It was two more weeks until James saw Lily again.

It was the evening of her twenty-fifth birthday, and Lily thought that if she heard the name James Potter one more time she would not be responsible for her actions.

She sighed, pausing her task of putting clean glasses into a cupboard, as a girl suddenly made her way over to the bar. Suddenly the place was crawling with females anywhere between the ages of fifteen and thirty, like restless predators, ready to pounce at the sight of the Marauders.

Lily smiled tautly. The girl looked about her age. "Lily Evans, is it?" the girl asked. Lily nodded, her smile sliding off of her face unconsciously as she continued setting the glasses carefully into the shelf.

When Lily turned around, having finished her task, the girl was still there. She stared at the girl pointedly, silently willing her to leave. "Alice Prewett," she said with a smile, extending her hand. Her hair, just past her ears, bobbed at the motion. Lily shook her hand suspiciously. There was no reason for Alice to talk to her unless it was related to James. She decided to ignore her like she'd done so many others.

Alice looked on with impatience as Lily grabbed a rag and started wiping down the bar's counter. She was unfriendly to say the least. Alice always showed her emotions, and it posed a challenge when someone else's were unreadable. She sat down on one of the tall stools. She'd wait this one out.

When Lily was done cleaning the countertop, Alice still hadn't gone. "Anything you'd like?" she asked, subtly telling Alice to either order something or leave. Alice didn't react.

"No thank you," she said brightly with a genuine smile. She opened her mouth to say something, and Lily braced herself. Again, another mention of—

"James Potter," said Alice conversationally. Lily put down the bucket of ice cubes so violently that some water that had melted splashed out, forming a little ring of droplets around the circumference of the bucket.

Cursing loud enough to be heard, but not enough to be obscene, Lily wiped at the imperfections in the now glistening counter. "So," Alice said, trying to keep her one-sided conversation going.

Lily took a deep breath to keep from shouting at Alice. "Actually, I think a whiskey would be nice," said Alice, sensing the danger she'd just avoided.

"Right away," Lily muttered, glad for an excuse. On her way to the other side of the bar, she noticed another girl giggling to her friend as she poured the drink.

"Excuse me, are the Marauders—"

"No," said Lily grumpily, heading back towards Alice. She set the drink down in front of Alice, who peered at Lily with soft brown eyes.

"If you're going to ask about the Marauders, I'm not answering," Lily warned. Alice was about to reassure her when Lily went off her trolley.

"James Potter! Is that all anyone can say? How many times do I have to tell people he's not coming back!" Lily shouted. Heads turned in the bar, and Lily stared them down until they turned away. Her expression was one of hysteria.

"Who's not coming back?" asked a voice from next to Alice. Lily turned and saw James grinning stupidly. Well. Adorably was also a possible adjective.

Her eyes widened and she pulled his hat off of his head and held it in front of his face, hiding his smiling face and marching him awkwardly out of the pub. They were half a block away by the time Lily trusted herself to uncover his famous face.

"What was that?" she hissed. "Do you want another stampede?" Lily put her hands on her hips. "Don't you think I have enough trouble already with everyone asking for you? It's got me losing my patience! Mr. Angleton would have me fired already if it weren't for the whole 'couple' story!"

Lily's voice has risen in pitch and volume steadily throughout her speech. James brought his hand up to his neck sheepishly. "Sorry," he said.

"Sorry?" Lily asked in disbelief, her voice cracking as she sounded slightly insane. "SORRY?" James noted a slight darkness under her eyes, and her hair wasn't as neat as usual, probably from running her hands through it. Lily blew out a ragged breath. She felt empty, so beyond being angry. "Okay," she said, partly agreeing to drop the issue, and partly steadying her own emotions.

"We can go to the studio, I think Remus is still there," James suggested.

"Why would I—"

"You look choked. It'll do you some good."

The sound of frantic footsteps behind them made them both turn. Alice was heading toward them. "You forgot this," said Alice breathlessly, handing a bright red mac to Lily. She noticed James for the first time, and her eyes widened exponentially. A small squeak escaped her throat. James smiled charmingly and tipped his cap at her.

Lily glared at him.

Alice shouted over her shoulder: "Frank! Frank, come here, it's him!"

A tired-looking bloke came towards the small cluster of people. He caught sight of Alice, then of James and Lily. He smiled apologetically. "She's a big fan," he said, grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her away from James.

"Frank! Let go!" Alice shouted as Frank pulled her away, feeling it was his duty to save James from. "Sign my shirt!" she called desperately to James.

Lily shrugged her mac on, watching the wind carry the odd fleck of ice that threatened snow. "It's him! Over there!" a voice shouted from the pub. A girl appeared at the doorway followed by another.

"James Potter of the Marauders!"

"Not again," Lily moaned. James took one look at the gathering girls and starting to quickly walk towards the end of the street.

"Don't worry," he said, though he wasn't sure if it was Lily or himself he was reassuring. The girls were gaining on them, giggling as they ran. James scoured the street for an escape. A car rounded the corner, and James glanced at it before a wide smile broke on his face.

He opened the back door swiftly. "Get in, quickly," he said, gesturing to Lily.

"Are you insane? I can't just get into a random car!" Lily protested.

"Quickly!" James repeated. Lily shot him a look and got in. James followed in and closed the door.

The girls tried to grab at the car, but the driver sped away before they could get a good hold on them. Their screaming, oddly muted, surrounded the car, as they pointed and shouted their love for James through the glass. Lily sat, paralyzed with fear, as the car hurtled away from the pub. There she was, in a stranger's car, with a bloke who she knew a little, and who also happened to be James Potter.

At the first red light, the driver turned around.

"Wotcher, Lily," said Sirius, smiling brightly.