James offered, reluctant to let her leave the common-room alone.

"That will make it worse."

"Fine, but I'm waiting here until you get in."

Lily didn't disagree with Potter on his actions. She knew he never trusted Snape and he certainly wouldn't trust him after he dropped the M-bomb. She turned from him and exited the room to face her former best friend.

James tossed on the comfortable, cushioned sofa of the Gryffindor common room yet no matter what he did, he could not ease into a cosy position. It enraged him that his supposed friend was at a wedding with Lily. He tried to force the feeling out of him. He wasn't Lily's boyfriend. He hardly even liked Lily. She was often cold towards him, and sometimes sharp. But the fact that his friend Remus was away for a whole weekend with her twisted his stomach in a knot that caused him physical pain.

He couldn't blame Remus. As far as his friends knew, Lily was just another pretty girl who James would show off to. That's all she really was. "She's only desirable because she won't date you." He chided himself. The werewolf had assured him that they were only friends but that meant nothing in 1976. He dreaded to think of Remus and Lily off dancing and drinking and Merlin knows what else at a wedding, of all places. Where it was almost expected for people to get together.

"Just friend," James scoffed to himself. James and Morgan were 'Just friends' for a long time before they became a couple but that did not stop them from snogging and fooling around.

Morgan.

A pang of guilt hit him. Surely he shouldn't be thinking about Lily while his girlfriend was in his bed, the very bed he vacated after having sex with her, and watching her fall asleep.

With a groan, James pulled a Quidditch magazine from the rack at the fireplace. Quidditch was the only thing that could clear his head when it was in turmoil. He flicked through it until he found the page of the In-Season brooms. In the centre fold there was a large picture of the new Comet Five. His EagleX was becoming wobbly at high speeds and wouldn't turn as sharply as it used to. With a cheeky smile, he tugged out the centrefold and folded it neatly and stuffed it into his pocket. He's owl it to his parent's tomorrow. Christmas was but six weeks away.

He was broken from his broomstick fantasies when the sound of footsteps descending down the stairs caught his ears.

"Jamie?" Morgan's low voice called. James flinched but it was so dark, she didn't notice. He loathed Jamie. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, love," he smiled. She approached him, donned in a pair of his pyjama bottoms and her own school shirt.

"It's two in the morning, babe." She stood behind him, letting her hands fall to his shoulders, gently massaging up his neck.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Pettigrew is snoring really loudly up there," she gave a quick giggle before gracefully folding onto the couch beside him and plucking the Quidditch magazine from his hands and began searching for fixtures.

As she read, James' eyes fell on her, studying her and trying to resolve his problems. He didn't get why he couldn't fall in love with Morgan.

Morgan was 5ft,7 with straight long brown hair and the darkest brown eyes he had ever seen. Her left eye had two flecks of gold that glistened in the firelight. She has tiny delicate hands that fit into James's larger ones perfectly. Her legs were the optimum length to wrap around his waist and hook by the ankles behind him, pulling him closer.

In bed, she was unbelievable. She had always seemed conservative to James until he slept with her, then he learned just how wrong he was. She was receptive to his every touch and movement. Not a single bit like the lady she led her mother to believe she was.

She played Quidditch. No. She triumphed in Quidditch. In the two years she played as Gryffindor's seeker, she only failed to catch the snitch once.

On Hogsmeade weekends she never stressed James to go on perfect romantic date. She enjoyed hanging around with his friends and maybe some of hers in the Three Broom Sticks before taking a walk and exploring the bottom of the mountains with James. They found a waterfall once after heavy rain. They stayed there until dusk and spent hours sitting beside it, chatting about their upcoming Arrows match.

The Appleby Arrows; Their common love.

During the summer and holidays they always took the time to attend a few Quidditch matches together, and even on occasion, stayed with James all night at his house afterwards when his parents were away for the night.

Morgan was amazing and James knew it. He couldn't figure out why he was so dissatisfied with her as a girlfriend. Whenever he felt like this, a strong wave of guilt ran down his spine. He scrunched up his eyes to try supress the feeling before grabbing her ankle and playfully tugging her towards him. She gave a small 'eep' of surprise and fell onto her back.

"You're beautiful," he whispered leaning over her, willing himself to believe it. His dragged his hands through the long silky hair that spread out around her head.

"I was just thinking the same about you." she replied, shifting on the couch so her lefts were either side of his and tossed the magazine onto the floor. "You had that look in your eye you get before we make love."

'Ugh, make love,' James though. He hated the term. It wasn't love. It was lust. James thoroughly enjoyed having sex with Morgan but what he felt during was surely couldn't equal love. He always imagined making love would cause him to feel something altogether more powerful than an orgasm and an occasional foot cramp. It puzzled him that girls always referred to sex as making love. Did they always feel 'in-love' while they had sex, was it their minds playing tricks on them? Was it something that was rooted into their system to find potential procreation with each sexual partner?

Morgan stemmed from a strict pure-blood family who believed her future lay with a pure blood husband. They approved of James, however he doubted that they would if they knew of their virginity status or, their rather lack of them. Morgan's mother expected them to get married straight after Hogwarts, however this was not officially discussed. James knew this was something that he did not want to do. Marrying Morgan wouldn't be the worst thing in the world but he could see himself turning into his parent's generation, him working at the ministry in a job with no soul and Morgan looking after their perfect children.

Would Morgan feel 'in love' with James if he was a half-blood? Or a muggle born? It was a stupid question. He knew Morgan was good hearted but she wouldn't sleep with a muggle-born. Her over-bearing mother would be on her conscience if she did.

"Jamie? Are you listening? James?" Morgan spoke loudly. James jumped slightly, awoken from his head.

"Sorry. I was..."

"Are we still going to Hogsmeade tomorrow afternoon?" she gave him an affectionate kiss on the nose and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I have to restock on mini sugar quills."

"How about I get Sirius to pick them up and we spend the afternoon in my dorm. It's been a while since we've had it to ourselves." Despite his lack of desire for their future, James still liked Morgan. He wasn't using her. He did enjoy her company, her joke and her friendships. He just knew it wouldn't be like that forever.

She'd make a good wife, one day, to somebody who loves her the way he should. Or at least, he hoped she would.

"It would be nice to not have to stay quiet," she smirked, gripping his shirt to pull him closer for a kiss.

"Or use the bath..."

"Oh please," she grinned, pressing her hips to James's. She reached into the pocket of her shirt and pulled out a small foil square.

"Not in the common-room," he moaned, his body urging him not to reject her. "Anyone could come in."

"It's after two in the morning. Besides these are your pyjamas that have an extremely convenient tear..." she moved his hands to between her legs, showing him the hole.

"You win," James said quickly, before pulling her closer to him, his own pyjamas becoming much too tight.