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Leaning up against the wall outside the Infirmary, Lily watched Sirius pace back and forth, her eyes red and puffy. It had been an hour since they had finally gotten James to Madame Pomfry, and she still hadn't come out with any news.

"What's taking so long?" Sirius demanded, frowning. "It wasn't all that bad, he's had worse."

"Sirius," Lily said, trying to reason with him. "He got hit with a few nasty curses, not to mention the Cruciatus Curse." Her voice rose an octave when she said the name. Sighing, she continued. "He's not going to get up and strut right out."

Sirius too sighed and slouched down the wall, next to her. He hesitated for a moment before asking the question he's been wanting to ask all night. "Why are you here?"

Lily looked taken aback, then blushed. "What do you mean?"

"You hate me and James-."

"James and I."

"Whatever." He let out a chuckle before continuing. "You hate us, so why are you still waiting here? It's late at night, and you're covered in James's blood, not to mention you have to sit here with me. You should be pretty pissed right now."

"I don't hate you guys," she whispered, so softly that he could barely hear her. "I never hated you or James."

Sirius eyed her suspiciously. "But you said so a thousand times."

"And James asked me out a thousand times," Lily pointed. "Did he mean it? No, and neither did I."

"Hold on a second," he said, gazing at her incredulously. "You think that every time he asked you out he didn't mean it?"

"He didn't mean any of it," Lily said, and Sirius noted that she sounded kind of miserable.

"Lily, please," he huffed, rolling his eyes. James was going to love this. "From the first day he set eyes on you he's been crazy about you. You think he would spend, like, four years asking someone out repeatedly, getting rejected again and again if he didn't like them?"

"He just asks because I say no-."

"He asks because he loves you, and someday you're going to realize you return the feelings," he interrupted, folding his arms over his chest smugly as he took in the sight of the confused looking red-head next to him. "Trust me, you guys are meant to be together."

It took Lily a few moments to come up with a response, but when she did Sirius's heart leapt. "I guess that after all that's happened this year, it wouldn't quite be torture to date James." As an afterthought, she added, "If you tell him that I'll kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Sirius grinned, just as the Infirmary door opened.

"Mate, you've got to get hurt more often," Sirius grinned widely, sitting down at the foot of James's bed. Madame Pomfry had told them that James was awake and fine, just a little shaken. She permitted Sirius and Lily to see him for a few moments, but after one look at the now-well James, Lily blushed and said she'd wait for Sirius in the hallway for him to walk her back. Sirius knew it was because of the little talk they had before, and he couldn't wait to tell James about it (Sirius was very loyal, but the Maurderers trumped everyone).

"Thanks Padfoot," James said sarcastically, wincing a little as he sat up more. "I'll get right on that."

"Who knows, Lily might fall for you sooner," Sirius smirked, watching in satisfaction as his best friend's eyebrows flew up in surprise, then down in suspicion.

"What do you mean?" James demanded.

"Nothing," Sirius replied casually. "She just said that it wouldn't be torture to date you."

To anyone else, this would be somewhat of an insult. But judging by the grin on James Potter's face, that one little statement meant the world to him.

"Really?" he said in a dream-like voice.

"I'm serious," Sirius joked, laughing at his pun. Standing up, he muttered something to James about how he had to 'spend the night with Lily Evans', but James was long gone in his own world with Lily. So Sirius quietly left the room to join Lily in the hall. "Ready?" he asked; she nodded.

The first few minutes of the long walk to the Heads Dorm were awkward (Sirius insisted on staying in James's room because he didn't feel like walking to his own dorm room). Finally, Lily decided to ask Sirius something personal that she might just have in common with him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the deal with your brother?" She watched warily as his back stiffened and his face became blank.

"He's a Death Eater," he shrugged, like it was no big deal.

Lily bit her lip in thought. She knew from experience that sharing your family problems, particularly with someone with similar issues, was a good way to solve them. "If it makes you feel better, my sister hates me. She calls me a 'freak'."

He gave her a weird look. "Yeah right. Who could hate you?"

"Apparently Petunia." She heard him snort at the name; she couldn't blame him. "We used to be best friends when we were little. We always played with dolls, and would swing as high as we could on the swings, and jump off." She smiled at the memory. "I was swinging on the swings one day, and when I jumped off I felt like I was flying. That's when Snape first told me I was a witch; he was watching me and knew that only magic could make me fly like that."

"Snape told you were a witch?" Sirius said incredulously. "That's why you were such good friends?"

She nodded, tears starting to prick her eyes. "After he told me I was my letter came. Tuney was so jealous, and she called me names. She even wrote to Dumbledore, asking him if he would let her in. She was so mad, and she blamed it all on me. Ever since then, she's thought of me as nothing less than a freak."

Sirius frowned, thinking over what she had said. There was so much more to Lily than what he had thought, and he couldn't help but share with her his story as well. "My parents I guess aren't considered Death Eaters, but they support You-Know-Who with money and crap like that. Our entire lives, me and my brother-."

"My brother and I."

"Shut up. We were always told that Muggles and Muggleborns were beneath us, and deserved what Voldemort was going to give them. I always knew it was a load of crap, but I had no one else to depend on other than my family. When I met James, he took me in as his own brother. He showed me that I was right to think that all wizards are equal. I can't even describe how much he has helped me." Sirius sighed. "My brother, Regulus, wasn't so lucky. He believed everything my parents told him, and look where he is now. On the run with his stupid Death Eater friends, which happen to be all related to me."
Lily knew he wanted to say more, but she also knew that he wasn't quite comfortable with it yet. So when they reached the Head Dorms, she pecked him on the cheek good-night and then said good-bye.

"Hey Lily," Sirius called. Lily, who was on the small staircase leading to her bedroom, turned to look at him curiously. "Me and James-."

"James and I."

"Ha," he grinned. "That feels good saying, doesn't it?"