A/N: The pace is about to pick up now. Yaaaay, you say! Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming...

Showtime!

The morning of the pantomime dawned bright and clear. In fact, it was brighter than usual. I sat up in my bed, puzzled at the unusual brightness.

"Alice? Does it seem extra sunny in here to you? Alice?" Alice didn't answer. I stood up out of bed and trudged over to her bunk, pulling the hangings. Her bed was empty. I looked around the room. All the beds were empty. I looked at the clock.

"Merlin's beard! It's eleven o'clock!" I shouted to no one, since we had already established that the room was empty. I began to scramble to get ready, having already missed Arithmancy and run myself ½ hour late for Muggle Studies. After throwing on my uniform, I hopped down the stairs on one foot, trying to lace up one of my penny loafers at the same time.

"Don't fall. I'm far too tired to run around catching you today, Evans."

That dratted Potter, naturally, would be sitting in the common room to witness my shame.

"That won't be necessary Potter," I gasped, finishing up with my laces and standing upright to look at him. He was sprawled across an arm chair and I saw that he was still wearing his "Quidditch is for Players" pajamas. "Why are you still in those ridiculous pants? Haven't you got classes?"

"Told you I wasn't going. Had a lie-in yourself, I see."

"I overslept," I said, pulling my knotted red waves of hair into a ponytail.

"Are you sure you don't want to skive off today? You've got plenty to do for the pantomime tonight. I'm sure they'll excuse you from classes." He smiled up at me hopefully.

"I can't Potter. You know me, and have you ever known me to miss a class on purpose?"

"Suit yourself," he said laying back in the chair and running a hand through his messier-than-usual sleep hair.

I slung my book bag over my shoulder and ran through the portrait hole, once again mystified by James Potter.

"Where have you been?" Alice hissed as I slid into the seat beside her in Muggle Studies class.

"Asleep. You didn't think to wake me when you left?"

"I thought you looked tired and could use the extra sleep, what with the pantomime tonight and all. And besides, what I meant was where you have been lately— such as in between classes, after rehearsals, and during our free periods. I feel as though I haven't seen you in days!"

"Don't be melodramatic; I saw you at rehearsal yesterday. And I've been working on pantomime things with Potter. It's a lot of work."

She raised an eyebrow towards me. "You mean to say you were working on pantomime things with Potter until four thirty in the morning?" she whispered hoarsely.

I shrugged. "Kinda."

"Ladies, quiet down please!" The professor scolded.

Alice gave me a look that said we will talk about this later!

And the truth was, I didn't know what I would tell her. I could mention that Potter said he felt for me, whatever that meant. I was sure Alice would be able to explain it because she always knew what boys meant about everything.

But what if she asked how I felt? If I didn't know the answer myself, how would I respond?

I sighed and began to listen to the Muggle Studies professor at last, setting aside my emotional dramas for the simpler task of taking notes on telling a toaster from a VCR machine.

I only made it through one class before nerves really started to take me over. The idea of the pantomime I directed taking place that very afternoon in front of the whole school had my stomach tied up in knots. I made a decision that I'd never made before.

"I give up, Alice," I said as we walked out of the classroom. "I'm not going to anymore classes. Tell the professors it's pantomime stuff; they'll understand."

"W-o-w," Alice said, stretching the word into three syllables. "Lily Evans the Ditcher."

"It has a ring to it."

"Be honest with me, Lily," Alice said, grabbing my arm to stop me. "What is going on with you and James? Are you ditching to go see him?"

I blinked, putting my nose in the air with indignation. "If he happens to be in the Great Hall setting up for the pantomime as well, then I suppose I will see him, won't I?"

"I'm your best friend."

She was right, she was by best friend. I suddenly felt guilty for shoving Alice away. Of course I should tell her everything that was going on. "Very well, Alice. You know that I've come to befriend Potter through the course of the pantomime prep, and you and I both suspected that he liked me a bit. But last night he admitted to feeling for me."

"Feeling? What in the name of Merlin does that mean?"

I shrugged. "I think it was him admitting to liking me. Very much. But now that we're friends I don't know how to act around him, you know, to prevent things from becoming awkward!"

Alice was quiet for a minute, chewing on her lip like she does when she's focusing very hard. "Well," she said at last, "It's like I said before. I would say that you behave as normally as possible and see how things play out. You can ask him about it after the pantomime, right before Christmas break, when there is less on the line if things go… badly."

I sighed. "I suppose that's all I can do."

We parted ways at a fork in the hall. I assume she was off to class, and I was off to the Great Hall where the stage was all set up. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect and ready to go.

I arrived in the Great Hall to discover a great commotion. It looked as though James had finally gotten around to getting dressed, and he and Remus were in the middle of a heated argument in front of a giant wooden crate that was creaking on its hinges. As I came closer, I discovered a good amount of milky ooze seeping from between the crate's planks.

"What," I said wrinkling my nose, "is that?" I pointed to the crate, as if there could be any question which that I was referring to.

"Professor Kettleburn's prop contribution," James answered. "A 'giant white worm, bloated and blind,' according to script."

"I'm telling you that's an ashwinder worm. It's a very dangerous thing to have inside a school!" Remus said with wide, panicked eyes.

James rolled his eyes. "Ashwinders don't grow over ten centimeters long, Remus, and this thing is over three meters!"

"It could be an engorgement charm," Remus offered.

I shook my head. "An engorgement charm on a living creature, with that much significant growth would be highly unstable, Remus. A professor would know better."

That seemed to appease Remus a bit, but he was still unsure. "When ashwinders explode, they scorch anything around them. If this is an ashwinder thirty times its natural size with an unstable charm on it…"

"It will be okay," James said. "Anyway, Ketteburn said he fed it a sleeping draught. It shouldn't wake up for a day, at least, whatever it is."

I frowned. "In any case, there's nothing we can do about it now. The show starts in two hours."

"Right," said James. "Remus, help me levitate this thing into place. We'll release it right before the show."

Remus nodded his head grimly. "I sure hope that sleeping draught works properly."

An hour and a half later, James and I were sitting backstage alone, waiting for everyone to get in costume and meet us. I was holding a mop, having just cleaned up after the oozing worm for the third time.

"You know, you could have used scourgify, or even a vanishing charm on that ooze," he said.

I rubbed my shoulders, which ached from the mopping. "I guess I didn't even think of that. My mind is sort of overrun right now."

He smirked. "You can't have stage fright if you aren't even going on stage," he said, waving me closer to him. "Let me rub those."

I complied immediately. There was nothing I needed more at that moment than a shoulder rub, that was for certain. However, the necessity didn't prevent me from blushing a bit as his big hands went to work kneading the tension out of my shoulders.

"Is that better?" He asked a moment later.

"Mmmmm," was all I could say.

"I just want to make things easier for you, if I can," he said as he finished up his massage. "You've been working so hard and I know my friends and I haven't been on the right track the entire time."

I turned around quickly to face him. "On the contrary, Potter. I couldn't have done this without any of you."

He smiled at me brilliantly. "I'm glad the whole Sirius-Melina-Mary thing didn't ruin tonight. We just need to make it a couple more hours and this whole thing will be done. I think I'll throw you a party."

With his hands at his sides and off my shoulders it became much easier to think. He continued talking about a cast party and Christmas holidays and other things, but I didn't hear a word of it. I was too distracted by sudden realization that it wasn't just James's upper arms that were nice, although that was truer now in his back-stage black t-shirt than ever before.

When he talked to me like a friend, his eyes lit up, and I was coming to find that attractive too.

And he had been nothing but selfless and attentive since this whole pantomime business started. Also attractive.

And his hair had this adorable swooshy cowlick in the back that I kinda wanted to pat down—

"Alright everyone, it's Showtime!" Alice's loud exclamation snapped me out of my reverie as she burst backstage in full medieval garb. "Lily, what are you doing?"

I realized that James had stopped talking and was regarding me with a funny expression, which was probably due to the fact that I was reaching out to smooth his hair and had frozen in that position upon Alice's entrance.

"Ummm," I said, dropping my arm to my side. "He had something in his hair," I finished lamely.

"Like a bug?" squeaked James, reaching up frantically to swipe at his hair.

"Very manly, James," said Alice, rolling her eyes. "Come on guys, we have a full house!"

She bounced off towards the curtain to peer out at the crowd.

I turned back to James, who met my gaze with curiosity.

"James, I have to talk to you—"

"Time to dim the lights! Everyone is seated!" Mary announced, entering with Sirius hot on her heels. Melina followed right behind Sirius, clutching at his hand.

"Can it wait for the party?" James asked me, apology evident on his face. "That is my cue, apparently."

I like you. I like you. Just say it. "Sure," I answered. "It can wait until after."

He grinned at me and lifted his wand. The lights dimmed.

It was showtime.

A/N: Drumroll please. Here we go! Oh, also, review.