CHAPTER TWO

"No, I don't think so, Lily. Just because you have that Prefect's badge doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."

Laughter was lighting up Severus Snape's face, completely transforming it, as he made his next move on the chess board that was in front of them on the seat of the train. Lily had tried to move one of her pawns when Severus had gotten distracted by the trolley, but he had caught her just in time.

She grinned at him. "I wasn't really going to do it, Sev."

"I know. Besides, they wouldn't let you get away with cheating like that anyway. My pieces have far too much pride. Knight to E5," he spoke to the game. Like it had been an order from a king, his knight trudged forward and took of the head of the unsuspecting Queen of stone.

"Unfair," Lily told him with another laugh. "I'm horrible at Wizard Chess. We've been playing for years and I don't think I've won one game."

"Yes you have. That one time we played in the library after class."

"That was only because you had gotten sick halfway through the game," she said. "You forfeited before running away to throw up!"

Severus beamed at her with such admiration, one would have thought that she alone had just made the sun rise into the sky. It was as if he had never smiled until Lily had come along, undoing some horrible curse that had been put on him.

"Hey, Sev?" she asked as she examined the board. "Did you hear about that Muggle they found dead? The Ministry said it was the...it was the Avada Kadavera curse."

It had been all over the Muggle news the previous week-a prominent business man in London found dead in his home. The police speculated it was a heart attack, but when the coroners did the autopsy, they didn't find any sign of this being so. They buried him with the mystery unsolved-but the Ministry of Magic knew the signs of Avada Kadavera, the much-feared killing curse. Everyone in the Wizarding world seemed to make the effortless connection between the attack and the anti-Muggle views of a group of men called the Death Eaters who were led by a cruel, cunning, and powerful wizard named Voldemort.

His face flushed. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Why doesn't anyone want to talk about it, Sev? I don't understand why we have to pretend like things don't exist and hope that it goes away…"

"Lily, please," he begged, and she dropped her defenses. "What if someone heard us? You know how people get when you bring up...Death Eaters."

"But..."

"Please," he said again, looking at her with pain-filled eyes, the source of which she had no idea.

She managed to give him an appeasing nod, wanting-needing-to talk about it more but knowing how uncomfortable the subject made him. It made everyone that way. The darkness of the times held only a small gleam of light because of the people who pretended like things weren't as bad as they truly were. But it was bad; and growing worse by the day.

"I think I'm going to forfeit," she told him, quickly looking down at the chess board. "I'm starting to get motion sickness."

"I wouldn't pin that just on the train ride, Evans," said a voice at the door of the compartment. "It's most likely the smell of the trash you have decided to ride with."

The two of them looked up to see James Potter, with his messy black hair and round glasses, grinning at them. Next to him, as always, were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew; all four, like Lily and Severus, were dressed in their dark school robes with the Hogwarts emblem displayed proudly on their chests.

Sirius was a very handsome, confident boy who relished in the fact that his choosing for Gryffindor meant that he was the outlier of his Slytherin family.

Tall and thin Remus stood next to him, kind when he wanted to be and always looking somewhat sickly. Yet he still had the assurance that suggested that he was worthy to hang out with popular James and Sirius. He also had a Prefect's badge on his shirt, although Lily had already learned this from her meeting in the Prefect's compartment at the beginning of the train ride.

Peter was the one who did seem to fit the mold of the small group—he was short and round, with eyes that drooped and a small nose plastered on his circular face, and always following his friends around like a lost puppy.

Severus was glaring at the boys with such an intense hatred, she thought he was going to pull out his wand and curse them right there. And for good reason—James and his friends made his life miserable every chance they got. Lily tried to defend him whenever she could, but it was hard to be around all the time to make sure he was alright.

"Get. Out. Of. Here," Severus told them, practically growling.

Sirius leaned against the framing of the compartment door and laughed. "Mind your manners, Snivilous."

"Oh, great new nickname, Black," said Lily. "Did it take you the whole summer to come up with that one? What do you four want?"

James smiled. "I want you to some sit with us in our compartment like I've been begging you to do for years, Lil."

"First of all, do not call me Lil," she snapped. "Second, I am perfectly fine with Severus, thank-you-very-much."

"Evans," said James. "There has to come a point that you realize Snivelous here is a no good, grease-ball rodent. We're almost to the end of our schooling now, so you don't have much time to revamp your image at Hogwarts."

"I don't need my image revamped," Lily replied coldly. "I have plenty of people who like me for more than the fact that I can do tricks on a broom. I really don't see how that little talent will get you very far in life."

A chorus of oohing sounds erupted from the boys as they mocked her with their voices and their eyes. Apparently unaffected, James leaned forward on the edge of the compartment doorframe and gazed down at her with the most charming expression he could make. "Well, I've never had the chance to enjoy your company. How about Hogsmead next week?"

She leaned forward in her seat, so that her eyes were meeting his with the same amount of intensity burning. "First of all, there isn't a Hogsmead trip scheduled for next week so I don't know how you would plan on getting there.

He grinned and glanced at Sirius, who eyes were dancing with humor. "Oh, I have my ways."

She ignored this and continued on. "And second...and James Potter, believe me when I say this: I would rather be anywhere on this earth then on a date with you.

The smile on his face and in his eyes faded instantly at the sound of her rejection. "Have fun with Snivelous," he told her with a scowl before storming off back to his compartment. His friends, laughing, immediately trailed after him.

"One day," said Lily. "we're never going to have to see his face again."

The corners of Severus' mouth turned up in a small, weary smile. "Can't wait for that."

The train was slowing down now as it neared its destination. Lily and Severus got off with their classmates and were immediately greeted with the familiar sight of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her heart began to flutter at the sight, just as it had since the first time she had seen it, like a long lost love that she couldn't wait to return to. She loved Hogwarts as much as she loved her family. However, the guilt that accompanied that fact would sweep through her, forcing Petunia's bitter expression into her mind.

Ever since they had been little girls, during the time when Petunia would be practicing her perfection in the mirror, while she walked, while she spoke, Lily had tried to be like her sister. But she had always been independent and fitting to a mold never seemed to work for her. Something in her heart stopped her, something that was so overpowering she had feared it would one day consume her. It cried out to the world how different she was from the rest of her family. And then, on a warm spring evening, it finally appeared as if it had been out in the open all along.

Petunia had been ten and Lily, eight, and they were playing in the park, as they always did after dinner. Her sister was wearing a brand new pink dress that their mother had made for her, while Lily had begged their mother to let her wear long pants.

"I don't understand why you can't just wear the clothes that Mummy likes," Petunia told her. Her brown eyes were sneering and her lips were pressed together, which made her resemble the elderly lady who lived next door who was always yelling at Lily for walking on her grass.

"Because, Tuney, then I wouldn't be able to do this." With a grin she raced full speed toward the tall tree in the center of the park and began to scurry up it.

"Lily!" Petunia scolded. "I'm going to tell Mummy and Daddy on you!"

Lily laughed at her sister, as she always did at her threats; Petunia would never betray her. "Tuney, come up here! The view is beautiful!"

Petunia crossed her arms and sat down on a bench with a scowl. "You're going to fall, Lily, and then how are you going to get home? You will break your leg and you will have to stay here all night by yourself!"

"Alright!" Lily giggled with bravery as she climbed a little higher. "I could stay here by myself. I could just..." But before she could finish the sentence, her footing slipped and she tumbled toward the ground with a high pitched scream. With a shriek of her own, Petunia closed her eyes, unable to watch her younger sister hit the ground. However, when no thud sounded, she popped them back open and saw Lily levitating three inches above the brown dirt. Only when Lily opened her own eyes and saw what was happening, did she gently fall to the ground.

"How..." Petunia asked. Fear overtook her face as she backed away from her sister, as if she had some terrible disease. "How did you do that?"

Trembling, Lily stood up on wobbly legs. "I don't know. One second I was falling and then I was floating! It was like...it was like magic!"

With that, Petunia ran home. She immediately told their parents that Lily had climbed the forbidden tree in the park, leaving out the part about her sister falling. Lily came home to an angry mother and a smirking sister who was pleased that Lily had gotten in trouble for what she had done. However, Lily was not concerned with her mother's anger or her sister's betrayal. She wasn't even filled with many questions about what had happened. The only thing one her mind was that finally, for the first time in her young life, she felt whole.

Severus touched her arm, snapping her back into reality. "Come on, Lil," he told her. They both climbed into the horseless carriages in front of them.

"You look sad," he said after a minute of silence between the two went by, only filled by the sounds of three other fifth years talking in the carriage. "What's wrong? Is it what Potter said on the train?" He spat out the word 'Potter' as if it was a curse word, too vial to even be on his tongue.

"No, I'm just missing Petunia. I wish she could see this; I know she would love it."

Severus did not say anything to this, but nodded and turned to look outside into the darkness. She knew that he did not like Petunia, but it was hard for her to cast her only sister aside so easily. Sure she could be cruel sometimes. Sure she found it impossible to move past jealousy and love Lily for who she was. Sure she was Muggle, nothing special to the people in their world—but she had always been Lily's rock, the one who supported her when she was treading on new and dangerous ground. And here at Hogwarts, the most dangerous, exciting thing she had ever done, her older sister was not there to help her. From the time she had been eleven and had first gotten onto that train, Lily had been on her own.

"Sev?" Lily asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"You would never leave me, right? You'll always be there?"

He paused for a minute, his eyes dancing with confusion—or was it worry? They scared Lily, as if he was going to tell her an answer that she did not want to hear. She quickly averted her gaze.

She felt his cold hand at the top of hers. It sent shivers down her spine, but not from the lack of heat. "Yes, I will always be here. You're my best friend." His black hair fell in front of his face, and he removed his hand to push it behind his ears.

"You too." Lily replied with the truth. And yet the smile on her face, the one Severus took to mean that she was happy, was completely forced.

...

It was the end of the second week of school, and Lily was in Potions class working on an assignment with Severus.

"Okay, now you need to shake the Elixir before you put it into the pot," Severus told her as he carefully measured out a beaker of thick green goop. "That way the pot doesn't boil over."

Lily stared at him blankly. "That's not in the directions."

"I've told you a million times, we're not following the directions. I don't know why you can't get over that," he said with a laugh.

"Because whenever I work by myself, I manage to get the Potion perfect with the directions..."

"Almost perfect."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not bad at Potions."

"Of course you're not bad. You're brilliant."

Lily blushed and turned away, mumbling a quick thank you. Despite the fact that she was Muggle-born, spells and potions came naturally to her. However, the only person she could never seem to outdo in Potions class was Severus. He always seemed to have a new, inventive way of following the directions that made his potion turn out the best in the class. Whenever he was her partner, the two could not be outshone.

Looking up from her Potion's book, she saw Severus writing in his own copy in neat and rigid handwriting. He seemed immersed in the act, like it was a fine piece of art working he was in the process of completing. "Why are you always writing in your book?" she asked him.

Now it was his turn to turn red as he slammed the cover of the book closed and began looking busy with the jars of ingredients in front of him. "It's nothing, alright, just a few adjustments to the directions and some spells and stuff. It's private."

His voice snapped the last line, taking her aback. "Alright, I won't ask anymore," she said. "Now what did you say to do to the Elixir?"

"Shake it." Severus' voice still sounded slightly angry, and he must have realized this because he repeated himself, this time more gently, and added a small smile.

Lily did what he said and then slowly poured the mixture into the steaming pot in front of them. Just as Severus had said, the mixture bubbled like a pot of water just starting to boil. She looked around the room at her classmates, all of whom were looking saddened by their bubbled-over potions.

Their teacher, Professor Slughorn, sprinted over to the two the second his eyes met their perfect pot of potion. He was round and short, with dull eyes that suddenly came to life at the first sign of brilliance in one of his students. He seemed to get his lifeblood from taking some part in the success of others.

"Well done Ms. Evans and Mr. Snape! Well done indeed!" he exclaimed so the entire class could hear. "See, class, this is what I expect out of every single one of you. We will start with this potion again on Tuesday until every student has gotten it right. Remember my motto—no one left behind! And don't forget that we have our first examination on Monday over chapters one through five in the book. Class dismissed!"

"Oh, the exam," Lily said with a groan. With the adjustment that always came with the first couple weeks back to school, she had completely forgotten that Professor Slughorn had assigned the exam the first day of class.

"You have nothing to worry about, Evans," said a voice from behind her. She did not even need to turn around to know who it belonged to. "With the human Potions book to help you study, there's no way you can do badly. Although, from what I've heard from good old Sluggy, you're not too bad yourself."

"Leave us alone, Potter," she snapped as she whirled around. James was alone—his friends had hurried out of the classroom before him.

He held up both hands in surrender, which were free from any sort of book that he ought to be carrying. "I just wanted to apologize about what I said on the train the other day."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You have a funny way of apologizing. And if you're really sorry, why don't you say it to Severus?"

"Lily, don't..." Severus said quietly.

"Fine then. Snape, I'm..." James started, but Severus had already snatched his books into his arms and was sprinting out the door and up the stairs.

"Sev!" she called after him. Picking up her own books, she turned to follow him, but was stopped by James' hand on her arm. "You already apologized. I accept, alright? But don't think it's going to make us friends, especially if you go right back to the way you've been acting."

He nodded his understanding. "I know...but I...I want to make a bet with you."

"What kind of bet?" she said after a moment's hesitation.

"I bet you that I will do better than you on the exam on Monday."

She actually snorted as she laughed out loud. "And what will I get if I win?"

Casually, he leaned his body weight against the table, stretching out his long legs. "Well, what do you want?"

She had to think for a moment—taking something from James Potter was an opportunity that might never present itself again and needed to be treated like the rarity that it was. "Alright. If I do better than you on the exam on Monday, you have to not talk for an entire day. Not a word."

He nodded. "And if I do better than you, you have to let me take you out on a date."

"No!" she exclaimed.

"Why? Do you think you'll lose? If you know you'll win, you have nothing to worry about, right?"

"Alright, fine," she said, extending out a hand. "But just remember what you said earlier; I have the best Potions tutor in this school right at my fingertips. You're going down, Potter."

"Yeah, Evans? We'll see about that."

He flashed her his usual boyish beam, he left the room. She could not help but smile at that encounter they just had; James had actually been civil to her for once in his life. By now, she was used to the fact that they couldn't get along. After all, even their first ride on Hogwarts Express at the age of eleven had sparked an argument.

As she came to the top of the staircase, she was approached by Severus.

"What's your problem?" she said. "Why did you run away?"

"What did he want?"

She shot him an annoyed glare. "Why do you care?"

His shrug was apathetic, but Lily could tell by his eyes that he was dying to know what happened. "I don't care. I'm just curious."

"Well, if you must know..." she answered sharply. "He wanted to make a bet about who would get the higher score on the Potions test, him or me."

"And what was the wager?"

"That he can't talk for an entire day when I win. Can you imagine it, Sev? A day without Potter flapping his annoying trap!"

The worried expression on his face did not change at the sound of this. "And if he wins?"

"Then I have to go out on a date with him." She watched his entire expression drop into one of complete depression and helplessness. "But that's never going to happen. Can you imagine James Potter beating me on any sort of test? He's lost too many brain cells from Bludgers to the head. And besides, I have you to help me study."

"Yes, and we should probably start that right away," he told her overenthusiastically, taking her arm to lead her into the library.

She laughed and tugged away from his overly-tight grasp. "Sev, I told you I'm meeting Mary in the Gryffindor Common Room to help her study for Transfiguration. She's paying me three gallons a week to tutor her. Oh, come off it, we have all weekend to study," she added as his saddened expression somehow became even more so. "I'll meet you in the library tomorrow morning at ten." And she flitted away toward the Gryffindor Common Room, unable to bear the longing in his dark eyes anymore.

...

The weekend went by quickly, and just as Lily had suspected, it was wasted with her nose buried in her Potions book. When Monday arrived, Lily felt as if she had not studied at all. She trusted in the facts that she would recognize the answers with the exam in front of her and that she was sure James was with his friends all weekend instead of spending time with his neglected Potions book.

With the exam in front of her, she began writing her name in a shaky script. There was something about the first test of the school year that made her nerves go insane. As usual, the first question made her heart to drop in the pit of her stomach.

What are the five uses for Paxil Petals?

She fought the urge to look back at Severus, for fear of being accused of cheating and instead pictured his face in her mind, hoping that would spark some remembrance. It worked; she remembered Severus leaning back in his chair in the library, listing off the uses one by one off his elongated fingers. She quickly scribbled down the answer and moved on to the next question.

After a long chain of numberless minutes, she was suddenly snapped out of her concentration by the sound of Professor Slughorn's low voice. "Yes, Mr. Snape?"

The entire class, Lily included, turned to look at Severus whose face flushed when he realized that all eyes were on him. "Professor, Potter is...he's cheating. He has his book under his robes."

James' eyes became wild with fury as he shot to his feet and shook out his clothing. "What? No I'm not, Professor!"

"Th...then he has the answers written on his arm!" Severus accused.

Slughorn's shoes echoed through the silent room as stepped forward. "Well, Mr. Potter?" he said, looking down at James in an overbearing manner.

"I. Don't." He pulled up a sleeve of his robe on each word, exposing two perfectly clean forearms.

Immediately, Severus' mouth became a thin line of contempt, reminding Lily of her sister when she would get angry. As if he was contemplating running out of the classroom, he shot a fleeting glance at the door. However, he simply sank down in his seat a little and waited for Slughorn to speak.

"Well, Mr. Snape. While I do not tolerate cheaters in my class, I also do not tolerate liars. Especially liars who attempt to get their classmates into trouble. You will be spending your evening with me in detention."

"B...b...but, Professor!" Snape sputtered. "Potter..."

"Enough, Mr. Snape!" He turned to the class. "Sorry for that little interruption. You will have ten minutes to finish the examination, and anyone who does not think that he or she will finish in time should speak with me."

Eyes still wide with shock, Lily turned her attention back on her test and jotted down her final answers right as most of the class was turning theirs in. James finished at the same time she did; he smiled at her sweetly and nudged his head toward the front of the classroom where Slughorn was seated.

"Professor," James said charmingly. "If it's not too much trouble, could you maybe grade my and Lily's tests now? We studied together and want to see how we did."

"Of course, my dear boy! But I'm sure Ms. Evans has nothing to worry about; she is one of my star students! I'm glad to hear you are utilizing her talents for my exams."

Lily smiled. "Thank you, Professor, but you have always spoken too kindly of me."

"And modest too!" When he laughed, true to his name, he looked like a slug with his eyes bulging out and his round belly shaking up and down. "Oh, by the way, Lily," he continued. "I am going to be having my first little gathering in two weeks. We missed you at the final two last year. You'll be able to make it?"

"Oh...er, right. I was wondering when you would be starting those again," Lily told him with a forced smile. "I'll certainly try to make it."

On the inside she wanted to tell them that she was never going to go to another dinner again. Everyone in the school knew that Slughorn had an absolute obsession with finding the most promising in the school in order to keep them as contacts if they one day become famous for their success. From the first time she had been the only one besides Severus to complete a potion correctly during her first year, Slughorn had his eye on her. When she continued to do well in his class along with her other subjects, he began inviting her to the 'Slug Club,' as the rest of the school referred to it. At first, she had been excited to be included in something so exclusive because of her talents in school, but after awhile, the dinners grew dull. Every year she hoped he would put an end to them or stop inviting her altogether, but he diligently asked her to attend.

While she started thinking of excuses she could use, Slughorn graded the tests and handed them back to them. She grinned when she saw the ninety-four written at the top of the page. As she was about to look up at James, she heard Slughorn's voice suddenly become enthused.

"Excellent job, Mr. Potter!" he exclaimed. "I suppose I underestimated you. Keep studying with Lily; it is certainly paying off."

She glanced at the test in James' hand and her jaw dropped in shocked; written at the top of his page was an enormous red ninety-seven. Her entire body became numb as she contemplated how this could be possible, and she did not move until James bid Slughorn farewell and gently pulled Lily into the hallway.

"No way," she told him when they were out of earshot.

James' eyes twinkled in the light as he laughed. "Eleven o'clock tonight. Common Room."

"Eleven? Don't you want to be able to something outside of the Common Room?"

He shook his head right as Sirius, Remus, and Peter came out of the classroom, their loud conversation about how hard the exam was echoing off the stone walls. "Don't worry about it, Evans," James said smoothly. "See you tonight." And with that, he ran up the steps to catch up with his friends.

After Lily had regained her composure, she didn't bother waiting for Severus outside the classroom; she knew he would be embarrassed about what happened. Instead, she went to the Great Hall to get dinner with a few people from Gryffindor and then went back to her room to study and relax before the inevitable.

But for some reason, what started out as dread quickly turned to excitement as each hour passed. She even had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. This worried her—how could she be excited about going out on a date with James Potter? But there was something about his eyes and smile that enticed her like it never had before. Like a little kid waiting for freshly baked cookies, Lily shot impatient glances at the ticking clock.

When eleven o'clock finally came, Lily emerged in the Common Room where James was waiting alone. He stood up when she entered the room, and she saw that he had a large silver blanket draped over his arm.

"Do you have a nice cozy date by the fire planned?" she asked with a laugh.

James smiled and her heart fluttered. "I thought we would go out tonight."

"What? We can't leave the dormitories, Potter. We'll get in trouble."

Without responding to this, he held up the silver blanket, which Lily realized was actually a cloak. As he draped it over himself, his entire body disappeared from sight.

"Oh my goodness..." she gasped, reaching out to run her fingers along the invisible fabric. "Where did you get this?"

The cloak was pulled away, and James was standing in front of her once again. "My dad."

She looked up at him, fully understanding his plan now. "We can't."

"I do it all the time."

"All the time? Have you ever gotten caught?"

He frowned at her teasingly. "If I had gotten caught, do you think I would still have this? So, are you ready?"

"Potter..."

James took her hand into his and laced their fingers together. A new gleam of excitement washed over his face. "Lily, live a little."

Before she could even think it through, she found herself under the cloak with him, strolling down the empty hallways after hours. The path was barely lit by candlelight, giving it an eerie glow.

He began leading her toward the east hallway. A strong desire of protest came over Lily, but she remained quiet in case their whispered voices caused them to be caught. After a few minutes, they stopped in front of a gilded framed painting of a tall, rich-looking woman asleep in a leather chair. Cautiously, James pulled it open, revealing a tunnel on the other side. Questions of how he discovered this secret passageway burned through Lily, driving her crazy because she couldn't ask them. Only when they were safely outside did she ask him where they were going.

"The Shrieking Shack," he replied calmly.

"But you have to go past the Whomping Willow to get there."

"Just trust me."

And for some strange reason, she did. It was a kind of trust that she hadn't felt since she was at the park with Petunia, when she had thought the secrets of her mischief would never be revealed by her older sister. If someone had asked her a half hour ago, she would be certain that there was not a person in the world who could convince her to sneak out of her dormitory to the Shrieking Shack. And yet here she was. There was something so convincing about James, something that caused a heart-pounding adrenaline rush to flow through her veins, begging her to comply.

He picked up a large stick and twirled it in his hands. "Okay, here's the plan. We're going to run up to the tree. There's a knot under one of the trunks that I'm going to touch it, and then we'll be able to get through the door. Sound good?"

"That's suicide!" she exclaimed. "I can't do it...I won't do it, James. I don't want either one of us getting hurt all alone out here."

"I do it all the time. All we have to do is be good at dodging...and that is one of the only things I am good at."

"That's not true. You're good at a lot of things..."

He laughed and took her hand into his. "Not the time for a self esteem, talk, Lily. We can't stay out here forever. So what do you say?"

She moved her glace from his longing face, to the danger of the seemingly innocent tree, and then back to him. With a frown, she nodded. "I really want to ask you how you know all of this, but I'm sure you're not going to tell me."

"Not tonight," he said. "Are you ready?"

Heart pounding, hands shaking, she nodded excitedly and he counted to three. They took off running toward the giant willow.

As soon as the tree sensed them, it began waving it's branches angrily. James pulled her to the side sharply just a huge limb crashed down right where she had been standing. It didn't seem as if they would ever reach the trunk as they sprinted to avoid the fatal blows of the branches, but James found a way-darting and dodging without letting go of her hand. He pressed the knot with the stick and just as he had said, the tree stopped what it was doing and fell comatose.

They crawled through the doorway and collapsed on the wooden floor in exhaustion. The inside of the shack was just as she had pictured it—small and dusty with wooden walls and cobwebs stringing down them as if they were decorations.

James and Lily stayed silent for a minute as they caught their breath. He still hadn't let go of her hand, but she felt no desire to pull it away.

"That was...incredible!" Lily laughed. "I haven't done anything that fun since I was a little girl."

"I do know how to have fun," James said with a laugh. "That's the one thing I learned on these grounds...how to find adventure everywhere."

They caught each other's gaze, and he smiled, looking away with an embarassed blush. "You know, not to sound thick, but I've always been so fascinated by you," he told her.

She felt her own cheeks fill with heat. "Me? You sound like Professor Slughorn." The moonlight from the window danced over James' skin, illuminating his face in brilliant light.

"Well it's true," he replied, with a voice so sincere and different from the overbearing charm that he used around everyone else. "You're the most amazing person I know."

"Just in case you forgot, we haven't been the best of friends over the years."

"But I've always liked you, Lily. Wasn't it obvious?"

"Well, no, I actually thought you hated me," she said softly.

Regret extinguished the twinkle in his brown eyes as quickly as a fire being dowsed in water. "How...how could I ever hate you?" he asked softly.

Before she could answer, James lunged forward and pressed his lips to hers. But as unexpected as that was, what was even more so was the fact that she didn't protest. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, messing it further. They heard the clatter of his glasses on the wooden floor, but neither of them concerned themselves with picking them up. It felt as if they were the only two people in the entire world. Hearts pounding, they moved their lips together in a fury of passion.

After a minute, he abruptly pulled away and sat back. Color rushed to his cheeks as he thought about what he had just done. "Sorry," he mumbled as a thick, awkward silence enveloped the air.

Hundreds of thoughts raced through her mind, thoughts that tugged her emotions in so many different directions that she actually began to grow dizzy. "I..." she began. But for once, she couldn't find any words to say.

He took a deep breath. "Hell, I'm not sorry. I love you, Lily Evans."

The words, although thoughtful and kind in nature, hung in the air like they had been spoken in offense. A few more moments of silence passed by before Lily figured out that he was waiting for her to speak. She cleared her throat, but still no words came out.

After all, this was the same boy who had driven her absolutely crazy with anger, the same one who had tormented Severus for years. The hurt and hatred that filled Severus' eyes whenever they saw or mentioned James was nothing short of unbearable. Even thinking about having any feelings toward James felt as if she was betraying her best friend in the worst way possible.

But she couldn't deny that there had always been something there between the two of them. She had thought about it before, during the nights when she felt so lonely she thought she would break in half. James' face would come to mind, filled with a sort of laughter and life that Severus would never have. An alien feeling would alway accompany it as her mind told her that she and James did not belong together. Then she would push all thoughts of James aside and pretend that it had never trespassed. I'm happy, she would think. School, family, friends. Severus. She had everything she needed.

Severus was enough. He was enough. She told herself this over and over again, practically screaming it inside her own head. How dare she try to cast him aside with thoughts of James. Because with the two of them, it was one or the other; she could never have both. While there was the tiniest bit of potential to like James, she would always love Severus. And that was the way it was going to stay.

Snapping her out of her thoughts, James shifted uncomfortably. In the silence of the room, the shuffling sound was as loud as a desk scraping across the floor.

She wondered: could someone really go from hating someone to loving them? Or were those two emotions, both filled with such intense spirit, be one in the same?

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the wooden wall. "I shouldn't have said anything, I know. I mean, it was only the beginning of the week that we were fighting on the train and now this. I just thought if I could get you to spend one hour with me alone, just enough time for me to tell you how I really feel, you might realize that you feel the same way."

"I'm glad you did," she whispered. "Really. I just have a lot to think about."

As he nodded, a feeling of guilt slowly rose up through her. She did her best to push it aside-she didn't have to feel bad for not sharing the same feelings as him. Especially after what their relationship had been all of these years. He couldn't expect her to just push all of that aside as if it never happened.

She felt better about her decision-they didn't need to go down the difficult path of a relationship. They were just too different.

Or too much the same.

"So what do you see yourself doing after we're done with school?" he asked. The change of subject was so natural and easy—it was as if they hadn't just had the most intense conversation they would ever have together.

"I have no idea. My mum thinks I am going to do something in the Muggle world, but I know that's unlikely. You?"

His eyes ignited with passion once again. "I'm going to fight Voldemort."

The name that no one said, the subject that no one dared to bring up, flowed out of James like he was speaking about the weather. Lily couldn't help but gasp at the cruel sound of it on lips so innocent.

"James, don't say his name."

"But why?" he asked. "It's just a name."

"Because they say not to!"

He tilted his head, giving her a curious look that made her avert her gaze. "Evans, do you really listen to everything everyone tells you not to do?"

"No, I do not," she said firmly, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince him. "Anyway, we...we better go back to the Common Room. I don't want to get in trouble."

With a smile, James stood up and extended out a hand to help Lily to her feet. She almost expected a tiny shock of electricity to spark through them when their skin touched, but there was nothing. Oh well, she thought.

"I still can't believe you beat me on that test," she told him.

The responding smirk that he gave her was nothing short of mischievous. "Can I tell you something without you getting mad?"

"What?"

He shook his head. "You have to promise not to get mad."

"Alright, alright, I won't get mad. What is it?"

"Snape might have not been all wrong." He pushed up his sleeve to reveal many lines scribbled writing that took up his entire forearm.

"James!" She wasn't sure if she was angry or amused, and she could tell by his uncertain expression that he wasn't entirely sure either. "I can't believe you did that. How did you get away with it when Slughorn asked you to show him your arm?"

"Sneaky Spell," he explained. "Sirius told me about it. It keeps writing on your arm until you tap it with your index finger."

"He got detention because of that."

"He was in the back of the room; he couldn't have seen me. He only told on me because he thought I would cheat to go on a date with you."

"Which you did," she pointed out.

James raised his shoulders in a quick shrug. "That's how much I like you."

How it happened, she didn't know; but all of a sudden she was standing on the tops of her toes kissing James Potter as if she had loved him all along.