A/N: First of all, thanks for all the reviews. I got a lot more than I thought I would! I'm going to continue this story after all. Please keep reading and reviewing it, and then I'll keep writing it! And, like most of my stories, I have no clue what's going to happen. (I know that sounds stupid, but oh well.) So, if you have any suggestions if you email them to me or include them in your reviews I might use them. Okay, that's enough of my babbling; here's Chapter Two!

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"Earth to James Potter, Earth to James Potter… communication cannot be established. Remus, we've got a problem here," Sirius Black said jokingly to his best friend.

"Hey, James, what's up?" Remus Lupin said, prodding him on the head.

"What, what happened?" James said, coming out of his trance.

"Let me put it like this. You were sitting there with your fork half way to your mouth and you've been staring off into space for about, let's see, five minutes. Is that clear?" Sirius said grinning. He'd known James since they were two. Usually when such things happened, he was staring at someone (undoubtedly a girl) rather than off into space.

"Oh, I was just, well, thinking, that's all," James said.

James had been thinking a lot lately. It was starting to worry his friends a lot. Since when had James started thinking? Well, sure he thought a lot. He thought up pranks to play on the Slytherins; he did his homework pretty well, not to mention help Peter Pettigrew, another of his friends, with his homework; he even thought of how Sirius could dump his weekly girlfriends without breaking their hearts.

The worrying thing was, usually when he was thinking about such things, he would tell his friends. Recently, he hadn't told them anything. He also seemed to be studying a lot more too, even though he already had the highest grades in the whole first year. What was the point of studying? Okay, so they had to take their OWLs next year, but that was no reason to get over-exhausted a year early, was it? Apparently, in James' case it was.

"What's up Prongs?" Peter asked worriedly. Prongs was James' nickname. All four of them had nicknames. They had gotten these nicknames when the three of them, Peter, James, and Sirius, had become Animagi. They could now transform into a specific animal at will. The reason for doing this illegally was because Remus Lupin was a werewolf. His friends had figured out in their third year, and instead of abandoning him, they worked out the process of becoming an Animagi and then underwent it. Since they couldn't accompany a full-grown werewolf in human form, they now accompanied him as a stag (James), hound (Sirius), and a rat (Peter). (A/N: I know most of you know this, but I wanted to include it anyway. Sorry if it's annoying when I do things like that.)

"Nothing's wrong, Wormtail old pal. Why would anything be wrong?" James replied jovially.

"Well, seeing that you've been 'thinking' a lot lately, and since you've suddenly become completely disconnected. Really, James, what's eating you? You haven't been yourself lately. No pranks, no jokes… it used to be hard to shut you up and now you won't even start talking. Something has to be wrong. Otherwise, something must be wrong with us. And if such a thing is true, I'll eat my hat!" Sirius said. James was like his brother. This sudden change in his attitude was disturbing, to say the least.

Looking around at them, James could tell that his friends were really worked up over his situation. But could he trust them? Could he tell them the truth? He just wasn't sure. He knew something was up, but it was only a hunch, because he didn't have any proof to go by. Sighing, he decided that he'd just have to try and make them understand.

"Guys, I know this sounds weird, but I think something's up, and it's really annoying when you know something… bad... is going to happen and you can't do anything about it. Do you know what I mean? It's as though you're completely helpless…" James tried to explain.

"What's going to happen? What possibly could happen? Sure, that Voldemort guy could do something, but he hasn't done anything in ages. What would make him start up again now? He's as inactive as a dead volcano. I'll tell you that much," Remus said, trying his best to console his friend.

"Come on James, let's play chess," Peter said, in an attempt to cheer James up.

"Yeah, they're right James. You can't worry about spilt milk. And no one even knows where old Voldie is, so what's the point of worrying? Listen to Peter and just keep cool and have fun. That's my motto," Sirius said. But his cheerfulness was to no avail. James just shook his head and said that they didn't understand.

"Don't worry about me, guys. You just go ahead and worry about your OWLs. I'll go to the library and see if I can find some more stuff to help us study," he said finally.

The other three took his word for it and went up to the Common Room to study. James turned and dragged himself up to the library. His real purpose was to try and find some leads as to what might happen, but he hadn't wanted his friends to know that, or else they would have tried to keep him from going to the library.

Since it was a Saturday, he didn't expect many people to be there. However, as he passed by a few rows of shelves, he noticed that there was someone sitting on the floor, just barely visible behind a large stack of books. Backtracking, James found the person. All he could see were a pair of legs sticking out from behind the books, and a bunch of red hair that was in a high ponytail – it was a girl.

Looking at the books she had next to her, James saw that they were books just like those that he himself would have liked to borrow. There were books about Voldemort, books about dreams, books about charms, enchantments, and spells, and books about curses. The girl seemed to have picked out nearly every book that could have helped James in his research.

Just when he was about to ask her if he could borrow one or two, a familiar, sneering voice came from behind some of the other shelves. Quickly ducking behind the bookshelf across from the girl, he heard a few pairs of footsteps walking towards the redhead.

The owner of the sneering voice said, "Come on Lils, you can't worry forever. Can't you just let all these books be? What's this? The Dark Arts – Their Past and Future… what are you reading this for? Come on Lily, you're just wasting your time."

James recognized the voice. It belonged to none other than Severus Snape, James' archenemy from first year. Peeking cautiously from behind the shelf, he saw that he was in full view of the girl now, since he had hid on the opposite side as he had found her. He also happened to notice that he had never seen this girl before, which was strange since he was certain he would have noticed someone as pretty as her. Silky red hair, emerald green eyes, a small, delicate nose, and a laughing mouth… he had never thought such features would come together to produce such a masterpiece. But James couldn't dote on his newfound beauty for long, for he knew that it wouldn't be a good thing for him if Severus Snape and his gang found him staring at his apparent girlfriend.

"Sorry Sev, but I just have to do something. How can you all just live like that, as though you're a complete non-entity? It's unnerving!" Lily said. Even when she was angry, she had the most beautiful voice in the world.

It also occurred to him that Lily was a friend of Snape's. This meant that she wasn't just any Lily, but that she was Liliane Evans, the Slytherin Queen. It had been rumored that the first time someone asked her out, which also happened to be the last time, she had hexed them so many times that they had been in the Hospital Wing for two weeks. James didn't think he would live through such an experience.

"Liliane Evans, please don't do this. You're torturing us by burying yourself under these books. For God's sake, you're a Slytherin! And Slytherins don't study! Come on, let's go have some fun," a girl with silvery blond hair said.

"Where on earth will we have fun, Narcy? This is a school, not a playground. And school's are meant for studying, so unless you want me to make you do your homework, you'd better sit down and help me sort through these books."

Narcy… that would probably be Narcissa Moore. James sure knew who everyone in his year was. As James peered through the lines of books, he saw that one of the other two members of the group was another one of his so-called enemies. This blonde-haired idiot was Lucius Malfoy. All James knew of Malfoy was that he and Snape weren't really friends even though they hung out with the same three girls.

Something else that was more of a rumor than common knowledge was that Snape had certain… feelings for Lily, but this fact had never been proved. James severely hoped that she didn't return Snape's feelings. 'Narcy' and Lucius were an item, however. This was just a little information James had extracted from some of his fellow classmates. James was good at poking his nose in things and snooping about.

"Come on, Lily, just this once. Let's go back to the Common Room. It's so boring without you jabbering continuously in there. Please, Lily, come back with us," Snape begged her.

"Oh, alright, I will – oh, just take a look at this!" Lily exclaimed. James stiffened and tried his best to keep as quiet as possible.

"It says here in this book about the future that Voldemort's going to attack so many wizards, witches, and… and Muggles, that he's going to become the most powerful wizard in the world! That can't be good… Oh, and it's continued on the next page. Hang on a sec. Okay, here we are. It says here that he's going to attack Hogwarts too! Oh, no, he's going to end up killing a lot of students too… But wait, he's going to have his powers taken away from him too, in about, hmm… let me do the math. He's going to be gone in about seven years. Basically, he'll be killed three years after we're out of Hogwarts," Lily said, paraphrasing what she read.

She was quiet for a while after that. One fact about her that nearly no one in the entire school knew was that Lily Evans was a Muggle by birth, no matter how experienced in magic she seemed. Her parents had been killed soon after she joined Hogwarts, do Dumbledore let her live with a wizarding family who had already graduated – the Weasleys who had a baby whom Lily would baby-sit during the summertime. As much as she tried not to think of it, she had a soft corner for Muggles, and was quick to react when people insulted them or made fun of them.

James, on the other hand, was in shock. He knew something was going to happen, and he wasn't the only one. It had already been predicted. He was in such shock that he started to back up without thinking. There was a large crash as the bookshelf behind him fell to the floor. Not wanting to be in a position where he could be accused for eavesdropping, he moved behind the fallen shelf and proceeded to pick it up. Before long, the five Slytherins had walked up to where he stood.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. James Potter," Snape spat at him.

"Mr. Potter, what on earth are you doing on the floor? You're supposed to be in Hell," Malfoy spoke as he stepped in front of his girlfriend.

"Who are you, anyway?" spoke the girl that James didn't know.

"I'm James. Who're you?" James asked, trying to sound as cheerful as possible even though he wasn't sure what to do.

"Martha Summers, I dare say you've heard of me before?" she asked, with an air of someone who knew everything.

"Martha, don't talk to him. He isn't worth your time. Let's go," Snape said.

"So you think you're worth her time more than I am? You certainly have big hopes for someone so small, don't you?" James sneered.

"Shut your mouth!" Malfoy screamed.

"Why don't you?"

"Guys, please, stop arguing!" Lily broke in. She was eyeing James with a strange expression on her face. Apparently, she didn't recognize him even though they had played one another in Quidditch for the last three years. "Well, what's your name, and why are you here?"

"It's James Potter, like I said. What's yours?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"Liliane Evans but you haven't answered the second question," Lily said, smiling. She had taken a liking to James' warm personality, and at the same time she couldn't help but wonder what made his chocolate brown eyes sparkle so, and why his charcoal colored hair, which fell about all over the place, made him look even more attractive than he already was, what with his charming smile and his bright face.

James on the other hand was soon shaking his head and grinning. Liliane wasn't just pretty; she was smart. He was wondering how she could have been put in Slytherin. Surely, Gryffindor was a better place. At the very least, she should have qualified for Ravenclaw.

"I was here to do some studying. It's not exactly my favorite thing to do, but you can't go to school without doing some of it, can't you? Now, don't disagree with me. I know this from past experience." James was unconsciously staring at her with a dreamy expression in his eyes. He soon realized, however, and looked around, hoping that Lily and her friends hadn't noticed.  Lily, however, was busy staring at him with a similar expression. She soon glanced at Snape and Lucius, saw that they were eyeing James with great distaste, and decided to bring their happy conversation to a close.

"Well, it's been nice meeting you, James. Wait; hang on. James Potter – aren't you the Gryffindor Chaser? I knew I recognized you. How couldn't I have done so? You're the only one who's sent a Quaffle past me all the time," Lily said, suddenly recognizing him. She couldn't believe that she hadn't done so earlier. He had always caught her eye when she went to watch the games, and she had kept a mental record of the fact that she had never been able to pull of a quick save when he had tried to score. She had thought it maddening at first, but now that she somewhat knew him, she didn't mind. In fact, she was ready to laugh at her inability to do it.

"Oh yeah, you never have saved my scores, have you? Well, as you said, we'd better get going. At least, I should. I told my friends that I'd get them some materials so we could study. I'll see you later or at least at the next game," James said as he got up from the floor where he had been sitting. He hastily picked up a few of the fallen books without reading their titles, and made as though to leave. He had a lot to tell.

"Of course, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, how could I forget? Well, I'll see you then!" Lily shouted after his retreating back. When the door of the library shut behind him, she sighed and shook her head.

"Lily, what's wrong with you!" Severus shouted at her.

"What's wrong? Nothing's wrong, Sev. I told you that already. Now, if you don't mind I'm going to get some lunch." And with that, she picked up a couple more of her books and followed James' steps out of the library.

"Don't worry, Sev."

"She was probably just trying to be nice. She doesn't know many people outside Slytherin, so she just wanted to make a good expression."

"Yeah, I bet that's it. Don't worry, she still likes you."

The consolations came from all around him. Even Lucius was trying to be a comfort for him. The four had been shocked at how she had readily accepted this James Potter, even though the others had had their doubts. Severus was simply furious.

"I'll show him. What does he think of himself? Does he think he can go around the school stealing people's friends just like that?" he snapped.

Over the last four years, Lily had become like Severus' little sister, or even more if it was possible. As a result, he was extremely over-protective of her. She didn't notice it, even though the others did, probably since she had always been pampered and belittled by all four of her friends. She was the youngest in her year, and therefore her friends saw it as their responsibility to make sure that she didn't get hurt, or sad, or any such thing.

Now however, they saw that their Little Lily had grown up after all. She had transformed from the tightly closed flower bud into a spectacular Tiger Lily. Life was certainly going to change, now that their younger sister had met James Potter.

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A/N: There you are! That's Chapter Two. Please send me your suggestions via email or through a review. And I sincerely hope all my readers are enjoying this story. I promise you I won't abandon it for anything, and I'll strive to please all of you. Thanks for reading!

- KoolKitty