AN/ here's the next chapter. sorry that its been so long. anyway, thank you for the reviews and for reading the story. enjoy. :)

Unearthed Feelings

Marigold and Mary found Lily in their dorm, making objects fly around the room. They stood on the threshold for a few minutes watching her. Lily's face was a mixture confusion, shock and anger. Taking a deep breath, Marigold entered the flying minefield. A high heeled shoe came in her direction and Marigold only just managed to avoid being impaled.

"Bloody Hell Lil, you could have killed me," Marigold yelped gesturing towards the offending shoe still floating in the air. Lily looked up, and forgetting to look out for flying objects, walked towards Marigold, only to be hit in the head by the same shoe that had attacked her friend.

"Ow" Lily rubbed her head, frowning.

"Umm Lily, do mind returning our stuff to the ground?" Mary questioned from where she was still standing by the door. Lily flicked her wand impatiently, restoring the room to its former state.

"We need to talk."

While the girls had been busy looking for Lily, the boys had made there way to The Room of Requirement. Once there James threw himself on to a bean bag, grabbing a glass of Pumpkin Juice, the other two boys did the same, before turning to watch James. There was silence for a time, while James ran everything through his mind. Finally he spoke.

"Why did she do that?"

Another silence.

"Well I'm not sure if this is relevant but she did give you a Christmas present Prongs. It's possible that she might like you."

"What!" James spluttered, spitting his pumpkin juice ever where.

"Gross Prongs"

"You think Lily likes me?"

Sirius shrugged, "I'm not the only one mate, Goldie thinks the same. In fact she was the one who told me."

"Goldie told you! I thought she was Lily's best friend?"

Sirius nodded, "She is, but Lily didn't tell her about this, she just noticed that Lily was acting strangely around you."

Silence.

"Your getting pretty close to Goldie aren't you Pads?"

"She's a great girl" Sirius shrugged. "But we're not talking about Goldie, we're talking about Lily-Petal."

For the first time since they entered the room Remus spoke.

"Wait we're forgetting something here. Lily might have only kissed you James so that she didn't have to talk to Dennis."

The boys were silent, thinking over what Remus had said.

"So suppose, just suppose she did kiss me to get away from Hodgeson, what do I say to her when I see her? I mean do I talk about the kiss or should I just leave it and pretend it never happened?"

"I think," said Remus fiddling with a tassel on his bean bag, "I think you shouldn't mention it unless she wants to talk. Knowing Lily she will be embarrassed enough with out having to talk about it."

The boys nodded, agreeing with Remus' common sense.

Back in the girls dorm, their discussion had only just started.

"Lily do you like James?" Marigold came straight out with it; there was no point talking about something completely irrelevant and never getting to the crux if the matter.

"What do you mean by like?" Lily questioned

"I mean Like Like Lily."

Lily turned away, "Maybe"

"Come on Lily if you don't tell us we will have to force it out of you." Mary crossed her arms.

"NO!"

"No!" Marigold stared at Lily, "so you don't like James?"

"No. I said no to the force, but the answer your looking for is...um...yes"

Marigold and Mary's beamed at Lily and Marigold's wand exploded with ribbons and confetti.

"Finally, so are you going to get together?"

Lily shook her head, "James doesn't know that I like him, and I'm not really planning on telling him any time soon."

"Why, you know that James likes you. You'd make a perfect couple."

Lily stared at Mary, "Because its James."

"And what's so bad about him?"

"Well nothing, but its just..."

"Just what?"

"Do think he likes me just because I keep saying no? What I mean is does he come after me just for the chase? Or does he really like me?"

"Well I think he genuinely likes you. Why would he still be chasing you if he didn't like you. Only an idiot would still try to ask someone out after he's been refused as much as James has."

"But that's what you think. We have no idea what James thinks of me!"

Marigold's eyes met Mary's across the room, Lily saw the look and knew that they were hiding something from her.

"What have you two planned?"

"What do you mean?" Mary asked innocently.

"You guys have done something that you haven't told me about, so spill it!"

Marigold sighed, "Okay well we know for a fact that James still likes you."

"How?" Lily challenged.

"Because Sirius told me what James thinks of you, and I read the letters that James sent Remus over the holidays. They all ask how you are and if Remus has seen you."

"So...he does like me?"

"Yes Lily! Can't you see that? Girl, he's been head over heels for you since first year and your asking if he likes you!" Marigold's eyes were wide, as she stared at her friend in shock.

"Well he hasn't asked me out since term started."

"WHAT!"

"Do you think she knows that I like her?" James asked suddenly, breaking the silence that the Marauders had been sitting in since Remus' suggestion.

"Why would you say that Prongs?" Remus asked wearily.

"Well haven't you noticed that I haven't asked her out all term?"

"Really?" Sirius said amazed, "is that why the two of you are still talking?"

James nodded, "I thought that if I backed off a bit this year, she'll realise what a great guy I am." He sighed, "obviously she hasn't"

"Honestly James," Remus stood up. "You worry so much sometimes I think you should be a girl. If Lily has feelings for you, she will realise it. But I must say, if you want to show people that you still like her and if you want her to know that, you should have asked her out." He headed towards the door. "Now if you two don't mind I've spent more than enough time in here, and I don't intend to waste the rest of my Christmas day doing nothing. I'm going to the common room to find the girls and maybe have another snowball fight."

"Your going to the common room?" squeaked James. Remus nodded. "But...but Lily will be there."

"Yes I know" Remus rolled his eyes. "And I'm going to see if they want a game of chess or exploding snap."

With that Remus left his two friends, and headed to wards the common room. Sirius and James looked at each other, and quickly jumped up and followed Remus.

"Lily I can't believe you didn't tell us about this!" Marigold's second shout was almost as loud as the first.

"Mari, I don't have to tell you everything." Lily said irritably. "and to be honest James Potter not asking me out is hardly anything to start a conversation on."

There was silence between the girls, then suddenly Marigold jumped up, and headed out of the room, with a troubled look on her face. She returned a few minutes later with a smile.

"Okay Lily, James does still like you and before you ask how I know that, I went to see if the boys were in the common room and they were, so I asked Sirius what James thought of you."

"And?" Mary asked.

"And it turns out that the boys have been having their own little chat, where James was worrying about how to act around you because of your kiss. In fact Remus said that he was acting like a girl."

Lily's face shone with happiness, "So he does still like me!" Then it fell again. "What should I say to him about what happened in the Great Hall?"

"Oh for the love of Merlin Lily, don't speak about it. Just go down there like nothings happened and you'll be fine. Now come on, I want another snowball fight before it gets dark."

Marigold and Mary moved towards the door, Lily however stayed where she was, noticing her friends turned around.

"Come on Lily, you can't stay up here forever, just because you don't want to see James."

"But I do want to see him, I just don't know what to say"

Marigold groaned "Lil, I thought we dealt with this."

"In your mind we have but not in mine."

With a sigh Marigold magicked up a sofa and flopped on to it. Mary joined her a moment later.

"Okay Lily, spill your fears."

"Right, well um, I like James and I do want to go out with him"

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I promised Sev...er someone that I would never go out with him, and I can't just break that. It's not me and you know that."

"Lily please don't tell me that your not going to go out with James because you promised that greasy haired snake you wouldn't."

There was silence, but the look on Lily's face told the girls it was true.

"Sweet Merlin Lily, he called you a Mudblood and your insisting that you keep a promise you gave him!"

Lily nodded, "I know I'm not friends with him any more, but Mari, I cannot ignore a promise, even if it was to him."

"Your being stupid" Mary pointed out, and the girls stared at her, "seriously Lily, just forget about him, he doesn't matter. You and James would be a great couple and the longer you wait the more hurt you will be if he goes to someone else."

"He's going out with someone else?"

"No Lily, he's not. But he might turn his sights on someone else seeing as your not showing your true feelings." Mary looked into her friends eyes, why was it so hard for Lily to see that James likes her?

Lily pulled her knees up to her chest and clasped her hands around them, slowly swaying back and forth, thinking. Finally she said.

"How do I tell James about my feelings?"

"Don't tell him, just show him." Marigold said. "Show him that you like him."

"How?"

"Sit next to him at meals and in class, laugh at his jokes, cheer him on in Quiddich and for goodness sake talk to him. If you do all that Lil, it won't be long till the two of you are together."

Lily looked doubtful, "Well okay if you think that will work. But what about Severus?"

"FORGET HIM!"

Lily winced at the volume of her friends shouts, "All right, all right. I'll forget him and the promise I made, but if I suddenly end up in the Hospital Wing, because I've been hexed by him, I'm blaming the two of you."

"Okay. Now lets go." Marigold cried happily, jumping up. As she did the sofa disappeared, and Mary landed heavily on the floor.

"Ow, Marigold your as bad as Sirius sometimes."

Marigold grinned, "I know" and disappeared out the door.

Grumbling Mary and Lily followed her. In the common room they found the boys in the middle of a violent game of Exploding Snap. Sirius was lounging on a sofa, changing random objects around the room in to frogs and other small animals. In his lap was a small bundle of fur, as the girls got closer they could see that it was a baby lion cub, fast asleep.

"Awww Sirius, he's so sweet." Marigold ran over and began to stroke the cub.

"I know. I think he makes a better lion cub than the first year he was before hand." Sirius grinned.

"What!" Marigold pulled her hand away from the creature and Lily glared at him.

"Sirius, change the poor boy back, you should know better than to turn unsuspecting students into animals."

"But Lily-Petal, he was annoying me."

"I don't care Sirius, I thought you had learnt you lesson after what happened last time."

Sirius pouted, but the look on Lily's face made him put the animal on the floor. With a wave of his wand the lion vanished and a small first year was in his place. The boy stayed where he was on the floor and Lily looked at Sirius.

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing Lily-Petal, he's just asleep."

"Asleep? Did you put him to sleep?"

Sirius shook his head, "No, he was asleep before I changed him."

Lily stared at him, lost for words. In the end it was Mary who spoke.

"So if he was asleep how could he have been annoying you?"

"Because it's Christmas Donny and nobody should sleep on Christmas Day!"

The girls rolled their eyes, and James and Remus laughed.

"Who wants a rematch?" Remus asked.

"We're up for one" Marigold grinned, "but this time I think that Lily, James and Remus should be together and Sirius should be with us." She pointed at herself and Mary. Lily glared at Marigold, who smiled back sweetly. The group trudged outside where they spent the next five hours in a ferocious snowball fight; in which Sirius somehow managed to fall into the Black Lake after he had made it crack, Mary got knocked out by Sirius and Remus, whilst trying to rescue Sirius, also fell into the lake. They returned to the common room after Mary had regained consciousness and fell into the armchairs by the fire.

"Well that was fun" Sirius said looking round the room. The group stared at him, "What? I had fun and I'm guessing that you guys did as well. If you didn't have fun then I'm not friends with any of you any more."

"Bit excessive isn't it Pads" James asked yawning. The group sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Suddenly Sirius got up and made his way to the portrait hole, and with out a word slipped out. Ten minutes later he was back with six bottles of Butterbeer. Lily eyed them suspiciously.

"Is that actually Butterbeer?"

Sirius nodded, "The House Elves in the Kitchens gave them to me and they would never dare to bring alcohol into the school. Dumbledore forbade them and nothing we say can change that."

The bottles were handed around. Lily put the bottle to her lips and drank, there's no reason for us not to drink, I mean it is Christmas and not really school time she thought and leaned back against the sofa. The seventh years stayed up quite late, talking about their gifts, their families and anything else that crossed their minds. It was almost midnight when the first of their group got up and headed for the dorms. Remus was the first to go, followed a few minutes later by Mary. Sirius, James, Lily and Marigold stayed up, and at one in the morning found the four of them creeping through the halls to the Kitchens, for more Butterbeer. On the way Lily got a fit of giggles after Sirius had fallen down the staircase. She was still laughing when they got back to the common room.

"Seriously Lily, I don't think you should drink any more." said James as Lily reached for her sixth bottle. Lily giggled again.

"James" she said in a dreamy voice, "Jaaammezzz, can we play a game?"

James shook his head, "No Lils we can't" he glanced towards Marigold. "I think she's had to much to drink."

Marigold stared at Lily, then shook her head, "No shee s...seem...sssemms fine" Her words slurring. "Can can I have another pleasssse?" She swayed slightly as she held her hand out.

"Jami! Jami look what I'm doing." James turned to see Sirius standing on the edge of a table, knees bent ready to jump off. Lily squealed and ran over to join Sirius. Marigold just watched them out of half closed eyes. Sirius leaped off the table and landed safely on the floor, then he ran over to Marigold and pulled her in to a hug.

"Goldie, will you marry me?"

Marigold giggled, "Get down on yyouur kneesss"

"Weee!" James spun round just in time to see Lily jump from the top of a bookcase, she landed with a bump, slightly unsteady. James sighed, sooner or later the three of them were going to hurt themselves.

"Come on Pads, Goldie, Lils time for bed." James grabbed Sirius' arm as he ran passed and dragged him up to his dorm where he locked the door behind him. I'll sort him out once I've got the girls to their room. Of course this was easier said than done; the girls staircase turned into a slide as soon as a boy set foot on it. By the time he got back to the common room the girls were pretending that they were flying. Flying! Quickly James got his broomstick and pulled the Lily on to it. Not wanting Marigold to stay alone in the common room he waved his wand and the girl levitated into the air. When James finally got into bed it was almost three in the morning, Remus and Sirius were already asleep. James' mind wondered back over the day and he found himself thinking about the kiss with Lily. I will get her he thought fiercely one day Lily will realise that she loves me and she will be mine. With those thoughts in his head James fell in to a deep sleep, dreaming of the pretty red headed girl, who he loved and hopefully would one day love him.