Lily was still having troubles mastering the homework for Transfiguration two days before the train would take her back to Hogwarts. She was standing in the middle of the living room in her London flat, glad she had chosen to come here to work so her family didn't have to witness her uncontrolled temper. All the furniture had been moved out of the way except for the chair she was attempting to transfigure into a plate and vanish at the same time. The coffee table was buried under books of hints and helps. The floor was littered with papers that she'd written, trying to figure out her own way to make this happen. There was also shattered glass sprinkled across the room due to the fact that she'd thrown her water glass at the wall in frustration.

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want any help?" a voice asked from behind her. She jumped and turned quickly to face James.

"What are you doing here?"

"You left the door open."

"No I didn't."

"Ok, so I just apparated inside. Let me help you." She looked angry for a second but then a look of desperation crossed her face.

"School starts in two days and I just can't figure out how to do this," she said helplessly. He stepped towards her and lightly placed his hands over her arms, turning her to face the chair again.

"Ok, now," he said, positioning his arm over hers, covering her wand hand with his. "You're going to want your wand about this level," he said, raising her arm to a place between her waist and shoulder. "Next, take a small step back so you're angled away from the chair." He placed his other hand over her hip, pulling her back gently. Lily's breath quickened as she felt herself pressed against him. She could feel his breath against her neck. She tensed up even more than she had been before he showed up. "Lily, you need to relax," he said softly, against her ear. She nodded quickly but she didn't loosen up. He sighed. "Do you trust me?" he asked her.

"No, we've been over this already," she replied slowly.

"Ok, well forget that you don't and close your eyes."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just do it Lily," he said. She started for a second but then nodded and did so. "Take a deep breath, count to three and release it." He felt her breath in and out slowly. He was trying to keep himself pulled together, he couldn't believe she was allowing him to be so close to her. "Do that again," he said, lowering his voice. He felt her breathing again and as she did so, he could feel the tension start to leave her body. Once he felt he felt the last of the tension leave her body he said, "Ok now, when you use this spell, the words are often not enough, it's more about the movement and the power you put behind the words." She nodded her understanding. "Good, now I want you to feel how your arm moves." He pulled her arm back and brought it down in graceful arc. "Once your arm comes back to the position your arm was originally in, then say the spell. Remember to keep yourself relaxed. Breath with the spell, it will help." She nodded on more time. "Are you ready to try it?" he asked. She nodded slowly and thought the spell through in her head. Or, at least she tried. James warm breath against her neck kept making her mind wander. Her eyes were still closed and her thoughts were wandering far away from the tack she was trying to perform. James' voice washed over her but she didn't really understand the words. "Lily?" he said quietly. She turned around in his arms and opened her eyes to look up at him.

"James," she said quietly, aware of how close they were and how much she didn't mind. James stopped thinking correctly the second she looked into his eyes with her gorgeous green ones. He placed a finger over her mouth, preventing her from saying anything else. His thumb brushed her jaw line slowly, then his hand cupped her chin and he tilted her face upwards. He leaned down so their faces were barely an inch apart. He felt something heavy land on top of him, pushing him violently forward into Lily. He lost his balance and grabbed onto Lily tightly, taking her down with him and they fell in a tangle of arms, legs, and confusion.

James lay still for a minute, checking himself for injuries. He turned slightly, trying to see what was on top of him.

"Sirius!" he barked as he saw his friend grinning wolfishly at him.

"What the hell Sirius," Lily exclaimed from underneath James, pinned to the ground by his arms. Not that she would have been able to get up anyways with the weight of James and Sirius pressing down on her. "Would you both get off of me,' she asked pointedly, struggling to get out of James' grip. Sirius rolled off the top of the pile and started laughing. James unhooked his arms from around her body and stood up slowly. He offered a hand to her but she didn't take it. She sat up and looked at Sirius, glowering.

"Sirius I'm going to kill you," James muttered softly. Sirius sobered up slowly and looked up at James from the ground.

"Sorry mate, my aim is a little off today. I drank too much fire whiskey last night." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Great. What are you doing at my flat?" she asked shortly. She folded her arms across her chest. She felt something sticky on her arms and looked down. There were several cuts on her arms from where she'd landed on pieces of glass.

"Lily, you're bleeding," Sirius pointed out stupidly. James knelt down immediately to look at her arms.

"I'm fine," she said, pulling her arms away from the boys. "Besides, James is bleeding too," she added, pointing at his hands.

"So I am," he said, surprised as he looked at his hands.

"Hold on, I'll be right back," she said, getting up and disappearing into the bathroom. She reappeared a moment later with a towel and a small first aid box. "Let me see you're hands, James," she said, holding out the towel. She wrapped his hands in it and mopped up as much blood as she could. She told Sirius to get some anti-septic from the kit and she applied it to James' hands. Then she wrapped some gauzy bandages around them. "There, that's better," she said, looking at the finished project.

"Thanks," James said.

"Lily, we need to get you taken care of too," Sirius reminded her. He and James were using the towel to stop the blood as she had done. They mimicked her care of James' hands on her arms. She smiled at them and let them help her, knowing it would be useless to resist. "Why is there glass on the ground?" Sirius asked when they'd finished.

"Because I threw a glass of water across the room."

"Oh. Why?"

"Sirius, why don't you tell me why you're here knocking us over?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. James, mum says that you have to give her your list for school or she can't go pick up our things from Diagon Alley. She's been telling you for days to give it to her. I went to your room and tried to find it but I couldn't so I had to come find you instead. I wanted to go back to sleep but I couldn't very well tell mum that or she'd have thought I was sick, which I'm not. And I wasn't about to tell her that I'm just hung-over." He took his time with his story and James and Lily looked at each other in a bemused fashion once he was done. Lily laughed softly and James grinned at her.

"Sorry mate," James said. He pulled the envelope with Hogwart's crest on it from his back pocket and handed it to Sirius. "I had my list with me because I meant to leave it on the table for mum before I left."

"Great, I had to get up because of your stupidity." He groaned and stood, taking the list from James. "Have fun with that Transfiguration homework," he added. "It's some hard shit." He disapparated with a small pop. James and Lily sat still on the floor for another moment looking at each other in amusement.

A minute later Lily stood up and pulled out her wand again. She tried the spell again but she still wasn't having any luck.

"Remember what I just told you," James said softly from the couch. She nodded and turned away from him. She shut her eyes and breathed slowly. She let the tension and the frustration leave her body so that she could concentrate on the spell. She felt James' hand guiding hers, felt the way he angled her body away from the chair. She inhaled deeply and, as she exhaled she brought her arm down and said the incantation.

James watched her relax and breath. She looked so beautiful. He couldn't help but feel bitter for Sirius' badly timed appearance. He wanted to know what would have happened if Sirius hadn't shown up. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and stood up quickly when Lily yelled out in excitement. He looked at the spot where, a minute ago, a chair had stood. It was gone now. She twirled around on the balls of her feet and threw her arms around James' neck.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed. Surprised, he held her tightly, inhaling the sent of her hair.

"Why are you thanking me?" he asked, laughing. "You're the one who did it!"

"Oh, but you helped me so much! I really appreciate it!" She kissed him quickly on the cheek and let him go. "I'm so glad you are going to be Head boy next year, we're going to work well together."

When he left to go home a little later, he still couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

Platform 9 and three quarters was packed, as usual. Lily had said goodbye to her parents in the parking lot so they didn't have to navigate their way through the witches and wizards on the platform. She stopped at a doorway to the train and started lifting her trunk into train.

"I'll help you if you help me," Amanda said behind her. She grinned at her friend and, together, they managed to get the trunks onto the train. Once they were put away in a compartment they left the train again to find their friends. They found Sirius Black first.

"Hey Amanda, hey Lily," he said casually, flipping his hair back casually.

"Hey," they replied at the same time. Peter Pettegriew stumbled up behind Sirius, distracting him.

"Wormtail!" he said. "Where have you been all summer? I was beginning to wonder if old Snivilley had eaten you." Peter mumbled something incoherent and shuffled away from them again. Sirius looked after him grinning. "I'll never understand that kid," he stated.

"Will anyone?" Lily asked. "And please don't start with Snape again this year. Don't you think you've given him enough trouble?"

"What? You want me to stop torturing the kid who calls you a… well, you know?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Yes! There is no reason to sink to his level!"

"Aw come on, Lily. Where is the fun in that?"

"It's not fun! It's being responsible!"

"Sirius and responsible?" James asked behind her. "Those two don't mix." He grinned at Sirius, who punched him lightly in the arm.

"She doesn't want us tormenting Snivelus this year," he whined.

"Aw, come on, Lily! Where's the fun in that!" James exclaimed. Lily and Amanda looked at each other once before bursting out laughing.

'You two are pathetic," Lily said. She grabbed Amanda's arm and the two of them disappeared into the crowds on the platform.