A/N: Happy Valentine's day! (Even though Vday a few days ago, I hope I'm still not too late!)

I only remembered this five minutes ago. =/

A special treat for all those out there who actually care about Valentine's day (I don't, no offense)! Things will be MUCH better in this chapter, I can promise you.

Have fun!

Chapter 21- Two in one

"What about Rose?" asked Sirius sharply, tossing the book in his hand aside and nearly knocking Remus.

"Oi!" he said indignantly, but Sirius ignored him.

"What about Rose, Wormtail? Tell me now or I swear-" he said threateningly, grabbing the sleeve of Peter's shirt.

"Sirius, calm down!" yelped Peter, panicking. "Madam Pomfrey just sent a message from the hospital wing! She's awake, Sirius! She's awake!"

He deliberately let go of Peter who fell back, rubbing his arm.

A feeling of warmth spread through me, filling me up inside. She's awake. Rose is awake.

Rose is okay.

Clunk.

All of us turned to look at James, who had just accidentally dropped his book on the floor.

James scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."

"Way to ruin the moment, Prongs," commented Remus sarcastically, although there was a small smile playing on his lips.

I couldn't help but smile myself; Rose was okay. There was no need to panic anymore.

Sirius slumped back into his seat, which made a loud, screecing sound as it was pushed back. His forehead was beaded with sweat, though I don't know why. Still, relief washed over him like the ocean spreading far and wide, cooling down the earth's hot surface.

"She's okay," said Sirius numbly, rubbing his head. "She's okay."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Peter everything but yelled, his expression cheery. "Let's go and visit her!"

"Yes, let's," said Remus, the smile properly kept.

I was all ready to go, the reason to be in the library forgotten, when James suddenly shouted, "Hold on!"

"Really, what is all this racket?" demanded Madam Prince fussily, sticking her nose into the restricted section. "Please, Ms Evans. Would you keep this batch of baboons down-"

"Oh, sod off, you old woman," snapped Sirius, rushing out of the library. Madam Prince looked quite affronted.

"Oi, mate, wait up!" called James, trying to catch up with his friend. Remus and Peter looked at each other, shrugged, and sped after them.

I was about to follow them too, but then I looked at the book on the table. Monste Pontene Potions...

I grabbed it and told Madam Prince. "I'd like to borrow this. And I'll pack up the books."

She narrowed her beady eyes at me, as if trying to detect a lie, before huffing and walking back to the desk. I sighed in relief and went to do my job.

When I walked out, she handed me my book without a word and went back to her work. I ran out of the library and toward the hospital wing as fast as I could.

I managed to catch up with them at the hospital wing entrance, where they were arguing with Madam Pomfrey. I had to roll my eyes at this. Seriously, are all old ladies as uptight as them?

But as I thought of myself, and the possiblities of me being like them, my mouth dropped open in horror.

I swear on this day that I will never be a Madam Pomfrey and Madam Prince junior.

Oh, and I'll also be married to James Potter.

I did not just say that.

It was your imagination.

"But we've got to see her!" whined James, shaking her arm.

Madam Pomfrey held her ground. "I'm sorry, Mr Potter. I do know that she's your cousin, but right now she needs absolute rest and peace, and you will not disturb her with your antics and... Honeydukes sweets!"

"We don't have any antics! Or Honeydukes sweets!" protested Remus, pulling out his empty pockets as proof. "Here, you can check!"

She still didn't give in. "I understand that this is a big deal for many of you, but you may see her tomorrow and tomorrow only! Right now, she needs absolute-"

"I need to see her!" yelled Sirius, finally exploding above the surface. "I don't give bull about what you say, but I need to see her! I'll get myself into the hospital wing if that's what it takes?"

"Really, Black? Would you like me to do the honors?" I asked, smirking delightfully.

He turned to scowl at me. "Sod off, Evans."

"Black, language," warned Madam Pomfrey. "And I'm not denying visitors at all, but you can return to see her tomorrow. Tomorrow. Not today. And you can visit as long as you like. I can even tell the headmaster to give you a day off. But now, she needs to-"

Just then, a weak voice called from the hospital wing. One so soft I wouldn't have heard it if Madam Pomfrey hadn't stopped talking. "Sirius?"

He froze, his head turning towards the entrance. "Rose?" he called back.

The other three looked at Madam Pomfrey with pleading eyes. "Please?" whined James. "Please with a cheery on top? We haven't sent anyone here ever since the school started!"

"Sirius has, many times," noted Peter, but shut up at the glare Remus and James gave him.

Madam Pomfrey's expression screwed up like she was fighting a big debate. She looked like she wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat. Finally, she gave up and sighed. "Very well, you may go in, but for fifteen minutes only. Ms Evans, will you please go in and make sure they don't destroy my infirmary?"

I nodded, although I was feeling slightly irritated. Does everyone I meet expect me to control the Marauders?

Nevertheless, I followed them into the hospital wing and ran to Rose's bed. I mentally cursed myself for not bringing anything to give her.

Hello? What's that stick in your pocket for? Conjure her some chocolate!

Oh. Right.

I quickly did that and moved on, trying to act like I had that thing all along.

The four boys were standing anxiously at her bed, watching her eyes flutter, like they were still deciding whether they should open or not. Finally, they flew up, and I once again could see Rose's electric blue eyes shining, staring at all of us curiously. I almost jumped for joy, but I kept calm. I can always do that later.

Her eyes wandered from Remus, to James, to me, but I knew that they were only searching for one person, the one standing right next to her, his lips pressed together so hard they might flatten into a pancake.

Just then, the eyes found its mark. The both of them just stayed there, lost in each other's eyes. James put a hand over Peter's mouth to not ruin the moment.

Suddenly, Emmeline, Mary, Alice and Frank rushed in, panting. "We-just-got-the-news," said Mary, gasping for breath. "How-is-she?"

I gave her a look that obviously said shut up! But Rose and Sirius didn't seem to notice them. They were still lost, connecting above a level James and I could never reach.

"Sirius," whispered Rose, her bottom lip trembling.

Sirius stroked her cheek gently, his eyes swimming with tears that were threatening to fall. "I was so worried," sobbed Sirius. "So worried."

Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him tightly, like he was never going to let go. Rose returned the hug back, but with not as much strength as she was still weak. But still, it signified love even more than Romeo and Juliet. It was more special than the moon and the stars.

When he let go of her, smiling like an idiot (which he would definitely deny later, I'm sure) Rose suddenly smirked. "You're crying."

"What? No I am not!" denied Sirius, but he didn't bother to wipe of the tears of joy rolling down his face as his grin grew wider and wider.

Remus silently patted him on the back, saying under his breath, "Sure you aren't, Pads."

Sirius turned to glare at him. "I heard that, Moony."

"Heard what?" asked Remus, feigning innocence. James and Peter snorted.

Rose finally turned to her cousin, the second person who also worried his head off about her. Her smile broaden. "So you haven't tried to kill yourself when I was out?"

"Tempting, but no," replied James with his usual easy-going self. "After all, a Marauder must never leave his pack."

"Pack of what? Dimwits?" said Rose.

"Oi! I resent that," said Sirius, pouting.

Rose laughed. It sounded so easy, so normal. Something I haven't heard in so long I would give it a big squeeze if I could. She turned to Sirius and gave him her 'I'm-so-sorry-not' eyes. "I'm so sorry, little doggy. Come here, boy."

Sirius stuck his tongue out and pretended to crawl towards her like a dog, causing us all to laugh. Rose patted him on the head and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There. Better?"

He nodded his head eagerly.

Rose chuckled, and then sighed. She sat up straighter on her bed and held out her arms. Sirius, recognizing the sign, went to put his arms around her.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Sirius," she murmured. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," he whispered.

"Hey!" exclaimed James indignantly, and we all turned to him. "You've given Sirius two hugs, and I haven't even gotten one! Have you put family in front of boyfriends?"

Rose merely grinned at him.

"I've just noticed something," said Remus. "First of all, Sirius was the one Rose was looking for first, before noticing the rest of us."

"That's because I'm special, Moony," said Sirius, sticking out his tongue at him.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Second, they hugged. I mean, they've hugged before, but definitely not after a near-death experience, and definitely not like that."

"Is there a style for hugging?" asked Peter, who had gotten rid of James's hand.

James shrugged. "I dunno. Leave it to Moony to read the signs of a girl."

"Third," said Remus, voice rising from irritation from the previous comment. "Rose never denied the statement James said about Sirius being her boyfriend."

Only then did James's eyes widen in realization. "Hey, that's right! Rose is usually really touchy about these things!" then he deliberately turned to Rose. "Why didn't you?"

Rose's grin grew wider. "Maybe because it's true?"

A shocked silence followed.

I felt a stab of pain in my heart, and I had no idea why. I was definitely happy for them, even though this came to us quite a bit of a shock. But as I stared at them, looking so happy, their eyes shining with excitement, two other figures suddenly started to take their place. With a jolt of shock I realized that it was James and I, with me lying in bed, staring at James with complete adoration, and vice versa. I wanted that, I realized. I wanted with James what Rose had with Sirius. I wanted it so badly at that moment that the pain throbbed at the back of my throat and traveled towards my chest.

"NO WAY!" yelled James happily, causing us all to jump and me to wake up from my thoughts. He went over to his best mate and shook him by the shoulders. "Bloody hell, mate! You finally got your girl!"

He grinned back. "You sure you're not mad?"

"Mad? How can I be mad after all the hallelujah donkeys that's been going on? Mate, I'm ecstatic!" Then he proceeded to jump around the hospital wing, flailing his arms around like a monkey.

Alice turned to Peter and raised an eyebrow. "Hallelujah donkeys?" she whispered.

He shrugged.

"This is great, and all," said Remus. "But when exactly did this prosperous and wonderful thing happen?"

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy, Moony," said Sirius, waving him off.

He raised an eyebrow. "I said that it was wonderful and prosperous, didn't I?"

"Some things are just meant to be left unsaid," said Rose, taking Sirius's hand in hers.

And judging by the gooey way the were looking at each other, I decided... I didn't really want to know.

"So when's the wedding?" asked Mary casually.

All of us turned to look at her.

She shrugged. "It was too good an opportunity to pass up."

"Well, we just got together, but maybe if you wait another three years or so you might see the invitation in your mailbox," Rose told her seriously.

She grinned. "I look forward to it."

"Pads!" screamed James, returning back to us. "I want details later!"

Sirius grinned. "Will do, mate. Though I don't think it's as exciting as you're hoping it to be."

"Oh, we'll see," said James smugly.

While everyone else was chatting away, Emmeline suddenly turned to Remus and placed her hand on his. "That was pretty romantic, wasn't it?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he agreed, watching Rose and Sirius talk to a furious looking James, probably demanding for details.

"You know," she continued, turning so that they were eye to eye. "I wish that I had that kind of dream, too."

Remus gulped. "Don't worry. I'm sure you will," he complimented. There was a sort of forbidding look in his eyes.

Emmeline sighed, but tried again. "But I only want it with one special person."

"He'll come around," said Remus casually, although he looked nervous.

Emmeline gave up. She let go of his hand like it burned and yelled, "Merlin, Remus, how blind could guys get? It's obvious that the guys I'm talking about is you!"

And with that, she stormed out of the hospital wing, tears in her eyes.

Remus looked dumbfounded, staying rooted on the spot. James touched his shoulder lightly. "Go, mate," he whispered.

Remus turned to him nervously. "But I-"

"Go."

He slumped back his shoulders, defeated. Suddenly, there was a new fire of determination in his eyes. He sprinted out of the hospital wing, and the rest of us obviously followed him.

"Hey! Don't leave me here!" cried Rose. "I want to know what happens, too!"

"I'll tell you as soon as I get back, love!" called Sirius. All of us ran as fast as we could to catch up with Remus.

We found the both of them down a dark alley, and quickly hid behind the nearest pillar. "But... I thought you didn't like me," said Emmeline in a small voice.

"Em, I've always liked you," said Remus soothingly. "But...we can't be together. It just isn't right."

"Why not?" she demanded. "I like you, and you like me! I don't care about what other people say!"

"Emmeline, you don't understand," said Remus quietly. "I'm a werewolf."

"I know," she simply said.

"You- you what?" he spluttered, appalled. "But- but I thought-"

"You have to hand it to Lily, really," she cut in, and everyone turned to look at me. Damn it, Emmeline. Did you have to mention that? "She figured it out first and told the rest of us. But it doesn't bother me. you're still Remus."

"But... don't you care that I'm...a monster?" he asked quietly, sounding ashamed at himself. I could see James and Sirius roll their eyes.

"Look, Remus," said Emmeline soothingly. "I wouldn't care if you had a third eye or if you had two left legs. I like you because of you. The way you carry yourself, your attitude, and I'm willing to look past the fact that you're a werewolf to be with you."

There was silence. I peered out a little to see what they were doing. Remus looked unsure for a moment, hesitating. Then, he surprised us all by leaning towards Emmeline and kissing her.

Her eyes widened in shock, but she reacted quickly enough and returned it back with so much passion the whole room was on fire. James and Sirius started clapping.

"Beautiful," said Sirius, pretending to wipe an imaginary tear.

"Marvelous," agreed James, conjuring a handkerchief and handing it to Sirius, who took it gratefully and blew his nose noisily into it. The both of them continued clapping.

I nudged them with my elbow. Hard. "Dolts," I muttered.

"You guys can come out now, you know," mused Remus from behind the wall.

James and Sirius came out first, taking a grand stroll towards their friend. They both patted him on the back, nodding their heads in approval. "Wonderfully done, my friend," said Sirius.

"Marvelous," agreed James. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

They continued to pat his back and he rolled his eyes.

"So you've finally got yourself a girlfriend, eh Moony?" said Sirius with a sly smirk.

Remus punched Sirius's arm and hit him on the head. "Don't get any ideas, Padfoot."

He rubbed his arm. "Definitely when you have that arm. Damn your werewolf abilities," muttered Sirius.

"I happen to like my werewolf abilities, thank you very much," said Remus, wrapping an arm around a giggling Emmeline.

"Right, so now all we have to do is wait for Prongs to hook up with Evans, and then it'll be a real party," said Sirius, grinning once again.

Instantly, our faces turned bright red. Suddenly, I found my shoes very interesting. So shiny black...

"Shut up, Padfoot," growled James.

Sirius merely grinned at him. "Right, while you think about that, I'm going to check up on my love," he said, his eyes and voice suddenly turning misty and dreamy, like he was floating on cloud and munching on cotton candy, slowly letting it sink into his tongue and sleeping peacefully, with hearts floating all over him.

Never mind. Forget I just thought that.

"He's whipped," I heard James whisper to Remus, who grinned and raised his eyebrow.

Apparently, Sirius heard them, because he turned around and glared at them. "I am not," he exclaimed hotly. But he practically squashed on his words when he skipped -and I mean skipped- towards the hospital wing.

Suddenly, a first year walked up towards me. He had brown hair and cute beaver like teeth. "Lily Evans?" he asked in a small voice. "The Head Girl?"

"Anything wrong?" I asked kindly, turning into the Head Girl I was supposed to be.

"Professor Slughorn asked me to give this to you," he said, handing me an envelope.

I took it from him, smiling. "Thank you. And your name is...?"

"Brady," he said, looking more confident. "Ms Lily Evans, you look very pretty."

I turned a light shade of pink. "T-thank you?" I said, bewildered. It came out more of a question than a reply.

I could hear the boys chuckling and the girls giggling. James had suddenly started to glare at the boy, his eyes turning into a pair of dangerous slits as a low growl emitted from his chest.

"Are you done?" he barked at the boy, who turned to him with frightened eyes.

"Y-yes, Mr Head Boy," he stuttered. James had taken out all of the confidence from him. "I-I'll be going. G-good day."

And with that, he practically bolted out from sight.

Remus was still chortling. "Looks like you have some competition, mate," he said, grinning in amusement.

What competition?

I thought he didn't like me anymore?

"Moony, if you know what's good for you, you'd sew your lips together and keep them that way," growled James threateningly, shifting his glare towards him.

"Hey! I wouldn't like that!" cried Emmeline, wrapping her arms around Remus. There were small pink and red heart flying all around them they were making me dizzy.

Why couldn't James and I be like that?

Why?

I shook the feeling off and turned towards my letter. I've gotten plenty of letters like these over my Hogwarts years, and it definitely didn't take a genius to realize that this is one of Slughorn's party invitation. I didn't really like them at first, but I've grown accustomed to them over the years. I ripped open the envelop and read:

Dear Lily Evans,

It would be my greatest honor to have you in my annual Christmas party on the twentieth of December, at seven o'clock. Of course, seeing that this is your last year, I don't mind if you bring as many friends as you want to this party. In fact, I don't mind if you invite the whole student body! I'll just have to get the house-elves to prepare triple amount of food, and get even more barrels of butterbeer. The dress code, of course, is formal.

Please send me a reply as soon as possible, and also inform me about the amount of people you are bringing with you. I look forward to seeing you again, Ms Evans.

Yours sinncerely,

Professor H. Slughorn

As my eyes traveled further and further down the page, my grin widened. When I finally reached the bottom of the page, I was positively beaming. At least I didn't have to go to this Christmas party alone.

"What's up, Lily?" asked Mary, looking at me curiously.

I looked at them. "Guess what, guys?" I told them. "We've all just been invited to a Christmas ball."

A/N: HOLY ****!

I thought it had only been a few days, but when I looked at my update status I practically jumped out from my seat, and falling onto the floor.

No, seriously, this did happen. My butt still hurts.

I apologize for the extremely LATE update but I hope that you guys REVIEW! I told you that everything will be better in this chapter!

I kept forgetting that I wanted Remus and Emmeline to be together, so I had to add that part in before I forget. I REALLY apologize for the lack of romance between Lily and James, but I PROMISE, things will be MUCH better in the next chapter. After all, it's what this story is for, right?

Now, I really appreciate everyone who has been alerting my story, or favorite story-ing(LOL this is not a word) it, but I really appreciate it more if you guys review. I really want your opinion on this to become a better author. I used to think that I was a good writer, or at least a little better than average, but then I read this story and I thought, "Wow I really suck".

So guys, I really want your opinion. Also, the more you write, the faster I update! So please, guys, REVIEW! I've noticed some who used to review, but now have stopped, and I don't really know is it because they have no time, or they have completely stopped reading, or whatever, but I would really appreciate it if everyone REVIEWS!

Oh, and about that story I read, it's written by HeyLookTheSnitch. Go look for his/her profile. Those stories are seriously over the top.

Toodles!