AN: And, another chapter. Before I say anything I want to thank everyone who reviewed, I've never gotten as many reviews for one chapter as I did for the last one (almost 3 times as much as for the chapter before it) and I can't even begin to describe how elated I felt. It means to any author when they receive positive response from their readers. So thank you. Also, I'm sorry I didn't upload this earlier. I've been having computer issues (that aren't anywhere near over) and I was trying to figure out exactly how I wanted this chapter to play out...

P. chapter is edited as of 6/04/07.

September 2013: Edited/tweaked. See AN in Chapter One for details.

Dear Raven,

Oh, I was a nervous wreck on the way to Hogwarts. And I was quite literally shaking in my boots before the Sorting. Although part of that might have been because I was soaking wet. Why does it always rain on the first day of the new term? (Okay, fine, it hasn't rained every year, but almost every year…that counts for something- right?)

I did try to arrange for get togethers with my Muggle friends. But, things never worked out. And, after a while, it'd been so long it didn't even make sense to try anymore. I did send them a few letters despite the absence of letters sent by them- but to be honest I'm not sure they ever got them. And, even if they did, the end result was the same: no reply. I've moved on now, I really have, but I think I'll always hold that slight remorse over how things ended up. You know?

I wouldn't say I hate the Marauders…they're just not my favorite people. Although, really, they don't all bother me, nor do they bother me all the time. It's just sometimes some of them (or all of them) drive me crazy! And by the way, I'm not one of their regular victims, I've just seen the things they've done…and I can't help but dislike them for it. And didn't I ask to stop talking about them? There are so many other things to discuss, truly.

Regarding our bet: we'll decide the terms right before we play, how about that?

I don't think your feelings for this girl are pathetic. Any girl would kill to have a guy that head over heels for her. Well, unless he's a creep, but you don't seem to be (and good decision on the lack of harassing letters, best to avoid being a stalker). So that's why I think she doesn't get that your feelings are sincere. If she did…I think things would be different between you. And maybe you should try lessening the number of times you ask her out…Find other ways to show her how you feel…I'm sure she'll appreciate any effort you put forth.

I find it interesting that your favorite animal is a deer. But, it's not unusual or anything. Just different. And neat, did I mention it's neat?

YQ: You hate the Marauders, that much is clear. But you seem to hate James Potter the most, why?

MA: Oh, you're a tricky little devil, aren't you? Fine, I'll answer the question…James Potter is an insufferable brat. We all know he comes from money, and he never lets us forget it. He walks about this school as if it's his property, and he treats those around him as if they're his playthings. Out of all the Marauders, he's the one who's the most likely to start trouble. And don't even get me started on his ego…Oh, Merlin, you just opened the dam…there's so much more I could say…but I'll restrain myself…

MQ: What's your favorite flower?

MA: Sunflowers. They're the most cheery flower I've ever seen. They're so bright and elegant. I love the way they stand so tall and rigid as if they're reaching for the sky. And they remind me of a warm summer day. And yes, I realize that's a rather girly question, but that's what you get for asking that question about the Marauders and Potter.

Your friend,

Emerald

-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-

"It's not that hard!"

"YES IT IS!"

"All you do is say, 'James- I need help.'"

"And then he'll say something like, 'Well I have been saying that for years haven't I?'"

Maddy giggled a little.

"No, he wouldn't."

"Then why'd you laugh?"

"Because it'd be funny if he did say it."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Come on Lily, just ask him."

"I can't…" Lily trailed off weakly.

"Yes you can."

"But…"

"But nothing! Lily, he's the best at Transfiguration in our year. And you definitely need help."

"But…"

Maddy gave her a hardened look.

"Ugh, fine! But tell me again, why couldn't you have taken N.E.W.T. Transfiguration?" Lily cried,

"Because I suck at Transfiguration, you know that." Maddy replied with a toss of her head.

"I know, but still..."

"…Are you going to ask him for help or not?" Maddy cocked an eyebrow as she said this, and Lily's eyes narrowed slightly.

Lily sighed and stood up from the table. She ran a hand through her hair (Maddy had to keep from smirking) and picked up her book. Lily tried to look pleasant but she felt like she was going to beg for help from the Devil. Not that she planned on begging. Or that James Potter was the Devil, he was just …Potter.

She crossed the Gryffindor common room over to where James sat with his friends in front of the fireplace. They were all laughing, and James was sporting a pleased grin and chuckling slightly. No doubt he had just told some joke and was proud of the response it was getting. She approached him from the side and reminded herself to keep her dignity. She could do this, just ask him for help…it wasn't that hard…right?

"Potter?"

James turned his head and raised an eyebrow at her, as though silently asking why she was there.

"I could really use some help on the Transfiguration homework…would you mind?"

"Helping you?"

Don't be sarcastic, don't be sarcastic. DON'T BE SARCASTIC.

"Er, yes."

Good Lily.

"What are you working on?

"Trying to turn a cup of tea into a cat…"

"Oh, that is tricky." James replied.

No duh.

"Yeah…so could you help me? ...Please?"

God Lily, could you sound any more pathetic?

"Sure, I'll help."

She nodded, trying not to show how desperate she really was by demonstrating the immense gratitude she was feeling.

"Thank you."

He stood up and looked around the crowded common room for a place for them to work alone. Suddenly he spotted an empty table in the corner. He pointed.

"You go sit over there and I'll go grab my book and meet you in a second."

"Okay."

James dashed upstairs and Lily made her way over to the table he had pointed out. She sat rereading the section about the task, but it was still no help. She twirled her hair with her finger as she read and reread the text. She briefly wondered what could be taking him so long. Then, remembering it was James, she realized he probably couldn't find his book in his undoubtedly messy room.

-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-

"Hey Lily."

James said, walking up from behind her. She jumped a little and he had to hold back a grin. She was kind of cute when she was skittish…

"Geez." She gasped.

"Sorry." He said sheepishly. She paused for a moment.

"It's fine." Her tone didn't completely support the statement, but James knew not to push it.

"So," he said, sitting down, "do you have any of it?"

She shook her head, an abashed look on her face.

"Don't worry. It took me a while too."

"Great," she muttered- most likely meaning for it to be too quiet for him to hear, "So how long is it going to take me…?"

He paused, but decided he probably shouldn't say anything. He wasn't sure what she'd do if he replied when she hadn't been talking to him.

"So, what you do is say 'Callidolleta,' then wave your wand in a star shape." James said, unknowingly making it sound simpler than it was.

"I've been doing that!"

Then why aren't you getting it?

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

So you're not getting it because of what then? No James…be nice. Be gentle. Don't piss her off. An angry Lily is a bad thing; you of all people should know that…

"Well, why don't you let me see?"

She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the glass of tea.

"Calladolleta!" She cried, and waved her wand in a weird deformed shape.

Oh Merlin…I hope she doesn't hurt me when I tell her she's completely wrong...

"Erm…"

"What?!" She cried out in reply, sounding borderline livid.

"Well, you're sort of saying it wrong."

She frowned.

"It's not 'Calladolleta'?"

"It's 'Callidolleta'. There's an i after 'call.'"

"I wasn't saying that?" He shook his head. "Oh…"

"And…" He trailed off, too fearful to continue.

She frowned again.

"What now?" she whined in despair.

He had to keep from smiling; she was so cute when she got all upset! Particularly when she wasn't upset with him. But, for some reason, he didn't think she'd like it if he smiled when she was so distraught.

"You're not waving your wand in the right shape."

"I'm not?"

"You're not."

"Well how…?"

He picked up his wand and demonstrated slowly. She took hers and tried to mimic his motions. It didn't work.

"Er…"

"Still?"

"Yeah…"

"Let me see again." She said, sounding determined but frustrated.

He showed her again, naming his directions as he went, moving painfully slow. She tried again, but somehow it was worse. Transfiguration really wasn't her thing…How else could he help her and survive to tell the tale? He inwardly groaned when he realized the only way.

"Okay, I want to try something. But, don't hurt me."

She looked at him hard but curiously.

"Let me move your arm for you."

She frowned slightly (why was she always frowning around him?) but nodded. He stood up and went behind her. He leaned over and was overwhelmed by her sweet smell. She smelled like vanilla.

Concentrate! Ignore how nice it is to be this close to Lily! Concentrate! Maybe she'll actually give you a chance if you don't screw this up.

His hand reached out for hers, his palm covering the back of her hand. Her hand felt small, warm, and soft in his. The length of his arm was hovering mere centimeters over hers, and his face was only slightly further away from the side of hers. He felt friction pulsing through the space between them. He gingerly and slowly moved her hand (and thus her wand which was in her hand) in the proper motion. He paused when he was done, and then spoke.

"One more time then you can try on your own."

He led her through the motions again, sad that in mere moments he would have to remove his hand from hers. But what made him even sadder was how grateful he knew she'd be for the lack of contact. How could something feel so good and nice for one person, and so awful and torturous for another? What he didn't know, what he couldn't know, was that it wasn't torturous for her.

"Okay, Lily." He said as he pulled away his arm, standing back up and removing himself (reluctantly) from Lily's personal space, "You try now."

She nodded and pointed her wand at the cup again. Was it just him or was her arm shaking a little? He shook his head; he must be seeing things.

"Callidolleta," she said softly as she moved her wand just as James had shown her.

Then, just like that, the glass of tea became a very pretty tabby cat. James couldn't help but notice the red in its coat bore a close resemblance to the color of Lily's hair.

"Perfect," he said.

She grinned and then turned around in her chair to face him.

"Thank you... I really appreciate it."

He nodded.

"Anytime."

She nodded, then turned around and picked up her book and the cat. She stood and faced him again.

"Thanks again."

He nodded. Then she walked away back to Maddy. James wasn't sure whether he should grin or frown. On one hand, he hadn't screwed it up. She'd been happy for his help and had thanked him with a smile. That had to mean something…right? But on the other, he had no guarantee her kind behavior towards him would continue, and much to his dismay- all evidence pointed that it wouldn't. Yes, James wasn't sure how to react to this at all…

-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-

"See, that wasn't that bad, was it?" Maddy asked (far too condescendingly in Lily's opinion) as Lily returned to the table she and Maddy had been sharing earlier.

"Eh…"

"You're in one piece."

"True."

"There wasn't any yelling."

"Well, yeah."

"You guys were fractions of centimeters away from each other and he has no scars."

"Good point…but we weren't that close."

"And…you smiled," Maddy continued, ignoring Lily's second comment.

"I did?"

There wasn't anything wrong with her smiling around James, although it was most definitely unusual. It was just she hadn't realized she smiled…which meant she had smiled naturally- instinctively. She had smiled because she was happy; because James had made her happy. James had made her many things in the past (angry being the most prevalent) - but she couldn't ever recall a time when they'd gotten along well enough for him to make her happy.

"You did. Multiple times."

"Huh."

"Yeah…I guess you're coming around."

"'Coming around'?" Lily asked incredulously, "Look- maybe I was able to be with him for ten minutes or so without having the urge to strangle him. And, maybe that was a first. But…I wouldn't say I'm 'coming around.' We're getting along. Being friendly… But I don't fancy him," Lily finished firmly, nodding her head in a sudden harsh movement.

"Um, Lily?"

"What?" she snapped.

"I never claimed that you fancied him…"

"But, you said-"

"I said you were coming around. As in starting to see that he's a decent human being…You were the one who said the thing about liking him…"

"It was a misinterpretation," Lily said, trying to sound firm but coming off like an injured protesting puppy.

"Yeah," Maddy replied- not even attempting to sound convinced.

"Oh, don't believe me. See what I care."

Maddy shrugged, not wanting to get into an argument.

"I'm going upstairs to finish my homework," Lily said.

"Okay."

Lily picked up her books and halfway stalked upstairs to their dormitory. Maddy shook her head. What had all that been about? Maddy sort of understood where Lily had gotten the misinterpretation- but Lily would generally try to assume that someone meant anything but that. So why had that been the first thing that popped in her mind? Maybe Lily was beginning to see James in a different light…maybe even a different one than Maddy had expected (or more of hoped) Lily to change to.

But, something was wrong…Lily was too stubborn to have her mind changed by something so trivial. Yes, Lily was in desperate need of aid in Transfiguration, but Maddy knew Lily didn't see herself as desperate as she actually was. It would take more than James agreeing to help Lily with some homework for her to change her opinion of him even a decimeter. So what had happened?

If Maddy was logical, she would stop to decide whether or not Lily's opinion of James had actually changed. And if Maddy was as observant as she believed, she would realize that it had not. She would have realized that Lily was just appreciative of James' help, and ecstatic to have finally mastered the spell. But, Maddy was not being logical at the moment, nor was she being observant. She was being somewhat thoughtless and quite paranoid, so she did something stupid.

-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-/\-

"Hello boys." A feminine voice rang from her standing position at the side of their huddle.

The four boys, the Marauders, looked up in unison. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all smiled but James' brow furrowed. He had a suspicion that she wasn't there to just hang out. Whatever she wanted, it had to do with Lily. And whatever the matter was, it had not left Maddy feeling pleasant.

"James, I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Why is Lily suddenly acting so differently?"

James cocked his head to the side so she continued.

"I mean, she's in one mood when she goes over to talk to you, she's in a completely different mood when she's over at that table with you, and in yet another mood when she walks away from said table."

Was she really? He hadn't noticed…

"McNeill, what are you on?"

"I'm not on anything, Potter."

"Well, where else have you gotten these weird crazy ideas from?"

"They're not that weird. Or crazy…Lily's acting differently and I want to know why."

"She was probably just frustrated, then happy for the help- but still frustrated she couldn't get the spell, and then really happy she finally got the spell…I highly doubt there was anything else to it."

There was silence as Maddy realized as James was right. The Marauders tried to hide their smirks as a pale blush covered her face. She shook her head slightly, a (transparent) cool look spreading across her face.

"Whatever you say…but if I find out you put a spell on her…you're dead."

James scoffed.

"What kind of spell would I put on Lily?"

Maddy shrugged,

"A love spell?"

James' face grew red with anger, as he felt fury pulsing through his veins. The other Marauders winced and they leaned back in their seats a little, as if to brace themselves. They knew what was coming. Maddy seemed to sense it, as her face changed ever so slightly- but she gave no other signs of expectation.

"How dare you!"

He heard her gulp, and he tried not to wince.

"I may be many things, but I am not the kind of guy who would put a love spell on a girl he fancied. And I would most particularly not put one on Lily of all people. Yes, I want Lily to fall for me, or give me a chance at the very least. But, I want her to do it of her own free will. It wouldn't mean anything if she didn't choose to. I want her to fancy me back, and I mean truly fancy me back- and no love spell could do that."

Maddy frowned. No doubt she hadn't realized James' feelings were so serious. She had probably assumed, as Lily had, that the whole thing was just some game.

"I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you like that. Especially when I had no proof…"

"You're right. You shouldn't have." Remus gave him a pointed look. "But…all is forgiven," he finished reluctantly.

She smiled, relieved.

"Good," she made to walk away, but paused and turned back, "You know James- if you could get Lily to realize your feelings for her are sincere, like you just made me realize, I think you could have more than a chance with her."

James grinned, if her best friend said there was hope…there had to be! She smiled back at him and walked away, stopping at a table to pick up her books before she disappeared up the staircase to the girls' dormitories.

"Girls," Sirius scoffed, "They always over analyze things."

"Not to mention they always jump to conclusions." Remus added.

"Yeah, but-" and James reclined in his seat, a goofy grin still evident in his expression, "can you imagine life without them?"

Silence.

"Yeah, me neither."

Major thanks, by the way, to wicked. wictchy. princess who was incredibly helpful with this chapter (although she's always helpful) and who was kind enough to make some grammar corrections, help me with some wordings, and just give her opinion on the chapter in general!

That's it for now...please be as kind as so many of you were for the last chapter and review!