"Maybe?" Lily said meekly bitting her lip waiting for her Slytherin friend to have a spazz at her.

He sighed and stood up pacing in front of the tree. "Why didn't you just tell me?" He demanded, he had a look of betrayal in his eyes.

"Because you'd think I was under a love potion or something like that and yell at James about something stupid." Lily ran a hand through her hair glancing at Severus warily as if he was a time bomb about to explode.

"Course I think you are, you've hated that prat for seven years, but I can be...supportive." It looked as if he pained him to say the word. "If that's what makes you happy, it's what friends do." He made a face and Lily smiled. "Thanks Sev, you won't yell at James about it?"

"I'd like to," He muttered grumpily still pacing. "But you wouldn't like that would you?"

"Probably not," Lily replied frowning softly. "And then he'll cotton on and I'm not sure I want that because it's just a crush right? Not like how he's been ongoing asking me out since first year? Right?" She sounded frantic.

"Course it is Lily," Severus said and Lily gazed at him suspiciously wondering what was up and what he was planning, She had never seen the boy so calm when James Potter was involved and that was even on mild offensives not when she had stated that she had a crush on his rival. He only had calmness when thinking of James when he was plotting some grand scheme to ruin the Marauder's grand schemes.

"Severus?" She said her voice throwing a few emotions out, concern, warning, and a few others that Lily couldn't pick up even though she had said the words.

"I need to think Lily." He walked off leaving Lily sitting their frowning watching him walk. Wondering if he was planning anything, or more what he was planning not if he was planning something, he was a Slytherin and would no doubt somehow try to turn this around so it benefited him. Lily groaned in frustration. "Boys!" She grumbled throwing her arms up in annoyance. "They're impossible." She shut her eyes and leaned against the trunk of the tree muttered grumpily under her breath.

Lily found herself watching James an awful lot and then blushing bright red when he caught her looking, the Gryffindor boy just smiled and went back to what he was doing, which was usually talking to his friends or copying Remus' homework when he thought he wasn't looking. Which was odd on its own, knowing James if he caught her looking at him he'd come right over and ask her to go out with him. But he didn't. He just smiled and then ignored her till he glanced over his shoulder to look at her again. Her friends found her sudden crush on James amusing, but to Lily's thankfulness they didn't talk about it, or at least not when she was around.

"Lily?" James asked appearing out of no-where on her walk to Gryffindor tower, Anna and Charlie had stayed behind in class to ask the teacher something that they didn't understand and Lily refused to explain it because she already had twice before and they hadn't listened. She had no clue where his friends were though. She glanced around as if expecting them to randomly jump out from behind something.

"Yes?" Lily asked slightly curious as to what he wanted.

"It's Hogsmead weekend next weekend and I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me?" He sounded sincere, not like how he used to sound when he asked her out on a date twice every half hour. He used to say it in a joking way with his mischievous smile. Lily gazed at him shrewdly.

"That would be lovely," She said finally deciding that she might as well. He hadn't acted like a big headed prat since last year and maybe if she said yes once he would stop asking. And he sounded as if he actually wanted to go out with her, not just saying it because it annoyed her or some other stupid reason that he had.

"Really?" James said put off that she had actually agreed. If he was a Slytherin he would have frowned and wondered what she was planning but he wasn't, he was a Gryffindor and trusted Lily not to make some devious plan to backstab him.

"Sure James. I'll meet you in the common room at eleven?"

"Okay..." He said with a confused look on his face, Lily couldn't put the look into words but is she had to summerise it she'd say it was a. Oh my god, what the eff. Sort of face. Which amused her endlessly, she could tell from the look in his face that he never expected her to say yes, but continue asking anyway. The one good thing about that is that he wasn't setting himself up for a fall, in a way he was because he knew she'd say know. Or he thought she'd say no but he wasn't hurt by her saying no.

Lily smiled her eyes twinkling and said "Bye James."

"Bye Lily." Lily left James standing there looking how one would look if Voldemort declared himself a light wizard. Smiling amusedly to herself Lily walked the rest of the walk up to Gryffindor tower humming softly.

"What are you so chipper about?" Anna asked as she and Charlie entered the Gryffindor common room a few minutes later.

"James asked me to Hogsmead," Lily replied seeing no need to lie to her friends.

"Yeah and? He does that constantly."

"I said yes."

Lily watched with growing amusement at her friends stunned expressions. "You should have seen the look on his face when I said yes, it was even more shocked then yours." She smiled wickedly at them.

"Why?" Charlie demanded. "What in Merlin's name...?"

"That's why he was standing there frozen," Anna snickered softly.

"He sounded sincere," Lily said with a slight shrug. "More so then he has ever sounded. I thought I may as well give it a shot so then he can stop bugging me if it fails horribly."

"Lily..." Charlie said slowly. "What about Snape?"

"What about him?" Lily asked slightly confused as how Severus came into a conversation about her going out with James.

"He is going to freak."

"He already knows," Lily replied shrugging again and delving into her bag to pull out her homework she usually worked on some of it before dinner and finished the rest after..

"How does he know? I'm presuming Potter only asked you as you were coming up." Anna asked.

Lily sighed at her friends questions, answer one thing and they came up with a dozen more questions to ask. "He knows I think James is alright."

Sorry if this seems rushed, but I'm going away tomorrow and wanted to get one up before I left. These chapters always seem longer in word then on here...anyway. Enjoy!