Please, please don't be mad! I truly am sorry for making you, my dear readers, wait such a long time for this update!

*hangs head in shame*

I really have been terribly busy and hardly had time to actually sit and write something worth uploading. And I would hate to publish something that I didn't feel good about!

Anyway, thanks for sticking by me and this Ficcy. =) I shall be eternally grateful…but, uh, not in a creepy way! =P

And a shout-out to all my reviewers… MadAboutMagic, Addy101, Briedgee, Samiam, CrunchieKoo, , EvahBlack8378, Bridget, Lola-Leexx, Cookies and Cream1234567… Thanks a million guys! I totally value your reviews more than you could ever imagine! =) xD

Now, on with the next Chappie.
Chapter 10, for you…

"James Potter, Lily Evans…?"

"What is it?" asked James, snappishly. They were getting late for their double Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with the Slytherins and two whole hours in their company did nothing but aggrieve the hell out of the two Head students.

"Be nice, James!" Lily admonished him and turned towards the slightly trembling first year who had approached them with an impatient half-smile.

"Please, I've got a letter for you from the Headmaster. He says it's about Head duties." said the innocent boy. "I'm sorry." He added for good measure. He didn't want to get on the wrong side of the Quidditch Captain and Head Boy.

"Don't worry about it." James brushed off the younger student's unspoken but easily identifiable fears. "And that was excellent keeping for someone of your age that I saw yesterday. Keep up that playing and you may make the reserve team next year. Merlin knows we'll need a new keeper once the last of the Woods leave."

The young lad of eleven blushed under his idol's praise and ran off, red in the face after offering fevered thanks.

"That was sweet, James." remarked Lily, before she could stop herself. She was surprised at his kind words for the boy. James Potter really did have his heart in the right place after all. He never did seem to stop amazing her, even when he plagued her asking her out, though she would never admit this to anybody.

"I'm known for that." replied James, his familiar cocky grin spreading across his face. Lily laughed at that. "You really are something, you know that?"

"I'm glad you think that way. It's good to know that I'm not 'annoying Potter' anymore!" Lily felt her own grin slide over her face as she watched his long fingers brush through his perpetually messed up raven locks. What would it feel like to run her hands through them? She longed to mess up his hair the way he had done mere moments ago.

"Where are you going?" asked James, cutting through her extremely embarrassing thoughts. Lily stopped and stared. She hadn't realised that they were walking all this while. "Uh, back up a bit?" said James wondering perplexedly about whatever made Lily Evans so absentminded.

"Oh, yeah…right."

To say that Lily was mortified would be the understatement of the century. She drove the last of those awkward thought out of her mind and grinned sheepishly at him. "Just thinking." She said, tapping her slender finger against her alabaster brow. She hoped he wouldn't see the traitorous blush creeping up her cheeks. "STOP IT, LILY!" she said to herself. Lily Evans had never, ever blushed over James Potter earlier. At least never in front of somebody else and in this case James Potter himself. "Well, that is one rule I'm sure breaking!" she said to herself, wryly, as they entered the third floor classroom.

"Huh? Didn't catch that. Did you say something?" queried James, much worried about why Lily was acting so strange.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." replied Lily and heaved a sigh of relief when she spotted Alice and Mary. The waved her down and she went to join them, relieved that they had saved her a seat and weren't plotting to make her and James sit through this lesson together too.

"Ugh! This is driving me nuts! Why must it be so hard for him to get the hint?" demanded the irate red head as soon as she settled herself on the bench and dumped her satchel beside her.

"I think you owe me five galleons there, Goldilocks!" proclaimed Alice, not even trying to conceal her glee. She outstretched her palm and wiggled her carefully tweezed eyebrows at Mary. The effect was quite comical and Lily giggled in spite of herself. Really, this was the limit! Lily was never the giggly-type. No, she most certainly was not. She was sensible. Not uptight. Just cool, calm and collected. But then she never, even in her wildest dreams, imagined that she would take a fancy to a certain bespectacled boy. The infamous James Potter. Really, it was as if she was a whole new person. When she pictured herself falling for some special someone, she thought it would be gradual and steady and it would be with someone who was like herself, or like her ex-boyfriend and Alice's distant cousin, Fabian Prewett. Someone serious and balanced. She never even imagined that she would feel so, different. Vibrant, in a sense. So lightheaded! Yet, she was…

"Earth to Lily. Daydreaming about a certain Quidditch Captain, are we?" quipped Mary, not quite far from hitting the nail right on the head.

"Now really…" began Lily, exasperatedly, but her answer was lost as the DADA professor, Professor Brandon, swept into the room, cloak bellowing behind him and commanded everyone's attention as he discoursed about the adverse side effects of a powerfully cast lesser known hex.

Later that evening as most students were in their common rooms or the Library, Peeves was decorating the walls in the dungeons with Drooble's Best Blowing Bubblegum. Luckily for Lily Evans and James Potter, they weren't headed there. No, they were on their way to the Headmaster's Office. Dumbledore, no doubt, had something up his sleeve and the two heads were eager to know what it was that the eccentric wizard wanted of them.

By now, Lily and James had become closer than ever. They were friends, fast friends. It was an understatement to say that the Marauders didn't enjoy their Lily-Flower's company, not to forget Alice's and Mary's too. Lily and Sirius had struck up a comfortable friendship that equaled the comradeship not much different from a brother and sister. They, not much surprisingly, bonded over the fact that they didn't get along with their siblings. It was not uncommon to see Sirius sprawled on the floor of the Head's common room chatting with Lily and James about anything and everything under the sun.

Lily and Remus were old and dear friends; both enjoying each other's company. Quiet at times, and sometimes too rambunctious for words. They were often found discussing muggle books, Remus knowing them because of his muggle-born father. Woes betide anyone who dared disturb them as they quoted from the bard.

Lily and Peter had more of a silent companionship thing going for them. They were friends indeed, Peter always ready to do anything for the read head and Lily always having a kind word for the mousy boy. Peter sometimes surprised her, as well as the other boys, by coming up with devilishly clever pranks to play on unsuspecting people. He was a sweet and caring boy and was extremely loyal, even to Lily.

Lily and James spoke in hushed tones as they stood upon the spiral staircase that took them closer to Dumbledore's office with every passing second. They knocked on the majestic oak door and…

"Enter!"

James and Lily entered the room decorated with spindly instruments of various sorts. "Good evening Professor Dumbledore." they chorused and sat down in the plushy chairs Dumbledore indicated.

"Thank you for coming Miss. Evans, Mr. Potter. As you most definitely know, Halloween is just around the corner…" The headmaster paused to take a look at the two dependable students sitting in front of him. "…and instead of just having the Halloween Feast as we have done all these years, this year, the staff and I have decided to allow the students to have a ball. A Halloween Ball. Dancing and music and a good amount of fun, albeit not too much fun."

"Of course Professor." said Lily with a slight smile.

"And now, the most important matter! The two of you will be responsible for the set up, that is, the decorations and the menu and putting up posters all over the castle."

"That is a great idea professor. But, how are we going to manage to set all this up in a mere week or so?" asked James quickly.

Lily looked up and said a bit softly, "We could manage somehow, I suppose. After all, we knew we would have many duties during the year."

Dumbledore smiled benevolently at them. "You will have to work together on this one. Whether or not, if you wish you could involve a select few of your friends to help you as I understand this is a big favour to ask of you to do this in such a short span of time."

Lily was already thinking about the myriad possibilities of carrying this task out with her friends. James said rather excitedly, "It would be an amazing affair for all the students if this is planned and executed in the right way!"

"I'm glad you see it that way, Mr. Potter, Miss. Evans." The headmaster was pleased to see that they would indeed put their best foot forward. "And do not fret, the Professors and I will assist you and I'm sure Hagrid will be delighted to provide some of his excellent pumpkins for this occasion!"

Lily motioned towards herself and James and said with a smile, "Thank you Professor. I think we can handle this, together."

Dumbledore beamed at the two of them as though they were kids and called out as they left his office, "I know you will. A good night to both of you. Now off to bed!"

"I really don't know whether to think he is a genius, or whether he is a raving lunatic!" said James, who was always astonished at the way their unconventional headmaster behaved.

"Who isn't to say he is both?" replied Lily with a shake of her fine head. She was always in awe of the great man and greatly respected and revered him.

"Hmmm…Like, maybe, method in his madness?" quipped James, eager to hear what Lily would say next.

"Or madness is his method!"

"Or maybe…" But James never got to finish that thought. He suddenly remembered. "Shit! I had forgotten I scheduled a Quidditch Practice for today evening. I better run if I have to get to the pitch on time."

As he sped away, he called out to Lily, "See you in our common room later Lily-Flower!"

James even had the nerve to tease her a bit before disappearing out of her sight, "Don't miss me too much!"

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Lily shouted after him.

James grinned in spite of himself and said, "You bet I would."

As the fates favoured James Potter, he wasn't late. He simply made an extraordinary entrance, completely windswept. It was a pity only Sirius was there to witness it. There were still a couple of minutes left for everyone to arrive.

"Hey, got your broom here James..." Sirius called out somewhere from the stands. He looked a bit dishevelled too and James supposed Sirius had been flying around the pitch for a while. James climbed up and sat beside him to catch his breath. Upon closer inspection, Sirius' face was drawn and white. He looked completely upset about something and James hastened to find out what troubled him so.

"What's wrong, Sirius?"

Sirius refused to meet James' eyes and mumbled, "Nothing."

James tried to probe a little more. It was only something really bad that could get Sirius so stressed out. "Obviously something is."

"Huh, might as well. I saw Regulus in the corridors today. He was hanging around those Death Eater aspirants Mulciber, Avery and Bulstrode. I'm worried about him, Prongs. He doesn't know what he is doing."

"Did you talk to him?" asked James.

"Talk? Regulus is far beyond talking to his blood-traitor brother. Bella and Cissy have trained him well." replied Sirius morosely. He still believed he could save his brother even though Regulus had made it quite clear that he didn't want anything to do with him.

James was determined to hear the entire thing. "What happened?"

"Ha! What do you think?"

"No, Sirius." said James, he could easily guess what had happened next and was disappointed that they had resorted to wands. "Who hexed whom first?"

"Mulciber tried to hit Remus with a Stinging Curse, his aim was so horrible it hit Peter. Let's just say that they fled after I hit all of them with a Furnunculous Charm. Remus is with Peter in the hospital wing."

"That bad?"

"Yeah."

James tried to lift his spirits a bit by saying, "It's going to be alright, Padfoot."

Sirius snorted derisively, "You really think so?

"You think?"

Sirius zoomed off on his broom once again as the rest of the team members arrived and flew a few laps around the humongous pitch to let off some steam. But soon, as they began training for their first match of the season, all thoughts of Slytherins and Regulus were forgotten as they focused on their tactics and plays for their game against that Ravenclaws.

A/N- Did you? Did you like this? I sure hope you did! Puhleeze REVIEW folks! I'm waiting for your feedback.

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TC,

Authoress Angst 01

xD

P.S. I will dedicate the next chappie to all those who review! =)