A/N: So this is a bit sooner than expected and I must say that you all showed me great mercy in your reviews

So this is a bit sooner than expected and I must say that you all showed me great mercy in your reviews. One review stuck out and made me want to get this chapter out sooner, so here it is! Of course, after I credit those nice people who reviewed: Cherrykisses21, Sirius01, LILYandJAMESareCUTE, EmpressesPenguinOfTheUniverse, sc12321, Happy Harry Fan, and ice cream! Thank you!

And just a side note: did you know that 16 of readers of the last chapter reviewed? My goal is to have 25 review. Can you readers help me here?


So I'm free! I spent the entire yesterday talking to Alice and a still abnormally quiet Shay. Then I talked to James and Sirius and Remus, and Sonya and Yvonne came in briefly. Alice and Sonya weren't getting along, and I could see why by the way Sonya was acting. Shay had chosen Alice's side in the row, and it turns out once she got to know Alice they had a lot in common.

So life is kind of good. At least Alice has friends now who want to be around her; even if she has enemies also.

I was just walking along an empty corridor to straighten my legs when I heard someone at the other end.

"Hello?" I called. A boy emerged from around the corner. It was Adam, a seventh year Ravenclaw.

"Oh, hello Lily. Wonderful day, why are you inside?" he asked in a drawl that clearly stated he wanted to impress her.

"Oh, I just got out of the Hospital Wing," I told him.

"Oh, right! How are you? That must've been horrid. Peeves can go a bit too far at times…"

"Yeah, I'm doing well. I'm just stiff from sitting in that blasted infirmary for the past two days," I told him.

"Well that's good. So are you going to Hogsmead?" This was clearly the question he had been waiting to ask.

"Oh, yes, most likely. That is, if I don't sustain yet another injury," He chuckled.

"Maybe we could meet there?" he asked with confidence.

No, I wasn't going to go out with him! Well, maybe I should. I mean, I can't give enough to James, so I might as well… No! I really shouldn't! But he is cute… and he seems to be nice. I guess there's no harm… But James will kill him. And my friends will kill me! Oh what to do…

"Lily? If you don't want to that's fine…"

"No, I mean, yes! Yes, I'd love to meet you there!" I blurted out. I really shouldn't have said yes. I really don't want to go with him. How do I tell him now? I'm just like Sonya! Oh my good god what have I gotten myself into?

"Great! I'll meet you in the Great Hall then?" I nodded and tried my best to look excited as I dashed off to find Alice and Shay.

I walked outside, thinking that they would be by the lake. They were. I sprinted to them and they looked up at me in a questioning way.

"Lily? What's got you…"

"I just said I'd go to Hogsmead with Adam from Ravenclaw!" I blurted out before collapsing and throwing my face into my hands. I shook my head. How could I have done that!

"You What?" Shay finally seemed to show some real emotion.

"Why?" Alice asked me hastily.

"He asked me and I was unsure and then it must've been a while and he said my name and told me it was okay if I didn't want to and then I felt guilty so I said yes and then I really realized how stupid I was to say it and he was happy and now I feel like I've been buried in a trench alive and I need help!" I said this all very quickly and was gasping for breath at the end.

"Just tell him you don't really want to go," Shay suggested.

"But I'd feel so bad! I mean, be seemed so happy when I said yes," I explained.

"Then you go with him," Shay said.

"But isn't that using him like Sonya?" I wailed.

"No," Alice interjected. "Because you aren't really using him. You should go with him, and then explain to him that you really don't feel comfortable being a couple and you can be friends."

I sighed. What other choice was there? "Okay."

"It'll be okay," Alice hugged me. It wouldn't be okay though. Nothing okay could come from this awful mess I'd gotten myself into.

A few hours later I sat by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. I was alone to contemplate my stupid mistake.

"Hey Lily-flower?" Sirius asked from behind me, causing me to jump.

"Oh, hi Sirius. What do you need?" I asked him.

"I… I really want to know what's been up with Shay lately. Would you come with me to find out?"

"How do you plan to obtain this information?" I asked him, believing there to be mischief involved.

"By asking her. I'm just afraid she'll flip me again if I get too close to her," Sirius flinched recalling back when Shay flipped him over the summer.

"Er, okay. Do you know where exactly she is?" I asked for I hadn't a clue.

"Yeah, she's in the owlery." I didn't even care about how he knew this information.

"Okay then let us be off," I said as I stood up and walked to the owlery with Sirius.

As we neared the owlery a thought came to me. "Sirius?"

"Mm?" he responded.

"She's still not… friends with you," I told him.

He thought about this for a moment. "Well, maybe you should go alone…" he didn't sound like he really liked this idea.

"Well, I don't think that's the best way t handle this. Maybe I can start the conversation then introduce you and you can come in. I think we should handle it gradually. Whatever's happened to make her this way can't be very good…"

"Yeah, you're probably right. So should I wait outside the doorway?"

"Yeah. Just out of sight. And make sure you can hear," I added.

"Okay." We were at the owlery. I gave Sirius a small smile and walked into the high ceiling-ed room.

Shay was sitting, stroking her owl. There was a note in her hand, I noticed. Shay and her owl were always close. As in a close pet. Like her favorite dog, her owl was her dog.

I took a few steps closer to her. She turned to me, startled. "Oh, hello Lily," she greeted me with a smile.

"Hi," I answered, "What're you sending there?"

"Oh," she looked down at the letter uncomfortably. "It's to my mum."

"Oh. How's she doing?" I asked politely.

She continued stroking the owl and didn't speak for a moment. When she did speak, er voice was faint. "She's not doing too well. She's getting worse and requires somebody living with her. My grand mum is getting sick too. She's getting on in age and, well, my dad isn't there to take care of mum so we're thinking I'm going to have to after this year."

There was a silence. How did this girl survive when she had so much… sorrow? "I'm so sorry," I told her softly. I wrapped my arms around her. "We've been wondering about you. Sirius is even worried."

She pulled away quickly. "He does?" she asked.

I smiled to her in a comforting way. "Yeah, why haven't you told him anything? He can handle it."

"Yeah, I just… He's just changed so much and I guess I'm uncertain whether I'm absolutely sure I can trust him. I have so much going on and then there's Sonya and Yvonne separating themselves from us and…" she trailed off, beginning to sob. I pulled her closer to me and held her there.

"Shh," I tried to calm her down. After a few moments her breathing was getting back to normal.

"I'm really a… a moron. I complete… completely secluded my self from everyone and… and lost my boyfriend and…" She began sobbing again.

I didn't say anything, Sirius must just have perfect timing; or he couldn't stand hearing the sobs anymore. I saw him coming over Shay's shoulder. I was uncertain what he was going to do. He touched her shoulder lightly and I let her go. She turned to see him and he took her from me completely.

I smiled at Sirius as he held her while she cried into his shoulder. I made my way to the door, seeing as Sirius had everything under control. They looked cute standing there…

I made my way out the door and walked along the corridor to the Head common room. When I reached my destination, I attempted to finish my homework. By attempted, I really mean failed. All I could seem to think about was going to Hogsmead with Adam…

Then a thought broke through all the others: what will James do and say? I had thought about this before, but never in true detail. Will he be angry? Maybe a few years ago he'd be angry, he was always angry when I got a boyfriend. Would he be happy? Surely not! How could he be? Would he be ashamed of me? I couldn't tell him. How would I be able to? But what if he asked me to go with him? Would I've said yes?

I worked on my homework until it was dusk. The thoughts from earlier never left my head…

"Lily? Are you in there?" I must have been very deep in thought because James was back and was looking at me like I was crazy.

"Oh, sorry," I said hurriedly.

"It's okay. Feeling stiff still?" he asked me.

"Yeah, a bit. I guess that's expected though," I responded.

"Well, wanna come for a broom ride with me?"

I remembered the last broom ride I had with James Potter. I remember how amazing it was and how it took my breath right out of me, "I think that sounds like something I'd like to do."

He smiled and I smiled back. "Well then let us be off. The sun is starting to set and that's a glorious sight from up in the sky."

We went down to the school grounds. We both mounted James' broom. "Ready?" he asked me.

"Yup."

He kicked off hard and we were soaring through the air. Even those times I had remembered the broom ride with James in the past, nothing compared to the feeling that I got when I was actually riding on the broom.

All that entered my mind was the sun setting, the wind whistling, and James. James must've been the item that had cross my mind the most often over that day.

"Lily?"

"Yes?" I responded.

"I know that I've only asked you out a million and a half times in the past, and I'm sure this could've been asked sooner, but seeing as Hogsmead is this weekend, will you accompany me?" he asked. He was so romantic. I mean, getting me to come up here with him watching the sunset, and now he's asking me to Hogsmead.

"Of course I'll go with you," I told him, slightly in a daze. I must have been tired, though I didn't have a clue how…

When we landed I stumbled my way to the library where Alice was studying. She looked over the tower of books to me. "Hi Lily. Why do you look so happy?" she asked grinning.

Words couldn't express it. What was I going to say? "James asked me to Hogsmead!" I nearly screamed in her face.

The smile drained from her face immediately. "Lily, that's really bad."

"Why?" I couldn't comprehend this. I mean, today James asked me out while on a romantic broom ride, Shay, Sirius, and I are all getting along, and… Oh My God!


So, a little cliff-like, but I plan on updating again later today. Snow day made me write this and really, it just flowed. So if you have a complaint, please tell me. I didn't like this chapter much, but at least now I have a bit of a plot to work with. I hope you enjoyed that, lollipop