Author's Note: Between 2:44 AM and 4:05 AM on the 31 of July, I got 26 emails from with Reviews and Story Subscriptions from you. Did I miss something; was my story featured somewhere or how come so many of you read it within that one and a half hour?

WronskiFeint – I would love to have them speaking more British English, I think that'd be lovely. Only it doesn't always come naturally from me, but I'm doing my best. I made a bit of an extra effort here in this chapter, I don't know if anyone notices?

Thanks a lot (I cannot seem to emphasize "a lot" enough) to all of my reviewers. I love you. Seriously. Marry me please? (That was a taste of my weird sense of humor, perhaps it's a good thing I'm not writing a humor story. Ha.) And thanks to beta.

Chapter 10: Underneath the Beech Tree

"Chocolate muffin?" Aurora tried, but Lily only shook her head.

"I can't eat, I'm so nervous," she confessed.

"Well that's only to expect," Elisabeth said. "But you really ought to eat something, and you didn't have any breakfast either."

"You wouldn't want to pass out in the middle of your date, would you?" Aurora asked.

"Fine," Lily said, and she took a muffin and began picking it.

"Well," said Elisabeth and glanced nervously on her watch, "only 119 minutes to go!"

"Oh will you stop it!" Lily sighed but glanced at her watch. "117, according to mine."

"Right, but my watch goes according to national-"

"Guys!" Aurora interrupted. "You are being ridiculous. What are you going to wear, Lily?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know… jeans and a shirt, I suppose?"

Aurora bit her lip. "Hmm."

"Aurora, please," Elisabeth, "he has already fallen for her. The real her. A mini skirt and makeup enough for a whore isn't going to help."

Aurora just gaped. "Is that really what you think of me?!"

"Guys!" Lily interrupted. "Please, please, please, I do not have the strength to endure another one of your fights."

"I'm sorry," Elisabeth said. "But please tell what you had in mind, if not a mini skirt and heavy makeup."

"I don't know," Aurora said, still sounding a bit offended, "I was thinking of how to best make her look gorgeous – not that you aren't already," she added with a nervous glance at Lily, "without looking too dressed-up, if you know what I mean? It's kind of tricky, seeing as it's sort of a date, but not really a date date, but more of a casual date…" she trailed off.

"Well," Lily said with a weak smile, "you're supposed to be the expert, aren't you?"

"Maybe just jeans and a top, like you said," Aurora said hesitatingly. "Yeah. Oh, I've got a top that would look lovely on you. And you could borrow my ballerina shoes. And then just a cardigan. And I'll blow-wave your hair, and do your makeup. Just a little bit of makeup. Not in the style of a whore," she added to Elisabeth.

"You'll do that?" Lily asked gratefully. "I know I'm usually not that obsessed with my appearance but this meeting is really important to me…"

"Aurora's suggestion sounds nice," Elisabeth said. "Really."

"Yay!" Aurora squealed. "Shall we head back to the dormitories and get started, then?"

"So, Prongs, have you decided what to tell her?" Sirius asked for what appeared to be the millionth time that day.

"I said no!" James snapped.

"A little cranky, are we?" Sirius teased.

"Oh shut up will you? And for your information, I decided not to plan a speech. Instead I'll be speaking from the heart."

"But I thought you weren't going to tell her you love her again?"

"I'm not!"

"Well that's a paradox," Sirius said.

"Hey! How many times have I told you I'm over Evans?"

"Too many," Remus put in, "and we still don't believe it…"

"Why not?"

"The way you look at her, the way to jump at our throats if we ever mention her, the way you consciously ignore her, the way you-"

"We know you, that's all," Sirius concluded.

"Well whatever I feel for her doesn't matter anyway," James said. "There's been to much water under the… what is it that you say?"

"The bridge," Remus informed him.

"Right," James said, "there's been too much water under the bridge, then!"

"Seriously, Prongs," Sirius said, "what happened between you two this year? I have so not been able to keep up."

James shrugged. "It's been so much crap back and forth and back and forth so I have no bloody idea!"

"It's almost four o'clock," Peter spoke up.

"Crap," muttered James and rose. "Um, yeah, I'll see you later then. If she hasn't killed me by then," he added with a lopsided grin.

"Good luck, mate," Sirius said solemnly.

"Yeah, good luck," Remus said. "Try not to break her heart."

"Good luck," echoed Peter.

With only one tiny minute left to four o'clock in the afternoon this Saturday, Lily leaned carefully against the beech tree by the lake. Dressed in tight jeans showing off her curves, a light gray strappy top and a white cardigan, her hair lying perfectly and her eyes framed by long, dark eyelashes thanks to Aurora's muggle mascara, she knew she looked good – casual good, which was quite the point. Har- well, whatever his name was, she'd get to find out today!, he should find her attractive. At least if he was anything whatsoever into redheads.

Nervousness seemed to boil inside her and she glanced at her watch. 30 seconds. Maybe Harry would be a little late. If it was only a few minutes it would be okay, she supposed.

Lily had been so inside her own thoughts that she hadn't even realized the arrival and/or presence of another person. When he cleared his throat, she looked up, startled.

"Potter!" she exclaimed. "What are you, er, doing here?"

He looked slightly uncomfortable but whatever had happened to Potter wasn't the number one priority on her mind right now.

"Um," he said, "I… er, your shoulder healing alright?"

"It'll be fine," Lily answered, "Madam Pomfrey works wonders sometimes. I'll just have to be a little careful for a few weeks."

"Right. Um, I-"

"Listen, no offense or anything," she said, "but I'm sort of waiting for someone." She peered purposely over his shoulder.

"I know," he said.

"What?" she replied absent-mindly. "Listen, I'm sorry but whatever you want to talk about will have to wait, I said I'm meeting someone!" she exclaimed, slightly stressed by the fact that 'Harry' might turn around if he saw James Potter talking to her. She was supposed to wait alone. He'd have thought that she'd have left, or-

"Lily!" James exclaimed and grabbed her shoulders.

"Ouch!" she said and pulled away. "Dislocated, remember?!" she yelled.

"Right, sorry," said James, who was beginning to panic. This was not going the way he'd have wanted, not at all.

"Now, really, you'll have to go, I'm waiting for someone!"

"I know about Harry!"

"What?" she asked, suspiciously. "Who told you?"

And who else knew? And how on earth did they know? She didn't think the house elves handling the mailing were that easily corrupted. And Aurora or Elisabeth wouldn't have told, right?

Aurora hadn't told Sirius who'd told James, right?

She was going to till her.

"I'm going to kill her," Lily muttered.

"What? Who?" James asked confusedly.

"Aurora told Sirius, didn't she," Lily said.

"No!"

"Well then, did you blackmail the house elves?"

"No!"

"Well how do you bloody know then?!" Lily burst out.

"Because I bloody am Harry!" James yelled.

Silence. For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other.

"What?" Lily finally asked weakly.

"I wrote those letters."

"No."

"What?"

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No!"

"But you apparently knew it was I?!" Lily was furious.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," James quoted. "Remember?"

"No…" whispered Lily. She didn't want to believe she had been revealed due to a simple quote. No.

James nodded.

"Oh my God," Lily said quietly. "This is so not happening."

"I'm really sorry to have to disappoint you," he said.

"I guess I'll go, then," she said. "Er, bye."

And while she headed off to sulk in her dorm, James sat down on the ground, leaning on the tree, repeatedly thrusting his head backwards so that it banged lightly into the trunk.

When he had first caught sight of her underneath that tree some minutes earlier, it had become even harder to tell her. He just wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to snuggle with her, to talk to her (about almost anything but what they had actually talked about), just be around her.

He was still in love with her.

Crap.

Author's Note: Soooooooo… what d'you think? I'm really anxious to see your responses to this chapter so please do hit the button down there!