DISCLAIMER: JKR owns :)

DEDICATION: Every single one of you who have followed this story through, without you, I wouldn't be writing. A special thank you to all of the reviews and favourites and alerts! I never expected my inbox to get that full! Sorry if I didn't send you a message to say thank you personally (I'm a sucker on doing that), but I haven't had time of late, but I may get around to it, because you're amazing and deserve that much. Especially reviewers, thank you so much for taking the time! :)

A/N: I am so so so sorry that it took so long for me to post! I had a serious case of writer's block, and it was actually killing me. In fact, I forced out the first seven paragraphs, so if they're terrible, I apologise in advance. After that, I watched Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, and half way through the Quidditch match it hit me. (And yes, inspiration did just come up to me and slap me around the face, it was awesome.) So, switching off Harry Potter, (sorry, Harry) I jumped onto my laptop, and started typing like a crazy loon. I'm really not sure what I think about this chapter, sorry it's not as good as usual but it was the best I could do. In fact, I think this chapter is pretty boring. (Yes, I realise that for once the title isn't the song name) I'm going up to Edinburgh this afternoon so there may not be a new post for a while (I'm coming back Monday, but you all have my love, and I'll try to write down there). The italics, btw, are Lily's thoughts (but not the singular words, they're just exaggerated, I mean the sentences)

"The seventh thing I hate the most that you do, you make me love you." - Miley Cyrus.

Chapter Ten: I Love You More

The screams echoed around her, her ears almost ready to burst from the inexplicable mass of sound, her breath being forced painfully out of her already tight lungs as she was pressed into the threatening crowd that was surging forwards, eager to watch the falling boy whose red and gold cloaks billowed in the wind as he fell hundreds of feet to the hard, menacing ground that laid far below him. The screeches were bouncing around the stands like echoes in a never-ending cave, fingers pointed in fear to the black skies, eyes blinking back shock and terror, a terror that Lily could no longer hold back. Her bright eyes watched him fall as though her mind was stuck in slow motion, his broom lost into the dark clouds that watched from above, his arms flailing pointlessly through the expanse of nothing. Everything was happening so slowly, yet too fast, no escape and no return. No one else would be feeling the pain that she was, no one else could dare touch upon the horror that was running through her head, her heart, her soul. All she could think about was the fact that he was falling to what could be his death; and she had never told him how she felt, their last words being words of pure hatred, full of venom and packing a powerful bite. Nothing else mattered; not the chilling screams, not the weight pressed against her back as all the Gryffindors threw themselves forwards, not the throbbing of her sinking heart that was already drowning in the sorrow she couldn't stop from encasing her in its powerful tomb. He was the only thing that mattered as he seemed to slow down in his descent, time moving even slower than her mind had already slowed it to, her head rushing. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but the pain Lily felt was enough to last her a lifetime of pitch black depression. She barely heard the sharp, clear whistle over the noise as she threw Quinn's protective arm off of her urgently, ignoring the look of horror on the girl's face as she hastily turned away from the sight that everyone else was staring at, instead staring deep into Lily's face, knowing exactly what she must be thinking. The tears in Lily's eyes seemed to have frozen into place on her pale cheeks, her skin a deathly white that was beyond normal, like that of a corpse, her eyes fixed upon the sight that she knew would haunt her for the rest of time, the feeling of being of no use, of being completely pointless, not being able to save the boy that she loved, was breaking her down.

But Lily saw no more. Ducking under Quinn's arm, she pushed her way through the crowd, the noise seeming nothing but a constant drone in the back of her skull, a drone that meant nothing to her, seemed to be coming from another far away country and not the mouths of the pupils around her. Her broken heart that seemed to have stopped beating hours ago picked up an increasingly fast pace that almost left her stumbling at its intensity and power as she forced her way forwards against the stream that was fighting her back with enough strength to knock her flat on her face, had she not been as stubborn as she was. She felt Quinn's arm reaching out to her through the throng of red and gold, gripping onto her hand without Lily even noticing, for she noticed nothing now but the incessant tearing of her soul that she knew would never feel complete again if she didn't act right then, without a second thought, without a second to spare. He could very well be clinging onto life by his fingertips, slipping closer and closer into the emptiness that awaited him with each moment wasted. Vision blurring through the rivers of tears streaming down her face, Lily whipped out her wand, no longer caring about who she would have to curse to get to his side – she had to see him, had to tell him, had to kiss his soft lips... before it was too late. This was her chance, this was now, and this could very well be her last opportunity. Suddenly, people began moving, pushing Lily along with them as though she was a fragile twig caught in the speedy current of a fearsome river, but still she fought onwards, the seconds ticking away in her brain, the only noise that she could hear in the crowded stadium, the only thing that really mattered in her battle to get to him before time no longer belonged to her. Forcing her way through gaps that she had never thought possible to fit through, her lungs were free of air, not a single breath coming from her mouth as her head began to spin, her vision going hazy. She was being pushed down several flights of thin, wooden stairs, scared that they would start to splinter beneath the sudden torrent of footsteps, of people almost running down them, their own breaths being ripped away. One large surge and Quinn felt Lily's hand being ripped out of her own, her fear increasing at the realisation that she had been lost in the crowd, the sea of red; the red of blood.

Lily's ears were pounding with the increased flow of blood around them, the noise supplying her with the omnipresent ticking of her inside clock, forcing her to fight her biggest fears. She'd hardly been in the torrent of screaming pupils for more than half a minute, but it was half a minute longer than she had wanted to be – half of a minute wasted - and she barged people aside, eager to get to the front of the riot that was now spilling onto the frosted grass of the Quidditch pitch, the other houses copying their movements. Yet Slytherin stayed in their seats, not a single care for the body of James Potter sprawled out in the middle of the pitch, a tight circle of teachers surrounding him with the rest of the school standing a few metres back from even them. Except Lily. She was the only one shoving her way through, her tear stained face still as pale as if she had just been told she had several hours left to live; though the reality of what was before her was perhaps worse than even that prospect. Time was running out...maybe it already had. Time was now; and he needed her now. She made it, sprinting across the ground towards where his twisted body lay. Tears swam off her face and onto the ground below her, and she ran as fast as she could, her feet pounding against the floor as many eyes turned to watch her. Lily Evans, the boy that James Potter had forever been in love with and the girl who detested the very presence of him was running to his side as though he was her last chance at life, as though he was her saviour. Looks like her little bit of loving was going to be his saviour, if only love was enough to bring someone back, to hold them as yours eternally.

Arms reached out for her, grappling at the robes that were swaying around her body, hands trying to grab her and pull her back, but no amount of force was going to stop her now, not when he needed her more than he had ever needed anything else. No spell could restrain her from reaching the one person who she loved, and she would hate herself for the rest of her life if she didn't reach him in time, if she didn't utter those three all important words while she still could. Shoving her way through the circle of teachers, Lily felt nothing for her reputation, no longer worried about the trouble she would get in for acting so harshly to those that she was supposed to respect most. Respect. The exact feeling that was running through the hearts of so many around the stadium. He could very well be slipping away before her eyes - like ice-cold water trickling through warm fingers - and the one thing he wanted, the one person who was better than all of his dreams put together, was running to his aid. None of them realised that it was because of her love for him, perhaps in denial to the fact that soon, James would be taken for good, or perhaps knowing Lily herself too well, and knowing her sincere hate for his every bone; his every bone that she had secretly been falling in love with over the years they'd spent together in the halls of Hogwarts. Don't let him go, please, not now, not yet.

Lily threw herself to the ground by his side, angrily batting the tears from her eyes as she gripped his cold hand tight. But still the tears dripped down her eyes in currents of water, raining down from her green pupils that seemed to be swimming in a water-filled sorrow of their own. His eyes were closed, hiding the delicious chocolate brown of them from her sight, and Lily could feel her wet tears dropping down onto his tanned skin, settling there and mixing with his own sweat. Squeezing his frozen hand between both of her own, her sobs echoed around the stadium, the only other sound coming from the buzzing of the whispers running through the stands, whispers of her name, of his, but all Lily could hear was a jumble of their names mixed together in a babble of nonsense, all that she cared about was for the boy just next to her to open his beautiful eyes. She never even noticed Dumbledore holding back the rest of the teachers from running to her side and dragging her away, never noticed the warmth in his bright blue eyes as he watched the two young lovers, so full of hope and love, full of promise and ignorant of reality. They'd done all that they could for him, now it was up to him to fight back, fight for her. "Please!" Lily's voice came out as a scream, a yelling plead as she reached out and shook James' body carefully, not wanting to inflict more damage on him, not wanting to hurt him any more. Did he know how much he was hurting her by not opening his eyes, by not responding? Or did he just not care, not care for the girl who he had forever loved but who blew him off after she had tricked him into believing all of his dreams had come true?

She dropped down against his firm chest, red hair falling over her distorted face as she sobbed silently into his mucky Quidditch jersey, her thin body shaking with the force of her cries. Her arm wrapped tight around his body, pulling him as close to her own as she could, not wanting to ever let go of him again, not even in a million years. From now on, she'd love him, she'd always love him with all of her heart, soul and mind. To her, he was perfect, give or take a few idiotic notions that he kept and a few of his foolish ways. Even when he was unconscious, his hair stuck up in the way that made her want to reach out and touch it, reach out and set it right, yet it never would be right, his hair already was right, because wrong really did work amazingly for James. His lips open slightly yet no breath slipping past them, Lily wanted nothing more than to kiss them, kiss away all of their fear, kiss him and maybe bring him back to her, maybe let him know. He needed to know, even if he could no longer return the feelings of passion, love, longing. She didn't care how much of a fool she appeared, draped over his lifeless body in front of the whole school, she just wanted James – her James."Lily, we have to move him, he needs to go to the Hospital Wing. Please, Lily." The voices seemed so far away, her mind fuzzy from the love that she felt for him, her body not responding to the pleas that she took no notice of, that seemed as though they were from a dream long ago, a dream that no longer had any significance. He'd always loved her, had always been there for her, and had always wanted her, but she had wasted time, she'd never realised her true feelings for him until it was too late. Perhaps it was karma's way of telling her that she would have to suffer the pain that she had inflicted upon him by not returning his feelings, the pain that she had caused him with each rejection she so carelessly cast in his direction. Well, Karma was a bitch, and karma seemed to have lost this battle.

"Lily?"

This was a new voice, a voice that left her heart beating fast and a blush to run to her cheeks, a voice that practically oozed everything that she was thinking, everything that she was feeling, and she knew in that moment that she could never get enough of that single voice which was the music to her ears, the oxygen to her lungs. His voice came out crackly, questioning, as though it was taking every single part of him to utter that one word that was tainted with everything that she meant to him. Almost as though he couldn't believe exactly what was before his eyes, the girl of his dreams strewn over his body and holding him close to her own heart, James attempted to sit up, to stare into Lily's eyes as she threw her head up in awe, happiness... anger? In the moment that he fell back, not enough strength to hold himself up, she jumped up off his body, her eyes blazing with the flames of a thousand fires, the heat of the hottest day. No more did she feel the tugging need to tell him everything that she felt, no more did she want to take him in her arms and kiss every inch of his tender body. As though all of the pent up fear was tumbling out of her, her words were raised in a shout as she spoke to him, arms flying out to the sides. Everything about her oozed power and self-importance, everything about her seeming to be on fire, yet only James could see what really lay below the embers of her eyes. Concern. Concern for his health, his safety, his heart. Concern for everything that could get in the way of them because love isn't a game of safety, it is a game of danger, fear, loss, a game that takes place in the most treacherous of uncharted waters, waters that they were both slipping deeper and deeper into.

"Don't ever do that again, Potter! Don't you ever put yourself in danger like that! What the hell would I do without you?" The shouts tumbled from her lips as he stared up at her, his hazel eyes relishing in the glory of her, her face, her body, her passion, and in that moment, he wished he had control over his body better, wished he could jump up and pull her into his arms, wrap his hands around her waist and kiss her with all the passion that she was displaying. It wouldn't matter who was watching, in fact, the more the better, for James no longer wanted to keep anything a secret, now he wanted everything to be out in the open, revealed for all to see. He didn't want to let her go, not now that he had tasted her bitter-sweet magic, felt her soft lips brush against his own and felt her hot tears against his chest. Despite her anger, her fury, he simply looked back into her green eyes, his own eyes holding such a warmth that they were almost like melted chocolate, gooey and gorgeous, delicious and fantastic, yet his eyes wouldn't stop the words tumbling out of his mouth in pure defensive mode, the mode that he had used so many times that it seemed almost default, especially with Lily. Constantly being accused of foul play by the girl you love would knock any man's ego, but not James Potter. No, he simply got a kick out of it. "Well don't cry then! If you hadn't have worried me by your hysterics then maybe I'd still - wait...what?" His sentences started out as shouts, accusing tones of their own, dropping the blame onto Lily exactly as she had already done to him, yet the anger broke away as the realisation of what she had just said hit him hard like a bucket of cold water thrown over his body, leaving him drenched with the truth. Did she really just hint that she would be lost without him? Did she maybe have feelings for him after all? James could only believe so, but that could have been because that was what he hoped to be true, what he had dreamt about for as long as he remembered, had wished upon stars for. But if that was the case, why was Lily there by his side, tears still dripping down her guilt-stricken face, the clear droplets resting on her flushing cheeks, flushed from anger or embarrassment, happiness or upset?

Before James had the chance to question her further, Lily threw her hands out to her sides in exasperation, her red curls being cast around her face in the wind, her robes twirling around by her feet. If she wasn't feeling the queasy pounding of blood coursing into her cheeks, her fast heart beats sending her slightly dizzy, she was certain she would have been shivering from the cold as the left side of her black robes fell from her shoulder, hanging halfway down her arm in a pathetic kind of way, yet she couldn't care less. He was alive, he was safe, and he was hers. She was his. Surely everything would be okay now, right? She pursed her slightly red lips, a frown forming on her brow and casting an overall more worried face than had even been set on there before, something that those around would never have believed possible. Something about that face, about the way it was riddled with concentration, hope, joy, confusion; something about that face told her every thought, her every deepest darkest secret, her every wish to the whole of the school onlooking, their own breaths held in anticipation. Even those who knew neither James nor Lily felt their hearts racing, their eyes wide in desperation to know what was happening between such a forlorn yet beautiful girl, and what appeared to be her handsome prince. If only it hadn't been so messed up. Yet she knew she had to say it, she could feel it bubbling up from all areas of her body, her stomach, her core, her heart, the very essence of her being. She knew, with the moment that it fell from her lips, that she would feel a sense of release, a sense of realisation and of the heavy weight lifting from her shoulders – just thinking about saying it gave her a strange satisfaction. Three words, eight letters. Come on, Lily, "I love you!" As she shouted them, the words even shocked Lily herself, and she immediately clasped her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening with a mixture of horror and fear. Great, well done, Lily, just go and bleed your heart out to the most popular guy in school, that's cool! Her conscience screamed at her in annoyance, yet there seemed to be just a hint of pride in her mind, and, as predicted, the feeling washed over her like a tide rolling in to the shore.

"I love you, you idiot." She added in a softer tone, dropping back down besides him and pressing her lips soft against his cheek, which flushed upon her touch, and a grin lit up his face with happiness and joy, a joy that he had never felt anything alike before. Even riding on his broom, high up where he felt untouchable, unstoppable, even the exhilaration of that couldn't compare in the slightest to the way his heart pounded as the words seemed to sing into his ears, echoing over and over in his mind in a perfect melody of all the sweetest, most angelic of chords that mixed into the symphony of love. She smiled against his cheek, grinning down into his eyes, and James felt his heart surge at the very sight of her so happy besides him, radiating joy, completely and utterly sober. Lifting his arm, James grabbed the back of Lily's neck and pulled her down against him, playfully kissing her straight on the lips with a teasing force, yet kissing her tenderly, their lips moving slowly, brushing against each other's gently and sending tingles down both of their spines. She loved him, she really truly loved him, and it felt amazing. The fluttering in her stomach kept her light-headed, much alike the same effect of the Butterbeer she had drunk last night, only ten times more pleasurable. It seemed, to her, like James was her alcohol now, and even if she'd sobered up, he was only going to get her completely drunk again, acting like a fool over ever single detail of him, her heart throbbing with every glance. And yet she was never going to let go, not now that she knew the truth, not now that everything was going to be okay. It had to be okay, it'd taken them six years to get to this point, six whole treacherous and tediously boring years full of false belief that had only just turned into something real.

James pulled back, yet Lily's eyes remained shut, her lips slightly open. She wanted to revel in the moment of magic for just a little longer before reality kicked back in, for when her lips had met his, everything else had faded away. All that there now was was him, and nothing could ever stop her from feeling the way that she suddenly felt, the rushing of her heart, the pounding in her mind as everything became jumbled. But jumbled was good – jumbled was the result of James Potter's breathtaking kisses. Even his soft laugh at the expression on her face made her heart beg for him, and she slowly opened one eye, peering down at him, at his mouth open wide as loud laughs slipped from his lips, at his hazel eyes glittering with mischief. She couldn't stop herself, and within seconds, she was laughing along too, soft, playful sounds that caused him to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her to him as the teachers began to swarm in, obviously picking up that now everything was okay. But James and Lily were the only two able to see that everything wasn't okay – it was perfect. Standing up, and James pulling himself up with her, Lily flushed an even darker pink as his fingers wrapped themselves through her own, squeezing them tight as though never wanting for them to stop touching, and that was exactly the reason why he held so tightly. He couldn't lose her now, he wouldn't. He was all hers, for now, and forever. Casting her eyes around the circle nearby, Lily spotted Quinn, her own hand encased in that of another, another who Lily was so wrapped up in James that she barely noticed his fingers looped through those of her best friend. Quinn simply winked one bright blue eye at her, reaching her free hand out to take Lily's own. And just like that, hand in hand, all four turned their backs on the stadium, leaving everything behind, everything and everyone, for in that moment, they held onto those that they cared the most about, and James' breath tickled her ear as he pressed his lips close to them, whispering quietly into her ear.

"I love you more."