Hello again, faithful readers!

Your reviews truly make me smile. I love them so much! After reading them, I have to sit down and write because they make me so happy!

It was interesting hearing some of your speculations on whom Lily's admirer is. It won't be too much longer before the cat will be out of the bag.

This chapter is about three or four pages longer than any other ones I've written. I just couldn't stop writing; I was having so much fun. LoL

Hope you all enjoy!

Together Forever

By

Luckyducky

Chapter VI

New Years Eve

Lily sat in her room deep in thought.

Tomorrow was New Years Eve and she had a party to go to. Not a wild, crazy, let's-get-drunk-and-do-it kind of party, but a sophisticated get together of adults. That's right, tomorrow on New Years Eve, the Potters were going to be hosting a mini get-together. Attendees were to include some Aurors, some heads of department, and some of the Potter's longtime friends.

To Lily this only meant one thing: getting a head start on her future.

Since her conversation with Mr. Potter, she had been looking forward to this night. She would be able to talk to various ministry officials and hopefully get some ideas on what a good future career would be for her. She had pored over the list of people coming and had planned out questions for each person she was planning on talking to.

This was why Lily sat in her room deep in thought. She was making sure she had everything ready. That way she wouldn't make a fool of herself tomorrow in front of someone who might possibly be her future boss. She was going over everything tonight because she would have no down time tomorrow.

Starting at approximately 6:30 in the morning, the Potters, Peter, Remus, Sirius, and herself would be cleaning, cooking, and decorating the house. Seeing how the Potter's house was fairly large, this would most definitely be a full-day event. According to Mrs. Potter, they would all finish up at about 5:00 in the afternoon. This would give them enough time to clean themselves up and get dressed before guests started to arrive at 8:00. From then on, it was downhill.

There was going to be a band set up in the dining room, which would be void of all furniture so that it became a makeshift dance floor. Food was going to be set up primarily in the kitchen but also stationed at various points throughout the house. Drinks would be going around with waiters the Potters had hired for the night. And the grand finale, which was the countdown, was set to take place in the Potter's living room where they were going to hang a great magical clock.

It was going to be a h-e-c-t-i-c day.

Lily blinked and came back to reality when she heard Sirius call upstairs that dinner was ready. Standing up, she yawned and stretched before making her way downstairs.

"Lily dear, before you sit down would you mind getting everyone something to drink," said Mrs. Potter. "I would have done it already, but my hands are full and the boys are being ridiculously unhelpful."

"It's no problem Mrs. Potter," Lily replied.

Dodging Mrs. Potter and the two pans she was carrying, Lily opened the cabinets and got down seven glasses. She filled them with ice and set them on the table just as the "men" of the household came in.

"Broomsticks just aren't meant to make those kinds of turns," James said heatedly as he sat down across from Sirius.

"Are you crazy?" Sirius practically yelled back. "What's so great about this new line if they can't even make those kinds of sharp turns without throwing you off?"

"Hello Lily," Remus said politely over Sirius' and James' argument as he sat down beside her at the table. "I haven't seen you much today."

"I know. I've been upstairs getting ready for tomorrow evening." She proceeded to tell him of her plans and even sought his opinion on some of the questions she had planned. She was smugly satisfied when all of his responses were positive.

"In my opinion, you've got some great questions here. You're bound to find out something that'll peak your interest. Plus, this is a great way to get to know some of your future colleagues." Remus paused for a moment in thought. "Sounds like something I ought to be doing."

They laughed before piling their plates high with food and tucking in.

While Lily ate, she was grateful for the normalcy of everything. A few days ago, James had walked in on her when she was only half-dressed. While this had caused her much grief and embarrassment, the event had thankfully blown over. There had been some tension for a while, but overall things were back to normal.

The group had, in fact, gone shopping just yesterday without anything happening. No mention of what had occurred had gotten out and James and Lily were able to act completely ordinary. Lily had originally feared that James might speak of it to the other guys and knew this would be a disaster. However, they had not said anything and were not acting any differently.

This meant that the secret was still safe because if Sirius had known, the whole world would have known.

Lily couldn't help but smile to herself at her luck. She would have never been able to face Hogwarts again if this had all gotten out. Someone up there was still watching out for her!

After all the stomachs were full and all the dishes had been cleaned and put away, it was off to bed.

"We've all got an awful long day ahead of us tomorrow so we should all be fully rested," said Mrs. Potter.

Dutifully, the group marched their way upstairs calling goodbyes the whole way. On the second story landing, James and Lily stopped at the first set of doors, Remus and Sirius made their way to the second set, and Peter went to the last room. Once they had all reached their doors, they all called out goodnight to each other before heading into their rooms. The only one who differed was Sirius who insisted on running back down the hallway and hugging James before sprinting back and slamming his door.

"What was all that about?" Lily laughed.

James just smiled timidly at her and replied, "No clue. He's been acting sort of off lately."

"Oh."

They stood there for a while in an awkward silence. Around others, they were able to forget what had happened and act normal around each other. However, this was the first time they had been alone together since before he had walked in on her. James stood there staring intently at a spot on the carpet right in front of her feet while Lily stared outright at James.

After what seemed like forever, James spoke.

"Lily, I know that stuff has been kind of weird betw…"

"Don't," Lily replied firmly, cutting him off. James stopped speaking immediately and stared at her in a hurt-confused sort of way. "I think it's best if we just ignore it and pretend like nothing ever happened."

And with that, Lily turned on her heel, entered her room, told James goodnight, and closed the door. Once inside, she became suddenly aware of how hot her face felt. Surely she was blushing.

'Perfect,' she thought to herself. Why, oh why did she have to be one of those people whose face becomes an obvious, blaring signal in embarrassing situations?

Sighing out loud in frustration at the situation, she changed clothes (in the bathroom with the door closed) and crawled into bed.

Surprisingly, she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Someone was yelling loud enough to bring down the house.

'It must be Sirius.'

As she had done on Christmas morning, she pulled the pillow over her head and made a valiant attempt at going back to sleep. She relaxed even more after she heard Sirius' pounding footsteps go downstairs. Unfortunately, the option of her going back to sleep just wasn't meant to be. Through her daze of sleepiness, she heard a small knock on her door.

Instantly her heart leapt into her throat at the memory of James walking in on her even though she was fully dressed and under the covers this time. Thankfully, the head that peeked around the corner of her door was not James, but Mrs. Potter.

"Lily, time to wake up if you wish to help. Take however much time you need to get dressed and everything, but whenever you're through we'll need you downstairs."

"A-a-alright Jocelyn," Lily managed around a yawn.

Smiling, Mrs. Potter closed Lily's door and walked down the hall to one of the boys' rooms to wake them up. Lily, meanwhile, managed to crawl out of bed, almost falling down in the process. It was way too early. People shouldn't be allowed to wake up and function at this ungodly hour.

Shuffling into the bathroom, she began the process of becoming decent enough to be seen around the house. She brushed her teeth, put on some basic makeup (she'd save the big stuff for later), got dressed, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Taking a step back, she took a good look at herself.

A girl that was medium height, with a slim body, red hair, green eyes, pale skin, and knobby elbows and knees stared back at her.

She had never thought she'd been attractive, at least not in that stop-a-guy-in-his-tracks kind of way. At the very least, she figured she was decent. She'd had a few boyfriends, but none of them had ever made her feel extremely special or outrageously gorgeous.

When she was younger she used to obsess that no one would ever want someone like her. She figured that she would always be too different. After all, most of the girls that had attended Beauxbatons had been blonde, blue-eyed and way more girly than she would ever be. As she got older, though, she had come to terms with her uniqueness and had stopped obsessing. If she were meant to be with someone, it would happen; there was nothing more she could do about it. Worrying would do nothing but cause her stress.

Feeling satisfied, she slipped on some shoes, grabbed a sweatshirt, and headed downstairs. As soon as she rounded the corner from the last stair, noise hit her like a wall.

Sirius, Peter, and James were all working at shrinking the furniture in the living room. However, they couldn't do this task without causing some sort of mayhem. Several times they had to yell that nobody move because they had dropped some piece of shrunken furniture and couldn't find it. It was comical to see the three boys on their hands and knees crawling in and out of everyone else's legs trying to find a miniature armchair.

Working around the occasional mayhem were Mr. Potter and Remus. Each were located at either entrance to the living room to direct orders to the waiters, the decorators, and the group bringing in the magical countdown clock. Every time a worker would approach the door they would say aloud what organizations they were with. Then either Mr. Potter or Remus would tell them what they were to do and where they were supposed to do it.

Lily watched as the waiters practiced where they would be stationed to serve people and who belonged in what area. She saw the decorators charming the Potter's carpeted floor into slick, shiny hardwood section by section as Peter, Sirius, and James cleared the furniture. Lastly, she noticed a set of wizards carrying in silver, medium-sized chunks of something. She figured that those chunks would be assembled later into the magical clock.

In a brief interlude, Mr. Potter told Lily that Mrs. Potter would be needing her help in the kitchen fixing food for that night's snacks. Glad to be out of all the bustle and noise, Lily quickly went to work under Mrs. Potter's instructions.

Most of the time Mrs. Potter would tell Lily a set of instructions and that would be that. Lily would grab whatever utensils and food needed to cook it. Occasionally, though, Lily would throw in a bit of her own ideas, with Mrs. Potter's approval of course. A certain spice that the recipe didn't call for, a little bit more vanilla in the batter, a crumbled brown sugar topping on a cake.

This was Lily's first half of the day.

Around noon everyone gathered together for a brief lunch, workers included. There was food enough for everyone because while Lily had been helping with that night's hors d'oeuvres and snacks, Mrs. Potter had taken some time to cook a decent lunch. Everyone present wolfed down their food and relaxed for about fifteen minutes.

Lily thought their resting for a minute was slightly hypocritical because all they did was discuss what was next on the agenda. When she felt like relaxing from a job, she didn't want to think about it, much less talk about it constantly. It didn't really affect her though. Her job was in the kitchen and she highly preferred it that way. She'd probably just get in the way if she were out there anyway.

The second half of the day continued much like the first half. Around 3:30 in the afternoon, Mrs. Potter and Lily called it quits; they had finished an hour and a half before planned. Platters and platters of food were on every available counter space in the kitchen. The refrigerator's interior size had also been magically expanded to be able to hold all the food that needed to stay chilled until that evening and the wide range of drinks.

"Well Lily," Mrs. Potter said as she wiped her hands on a towel, "I must say that this was a job well done today."

Sighing, Lily leaned against the counter, "I must agree."

"I would tell you to go in the living room and relax for a while, but you would just end up sitting on a hardwood dance floor. I daresay the decorators are finished by now. The last crash I heard was about one hour ago."

Lily laughed, "I'll just go upstairs then. I'll rest for a while, take a quick shower, and then start getting ready."

"Alright then dear. I hung your dress in the back of your closet. That dirt smudge came right out just fine. No problems at all."

"Thanks, Jocelyn," Lily said as she headed out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. "I'll be back down later."

Mrs. Potter just waved her out, smiling. As Lily exited the kitchen, she paused in shock at the Potter's new and improved living room.

Gone were the carpet, the comfortable furniture, the bookcases, and the Christmas decorations. Instead, the living room had been transformed into a dance hall. The Potter's now had a hardwood dancing floor, tables and chairs lining the walls, and a silver magical clock hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room. It was already counting down to midnight.

Various groups were still bustling about the room finishing last minute details. James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Mr. Potter stood in the middle of it all giving directions. Lily waved when they glanced her way and gave them thumbs up.

It looks fantastic, she mouthed across the room.

The group smiled in return, proud of their accomplishments for the day. Lily waved once again before heading upstairs. Once in her room, she pulled off her sweatshirt, kicked off her shoes, pulled her ponytail holder out, and flopped down on the bed. She glanced at the clock; it read 3:42 p.m.

'I have just enough time to take a quick nap.'

Lily set the alarm on the clock and closed her eyes.

At 5:00 Lily's alarm went off. Groggily, she turned it off and sat up. It was time to get ready.

By 5:30 she was out of the shower and had everything ready to go: dress, jewelry, shoes, makeup, and other various accessories. She slipped on her new dress and surveyed herself in the mirror.

She had bought the dress when the group had gone shopping a few days earlier. They had been walking along when she saw it hanging in the window of a witch's dress shop. She had instantly fallen in love with it and had completely ignored the price tag when she bought it. It was a fairly simple dress, but to her it was perfect.

It was an emerald green that perfectly matched the shade of her eyes. Made of silk, it had an empire waist and a plunging, crossover v-neckline. It was sleeveless and the straps were about one-inch wide. The dress skimmed her curves, hitting her waist and flowing downward to her knees.

Going into the bathroom, she began working on her hair. Charming it into soft waves, she pulled half of it up and fastened it with a gold clip. She then brushed a dark silver eye shadow on her eyelids, put on some mascara, skimmed some blush on her cheeks for color, and put on a soft red lip-gloss.

As far as jewelry went, Lily firmly believed that less was more. With that idea in mind, she decided that she would only wear a necklace and earrings. She charmed her admirer's silver necklace gold to match and clasped it around her neck before reaching for a simple pair of gold hoop earrings.

To finish off her outfit, she had picked a pair of green high-heels. To keep from clunking around all night, the pair she had bought had an ankle strap that would hold it to her foot.

At last she was finished. She looked in the floor length mirror from every angle possible to make sure she looked as good as she could. So when she could find nothing wrong, other than the obvious girl-type-comments – "Is my butt too big?" –, she opened the door and made her way downstairs. It was now about 7:00 (she had taken an obscene amount of time to get ready due to nervousness) and she knew the Potters would need help on some last minute details.

Right before opening the kitchen door, however, she paused as butterflies swooped around in her stomach. But what was she nervous about? She knew every question she wished to ask ministry officials tonight by heart. She could practically say them in her sleep. She had practiced walking in her heels so she was confident that she wouldn't fall down.

So what was it?

It was just New Years Eve. She would probably have to dance with some people (Sirius would most likely embarrass her on purpose) but she was a decent dancer so that didn't bother her. Then there was the countdown at midnight. After that the whole shindig was over.

Her stomach lurched again.

The countdown! It had completely slipped her mind that at the end of the countdown everyone usually kissed someone else. She for sure didn't want to kiss any of her friends. What would she do then?

She never got to plan out what she would do though because at that exact moment a slow whistle came from behind her. Her face burning up, she whirled around to see whom it had been. She blushed even more when she turned around and came face to face with Sirius Black.

"You look completely amazing tonight, Lils. Too bad we're such good friends or I'd totally shag you tonight," he said with a charming grin.

"Well then it definitely is a good thing we're friends because I think I'd die if I ever saw you naked."

"I understand, Lils. If you saw me naked you'd die from shock. I've been told I'm too much to take in at times."

"Oh you're full of it," she laughed back. "Do I really look okay, though?" She couldn't help but want someone else's opinion.

"I told you already – you look amazing."

She smiled gratefully, relieved, and opened the door to the kitchen. She stopped dead in her tracks at the bustle of activity that met her. What must have been one hundred people were shoving around making sure they knew where everything was and that they had all of their platters and food and whatnot. On top of all of that, Lily could hear Mr. Potter calling out instructions. Through a small gap in a group of waiters, Lily caught a glimpse of Mrs. Potter putting the icing on a multi-level cake.

"Come on, we need to find James," Sirius yelled in her ear. The yelling didn't even affect her though because if he hadn't yelled, he wouldn't have been heard. That's how loud it was.

So with Sirius' hand in the small of her back guiding her through the activity, they made their way through the kitchen to the living room. Immediately the sound died down.

"Hey guys, over here!" James yelled.

On the other side of the dance floor James, Remus, and Peter were seated at a small table. They had a platter of many different kinds of food in front of them, half of which were already gone. Lily recognized every food that was on the plate, having made the majority of them.

"We saved you some," said Remus around a mouthful of food.

"Thanks, Moony!" Sirius said quickly before sitting down and shoving various appetizers in his mouth.

Lily sat down on the other side of Sirius, pointedly ignoring James who was staring at her.

"You look nice, Lily," said Peter.

"Yeah," added Remus, "this is the first time we've really seen you dressed up."

"Thanks guys. It feels weird though. I don't really know if I like dressing up."

James still sat silently staring at her. There was a small awkward silence before Lily reached for an appetizer and asked how many people they were expecting tonight. She was shocked when Sirius said somewhere around five hundred people.

"I thought Mr. Potter said only a small group of their close friends!"

"Well," James expanded, finally speaking, "that was the original plan, but they decided to expand it at the last minute. Dad says that to have all of those people together at one time will be good for the Ministry. So many people their share animosity that he hopes this will bring some of them closer."

Sirius snorted, "Like that will ever happen. The day the Malfoys and Blacks are close to the Potters and Weasleys is the day that we will have world peace."

Just then, the commotion that had been going on the kitchen spilled out into the dance area. Waiters ran to corners of the room, desperately holding on to their platters full of food and wine glasses; workers ran after them with bottles of various types of wine; the musicians got into place; and lastly the Potters walked out and made their way to the front door. Just as they got there, the doorbell rang. They looked back into the room to make sure everything was in order, the band started playing, and then they opened the door.

Lily's mouth dropped open at the vast amount of people outside. She had been expecting maybe ten or so people to get there at once, not hundreds. The Potters smiled and stepped back to allow their co-workers to come in. Each person was greeted individually before they came inside where they gathered in small groups. The waiters moved around from group to group offering snacks and drinks.

Lily, Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter sat at their table for about thirty minutes enjoying their food before Mrs. Potter rushed over and insisted that James make some sort of appearance. The Potters were so well known that James would need to make some sort of good impression, not just sit at a table all night.

The group still sitting at the table smiled sympathetically at James as he walked away with a grimace on his face. He was good at public appearances and at talking with others since he had been doing it all his life. However, that did not mean that he had to enjoy it.

Shortly after James' departure, Sirius spotted a couple of witches sitting at a table across the dance floor. They looked pretty young so they were either children of Ministry officials who were invited, or new rookies in the Ministry.

"Lils, how do I look?" he asked her, primping his hair. She couldn't help but smile back; he was so predictable.

"You look fine, Sirius."

"My smile's okay?"

"As good as it always is."

"Is it charming enough?"

"They'll be falling over themselves for you."

"Are you positive? You swear?

"I promise, Sirius."

"You wouldn't lie to me would you?"

"I wouldn't lie."

"So there's nothing in my teeth?"

"There's nothing in your teeth," she said firmly. All of his questions were becoming frustrating.

"Lils, you didn't even look!"

"Sirius, for goodness sake just go over there and talk to them!" she shouted at him.

He looked at her for a second in shock before grumbling, "Fine..." and walking off. She watched him carefully as he slumped away from them, acting like he was pouting. But sure enough, as he got closer to the girls' table, he perked up.

"Typical…" she said to herself.

The group sat there in silence for about ten minutes watching the hoards of people out on the dance floor when Remus asked Lily to dance. She smiled and accepted and they stood up and made their way into the mass.

When they reached a spot close to the middle of the floor, Remus grabbed her hand and placed his other one on her waist while she placed her other hand on his shoulder. He pulled her a little bit closer because of the lack of space, but she didn't feel any awkwardness. Their relationship was strictly platonic.

With a slight smile and nod at her, which she returned, they began to dance. It was a quick paced song and Lily and Remus enjoyed it immensely. All in all it went rather smoothly. They only bumped into one couple, but they didn't even notice. They were staring into each other's eyes like there was no one else on the floor around them.

When the song ended, the band started a slower one. Many couples walked off the dance floor, creating much more room. When she looked back at Remus, he was staring at her.

"It's up to you if you want to dance another one," he said.

She thought for a minute before replying, "Why not?"

With that, they began dancing again, albeit this time much slower.

"So are you enjoying yourself?" he asked her politely.

"Very much. I've never been to anything like this so this whole experience is really amazing. I'm so glad I got to come."

"Well of course," he replied matter-of-factly. "Why wouldn't you get to come? You're such good friends with us that there was no way that James wouldn't have invited you over the holidays."

She nodded, "I know. I just feel really special to be able to come to something this fancy. It'll probably be the last time that ever happens to me."

"I highly doubt that, Lily. If you're going into the Ministry then you'll be attending gatherings like this all the time all over the world. James' parents are always out attending fancy get-togethers."

"I had no idea they had to do that," she said.

"Yeah. James doesn't like it though. When they're gone all the time, there are a lot of things they miss. It's a lot of time away from James. that's the one major drawback to being in the Ministry."

"That's sad for James," Lily said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but he's gotten used to it over the years. It doesn't bother him like it used to."

Lily and Remus' conversation ended abruptly on that note. They continued to dance, but Lily's mind was on a young James growing up while his parents were never there. The thought put a heavy weight on her heart and she realized that this was the first time she had ever really felt sorry for James.

After a couple more dances with Remus, Lily excused herself. She needed to take advantage of tonight and really talk to some people. Spotting Mrs. Potter, she made her way over to her and asked if she could tail along and perhaps Mrs. Potter might introduce her.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry but I'm just getting ready to go whip up some more snacks. Why don't you go find James? He's around here somewhere. He knows mostly everyone here and I'm sure he'd be glad to introduce you."

This wasn't what she really wanted, but she smiled and nodded anyway. She had really wanted to be introduced by a Ministry official since she wanted to make such a good impression. And to be introduced by Mrs. Potter would definitely be good. However, it just wasn't her luck. So, somewhat grudgingly, she found James and told him of her situation which he gladly agreed to do.

From then on, Lily's night went very quick. She met mostly everyone she had planned on and asked every question she could think of: everything from international linguists to specific charm-work done as a control on wild magical beasts. Between all of her career seeking, James introduced her to some people that he said she would really like.

The first group was…

"Lily, this is Arthur and Molly Weasley and their two sons Bill and Charlie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Molly Weasley said while shaking her hand. "Oh no! Charlie, get back here!" Charlie, the youngest son, had chosen that exact time to make his escape. As soon as his mother's firm grip on his hand had gone away, he had streaked off into the crowd.

"It was very nice to meet you Lily," Molly said hurriedly before running after her son, dragging Bill along in the process. Her husband, however, stayed to visit.

"Lily," James began, "Arthur is a new assistant in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in the Ministry. I've heard through my parents that in the next couple of years he is likely to become head."

Arthur Weasley laughed, "Not likely, James. Jonathon has a few years left on him before he retires so it'll probably be closer to the next ten years."

"Oh well. The point is you'll get there eventually!"

"So Mr. Weasley," Lily began...

"No formalities, please. Just Arthur."

"Arthur, was it hard to get a position in the Ministry?"

"Are you thinking about a career in the Ministry, Lily?" he asked. He seemed like a very nice man. He was constantly smiling at her.

"Yes, but I'm not quite sure where yet."

"Oh that's not a problem. As you get into your sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts, your heads of house will talk to you more and more about future jobs. But as for your question, it was surprisingly easy. However, not many wizards are keen to take the position I did."

"Why is that?" James asked. Apparently, this was one thing his parents had never told him.

"For one, the job itself isn't very high-paying so that knocks about half of the people out. Two, you have to deal with Muggles a lot so that knocks out the other half. Most wizards in the Ministry want nothing to do with Muggles. We take a lot of rap from other departments, but it's what I like so…" he trailed off.

"Arthur Weasley!" Molly said as she came storming back. "Our son runs away and you don't even try to help! What if I wished to stay and visit with Ms. Lily? Hmm?" she looked at him expectantly.

He looked at her, dumbfounded, "Well you could have just asked and I would have gone after the kids." She huffed loudly, excused herself, and stalked back to the table that Charlie and Bill were sitting at. Arthur watched her walk away before turning back to Lily and James.

"I think that if I stayed here now I'd get in even more trouble than I already am. Lily, it was a pleasure meeting you. Good luck with a Ministry career. I'll keep my eye out for you. James, pleasure as always."

After Lily and James had refilled their drinks and snagged a quick snack, he insisted they meet the next group…

"Lily this is Alastor Moody, head of the Auror department."

"Hello girl," Moody said shaking her hand roughly.

"Hello Mr. Moody."

"Alastor, Lily here is interested in finding out information about different Ministry divisions. She's not quite sure where she wants to go yet. Any tips or information for her?" James asked politely.

Lily couldn't help but be grateful for James' help. Although things were still slightly awkward between them, he was really an asset to her right now. One, he knew these people and their careers. Two, he was comfortable around them. He was able to talk to them like he'd known them all his life, which he probably had, and look completely at home.

"Ah! Interested in the Auror division are you?"

Lily nodded timidly, "Just wondering about what you have to go through and everything and what kind of opportunities are available within the department."

"If you want to know what all potential Aurors have to go through to become certified, you could have just asked James here." Lily turned to James in surprise. "He knows pretty much everything about becoming an Auror; been asking me details and tips for years."

At Lily's stunned look, James shrugged sheepishly.

"I figured you'd like it better hearing it from Alastor Moody," he reasoned. She raised one of her eyebrows in return.

"Since you're here, though, I might as well save James the trouble. If you're planning on going into the Auror department, first thing you need to do is brush up on all your dark arts defense spells. When battling dark wizards, that's your first priority – disarm, do not harm. If possible, we always want the wizard or witch alive and well."

"What if they are attacking, though?" Lily asked.

"Most will. They won't come easily, I can tell you that. It doesn't matter though. That's why Aurors have extensive training in defensive spells; they need to be able to block nearly every spell possible. Now, if you're trapped in a corner and your fighting dark wizards four to one, then you can cast to harm. But only to harm – never kill."

"Well that would seem obvious. After all, the killing curse is forbidden and as Ministry employees I expect you would have to abide," she reasoned.

"Yes it would seem obvious, but it doesn't always work like that. Many Aurors have been in a tight spot, panicked, and ended up killing dark wizards. It's sad because those Aurors ended up in Azkaban themselves. I've lost some of my best Aurors that way."

"So what else would I have to do to become an Auror?"

"Well, if you're really serious about becoming one, you should talk to your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and then come talk to me. If you're accepted into the program, and you notice I said if because not everyone is allowed in, you'll begin your training."

"That's the hardest and the longest part," James added. "I'm going to go get some more punch. I'll be back."

As James walked away, Lily returned her attention to Moody. "So what's so hard about it?"

"It's vigorous and physically stressful. It takes the average witch or wizard four years to complete the program, although some finish early. Most of the time, the trainee undergoes a sort of internship under an Auror that they are compatible with. The trainee will first learn basic modes of operation. This includes the ways Aurors work together in groups to accomplish tasks, all the spells we use on a daily basis, and how to move about when you're out there on an assignment. To be considered accomplished on that takes about two years."

"That's a long time for basics, but I'm sure that's necessary. If a rookie didn't know how all of the other Aurors worked together, it could blow an entire assignment."

"Exactly! After that comes the fieldwork. The trainee will accompany the training Auror on all of his or her assignments. To pass this last portion, the trainee will have to actively participate in battles, be able to lead missions effectively, and keep their cool. The only way a person passes this part is if their Auror believes they're ready, which usually takes around three years."

"That's incredibly amazing, Mr. Moody. But I have one last question: is there any way to have a specialization in charm work as an Auror?"

"Actually, each Auror is gifted in their own way. Some may work by transfiguration, while others work strictly by defensive spells. Still others work by brute strength and ignore magic. If you're looking for a career in the Ministry that involves charm work, then you should definitely consider becoming an Auror. We've had a shortage of Aurors that are skilled in charm work for about six or seven years now."

"Really?" Lily asked, highly intrigued.

"Now, I'm not trying to pressure you or talk you into a career you wouldn't like, but maybe you should consider it."

Lily, extremely satisfied, shook Alastor Moody's hand, "Thank you so much, Mr. Moody. You've been extremely helpful and I'll definitely keep this in mind over the next couple of years."

"It's been a pleasure, Ms. Evans. Good luck to you."

And with that, they parted ways. As Lily walked across the dance floor, her mind was on the information Alastor Moody had presented her. It was very interesting, and seemed a lot like what she was looking for. She had never desired a career where she would sit at a desk; she much favored one with action. And as far as she could tell, being an Auror would be all action. Interesting… very interesting…

Once she got back to her original table where Remus and Peter were still sitting, she flopped down and looked up at the clock. It was now 11:07 and they were on the homestretch. It had been a very long night, despite how the time had flown when she'd been talking to everyone.

"So how did everything go? Did you get to talk to everyone you had planned on?" Remus asked her.

"Surprisingly yes. Everything went great. I feel a little better about my future now that I have some options."

"That's good," he replied. "So, do you feel like dancing again? I've been sitting here for too long now and no girls have come up to me."

She laughed, "So I'm like a last resort?"

She laughed even harder at the look of shock on his face. "Absolutely not, Lily!"

"I was just joking, come on," and she pulled him onto the dance floor.

Similarly to earlier, the band struck up a face-paced song and Lily and Remus were soon skipping around the floor. By the end of the song they were out of breath and welcomed the slower beat of the next song.

This was how the night proceeded until about 11:45. Lily and Remus would dance periodically while Peter would sit at the table; Sirius would follow girls around the room and dance with them; and James would flit from group to group with his parents making small talk.

When 11:45 came around, Lily and Remus had just finished dancing a medium-paced song when the band started another slow one. Lily had just put her hand on Remus' shoulder when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Lily turned around and was momentarily struck silent when she saw James. She shook her head stupidly and turned to face him completely. She didn't know why, but ever since that time when he'd walked in on her, she'd get butterflies in her stomach around him. She figured it was probably just due to nervousness, but for some reason it didn't feel right. Much more awkwardly than she'd been with Remus, she put her hand on his shoulder as he grabbed her free hand. She couldn't help the slight blush that graced her cheeks when he pulled her close and began to dance.

He was surprisingly good… Actually, he was phenomenal. He moved so smoothly that it was like he'd been doing it for years. Not that Remus was horrible or anything, James was just a natural. It brought out the inner good-dancer in Lily. Soon, they were gliding across the floor making it look easy. About halfway through the song, James finally spoke.

"You look stunning tonight, Lils. Really, you do. When I first saw you I couldn't believe that it was you."

The pressure between them when they maintained eye contact was too much so she lowered her eyes.

"Thanks James," she said softly as they began to spin. As their speed increased slightly during the spin, she had to grip onto his shoulder and hand tighter and was inevitably pulled closer to his body. She was surprised at how light-headed she felt.

"That necklace really is nice. It looks good on you, very flattering. The dress as well."

"Thanks," was all she could say once again.

They continued to dance through three more songs. He asked her about her success at career information and they had a comfortable conversation. It was the first truly comfortable conversation since she had first arrived at the Potters at the beginning of Christmas. Remembering it, she became slightly nostalgic. She used to feel so comfortable talking to James, like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was sad that everything was so awkward between them now.

Before she knew it, the crowd around her began counting down. Abruptly, she and James stopped dancing and turned towards the clock. She was distinctly aware of his hand in the small of her back.

TEN!

NINE!

EIGHT!

Lily and James counted aloud with everyone else. She spotted Remus and Peter still sitting at the table and tried to motion for them to come over, but they didn't see her.

SEVEN!

SIX!

FIVE!

She saw Sirius looking around wildly, no doubt for someone to kiss at midnight.

FOUR!

THREE!

TWO!

She could feel the excitement in the air; everyone was getting ready. Couples around the room had turned to each other. Indeed, all around James and herself were couples looking into each other's eyes.

ONE!

"HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!" everyone in the house screamed.

James turned to face Lily.

"Happy New Years," he said to her softly.

"Happy New Years…" she mumbled back.

She knew what was coming. She could feel it in the way that he tightened his grip ever-so-slightly on her waist, in the way that he was looking at her. She briefly wondered if he was a good kisser as he lowered his head…

But she would never know for at that moment Sirius came barreling out of the crowd, wrapped his arm around her neck, pulled her towards him, and planted a big sloppy kiss on the area around her mouth. As he pulled back she noticed his eyes looked awfully glassy and figured he'd had a little more than punch. That was probably why he'd missed her mouth.

"Happy New Years!!!!" he slurred.

"Sirius that was disgusting! I can't believe you kissed me!" she wiped her mouth off. "I'll have to wash my own mouth out with soap now. Sick…"

As Sirius laughed, apparently not hearing her, and threw his spare arm around James' neck, she missed the strange look that passed over James' face.

"Padfoot I can't believe you kissed Lily," Remus said as he walked up with Peter trailing behind him.

Sirius looked at him strangely, "What are you talking 'bout Moony? I didn't kiss Lily."

Everyone stared back at him, completely confused.

"I didn't," he insisted. "I kissed her…" he turned and pointed at Lily. Then his face quickly changed to shock as he realized whom he'd kissed.

"I kissed Lily?!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Yes!" everyone replied.

"Oh. My. God. I am so sorry Lils! I had no idea that that was you. It was midnight and I needed someone to kiss so I saw a girl by herself and went in for the kill." Sirius seemed to have sobered up rather quickly.

"I'll say you went in for the kill," Lily muttered to herself. Only Remus heard her and he chuckled silently.

After midnight, the Potter's guests quickly cleared out. As they had done when the guests had arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Potter stood at the door and talked to every guest as they left. In a matter of thirty minutes, the Potter's house stood empty of everyone but the Potters, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Lily.

"All in all I think everything went extremely well," Mrs. Potter said. "There were a few tense moments with some people, but thankfully nothing major happened."

"I agree," Mr. Potter said happily. "A true success."

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed without any other events. The five teenagers relaxed, slept a lot, and did their best to avoid thinking about returning to Hogwarts, no matter how much they missed it. Returning meant resuming classes and resuming classes meant homework. And no one liked homework.

Between all the relaxing and sleeping, Lily did a lot of thinking about her future. Talking to all of the different ministry divisions had been a field day of career information, but it had also left her with so many different ideas of where she belonged.

Stuck in her head more than any other, though, were Alastor Moody's words about the Auror department. She could not stop thinking about it. It made her feel more excited than anything else. Perhaps becoming an Auror was her path.

But there were so many choices.

'Oh well,' she thought. 'I'll just worry about it later. After all, Alastor said that our heads of house would talk to us about it next year. I'll decide then after I've had some more time to think on it.'

When the Christmas holidays had officially run out and it was the night before their return to Hogwarts, the Potters had a mini-party. Mrs. Potter cooked a fantastic meal and they all stayed up much later than they should have reminiscing about all the fun they had had over the holidays. Mr. and Mrs. Potter made well sure that Lily knew they enjoyed her stay with them and they encouraged her to come back over the summer, at least for a short while.

When the clock struck 1:30 in the morning, Mrs. Potter shooed them off to bed. She told James they wouldn't be there in the morning when they woke up because they had to work, but to make sure they all reached the train on time. She also requested he send her a letter so she would know they made it there okay.

After many hugs and a few kisses (on the forehead of course, anything else would have been a disgrace to their manhood), the group made their way upstairs. After changing, Lily flopped down onto her bed and immediately fell asleep. When she would wake up the next morning she would have no recollection of her nightmares.

"Ready to go Lils?" Sirius yelled from outside her door.

"Almost. Just give me one second," she called back.

She grabbed her toothbrush and her shoes, shoved them in her trunk, and drug it down the stairs. At the bottom, James shrunk her trunk and put it in his pocket as he had when they'd left Hogwarts. They then began the walk to the London platform nine and three-quarters. It took them a good while, but it was a nice day so they didn't mind so much.

Upon reaching the platform, the group was immediately surrounded by friends asking about their holiday. After many greetings and much questioning, they made their way onto the train and found an empty compartment. There, they enjoyed a peaceful, quiet journey back to Hogwarts.

The only interruption was when a boy opened their compartment door by mistake, but quickly shut it again when he saw who was inside. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all laughed, but Lily didn't seem to get the joke. They told her it was not what he did that they were laughing at, but who he was. However, they refused to tell her his name.

When the train ride was over and they had reached Hogwarts, the five of them piled out. On the platform at Hogwarts, they all stopped to stare at the school. It was where they had all met. They had made memories there already and knew of the memories they had yet to make.

A feeling of companionship spread between all of them and slowly they put their arms around each other's shoulders. People passed by them staring at them strangely, but they ignored them and stared at Hogwarts. Peter was the first one to speak.

"Well, we're home."

At that moment, Sirius bailed on them and took off after a Ravenclaw sixth year.

"We sure are," said James as they all laughed. Not long after, Sirius returned making excuses as to why the girl had blown him off (she was going through family problems at the moment).

"You know what guys?" said Remus, the first words he'd spoken since they'd gotten off the train.

They all turned to him.

"We're pretty much going to be best friends for the rest of our lives. All five of us together forever…"

Slowly, smiles spread across their faces and as linked arms and laughed their… well, their butts off, they had no idea how much life had yet to throw at them and how much harder that 'forever' would be for them to achieve.

End Chapter VI

R&R

Luckyducky