A/N: Welcome back! Are we all feeling refreshed after a whole chapter of James and Lily? I hope so!

Enjoy :)


Chapter 12: Letters and Words


School returned begrudgingly on Monday morning but unlike the majority of her peers, Lily found herself looking forward to the school day. She awoke in an elated mood and hummed Elton John songs throughout her shower in the Prefects' Bathroom. At breakfast, her cheerful temperament only increased at the sight of two owls making a beeline for her and dropping three letters in front of her. One owl, a large barn owl, had delivered a letter addressed to Dear Cat so she put that to the side for when Marlene's tired figure inevitably arrived and turned to the other two envelopes, which had been carried by a snowy owl Lily recognised to be the owl she sent to her parents with a brief letter telling them she'd arrived at Hogwarts and Edward was no longer her boyfriend. She would have opened them there at the breakfast table but Sirius and James sat down opposite her so she decided against it – Lily was extremely private in regards to her mail.

'Morning, Lily!' James greeted brightly and Sirius, who was far too exhausted for any form of conversation, did a small wave before pulling the jug of coffee towards him.

'Morning, you two.' Lily smiled; James had called her by her first name again and somewhere deep, very deep, down her insides leapt. 'Late night?' she asked Sirius, who grunted while James laughed. Sirius was drinking his way through a mug of coffee and did not answer so James took it upon himself to reply instead.

'He stayed up till 4 am waiting for me to get back from the library so he could try and scare me. Took the git 7 hours to realise I was already in bed.' Lily shook her head in disbelief as James roared with laughter once more. Helping himself to some sausages and a fried egg, he glanced at Lily, who had picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet which had been lying next to her on the table. Her face knit into a look of disgust as she began to scan the front page. 'Is it that bad?' James asked her.

'12 dead in Newcastle… Final death toll still to be released.' she replied, reading off the article, 'Confirmed Death Eater attack… Casualties up to 46 people…'

'Fucking hell…' James muttered and was met with a reprimanding look from Lily due to the fact that a group of 1st years were walking past. Sirius drained the rest of his coffee and ruffled his hair before reaching for some toast. Tilting her head slightly, Lily observed him and after a moments consideration she glanced towards the doors into the Great Hall and, as she had predicted, Marlene was making her way over to them. There was a loud cough and Lily looked sharply at James, who indicated Sirius with a small jerk of his head and smirked. Lily nodded slowly but stopped abruptly as Marlene plonked into the seat beside her.

'What're you laughing at?' Marlene snapped irritably in James' direction. The Head boy had lapsed into a set of evil cackles and Lily bit her lip to stop herself joining in as she caught sight of both Sirius and Marlene's bewildered expressions.

'We've got Head business to discuss.' James said loudly, standing up and Lily, cottoning on, nodded and stood up also. She pressed the letter addressed to Dear Cat into Marlene's hands and scurried after James.

'Sorry, Marls. See you in Potions!' She felt slightly guilty abandoning Marlene but judging by the pink tinge that had appeared on Sirius' cheeks, she had done the right thing. Lily and James left the Hall, waving at Remus, who was talking to Professor Flitwick at the staff table, on their way out and sent knowing looks at Peter, who sat with Flora Jenkins at the Hufflepuff table. Once out of the Great Hall, James pulled Lily to the side with a grin on his face.

'One day those two'll thank us.' he said, pointing at where they'd just come from.

'Let's hope so anyway.' Lily agreed and began fumbling around her bag for her timetable. 'We have Arithmancy second, right?' She checked and then produced her desired piece of parchment. 'Yup.'

'And you're sitting next to the best bloke in the world.' He smirked at her.

'Of course… How could I forget?' Lily grinned at him as they began to head in the direction of their Potions classroom.

'Quite easily, I could imagine.' a snide voice said from behind them. The two Heads spun around and confronted the sneering face of Edward. Lily's smile instantly became a look of discomfort and James resembled someone who had fallen into a large pile of dragon dung.

'McClaggen.' James greeted coolly with a sideways glance at Lily. His hands had curled into fists and his stance was tense as he stepped slightly in front of Lily like he was planning to be her human shield.

'I see you've got yourself a new boyfriend already.' Edward observed coldly, directing his comment at the Head girl, who seemed to by toying with the decision of what to say. 'Sla-'

'You sure you want to finish that word, McClaggen?' James asked, his tone dangerous. With one swift movement, he had pulled out his wand and Lily sighed in exasperation. However, both boys seemed to have forgotten her presence as they glowered at each other, wands gripped in front of them, and stood almost nose to nose. James was a little taller than Edward and in this scenario their height gap was incredibly noticeable.

'Leave him ALONE!'

'Why don't we just go to our lesson?' Lily suggested brightly, trying and failing to ease the tension. The two boys continued to glare at each other for a moment, James towering over Edward, before Edward threw his wand onto the floor.

'I challenge you to a duel.' he snarled and James met his gaze with equal malice.

'Leave him alone. What's he done to you?'

'Surely we can shake hands and make up?' Lily looked desperately between the two boys as slowly and obviously, James bent down and picked up Edward's wand. He thrust it into his opponent's hand and spat on the ground at Edward's feet.

'Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…'

'I accept your duel. Meet me at midnight in the trophy room and may the best man win.' They scowled for another few seconds before Edward gave a curt nod and stormed off ahead of the two Heads just as the school bell resounded across the corridor. James' face revealed him to be slightly pleased of himself but Lily simply sighed and hurried towards their desired destination. Jogging after her, James smirked and followed her into the dungeons. Throughout their Potions lesson, Lily worked in grim silence with Marlene beside her muttering words of a very rude nature about Sirius, who was blowing her kisses from across the classroom. Professor Slughorn noticed nothing, not even when James sent a jinx at Edward that induced leeks to sprout of his ears. He turned the shade of a ripe tomato and began storming over to where the Head boy sat, lazily bewitching his potion ingredients to dance into his cauldron. He would have reached him had Lily not gently grabbed his wrist and with a forced smile, vanished the leeks.

Needless to say, Lily was extremely glad that the lesson ended and then immediately began dreading her next class where she would be sitting beside James. Lily forced herself to laugh along with Alice, Dorcas and Julia at Amelia's joke about hippogriffs as in reality her mind was completely elsewhere. Professor Everhart was quick to arrive and let the class in with a slightly preoccupied air. James reached their table first and was already lounging in his seat by the time Lily sat down.

They didn't speak to each other as they unpacked their things, partially because Lily was still too annoyed to trust herself to speak civilly and partially because James was still too eager for the chance to duel (and then win against) Edward to see any form of reason.

Professor Everhart began to speak so neither of the pair were required to engage the other in conversation until about 45 minutes into the lesson when they'd finished copying down notes and were now doing some practice questions. Lily was quite content to work without conversing with anyone but James had other ideas.

'D'you reckon Sirius and McKinnon snogged after we left them?' he asked as they began scribbling their answers down.

'No.' Lily responded shortly. James smirked in her direction and flicked a bit of her hair with the tip of his quill.

'Aw, Lily… Are you angry about the duel?' He laughed lightly.

'Yes.' she replied tersely and kept her gaze determinately on her work.

'It's just a duel. Besides, I get a chance to hex that smarmy git.' James still looked extremely proud of himself.

'You are Head boy!' Lily snapped and then immediately fell silent at her tone of voice. She said nothing else whilst James chortled next to her.

'Head boy?' he asked incredulously. 'You think that means I can't have fun? What's wrong with a duel now and then and staying up after curfew?' When Lily didn't speak, he continued. 'McClaggen deserves everything I throw at him. You should be supporting me – I mean he's your ex and you of all people know how much of a wanker he is.'

'You are such a-' Lily stopped herself, her eyes widening slightly.

'You think you're funny but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter.'

'Go on.' James taunted, his face still plastered with an aggravatingly smug smile. 'Say something mean about me. Insult me… I dare you…' His mouth widened its smirk as Lily opened and closed her mouth. Then she snatched up her work and stood up; as she did so, her line of neatly arranged quills fell to the ground and James stooped to catch them before holding them out to her, his face softening into a much kinder expression.

'Can I just say that you two are the cutest couple!' Alice Prewett squealed, having turned around in her seat in time to see James catch the quills for Lily. The Head girl in question simply stood frozen for a few seconds before striding up to the front and handing Professor Everhart her completed practice questions. She then returned to her desk and with a flick of her wand had packed up all of her things, including the quills which zoomed out of James' outstretched hand. Seconds later the bell rang and Lily rushed out of the classroom as the babble of talk, that only occurred when lessons ended, ensued.

James watched her leave with a completely baffled expression and it took three attempts of both Frank and Kingsley saying his name for him to react. He didn't see Lily all break nor did he see her during Transfiguration, which they had 3rd period, and she wasn't in Charms either or in the Great Hall at lunch. James did glimpse Marlene once caring a large mug of soup in one hand and a sandwich, which she was eating, in the other; he asked her if she'd seen the Head girl to which she replied with a very foulmouthed statement wishing him a death by food poisoning. But what bothered James most about Lily's absence was that none of the teachers seemed fazed by the fact that she and Marlene were missing their lessons; in fact, they didn't remark upon it at all, not a single teacher.

By dinner time, James was growing desperate and grabbed a roll before practically sprinting up to his dormitory to retrieve the Marauder's Map. Holding the dog-eared piece of parchment on his knee, James took a deep breath.

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' he muttered and at once ink lines began to sprawl across the parchment. His eyes scanned the Map and although his eyes quickly found Marlene in Professor McGonagall's office with the Deputy Headmistress, the little dot labelled Lily Evans was hauntingly non-existent. After searching the Map for a good 5 minutes, James concluded that Lily was definitely missing.

He stood up. His best bet was eavesdropping by Professor McGonagall's office as Marlene usually knew where Lily was and her behaviour earlier definitely suggested she had seen Lily at least after James had. It was a start at the very least.

It didn't take him long to grab his invisibility cloak and run all the way to Professor McGonagall's office. Once outside he covered himself in the cloak and, pressing his ear right against the door, listened closely. At first, he heard nothing except the scraping of a chair, which was presumably Professor McGonagall sitting down, and the distinct sound of Marlene insulting someone.

'He's an idiot. And d'you know what? He's more than just an idiot – he's a brainless git…sorry, Professor…and too thick to string two words together that don't insult everyone around him.' There was a brief pause where someone coughed. 'I wouldn't be that fussed about getting annoyed at him.' James frowned slightly for Marlene's last statement had indicated she was talking to someone but he knew it highly unlikely that she should say something like that to Professor McGonagall.

'But it's not just him…' another voice mumbled. This voice made James' heart leap – Lily! His furrowed brow deepened, however, because her name hadn't appeared on the Map despite her definitely being within the Map's range. 'I – I've been getting so angry lately…'

'And quite rightly so.' Professor McGonagall's voice made James jump slightly. 'Mr Potter should respect his duties as Head boy.'

'He was only considering a duel.' Lily uttered hastily and James felt his insides tighten guiltily – she was lying to prevent him getting into trouble. Marlene evidently knew the actual story for she let out an angry huff but said nothing.

'I was very impressed by your article.' Professor McGonagall informed the two girls, completely changing topic and bewildering James. 'You two have a flare for addressing people's problems.'

'Thanks…' Marlene answered uncertainly and Lily remained silent. Professor McGonagall let out an extremely frustrated sigh and the sound of her shuffling paper was clearly audible from where James stood eavesdropping in the corridor outside.

'Miss Evans, I simply refuse to accept this as a fault on your part and I fully expect you to continue your Head girl duties in the same professional manner you have thus far managed.' There was a loud crash as James leaned too much weight in the door and it burst open sending him flying onto the floor of the office, the invisibility cloak sliding off him. 'Mr Potter, how kind of you to join us.' Professor McGonagall remarked dryly. 'I am pleased to hear you have denounced any possibility of a duel.'

'Um… Y-yes, Professor.' James stuttered, scrambling to his feet.

'I would be extremely grateful if you could escort Miss Evans to Gryffindor Tower. Miss McKinnon, I'd like a word.'

'Of – of course, Professor.'

Lily sent a reassuring smile in Marlene's direction as she followed James out of the office. The Head boy and girl walked in silence, Lily shuffling her feet as they went, and didn't look at one another. As the silence continued, Lily began to hum to herself in order to feel less awkward. Quite subconsciously, she chose the tune of Build Me Up Buttercup and her face became slightly more relaxed. James turned his head slightly to the side and a lopsided grin formed as he observed her absentminded smile.

She seemed to momentarily forget his presence as she did a small skip before remembering James was there and immediately stiffening. But she didn't stop humming.

'Leave him alone.'

'I'm sorry about the duel.' James said out of the blue. Lily instantly halted her humming, her eyes widening.

'Hm?'

'I said I'm sorry about the duel – you were right… I'm Head boy and I shouldn't… You know…' James trailed off looking down at his feet.

'It's okay…' she replied quietly, watching a painting of an elderly lady surrounded by cats, all of which were sporting pink silken bows. 'I know you can't back out of it now – Wizard's honour and all that – and I'll make sure no one catches you but… But you have to promise me you won't rise to any of more Edward's comments.'

'I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on… go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.'

'I promise.' James responded, looking directly into her emerald eyes. 'But only,' a smirk appeared on his face, 'if you promise to call me James.'

'I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid.'

'I… Fine.' Lily held out her hand, which he shook cheerfully.

'You're remarkably calm about the idea of a full-on duel happening in the trophy room.' James pointed out after a little while.

'Marlene could do with a laugh.' she answered with a shrug and shot a cheeky grin in his direction.

'Bad luck, Prongs.'

When they returned to the common room, James headed to where the rest of the Marauders sat, heads bent and muttering to one another, and Lily up to her dormitory. Once she entered the dormitory, she glanced around surreptitiously and then, after confirming she was alone, jumped onto her bed, a grin gracing her features. Letting out a small laugh, Lily kicked off her black pumps and threw her bag onto the ground beside her four-poster. She couldn't remember the first time she'd performed this jumping onto her bed but at some point during first year, she'd made it her ritual after a bad day because, somehow, it was guaranteed to bring her joy.

Glancing down at her bag, she saw that some of the contents had spilled out onto the wooden floor. Lily rushed to pack up her things and as she did so, her eyes fell on two envelopes addressed to her. Pausing in her actions, she carefully picked them up and opened the first one.

Dear Lily,

Your dad and I already miss you! The house has been so quiet recently and although I do like a bit of peace and quiet, you know that, it can get really boring. I take offence by that. Harry's back at university so he hasn't popped in to see us and Olivia's grounded. Did you know about the boy she's been seeing? Your Aunt Harriet's been telling me all about him. Apparently, he's got a lip piercing! Heaven forbid! Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting it to happen sooner or later – Olivia's always was a bit of a wild child. Not like Harry. Sure, sure.

Lily smiled to herself.

Of course, it's unfair for me to compare her to her brother but you would hope she'd have a little more common sense. We all know she doesn't have any. But enough about that. How are you? I know you've split up with Edward so I'm sure that must be difficult. According to my sources, he's in the Russian Mafia so don't worry about it. I remember when I split up with my first boyfriend I spent about 3 consecutive days in my Gran's living room watching the traffic drive past her window and eating stale cake. I'm glad I wasn't around; your Gran terrified me. Something tells me you didn't have it quite that bad. Remember, Love, Mr Right will turn up eventually. What about that James Potter? He seemed alright.

In other news, you've missed the excitement of the household with Pet's special news. I would tell you but she wrote to you herself and I don't want to spoil it for you. I expect you to appreciate your Mum's restraint. What I will say is that it's very exciting! And she's already grumpier than usual.

Are you still coming home for Christmas? You'd better be. You can invite some of your friends for New Year if you want.

Lots of love,

Mum and Dad

Lily laughed at her parents' antics and, with mounting curiosity, turned her attention to the second letter. Opening the envelope, she slid out the piece of paper and began to read the brief text before her.

Freak,

I'm having a baby. Just thought I'd let you know so that you don't go near me and curse my baby. And once it's born, don't you dare have anything to do with it – I'm not having you and your freakish ways around my baby.

Petunia

Lily's smile vanished instantly to be replaced by a broken, blank expression. She drew the curtains around her four-poster bed shut and when the rest of her roommates came in an hour later, she pretended to be asleep.

Please Review :)

I should probably clarify now that Petunia's baby isn't Dudley. Anyway, what did you guys think of Lily and James' first (kind of) fight in this story and who's looking forward to James duelling with Edward? I am. I'm predicting feelings of satisfaction on my part – but that's just me…