When Saturdy afternoon came around, the 6th year Gryffindor dormitory was in a state of complete chaos.

There were clothes everywhere, on the beds, draped over chairs, littering the floor... There were also about half a million shoes scattered about.

"What the hell am I supposed to wear?" Lily cried in desperation.

Her friends sighed. She had been like this all afternoon. Lily was not into fashion, or clothes, or make-up, or anything like that, and seemed completely lost.

"Look, if you want a dress or something, I can lend it to you," said Avril. She had a lot more dress clothes, for unlike Lily, she was interested in fashion.

"Will you really? That would be really kind... But what if they don't fit me?"

"Well, you can try them on, anyway." She stood up and opened her wardrobe. It was crammed full of clothes, which she riffled through. "Mmm, too big, too dressy... yes, this one... that one is too frilly... this one is good... no, that will clash with your hair... yes, no... this one maybe..." She turned round and handed her friend an armful of dresses.

Lily went into the bathroom (the only place with a mirror), and closed the door. She leaned against the sink, sighing.

Why was she so nervous? It was only a party, for Merlin's sake... Who was she so desperate to impress? She knew the answer to that question. James Potter.

But why? He was just a friend, and not even that: until a couple of days ago she had hated his very existence. It wasn't like she always tried to impress guys, it was a new feeling.

She tried on the first dress, which was beautiful, but way too short. "Avril, I cannot believe you have dresses this length!" she cried so her friend would hear her. She heard a muffled chuckle from the other side of the door.

The next one was a pretty pink, but clashed with her hair. She would probably blind anyone who saw her.

The next one...

And the next one...

And the next one...

She tried on another one, rather desperate now. She looked in the mirror, and was surprised by what she saw. The dress was beautiful, of a brilliant turquoise. It contrasted with her hair, but this time in a good way.

"Mmmm... I like it," she muttered to herself. She stepped back into the dormitory.

"Wow, Lils, you look drop-dead gorgeous!" said Avril.

"Yeah, you look so good!"

"Thanks," she smiled. "And thanks for the dress, Av."

"You're welcome. Hey, I've got some high heels that would go perfect with it..."

"That's really nice of you, but whenever I wear heels I end up falling flat on my face. I think it's best if I just stick to these," she said, picking up some ballet flats.

"Oh, yeah, they'll look good too! Anyway, if you feel safer wearing those, it's probably best."

"Do you want me to do your make-up for you, Lils?" Robyn offered. She was brilliant at it, although rarely bothered doing her own.

"Yeah!"

Lily sat down on Robyn's bed, who fetched her make-up case. It was crammed full, and she set it on the bed next to them.

"Okay, hold still..."

A few minutes later, she was ready to go. It was five minutes to six, so she decided to go down and wait for James in the Common Room.

In the boys dormitory, contrasting against the girl's cheerful mood, there was almost complete silence.

Remus was lying back on his bed. He was exhausted, and yet he had not moved from there all day. His head was pounding, his whole body ached, and he was not looking forward to the night at all.

Unlike James, who was admiring himself in the mirror. He was wearing dark jeans and a white shirt, a tie slung casually around his neck. He had high hopes for the evening.

The moment he turned around, he felt the guilt washing over him: the sight of Remus just lying there was too much for him.

He walked over to him, and sat down on the bed, careful not to jolt him too much.

"Moony...?"

Remus groaned. "Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry I'm not going with you guys tonight. Seriously, I do want to, but..."

"But you're going out with the girl of your dreams," said Remus, opening his eyes and looking at James. "Look, you don't have to explain, I can understand. Anyway, these two are coming, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah, we can handle him," said Sirius. "You go off with Evans. Have fun, okay?"

James grinned, waved farewell, and went down to the Common Room. He looked around, and his heart missed a beat when he saw her standing there.

"Merlin, Evans, you look... amazing."

She smirked. "Which isn't at all typical to say to a girl when you're going with her to a dance..."

"Forgive me... You look astounding, impressive, beautiful, stunning, incredible-"

"Okay, okay, I get the picture," she said, blushing. "You don't look to bad youself."

They smiled at each other, and made their way to the party. It was in Slughorn's office, and as soon as they got there it was obvious it had been magically expanded. It was the size of a small ballroom, and decorated with gauzy hangings in bright colours.

The moment they stepped inside, Professor Slughorn approached them.

"Ms. Evans, Mr, Potter," he greeted them gracefully. "Oh, you've come together? Good, good... Ms. Evans, I was meaning to introduce you to... Well, you probably know who she is already. Bathilda, this is Lily Evans, one of the best students in this school."

Next to the professor was an old woman, tastefully dressed, with a kind expression on her face. She shook Lily's hand as Professor Slughorn went to greet another acquaintance of his.

"Horace has been telling me so much about you. You seem to be a brilliant student."

Lily blushed. "He probably exaggerated..."

"Oh, I don't think so. He's not really like that. He only gets impressed by the best."

"She's good, actually," James said. "She's definitely the best in our Potions class. I remember in second year, Professor Slughorn had to give her extra work at the end of each lesson, because she always finished half an hour before everyone else!"

Bathilda smiled. "Well, then, Ms. Evans, I wouldn't say Horace was exaggerating at all. So you're good at Potions: what about History of Magic? That was always my best subject at school..."

Lily thought for a moment, "Mmm... It's not that I'm bad at it, I just find it a bit boring. You see, our teacher..."

"Professor Binns, I assume?"

"Yes, Professor Binns... he's a bit..."

"Dead," said James.

"It's not because he's dead!" Lily was quick to ammend. "He's just a bit boring..."

"I see..." Bathilda said mildly.

"I have read your book, though. I, uh, I wanted to say it's really good. Very interesting."

Bathilda smiled. "Thank you. Now, I've just spotted someone I know, and they will probably be offended if I don't go and speak to them, so I'll leave you now."

"Nice meeting you," said Lily.

As soon as she had left, James grabbed Lily's arm.

"What?" she asked him, confused.

"Is that...? It is, isn't it!" James said, obviously very excited.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's Ludo Bagman!" He pointed towards a young, athletic looking guy who was chatting to some girls on the other side of the room. He was blond-haired, blue-eyed, and rather good-looking.

"Seriously?" said Lily. "I don't even know what he looks like. I've never seen him, only heard people talking about him..."

"I'm sure it's him..." he grinned. "Hey, have you got a piece of parchment?"

"Are you really going to ask him for an autograph?" Lily scoffed.

"Oy, I'll have you know he's one of the best Quidditch players in the whole of England! Of course I'm going to ask him for an autograph. Have you got some or not?"

Lily shook her head. "Why would I have a piece of parchment on me? Girl's dresses don't usually have pockets, you know." However, what she did have on her was her wand, so she magicked some up and handed it to James.

"Thanks. Are you coming?"

"Er... Okay, then."

They walked over to the Quidditch player, who had left the girls he had been talking to and was at the drinks table.

"Mr. Bagman?" said James.

He turned round, looking for the speaker. He looked at James and smiled warmly. "That's me!"

"I was just wondering if you could sign this..." he said, passing Bagman the piece of parchment.

"No problem." He scribbled on it, finishing with a flourish and handing it back to James.

"Thanks! Oh, and I wanted to say, well, you were brilliant in the last match against the Appleby Arrows. That was-"

"Wait, but I thought you played for the Appleby Arrows..." Lily said, confused.

James sighed. "No, he's in the Wimbourne Wasps."

Bagman laughed. "Well, I know someone here isn't into Quidditch! I'm guessing you don't want an autograph?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I bet my friend Dorcas would love one. She'll probably stick it on the dormitory wall, with all her other Quidditch posters," said Lily.

Bagman signed another piece of parchment and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

"You're absolutely welcome. So, how come you're at old Sluggie's party, then?"

"He invited us..."

"Oh, yeah, I mean why did he invite you? He only ever picks the best, why you two in particular?"

"My dad's been promoted at the Ministry recently," said James, "and Lily's the best student of the year, so..."

"I'm not the best student!"

"You so are. All the teachers say so, you know."

"I'm very pleased to meet you then," said Bagman. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to be off. I've got a meeting with my manager in half an hour, and he gets annoyed when I'm late..."

"It was great meeting you," James said. He grinned, and walked away towards the door. "He's brilliant, isn't he?"

"Uh, he just seems kind of normal..."

"Yeah, he does, actually... But he's a great Quidditch player."

"I don't doubt it..." said Lily. "Shall we go and get some drinks?

They made their way through the crowd to the drinks table, and picked up a Butterbeer each. Sipping slowly, Lily looked around the room. It was interesting, to say the least. Here and there, either drinking or chatting pleasantly, were some of the most famous people in the wizard world.

"Is that Rita Skeeter?" she wondered, looking at a peroxide blond with the longest nails Lily had ever seen.

"Yeah..." said James, a clear distaste in his voice. "Pure evil, that woman is... She wrote the most horrible article about the Auror's Department last month, saying that they should be trying harder to catch these Death Eaters. As if they weren't trying their hardest already! My dad comes back at least three hours late from work every night as it is..."

"Really? I didn't see it... Mind you, I don't usually read Skeeter's stuff..."

"No, me neither, but that article in particular caused loads of trouble in the Ministry. Apparently, there's actually quite a lot of people who think like her; that the Auror's Department isn't trying hard enough."

"And what do you think?" Lily was interested to know his opinion.

"I think it's a load of shit. I mean, my dad does his best, and every single Auror in the Ministry does too... Speaking of Aurors... Hey, Alastor!"

At that moment, James called out to a wizard standing at the other side of the room, who spun round faster than Lily thought was possible and looked around him. When he spotted James, he immediately started towards him.

"James," he nodded curtly. Lily took in the newcomer's face: he had blue eyes and carved features, which at one time may have been handsome, but were now too covered in scars. He had thick grey hair that probably made him look older than he really was, and a chunk missing from his nose.

"Lily, this is Alastor Moody. He's an Auror."

"Yeah, I know who he is. Your reputation precedes you," Lily said, not concealing the admiration in her voice. Alastor Moody was indeed famous for hunting down dark wizards, especially Death Eaters.

He looked at Lily with cold, almost suspicious eyes. "And who's this?" he asked James.

"Lily Evans," he replied. "The cleverest witch of our year."

Lily blushed at the compliment, but Moody looked interested. "Clever, are you?"

She didn't really know what to answer to that, so she remained silent.

"So, how's stuff in the Department?" James inquired.

"Bad, as always. The Minister is giving no funding for vampire hunting, and with people like her..." he shot a murderous glance at Rita Skeeter, "spreading rumours that we aren't working hard enough... Let's just say things could be going better."

"Right... Do you mind if I ask you something?" said James.

"You're probably going to anyway..."

"How do you think my dad's coping? He just seems so stressed and worried all the time..."

"He's in a difficult Department, he's bound to get stressed out. I wouldn't bother too much about him, he's doing fine."

James brightened visibly. "Great. Thanks."

"Yeah... Well, I'd better be getting back to work. I've got a shift in half an hour..."

"Doing what?" Lily asked, genuinely curious.

Moody looked at her. "Curious, aren't you? That's a good sign in an Auror... But never you mind. I'll see you around, James."

With that he left them, and exited the room.

"What did you think of him?" James asked Lily.

"He was a bit strange... But in a good way?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean. Cool scars, though. He told me how he got them all once."

"Really?"

"Yep. It was at my dad's 45th birthday, and we had loads of people round at my house. I was only a kid, and I pointed at one of his scars and asked him how he got it," James grinned at the memory.

"What did he say?"

"He said he got slashed by a bad curse. And then he told me the story of all his other scars. I was so impressed... I wanted to be an Auror from then on."

"What, you wanted to be an Auror to have scars like him?"

"No! The thing is, in most of the stories he told me, he had protected someone else, a Muggle or whoever, and I just thought that sounded like the best way to live: saving others from danger."

Lily blinked, and looked at him. "So... you want to be an Auror to help other people?"

"Yep."

She wasn't sure what to say, but James started speaking before she had to think of anything. "I don't usually come to these parties... They're a bit boring, aren't they?"

"Mmm, yeah. They're all the same, really, but Slughorn usually wants me to come, so..."

"Want to go and do something else?"

She grinned, remembering what they had done yesterday when he had said similar words. They'd had fun, and anything would be more interesting than this party... "Yeah, why not?"

They slipped out of the party, and out into the deserted corridor.

"So, I chose yesterday, what do you want to do today?" James asked her.

"Mmm... I don't mind."

"Go on, it's your turn to chose!"

"I can't really think of anything I want to do right now..."

"Well, what do you usually do in your spare time?"

Lily thought about it and smiled. "I read..."

"Oh, you like reading? What do you read?"

"All sorts... Uh, fantasy, historical fantasy, more realistic stuff, poetry..."

"You read poetry?"

"Yeah..." she said. "I know most people find it boring, but..."

"I don't find poetry boring. And I'm not just saying that to impress you."

"Why would you want to impress me?" Lily laughed.

James didn't answer, but instead said "So, do you know any?"

"What?"

"Do you know any poems? That you could just recite now."

Lily thought about it. "There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind."

"Beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?"

"I didn't mean the poem," said James. She looked at him, and he looked right back at her, not blushing or lowering his eyes. Her lips parted as if she was about to say something, but no words came out.

Suddenly, James grinned. "So, apart from reading poetry, what else do you do?"

Lily was surprised by the change of subject, so it took her a moment to answer, "Uh, I cook."

"Seriously? You cook in your spare time?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. It's great for me, because I love eating!" He laughed, and so did she.

"It's a pity, though," Lily said. "Because in Hogwarts I never get the chance to cook."

"Why not?"

"I don't have a kitchen."

James grinned again. "Okay. Come on, then," he said, taking her by the hand. Yesterday, that gesture had meant nothing to Lily, but now her heart began to race as they walked down to the corridor. What was wrong? And why did her insides feel as if they were flying?

They walked down corridors and staircases, until they finally reached the Hufflepuff Basement.

"What are we doing here?" she asked him curiously.

"Wait and see." He walked up to a big painting of a fruit bowl, and tickled a pear. That seemed like a very random thing to do to Lily, until the pear transformed into a bright green doorknob. He pulled it, and the painting swung open to reveal a big door.

"What the-?"

"Welcome to the Hogwarts kitchens!" James announced proudly. Lily stepped in, and found herself in an enormous room, the size of the Great Hall, with five tables identical to the ones there. Shiny pots and pans were stacked on counter-tops around the room, and at the far end there was a large red-brick fireplace.

"Wow..." Lily was amazed, taking in everything around her. She then noticed movement next to the fireplace, and her eyes focused on that.

It was a small creature, of about two feet of height, which Lily had only ever seen in books. There were the large ears, the globe-like eyes, and when it spoke, it had a very squeaky voice.

"Master Potter, it is good to see you again!"

"Same to you," James said. "This is Lily Evans, you don't mind if she comes down here to cook, do you?"

"Of course not, Master Potter. But whatever food she might need, the house-elves can make..."

"Yeah, but she wanted to do some cooking herself. She enjoys it, you see."

"Well, then, the kitchen is yours, Miss Evans!"

Lily, who had been watching the exchange in surprised silence, finally spoke. "Thank you."

"There is no need to thank Whispy, Miss Evans."

"Uh, okay... But thanks, anyway."

Whispy walked back to the fireplace, where Lily now saw there were a lot more house-elves.

"How many are there?" Lily wondered.

"Ninety-nine. They basically run the cleaning, cooking and everything else that needs taking care of inside the castle."

"How come I've never seen one, then?"

"They usually keep out of sight. That's a sign of a good house-elf, if you don't notice they're there."

Lily blinked. "Do they get paid?"

"I don't know, I've never asked them. Hey, Whispy, do you get paid?" he called.

Whispy and the rest of the house-elves laughed. "No, sir! House-elves don't get paid!"

"So we've basically got ninety-nine slaves working for us, and I didn't even know about it?" she rounded on James indignantly.

"Uh... Well, if you see it like that..."

"I see it how it is! Since when have you known about this?"

James thought about it. "Since second year, I think."

"And you've never, not even once, been outraged by this? Because I am!"

"But, Evans, they actually enjoy working for us. It's what they live for."

"What? Don't tell me they're working as slaves for their own good-"

"But they are! Hey, Whispy, can you come here a second?"

Whispy hurried over to them. "Yes, Master Potter?" he squeaked.

"Do you enjoy cooking?"

"Yes, sir. It must be done."

"No, but do you actually enjoy it?" Lily pressed him.

"Yes, Miss. Evans. All House-elves enjoy cooking."

"What about cleaning? No one enjoys cleaning..."

"I like cleaning, miss," Whispy piped up.

Lily looked at the house-elf. "So you actually enjoy these things? Even though you don't get paid..."

"Yes, miss."

Lily didn't know what to say. James had enough common sense to not say "I told you so".

Whispy spoke again. "Miss Evans, Hogwarts house-elves are free. They can leave whenever they want."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, miss. If Whispy wanted to leave right now, then Whispy could."

"Oh... right..."

"They don't have it that bad here, you know," said James as Whispy went back to the fire. "They're treated fairly, and they don't get punished if they do something wrong."

Lily thought about that. "Right... But it still seems unfair..."

"It is, really, but what can we do about it? They actually do enjoy doing this stuff."

"Mmm... Ah, well, I'll have to think about it... In any case, do you want to start cooking?"

James smiled. "Of course! What are we going to be making?"

Lily thought about it, trying to remember her favourite recipes. She had a book at home that her dad had given her, full of delicious ones, and she soon found the one she was looking for. "Okay, we're going to need some flour, some water, milk, butter, sugar, and blackberries. Can you find me those?"

James went off to search for the ingredients, while Lily started setting up weighing scales and a big mixing bowl on the counter. He joined her a minute or two later, carrying all the ingredients she had asked for.

"Right, so first we have to heat up the oven." She did so, then went back to the counter. "Now we make the pastry. You put the flour and the butter into the bowl," she demonstrated, "and you crumble it all up with your fingers, until it's all mixed together." She started doing that, and then nodded at James. "Go on, you too."

He put his hands into the mixing bowl, and started crumbling the flour and the butter together. It was a big bowl, but their hands kept rubbing past the other's, making Lily blush. Oh, it was a pain having such pale skin: when she blushed her cheeks lit up, a bright pink that all but glowed!

James noticed, but didn't say anything. They crumbled the ingredients together for a while, falling into a comfortable silence.

When the flour and the butter was completely mixed together, Lily said, "Right, so now we add the water, and mix it up."

She did so, and James put his hands in the bowl again. He kneaded it, his hands getting covered in pastry, making him look as if he was wearing thick gloves. Lily giggled.

"What?" James asked her, smiling.

"Nice hands," she remarked.

James grinned, and suddenly lunged at her. His hand met her face, and covered her with sticky dough. She cried out, half-laughing, and smacked him lightly on the arm. He laughed loudly.

When the pastry was ready, Lily rolled it into a ball, wrapped it up, and left it on the side-board. "You have to leave that to cool for about fifteen minutes. Now we'll start the mixture."

"What are we actually making?" said James.

"You'll see," she winked. She surprised even herself at how naturally that wink had come (when had she ever been so saucy?), but James didn't comment on it.

"Okay," she said. "So we fill three and a half cups full of blackberries," James did. "Mix them with half a cup of sugar," he did, "and with half a cup of flour," which he also did. "Now we have to roll out the pastry."

James grabbed a rolling pin, and started spreading out the pastry. "How thin has it got to be?"

"Fairly thin. About this thin," she said, measuring a distance between her finger and thumb. He rolled it out at that width.

"Oh, we need a tin to put it in. I'll go and find it, give me a second." She went off, and came back a minute later carrying a round backing tin.

She placed it on the counter-top, and put the berry mixture into it. Then she took the pastry gently, and spread it on top of the mixture.

"It's a pie!" James guessed suddenly.

"It took you long enough..." Lily teased him, crimping the edges with a fork. She pricked the center with it, "That's to let the steam out. Now we wash it over with a bit of milk, so it goes a nice golden colour, and sprinkle it with sugar. And now all there's left to do is put it in the oven. Shall you do the honours?"

"Of course," said James. He opened the oven, took the tin in both hands, and slowly put it in. He closed the oven, and straightened up. "What now?"

"Now we wait," she smiled.

He leaned forwards and brushed her cheek. "You've got some flour... Just there."

She blushed (bloody pale skin!), but then grinned. She took some flour and threw it over James. "So have you!"

He stood still for a second, then lunged at her, but she dodged him and ran off. Laughing, he ran after her. She was quick on her feet, dodging this was and that, but he was even faster, and finally caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her in close. She gasped, and looked up at him. He was a head taller than her, and he leaned down to...

"Miss Evans, Master Potter! Whispy thinks your pie might be ready!" a voice squeaked from behind them.

They sprung apart, and rushed over to the oven. The kitchen had been slowly filling with the delicious smell of baking, but they had been too busy to notice it.

Lily opened the oven, and took out the pie. It looked gorgeous, all golden and crispy, and when she sliced into it the blackberry mixture was a deep, rich red, oozing out. She handed James a slice, and took one for herself.

"It looks amazing..." said James.

They took a mouthful at exactly the same time; it was truly delicious.

"Oh, Merlin, it tastes so good!"

"It does, doesn't it? High five, cooking partner!" They high fived, and grinned at each other. They ate some more, until they had finished it.

Then James called out, "Hey, Whispy, do you want some? And anyone else who feels hungry..."

A couple of house-elves scuttled over, "Oh, Master Potter, you are so generous!"

"Well, tell us what you think," he said, serving them plates of pie.

They dug into it, and smiled at the two of them. "It's delicious!"

"Thank you," said Lily.

While the house-elves finished eating, Lily and James washed up the stuff they had used, and put back the remains of the ingredients. They decided to take the rest of the pie back up to their respective dormitories, and so wrapped it up in foil. With a final wave at Whispy and the rest, they left the kitchens.

The hall outside was deserted, and so were all the corridors that they walked through.

"What time do you think it is?" Lily wondered.

"Half eleven," said James, glancing at his watch.

"Is it really that late? I thought it was a lot earlier!"

"Well, time passes when you're having fun..." James grinned.

"Mmm... I did have fun, actually. Wouldn't mind repeating it some time."

They were in the Common Room by then, and there was still no one to be seen: everyone had gone up to bed.

"Well... I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," said Lily.

"Don't I get a goodnight kiss?" James asked cheekily.

"You'll get a goodnight smack if you're not careful..." Lily smirked, her heart pounding.

"Ah, well... I guess I'll have my kiss some other time."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Lily slowly made her way up the stairs.

"Oh, I would! Night, night..."

"Night, night."

The girls were still awake when she entered the dormitory.

"How was the party?" Dorcas asked her.

"It was good... But we didn't stay there for long."

"How come?"

"We went..." Lily wasn't sure if students were allowed in the kitchen, so she decided to stay on the safe side. "...for a walk."

"Oh, right. Did you have a nice time, then?"

"Mmm... I had a very nice time."

As she fell asleep, she was unable to wipe the happy grin off her face. She felt immensely happy, for some reason.

Although she didn't realize it yet, that reason was James Potter.

I was eating blackberry pie the other day... I enjoyed writing it, but what do you think of this chapter? :)