Authors note: when I've been reworking these chapters, I've been so looking forward to doing this one; it's one that I really enjoyed writing the first time round! So, onward! Hope you like it!

Recap: James corners Lily before potions class and wonders if she could go over some of the 'Head Boy stuff' before the prefect meeting so he doesn't embarrass her, Lily agrees and they meet in the Prefect room after Transfiguration. James leaves their meeting feeling enlightened and heads down to the Quidditch pitch to fly laps, Lily returns to the common room and is ambushed by Hestia, ending in bump on the head and a massive headache, Sirius teasingly tries to sort it but makes it worse, and Remus steps in to solve the problem. Lily meets James in the Prefect room before the meeting and she realises that she might actually be falling for James Potter…

Chapter 9 –

Sirius had been sat in relative silence for some time, Remus was beginning to feel unnerved from behind his Ancient Runes textbook – never had he been able to study in the common room for this prolonged amount of time without a nagging voice whining at him and as Sirius had started doing recently, charming books to hit him over the head until he moved and gave into Sirius who was just very bored.

"I wonder…" Sirius said out loud, a few moments later.

"Don't do that Padfoot, you might hurt yourself." Remus interrupted without looking up from the book he'd been reading, half irritated and half relieved he'd been interrupted, Ancient Runes was not exactly the most riveting subject he had taken. Peter chuckled, Sirius sent him a scathing look, Peter ignored him and carried on chuckling to himself as he absently flicked through the comic pages of the Daily Prophet.

"Ha bloody ha." Sirius countered when he received no sympathy from Peter. "I was just wondering, you know that McGonagall's hair is scraped back tight, like really tight?"

"Yes?" Peter answered uneasily, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"Well, I wondered if her hair was scraped back tight enough to stop her face from wrinkling, you know? Like it's holding all her skin tight across her face? I bet when she takes her hair out her face is all wrinkly and saggy…" Sirius mused, Remus wasn't even sure that Sirius knew he'd said most of that out loud. Peter rolled his eyes, was this really what the evening had come to? Fair enough it was late, they were up waiting for James return from his first patrol as Head Boy; but really? Remus had come in from his patrol with Alice half an hour ago – he explained that Lily and James would probably be the last ones in, being Head students and all that. When questioned as to what time he thought they'd be back, he had no answer; funnily enough, he'd never discussed patrols thoroughly with the previous Head students. Silence fell momentarily on the three Marauders, Peter had time to reflect that the common room was quiet, a few older students sat around the room in groups talking or doing homework, but on the whole everyone had gone to bed – probably trying to get back into the term time sleep pattern. Sirius didn't like silence, and was seemingly bored with his train of thought surrounding McGonagall's hair style/wrinkle reducer system (Peter didn't even want to know how he had arrived at that thought) and had now decided that Remus should entertain him...

"Reeemus?" Sirius whined.

"What?" the man himself replied, forcing himself to read the textbook was becoming more and more difficult, maybe he'd just give up and try again in the morning, he mused.

"You know your secret stash of chocolate, the one you hide under your bed? Can I have some? Pretty please?" Sirius asked, clasping his hands together and fluttering his eyelashes in his friend's direction. Peter scoffed.

"If you know where it is, why don't you just go get some?" Remus said, his hand idly tapping his knee as his eyes tried to focus on his textbook but to no avail, he was now just using his book as a shield between himself and the whining Marauder.

"Really?!" Sirius excitedly replied.

"No."

"Why not?!"

"Because, you are acting like a five year old child tonight, and if we add concentrated sugar into that mix, it'll be all out chaos. And anyway, have you spoken to Hestia yet?" changing the subject, Remus knew he's struck a chord with his friend.

Sirius looked around the room desperately for something to distract Remus with to avoid the subject, the only thing within reaching distance was Remus' Ancient Runes textbook… grasping the book with both hands, Sirius wrenched the pages open near the centre and held the book up in front of his face, effectively making a shield between himself and Remus' knowing looks, just as the man himself had only a moment ago.

"Sirius." Remus warned. "You need to speak to her; you can't just keep ignoring her!"

"No!" "Sirius blurted out. "I mean, I can't…" Remus shook his head and exchanged exasperated glances with Peter who was watching the exchange with amusement and disbelief. "You're not even reading that book." Remus muttered under his breath, snatching the book from Sirius' hands. Sirius pouted.

"I was reading that." He complained.

"Sirius, it was upside down you couldn't have been reading it." Peter countered.

"My intellect is too much for you to handle."

"You don't even take Ancient Runes." Remus added. Knowing Sirius was not going to back down on the issue of Hestia Jones, Peter took his pack of exploding cards from his bag. Sirius looked on with glee, before taking the pack from his outstretched hand and began to deal.

"So," James said into the silence. The patrol with Lily had been less eventful than he thought it would be, they'd only caught two Ravenclaw students breaking curfew, handed them detention, filled out the relevant paperwork and returned to patrols. James was fairly disappointed, he didn't know what he expected patrols to be, but he didn't think they'd be this boring, especially after the moment Lily and he seemed to share in the Prefect meeting the day before. Plus Lily was unusually quiet, she wasn't a particularly loud girl to start with but tonight she barely spoke a word, James frowned, trying to work out if he'd said something he shouldn't have, whether he'd upset her, he couldn't think of anything he'd said that could have caused her to become so quiet.

Lily's brain had been spinning, after she had confessed how terrible her summer had been to Hestia; the scathing remarks and the hissed insults suddenly felt fresh, as if her sister had just murmured the abuse to her. She'd tried to force the memories from her head but they played like a video reel on repeat, playing on and on and on. It was only when Lily forced herself to concentrate on something else did she notice James' frown. James too seemed lost in his thoughts so hadn't noticed that Lily was watching him, his long strides and the way his glasses slipped and then the way he'd wrinkle his nose to get them back into position again. The flip-flopping feeling surfaced in Lily's stomach again, and she was powerless to try and subdue it, the butterflies with their hammers and drills seemed reluctant to respond to her inner pleadings of discontinuing.

James couldn't think of what he could have said… it was then that he noticed Lily's eyes studying him, he turned her and flashed her a wonky grin. At first she seemed embarrassed at being caught staring, then she smiled.

"So, how was your summer?" he asked, aware of how close Lily was walking to him.

"Okay, I guess." She lied. James thought she looked weighed down, something was playing on her mind, it seemed to have been all night; when she'd flashed him a smile he'd seen a momentary reprieve, but now the smile was long gone and she was back to being crushed under the weight of whatever was trying to break her.

"Now the truth? Come on, you can tell me Lily." He replied teasingly, but there was a serious undertone to his voice. The look in his eyes told Lily that he was serious; he genuinely wanted to know what was wrong, to comfort her. Lily sighed and inhaled a deep breath.

"My sister… she came home with this guy, apparently they've been going out for a while." James nodded, slowing his pace until he came to a halt. Lily bit her lip nervously, she wasn't sure if she should share all this with James, they were becoming closer – that was true – but was she ready to share all this with him? James sensed her anxiousness.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" he said into the relative silence of the corridor. Lily shook her head; she felt she needed to tell someone objective, Hestia knew her parents and she knew Petunia, so despite being completely on Lily's side, her mind would often wander to other subjects, like how her parent's jobs were going. The butterflies in her stomach were working overtime, their friends with the dynamite had come along for the party too; despite the slightly nauseous feeling, she knew that James was the right person to tell.

"She said she's getting married to this guy, but he's awful! He's fat and sweaty and he's cruel." Lily continued, James nodding reassuringly as she spoke.

"It's okay; it's good to vent stuff." James said into the lull of conversation as Lily decided on what to say next, she offered him a small smile which he took and returned.

"Well, I mean it is a good thing, Petunia is moving out, so I won't have to see her but… me and Petunia – we've never been close for years, or got on very well, but I sort of hoped when I finished Hogwarts that we'd be able to go back to being sisters again, doesn't look like it." she added bitterly, as much as Petunia annoyed her and insulted her, she missed her, she still longed for the nine year old Petunia who would play with her and hold secret tea parties that no-one except them could come to…

James lead her over to the wall; he leant against it for a second or two before sliding down it until he reached the floor. Legs outstretched in front of him, he patted the ground next to him, Lily willingly gave up standing and sat on the space of floor next to him, his arm held loosely around her waist.

"So why don't you and your sister get on now? Surely she misses you?" James enquired; Lily looked like she might actually laugh.

"You couldn't be further from the truth. Petunia hates me, hates what I am; a witch I mean. We got on well before I got my Hogwarts letter, but after that… well, it was never the same. She got really angry and starting calling me all these names, freak -"

"That's not fair! You didn't ask to be a witch and you certainly didn't do it to spite her!" James cut in. Nodding; Lily looked into her lap, swallowing the lump that was growing in her throat.

"I think she's jealous." Lily added, her eyes still transfixed on her knees. James' hand absently began to rub soothing circles on her hip; she felt reassured and looked back into his face. His eyes were easy to read, they looked concerned but there was a flicker of anger too, mostly aimed at Petunia, how dare she say that to Lily?! "Not that she'd actually admit it though, she just taunts me. Mum and Dad have caught her at it, but it never deters her, she just keeps on doing it. Then she brings home this awful Vernon Dursley, and says they're in love, and they're getting married!" James laid his free hand on Lily's slender forearm that rested on her knees.

"Go on." He urged.

"Well, Mum and Dad are obviously overjoyed and everything, but then Vernon sees me, and he goes all purple and scrunches up his fat face and says Petunia had told him about 'my kind', that I was unnatural and I had no place in his family, once the wedding was over Petunia would have nothing to do with me…" Lily choked; Vernon's scathing comments ringing in her ears. Lily felt the tears swell in her eyes; a few escaped and fell down her porcelain cheeks. Instinctively, James wrapped both his arms around her small frame and held her close. Her head buried in crook of his neck, she felt safe, here Petunia and Vernon's stinging remarks couldn't hurt her, no – here she was safe. Inhaling James' scent, she knew her heart was beating rapidly in her chest but she didn't care, she was here in James' arms and nothing seemed quite as bad as it had before.

"Ssshh." James soothed, his fingers stroking her red curls. He wanted to kiss her, show her nothing would ever hurt her while he was around, but he couldn't. Their friendship meant more to him than that and he didn't want to ruin the small chance that they might become more than that, but the self-restraint he was exercising was killing him inside. He loved her, everything about her, the tinkle of her laugh, the secret smiles she would give him when she thought no-one else was watching, the way her eyes sparkled whenever she was around someone she loved, but also how passionate she was, she would fight tooth and nail for something she believed in, she was strong and fierce. No matter how hard things got, she was always strong, James had only seen her cry one, maybe twice – that was what surprised him most about this moment, Lily wasn't strong, she was fragile and broken, she'd let down her guard and allowed James to see behind the walls, behind the barriers that shut off her emotions and he liked what he saw behind them. He liked that Lily wasn't some unfeeling robot that some people seemed to have become accustomed too, the girl that only cared about work and good grades, she was more than that. She lived in what James assumed must be hell, her own sister shunned her, her so called best friend had insulted her in front a huge proportion of the school body and yet she was as strong as ever. That was what James found most amazing about this moment, Lily didn't let her guard down for many people, he knew not many people had seen her cry, he felt honoured that she trusted him enough to see her in this state.

"I just feel like I don't belong anywhere…" Lily's voice cracked again, James pulled her into his lap, her head rested against his chest, leaving a mascara and tear mark on his white shirt. Her fingers grasped lightly at the fabric on his arm, her finger tips lightly scraping against the soft skin on his arm, but he tried to ignore the jolts of electricity that spread through his entire body. He pressed his lips to her forehead and kissed her gently as he brushed her hair out of her tear stained face. "I mean in the muggle world everyone thinks I'm a freak, my own sister included, and here in the wizarding world, everyone judges me because of my blood status. I just feel like I don't belong anywhere." More tears rolled down her cheeks, James wiped one of her tears away with his finger, her expression softened slightly at his touch.

"You belong here Lily. No matter what that psychopath thinks, you belong here. You are the brightest witch I know, the loveliest person, the most beautiful girl in the world and you are not a freak, stuff what anyone says Lily, you belong here." Lily felt a pink blush creep into her cheeks. She exhaled deeply, still pressed against James' chest. A moment later, she released herself from his grip and clambered to her feet, brushing the dust from her clothes that had accumulated from sitting on the cold corridor floor. James pulled himself to his feet too, feeling slightly awkward at being sat whilst she towered over him.

"Thank you James." Lily said, leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. James felt like he might faint, it was an overreaction yes, but he didn't care! Experiencing the familiar flipping feeling in the pit of his stomach, James grinned goofily, he had never been more glad to have received the Head Boy badge.

"Um… We should probably get back to the common room now…" Lily added, feeling slightly embarrassed at the way James was just watching her, grinning.

"Oh… yeah…" James responded. James dusted off his robes, and they began to walk slowly back to the common room, James' arm firmly around Lily. No-one was going to hurt her or make her feel insignificant, not while he was around.

Climbing through the portrait hole into the Gryffidnor common room, Lily felt her cheeks burn with blush; her green eyes still slightly puffy from crying. She was relieved to find, the common room was virtually empty, only the Marauders still up. Walking quickly through the room to the stairs up to her dormitory, she could feel the three boys staring at her, their stares burrowing deep into her skull. Climbing the stairs at a ridiculous pace, she was amazed she didn't fall down them and sprain her ankle.

"Night Lily!" James called up the stairs after her; Lily felt a stupid grin cross her face.

"Night James." She called back, beaming. Entering her dormitory, Lily found all three of her friends fast asleep, she was quite thankful for that, she didn't want to go into her story again and kill the buzzing feeling from being so close to James that was whirring around her brain and making her feel light headed. Changing into her night clothes and she climbed into bed, her heart still racing and her lips tingling from they had come into contact with the soft skin on James Potter's cheek. She fell into the easiest sleep she had since the beginning of the summer, no longer feeling weighed down by the burden of Vernon's insults. She belonged at Hogwarts, it must be true, James had said so.

"Tell me what happened prongs! You survived a patrol with Lily Evans and she didn't look like she wanted to kill you! I want to all the details!" Sirius hissed as soon as Lily was out of ear shot.

"Not much really," James lied, feeling the massive grin return to his face, he knew it was a dead give away. "Well, we talked and stuff." James added, but Remus saw right through him.

"And?" the Prefect asked. Flaking out on the squishy red sofa, James couldn't help but laugh at the look on his friend's faces, they were all leant over him, waiting for his reply.

"She kissed me, that's all."

"W-w-w-what?!" Sirius stammered.

"You heard me!" James retorted "She kissed me! Right here!" he added, gesturing madly to the cheek where just minutes before Lily had planted a kiss.

"Well, I'm happy for you, Prongs, hope it works out." Peter responded after a few moments of shocked silence.

"Thank you Wormtail, now I'm off to bed, night boys!" and with that James strode out of the room, leaving behind a Sirius and Remus who were still staring after him, mouth open.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Reworked chapter 9 hope you like it! I changed the section with Lily confiding in James slightly, but the speech is virtually the same with just a few minor changes, remember to review