Author Note: I'm making sure I post this chapter as close to December 21st as possible, in honor of Michelle's (CurryCurran) birthday! Happy birthday, Michelle… I hope this chapter will suffice. XD To everyone else, I hope you have a wonderful holiday… Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate. And if I don't update till 2007, happy new year to all! Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Eleven

Opening her eyes, Lily glanced around her. She was in her own room, though she could not remember how she got there, and the sunlight was just beginning to enter her room. Confused, she sat up quickly, noticing two very strange things.

One, her head was pounding. I never get headaches, she thought to herself questioningly. The only time her head had throbbed remotely this badly was when she was six – during her years before Hogwarts – and the ailment had come with a high fever as well.

The other surprise was just as confusing. Across the room, James sat in a chair, sleeping. He's in my room? she wondered, rubbing her eyes to be certain… and yet, he was still there.

Quietly, Lily stood up, wincing in pain as her headache ensued. The rest of her body was sore as well, for some inexplicable reason. She tiptoed to the door, gazing over at James to make sure she did not stir him.

He looks so peaceful, she thought, smiling to herself. Or, you know, as peaceful as an insufferable git can look.

But the way James breathed so quietly, the way his hair flopped in his face, the way his glasses lay askew on the bridge of his nose made him begin to seem harmless. For a moment, he was no longer the obnoxious flirt who constantly tried to kiss her – he was just an innocent boy who had fallen asleep in her room.

Soon, however, Lily's common sense kicked in. Obviously he's not so innocent if he's been in here without my knowledge, she thought to herself warily. Why is he here?

Bringing a hand to her aching head, she called out softly, "James?"

James's eyes opened at once. "Good morning, Lily," he replied, his voice just as quiet as hers. Obviously, judging from his reaction time, he had been sleeping lightly, as it usually took him ages to recognize anyone or anything in the morning. "How are you feeling?"

"Like Hell, actually," Lily told him, crossing her arms. "Do you have any idea as to why?"

Reluctantly, James nodded. "I do know why," he said. "But you're going to hate the answer."

"Try me."

James sighed. "Last night, while I was with Greta, apparently you drank a whole bottle of Firewhisky… which caused you to pass out, right as I entered the room. I wasn't sure what to do, so I carried you up to your room and fell asleep there."

"That's impossible!" Lily exclaimed, angered at the thought. She never did such irresponsible things! "I don't drink… never have."

James shook his head. "I knew you wouldn't take it so well… but it's true. Is your head throbbing?"

"Yes," Lily said, still annoyed.

"Well… that's because you're having a hangover," James explained. "Why the alcohol companies don't have spells to avoid hangovers is beyond me. But, I'm sorry to say… that's why you're feeling so horrible right now."

Lily thought back to the night before. There was Truth or Dare… Jerrica and Sirius had disappeared behind a couch, Remus had announced his love for Selena, and… Suddenly, all of the feelings of the night before came rushing back to Lily. She remembered feeling crushed once she heard that Remus did not fancy her, but that something else overpowered those feelings. Was it the Firewhisky that Sirius had brought? It must have been. Was that what triggered the headaches?

Lily heaved a sigh. James was right; she had been drinking. "So… what should I do to feel better?" she asked, hoping he would have an answer.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're not going to fight me on this one?"

"I believe you," Lily told him, yawning. "Now tell me how to fix the… hangover." She said hangover as though the term were foreign – which, in a way, it was.

James stood up from the chair and joined Lily at the door. "I'll make you some tea using my secret recipe… it'll have you good as new in a few minutes." He smiled slightly. "Aren't you glad to share quarters with someone who can cure hangovers?"

Opening the door, Lily rolled her eyes but returned the smile, despite the pain she was undergoing. The two headed down to the Head Commons, where James assembled a few ingredients and set up a kettle near the fireplace. He then took a seat next to Lily on the couch.

"Where are the others?" Lily asked, noticing the absence of their friends. She knew they wouldn't have strolled the corridors back to the Gryffindor tower so late at night, so where had they gone?

"Oh," James responded, "they're probably still asleep. I let them stay in my room for the night."

"Why were you in mine?" Lily demanded.

"Wanted to make sure you were all right," said James, his voice genuine. "I wasn't planning on staying there the whole night, but I fell asleep. It was late."

There was a pause.

"Well… thank you," Lily said finally, breaking the silence. "For taking care of me… it was very thoughtful."

"It was nothing; I'm sure you would have done the same for me." James hesitated for a moment. "Except, of course, for carrying me up to my room… that might be a little more difficult…"

Lily smiled and nodded weakly. Would I? She wondered to herself all the while. A part of her doubted it. Usually he bothers me so much that if he did pass out, I'd enjoy the silence. But who was to say that James hadn't enjoyed the silence? He had been upset with her earlier in the day, after all.

"Tea's ready," James announced, standing up at once. He rummaged around for a cup and poured some tea for Lily.

"Thanks," Lily said, grasping the cup and taking a huge sip. Already her head did not hurt so much. "How did you figure out how to make this?" She took another sip.

"Years of experience, my dear," he told her, smiling. "I'll never tell a soul."

Lily finished her tea, and within moments her hangover was gone.

"That's the last time I drink," she said with a laugh.

James's face turned serious. "If it's any of my business," he asked, "why did you drink so much last night?"

Lily thought for a moment. Should she tell him? Instead of sharing the full truth, she merely said, "It had something to do with a Truth or Dare game…"

"Oh, no." James sighed. "Sirius didn't dare you to do this, did he?"

"No!" Lily did not want to lay blame on anyone for her own stupidity. "I mean, nobody did."

"Oh." James looked relieved, then appeared pensive for a moment. "So… Truth or Dare, hmm? I guess that explains Jerrica and Sirius, then." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Actually, plenty of that was their own doing," Lily told him with a smile. "About time, right?"

James grinned, and nodded in agreement. "He's fancied her ever since he knew what girls were, but he didn't want to ruin things because the two of them have always been so close anyway."

"Same with Jerrica," Lily said. "And look what waiting did for them… all those years of wanting each other and trying to deny it." For some reason, her cheeks flushed at the thought of this.

"Hey," James said suddenly. "I missed out on Truth or Dare when I was with Greta. Would you honor me with a game now?"

Lily nodded. "But I don't feel like taking any dares this early in the day, so could we just play Truth?"

"I suppose," James said, "but because you got to decide that, I get to ask the first question." He smiled triumphantly.

"Ask away."

"We'll start easy. What is your middle name?"

"Grace," Lily answered automatically. She could have asked James the same question, but she knew the answer well and used it often – Adonis. "What is your favorite color?"

"It's a tie between the two Gryffindor colors – scarlet and gold. Do you have any pets at home?"

"Two small fish, Dahlia and Juniper… not particularly sociable creatures, but my sister Petunia is allergic to just about everything else. What about you?"

"What are my allergies?" James asked, to clarify. "Or what kind of pets do I have?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Both."

"Well… to answer your first question, the invincible James Potter is allergic to nothing." He grinned. "And as for your second question, we have a cat at home named Darcy. He's prouder than Jane Austen's Darcy could ever have hoped to be, but he's old and harmless."

"You've read Jane Austen?" Lily was surprised.

"Ah, but I've just answered two of your questions." James laughed. "Now you have to answer two of mine."

"Fine." She pretended to pout.

"All right… first, is everyone in your family named after a flower?" James asked. "You know – Lily, Petunia, the fish…"

Lily smiled. "Not my father," she told him with a laugh. "But my mum, on the other hand, her name is Rose. All the females on her side of the family have been named for flowers. What's your other question?"

"Why did you slap me that first day we met, on the train?"

The smile faded. Lily could still picture that day clearly in her mind, but rarely did she choose to think of it. She was never the type of person who warmed up to others easily, but she found that first impression of herself cold and unforgiving. She would hate for people to judge her based on that day on the train. Not that she cared what James thought of her or anything…

"You weren't the kind of person I was expecting to meet," Lily said finally. "I was new to the wizarding world… I didn't want to bring attention to myself, and it seemed like you did that for me." She took a deep breath. "I was also new to the concept of boys," she added with a small smirk. "I suppose it's difficult to explain."

"Your turn to ask a question," was all James said in response.

"Oh, right." Lily tried to think of a decent question to ask, since James seemed to have decided to make the questions harder. Finally, she thought of something that had been itching at her all morning anyway. "Why did you help me, even though you were mad at me yesterday?"

James sighed. "Just because I was mad at you doesn't mean I stopped caring about you altogether," he said simply. "Of course I wanted to make sure you were all right." He paused to think of a question. "What is your biggest fear?"

Good question, Lily thought to herself. She hated rodents, spiders, and small reptiles, but she was not afraid of them… merely repulsed. Commitment, perhaps? No, she had always held strong to her commitments. Was Lily afraid of anything?

"Getting hurt," she said finally. "By myself and by the people around me. That's what makes it so easy to maintain such a cold exterior… why my peers probably refer to me as the Ice Queen behind my back. If you don't let people in, then they can't see you cry." After she revealed this, Lily was embarrassed by it, but she could not deny what she had just said. After all, the game was called Truth.

My turn, Lily thought. "Why have you pursued me all these years? I was always so rude to you, but you kept coming back."

"At first," James admitted, "it was because you were a challenge. You have to understand, my parents have always given me everything I wanted. With most people, I can smile and they'll do as I asked. You were never like that. But then, I started to really care for you. You're smart… and even when you tell me off, it makes me laugh. And I know what a loyal friend you are – I've seen you with Jerrica and Selena. There's that side of you that not a lot of people get to see, and I wanted to be the one to bring it out. Like, when you smile. You're beautiful when you smile, but you don't seem to smile enough. And your laugh… it takes a lot to make you laugh, but when you do it's contagious. After a while, I saw enough of that side of you to know that you were the only one really I wanted."

Lily was speechless. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said about her, and suddenly she felt horrible for every time she had ever slapped James or told him off. It hadn't been just a lust thing, as she once imagined – he really did care for her.

"My turn," James announced, interrupting Lily in her deep thoughts. "Do you regret coming with me to Hogsmeade the other night… and, you know, everything that happened?"

Lily thought about it. A mix of feelings came to mind, but none were feelings of regret. Despite her protests, she didn't mind the sensation of James's lips on hers… not one bit.

"No," she told him. "No regrets. Do you?"

James shook his head. "No," he agreed. He grinned. "Was I a good snog?"

The best, Lily thought to herself immediately, feeling her cheeks grow hot. "No need to be too modest, James," she said with a small chuckle. "But I suppose you were. A good snog, I mean."

James smirked. "I knew it."

"Was I decent?" Lily asked playfully. "Or, you know, at least half as good as your friend Greta?"

"I wouldn't know," James said. "I've never kissed her."

Lily was shocked. "Really?" She gasped. "You've always seemed… well… smitten with her."

He shook his head. "I'm not interested in her, Lily. She's pretty, of course, and she actually seems to like me… but I don't know. Sparks don't really fly when I'm with her. But to answer your question," he added, changing the subject, "it was everything I could have hoped for."

Lily smiled. She wasn't sure what made her happier… the fact that James and Greta never kissed, or the fact that James enjoyed their kiss. What's wrong with you, Evans? She wondered if the alcohol still had its effects from the night before. Suddenly she felt like she was melting.

"What about you and Moony… er… Remus?" James asked. "Nothing between the two of you?"

All of these years, Lily had wanted to be with Remus. She considered the two of them a perfect match, but now, she wondered if that were so true. Did sparks fly between them, or was it like the false attraction she'd sensed between James and Greta?

"No," Lily answered, "I suppose not." She paused. A question began to eat at her, and she figured that she may as well ask it. "Yesterday, you told me that you were done chasing me. Are you?"

James stopped to think about his answer. "That depends," he responded, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Do you want me to be?"

She had been wondering this herself. Surprisingly, the answer came easily now. "No," she told him, returning the smile. "I don't."

All was quiet for a moment, as Lily moved beside James on the couch. She leaned forward, and James leaned to meet her halfway. Their lips were nearly touching now, so close… so close… until...

"Happy Christmas!" came a pair of voices atop the stairs, and immediately James and Lily broke away.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank digitaldawn, CurryCurran, maraudersminuspeterarehot, catgoddessfreak, Auriela, BlackCat69, Rubber-duckiesofdoom, and Yuki Asao for your reviews on Chapter 10. Hope you enjoy!