Author's Note: Okay, I think the last part is just a little filler, but anyway, here's chapter eleven. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Anything familiar belongs to Jo.

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Chapter Eleven: Week-Old Pudding

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"Lily?" James asked in a quiet whisper as they followed Dumbledore to the office.

"What, Potter?" she replied as icily as she could in her situation. Really, though, she couldn't figure out what he would need her and James for, so she was in the midst of trying to figure it out.

"I'm s—sorry," he stuttered, closing his eyes and anticipating her reaction. When there was none, she noticed that she was simply looking ahead of her, a glazed look in her emerald eyes. "Li—," James started just as Dumbledore stopped them in their paths. That's when the boy noticed that Dumbledore didn't have the usual amused gleam it always did.

"Cotton candy," Dumbledore said in his deep voice to the gargoyle. The gargoyle jumped aside, and Lily suddenly laughed. The two males turned to her as she clutched her side and continued laughing.

What a laugh she has, James thought happily, a small smile escaping his lips.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I—I tend to laugh at the worst times," Lily explained, blushing like mad, when she calmed down.

"It's good to be able to laugh at a time of distress; of course, there are times when that is deathly inappropriate," Dumbledore replied solemnly, looking off into a space for a second before James cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, come along," he said, shuffling swiftly up the stairs. Lily and James quietly followed him up the stairs, neither saying a word to each other as they drowned in their own reveries.

I don't know what I did to her—ever since that game in the third year, she's been trying to make me leave her alone. She doesn't even hand me my Christmas presents in person anymore.

Ugh, he's so insufferable! This is why I walked out on him during the game in third—is that Emma? What's she doing here? Lily's last thoughts came to her as she noticed her friend's blond curls seeming limper than usual.

"Albus, I got the news while I was in my office," McGonagall said simply, handing a letter to Dumbledore, who read it silently before shaking his head.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, please take a seat," Dumbledore said absent-mindedly, sitting in his own seats and waving his wand to conjure up a couple chairs. "The news I'm about to deliver to you isn't any better than Miss Reed's, in a sense," the old man continued, and Emma gasped. "Now, I'm sure the two of you are well aware of the acquaintance of your grandmothers?" he asked, looking from Lily to James.

"Since our third year, they've been inseparable," Lily said for the sake of talking.

"Yes, well, yesterday, the two were spending the day together at the Potters' home," Dumbledore started and James started shaking his head, muttering 'no, no' under his breath. "And Death Eaters attacked them," he finished, bowing his head as Lily's eyes widened and her breathing became ragged. "Like the reports say, if Voldemort wants you dead, well, there is no escaping your fate," he sighed and Lily finally broke down into tears.

"Oh, Lily," Emma muttered and she pulled her best friend into a hug. The moment they were in each other's grip, they both started crying silent tears.

"Sir, have my parents been notified?" James said his voice stronger than he felt.

"They have, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore continued. "Now, if the three of you will excuse me, I have some, ah, business to take care of," he added, opening the door for them.

"Thank—thank you, Professor," Emma hiccupped as she and Lily simply walked out of the office, Lily not saying or really doing anything anymore out of shock.

"Professor, what's going to happen now?" James asked solemnly, walking up to the Head's desk. The question made Lily stop mid-stride and turn around, watching the professor for an answer.

""What do you mean, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked, standing by Dumbledore's desk.

"I mean—well, I suppose I don't really know—I'm just," James sighed. "Never mind; thanks," he added, walking past the girls, his head lowered a little.

"James," Lily whispered as Emma ushered her out the door. What were they supposed to do now?

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"Prongs, what happened? Did something happen between you and Lily?" Sirius asked James as the boy walked into the boys' dorm, his head hung low and holding back tears.

"No, not Lily," James said quietly and sullenly, slipping out of his robes, leaving himself in his boxers.

"Who—," Remus started and James simply fell into his bed, throwing the covers over his head.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay, guys?" James muttered into his pillow and the two of them shrugged and Peter made this loud snoring noise.

"Okay, Prongs, but we expect you to say something tomorrow," Sirius said in a firm tone before heading to his own bed.

"Padfoot's right—you can't just mope around without telling us what it's about," Remus added, giving out a long yawn before slipping into his own bed.

"Argh," James muttered angrily as he listened to the room around him sleep. After a few more minutes, when he started hearing all his friends in their nightly noises, he shouted into his pillow. "This is the worst night ever," he groaned, burying his face into his pillow.

"Same here," a soft voice said from the foot of his bed, making him jump. "Ouch," the voice cried out softly as James heard a thump on the floor.

"Evans? What are you doing here?" James asked, jumping out of his bed and walking over to her side. He squatted down so that his face was level with hers as she sat up.

"What did I trip on?" she asked him absent-mindedly, picking up the offending object off the floor. "Ewe," she squeaked as she threw one of Sirius' dirty clothes to the side. "That was disgusting," Lily continued, shuddering a little.

James opened his mouth to say something, and then made a disgusted face.

"What's with the face?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at James, who suddenly stood up and held out his hand. She took his hand and pushed herself up. "So, what's with the face?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, it's, um," James found himself speechless for a second as Lily nibbled a little on the corner of her lip and looked up at him with her innocent-like, green eyes. "Hold on," he finally said after a few seconds of just staring at her. James walked over to his trunk and bent down, giving Lily a nice view of his back.

"What are you rummaging in your trunk for?" she asked, taking a few, quiet steps towards him.

"This," James replied as he suddenly stood up and turned around. Without the warning, the two bumped heads and Lily put a hand in front of her so she could steady herself.

"For, um, what?" Lily asked, stepping back as she realized just how warm James' skin felt under her fingertips.

"Just a temporary substitute for your pyjamas," he said, nodding at her maroon silk-like sleepwear. James knew she'd find out about the pudding soon enough, and knowing her, she didn't have her wand on her to clean it.

"Why would I need a temporary—?" she started to ask, putting her hands on her hips. That's when she felt something sticky and gooey in between her slender fingers. "What is—oh my—," Lily began to scream before James put a hand to her mouth.

"Calm down, it's just some week-old pudding," James shrugged indifferently, and Lily's eyes widened. "Okay, so yeah, it is gross, but you can't scream. If you wake everyone up, well, think about what that'll do," he added, and then he stepped back. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"

"I was—," Lily started, and she finished it with a mumble

"You were what?" James asked, unsure what she was trying to say.

"I was hungry, alright? Hunger and trauma and midnight jitters just make me do crazy things and, I don't know, I thought you might be able to help me," Lily explained, suddenly finding her fidgeting fingers very interesting. "Look, I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll just head back to my dorm," she sighed after he didn't respond for a few seconds.

"No, no, I'll help, it's just a—shock, I guess, that you're asking me for help, that's all," James said simply, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, right, I just—I don't know, like I said, crazy things," Lily muttered, pushing back a strand of hair.

"Yeah, alright, but why don't you go ahead and change into this—I don't think you want to walk around with Padfo—Sirius' week-old pudding on your, um, lower area," James said unsurely, holding out a pair of his shorts and an old Quidditch jersey from the Montrose Magpies.

"You can say butt, you know? Also, I know all about your secret, Prongs," Lily replied knowingly, taking a step towards him before taking the clothes. "And thanks," she added as she closed the door on a shocked looking James.

"The secret? What—what does she know about the secret?" James muttered to himself, leaning back onto his trunk. "Which secret does she know?" he asked quietly to the room, leaning his head back as far as it would go and closing his eyes. "The one about the three Marauders or Moony—or even both," he continued absently. "How did she figure it out? Did she spy on us? Or did she just figure it out?"

"I'd go with the second one," Lily chuckled and he jumped up, hitting his hand on the trunk. She had her clothes in a small bundle under her arm.

"Merlin's fuzzy knickers!" he said quietly, tensing as he tried to keep from screaming.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," Lily laughed quietly, rolling his eyes as he continued to nurse his hand. "Let me see that," she sighed and grabbed his hand from him. After a few minutes of running her fingers over his hand and studying it, she dropped it again. "You'll be fine. Now, will you help me or not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, not in an accusatory way, but more a curious-questioning kind of way.

"Of course, Lilyki—yeah," he shrugged and she walked over to the door.

"Okay, let me just change into my own pyjamas so I can give you back these," she added, opening the door.

"Don't worry about it—you just go dump off your pudding pants," James said, smiling at his own lame joke.

"Actually, do you mind if I just leave it here? I mean, I don't think it'll leave much of a...mark," Lily replied slowly, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the room.

"Go ahead, just leave it by the door," James shrugged, shaking out the folded Invisibility Cloak. "You do realize that this'll be the second time we're sneaking out of the Common Room together, right? Think about how this looks to the student body," he added, smirking as he held the Cloak up high, ready to drape it around them.

"Honestly, I don't care right now. I've only had a pie and half a cake for dinner, and completely skipped the healthy part of dinner itself, so there," Lily said, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest. "Please, James?" she added, just as her stomach growled.

"Is that thing trained to know when to prove a point or something?" James laughed just before he covered them in the Cloak.

"Thanks," Lily replied happily, smiling. She didn't know why she was even talking to him in the first place—actually, she was completely clueless to the goings-on in the past few days. "Um, James," she added, closing the door a little before they could leave. A few moments under the Cloak with James in his—state—was all she could take in her own, confused state.

"What?" James asked, coming out of some sort of reverie.

"If we do get caught, I don't think you being half-naked would help our case any," Lily joked and he nodded, slipping out of the Invisibility Cloak smoothly and walking over to his trunk. Grabbing a Puddlemere United Quidditch jersey, he slid it on and rejoined Lily under the Cloak.

"Anything else?" he chuckled and she shook her head as her stomach grumbled. "Let's go before the whole school, and China, can hear that thing," James sighed and they descended down the stairs. When they were on the last few steps, he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her back, putting a hand over her mouth, knowing that she was ready to scream. After a few minutes of being in that position, one of the fifth years practically skipped up the steps, and Lily noticed one of the other Prefects gliding up the girls' dormitory steps. Once the pair heard the doors to the respective dorms shut, James let go of Lily and she stepped as far away from him as she could.

"Amazing, who would've thought?" she chuckled and James shook his head. "What?"

"Authority sticks with authority," James explained and, when she raised a confused eyebrow at her, shook his head again. "I'll tell you when we're down in the kitchens again," he sighed and Lily was about to protest when her stomach grumbled.

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"Miss Evans? Mr. Potter?" a small voice asked as the two slowly woke up. "Buckle wishes to use the tables for breakfast," the voice continued and Lily bolted upright.

"Breakfast?" she cried, running a frantic hand through her hair.

"What's the big deal, Lily?" James asked as he slowly sat up.

"Don't Lily me, Potter, its breakfast. Morning—meaning that there are people out there," Lily shouted and James raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's your point, Evans?" he asked, wondering exactly what was wrong. James didn't see anything wrong with them accidentally falling asleep in the kitchens. At least they were closer to the Great Hall than their fellow Gryffindors.

"I'm in your clothes," she said simply, angrily, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sure Buckle has a uniform you could just borrow," James shrugged. "For, um, both of us," he added, ruffling his hair.

Lily took a deep breath to keep from shouting and turned to the House-elf. "Do you, Buckle?" she asked nervously and the House-elf happily nodded.

"When Buckle sees Miss Evans and Mr. Potter sleeping in kitchens, he took uniforms from their dorms," Buckle replied cheerily and Lily sighed.

"Thank you so much, Buckle!" Lily sighed, kneeling down and hugging the elf, who only chuckled nervously. "You're a life saviour," she added as he snapped his fingers and two sets of uniforms popped on the table.

"Thanks, Buckle," James said quietly, picking up his set. With that, he unfolded the trousers and slipped them over his boxers.

"Um, Buckle; is there somewhere I can change?" Lily asked the elf.

"Only in the bathrooms in the halls, miss," Buckle replied sheepishly and she nodded before he walked back to the kitchen to help make breakfast.

"I never understood why girls were always so self-conscious," James chuckled and Lily turned to glare at him, but she suddenly found herself feeling warmer in her face when she saw James' very well-formed torso. "And, yeah, Lily, that was a dare," he added, smirking confidently, and she narrowed her eyes at him before dropping her uniform on the bench.

"The thing is, Potter," she said, obviously a little peeved at him, but slipping off the shorts. "We just don't feel like parading around without clothes on," she added as she let the Montrose Magpies shirt hang around her.

"That's a riot. Obviously you're a different breed of girl from everyone else," he laughed, slipping on his button-down shirt.

"Obviously," she said simply, slipping on her skirt. "Then again, I'll only have to take your word for it. I've never really had an in-depth conversation with a floozy about it," Lily finished, with a small smile on her face. She had slipped on her socks and shoes, but was not faced with a small dilemma.

"I'll turn around," James said, sitting down with his back to her.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all," she whispered as she tugged at the collar of the shirt.

"Wait, what did you just say?" James asked, turning his head around to be faced with the small bit of Lily's stomach that was showing between the hem of the lifted shirt and her skirt.

"Turn around, Potter," Lily sighed and he did so. With that, she tugged the rest of the shirt off and put on her button-down. "Thank you, Buckle," she said with a final resolve and headed for the door.

"Oh, so no thanks for me?" James joked as he caught up with her.

"I suppose you do deserve some thanks," Lily sighed, as if it was too hard for her to say so.

"You're not funny," he snorted, and she simply flipped her hair in his face, giving him full front smell of the caramel scented shampoo she had used last night.

"Really, though, thank you, Potter," she added, before pointing a finger at him. "If word of this ever reaches anyone's ears, I'll hex yours off, do you understand, Potter?" Lily said threateningly, narrowing her green eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," James said, nodding fervently. Merlin, she's crazy, he thought to himself as she stormed off. But I—I love her, he added to himself, smiling proudly as he watched her red hair swing slightly as she tried to put it up in a ponytail.

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Author's Note: Thanks to fanfictionpie and Katie for the reviews.
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