A/N: I'm sorry it took so long, but I wanted to take a break from writing over Thanksgiving Break. As a friend of mine said, "If you've got a bone to pick with me go ahead and do it."

*

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me about?" Lily asked him.

"Well, I –" he began, but he stopped.

He didn't know where to begin. Even if he just simply told her the story from beginning to end, she was sure to ask questions. Lily knew what a prankster he was; it would be only natural for him to come up with a joke like this. And even when she did believe him, if she believed him, she was bound to feel – uncomfortable at the least. He knew that he never would have even thought of asking her to stay in his house, or would have been alright with just 'turning around' when she was changing if she wasn't his cousin.

"I just wanted to show you your present," he said quickly.

"But we already opened our gifts. Well, you didn't. You were too busy getting the snow out of your clothes," she said, giggling.

"I know. But I want to open mine. And I have something else for you too," he said.

He wasn't lying. He had indeed bought another present for her. He just hadn't been sure at the time whether she would like it or not. And there was the fact that after finding out, he had been too – shy to really talk to her or give her anything more.

"How sweet – well, let's go then," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him down the hallway.

"Where are you two off to, all of a sudden?" Mr. Potter asked as he walked in the room with a mug of coffee to find that they were leaving. (A/N: Every time I write 'Mr. Potter', I can't help but think of James himself! It's strange, isn't it? I mean, I'm strange. Don't get me wrong there…)

"Oh, we were just –" Lily began, but James cut her off.

"Where are you going?" James asked suspiciously.

Mr. Potter shook his head, laid down his coffee, sighed, and said, "I'm sorry, James. I've got to run down to the Ministry again. Apparently, Moody has found something new. He's brilliant, but he's getting a bit… Well, I have to run. I'll catch you two later, then."

He picked up his coffee and took out his wand. He was about to Apparate when James spoke again.

"Dad, you'll be back soon, won't you? Won't you?"

"James, I'll be gone as long as it takes, and no longer than that."

*

"James, that was so sweet of you!" Lily said, throwing her arms around him after unwrapping his present for her.

"It's only a book… and a Muggle one at that," he said, shrugging, but nevertheless pleased to see that she had liked it.

"So what if it's a Muggle book? Shakespeare's my favorite!" she said, tousling his hair. "Anyway, now you have to open my pressies for you!"

James sighed and reached forward for a lumpy package. It was something soft, and James was vaguely reminded of the time when he hid in the laundry basket among all of the linen and clothing.

"Oh, but wait – not here – open it in your room – please? Well, you can open that here," Lily said, pointing to a long thing box wrapped in silver, "but open this when you're alone."

"What's wrong with – okay, um, then – well, here goes nothing…" he muttered, ripping the silver wrapping off of the box.

He undid the Spellotape that was keeping it bound and slowly took the lid off of the box. He let out an audible gasp; his jaw dropped. In the box was the best broom he had ever seen in his life. He read with utmost amazement the silver lettering that spelled out the words Silver Arrow. It was a new model, and had only come out a month ago. It was an amazing broom, and was the first on the lists of all Quidditch players. They had been in such high demand that even those who ordered one had to wait four weeks until they received it. But, for some reason, probably lack of stock, the company was supposed to be closing down. No more Silver Arrows were going to be in the market. And yet, somehow, Lily had gotten him one.

"Wow, Lily, this is – it's amazing! I'm probably the only guy in school to own one of these! Thanks a lot – but – where did you get the money to buy it?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Well, it wasn't just my present. Before the holidays, well, I talked to Sirius and Remus, and they gave me a bit of the money that they were going to use to by you a present to me, and so I ordered it out of the Which Broomstick catalog as soon as I could so that it would be here by Christmas," Lily explained, grinning happily.

"Thanks, Lily, and I'll have to tell them thanks too. But, knowing them, they'll know what I want to say…" he trailed off, looking down with a smile at his new broom.

"Now, we have to go up so you can open this one. This one's only from me. No one else helped me pay for this," Lily said, smiling at him, proud of what she had bought him.

"Um, alright – let's go, then, shall we?"

He picked up the package delicately. He wasn't sure why, but the package seemed to be too light to be anything of importance, and yet, it seemed to give off a kind of aura that he hadn't expected from a flimsy package wrapped in tissue. They walked into his room and James set down the package on his pale blue bedspread. Lily cocked her head to one side so as to read the words on the quilt, under which was a thin, silver arrow.

"Are the – um – are the Appleby Arrows your favorite Quidditch team?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, they are – more or less. Remus still goes on about the Cannons, but the Arrows are far better. I guess you know why I was so happy to get ones of these," he said, winking at her as he gestured to his brand new broom.

"Well, go on. Open this one," she said, sitting down carefully on the bed next to him.

James bit his lip as he reached for the package. Carefully, he ripped off the shiny, silver ribbon that had tied it up, and pulled off the white tissue paper. He let out another gasp as the thin silver material of the garment ran through his fingers.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak, James."

"I've never even seen one of these before," he said in awe, running his hand over its smooth surface.

"Put it on," Lily said, smiling.

James whirled it around and fastened it just below his neck. As the rest of the cloak fell into place, they both watched in amazement as James entire body, except for his head, disappeared from view. Carefully, he lifted it up so that he could cover his head. Lily watched the shimmers in the air as he whirled around. She couldn't see him, but she could hear the excitement in his voice and the sound of his footsteps, and she could make out certain places in the air where he stood that would blur together like a mirage when he moved.

She laughed and walked up to him. Giggling, she pulled the cloak from his face. Her smile faded, though, as she realized how close her face was to his. James looked down. He too stopped smiling and laughing. But Lily studied his face for a moment. Her memories were now coming back, stronger than before. James looked back up at her, surprised that she hadn't moved away or said anything.

"Sorry…" Lily muttered, as she backed away and sat back down on the bed, looking at her knees.

"Thanks, Lily – and, well, I'm not even going to ask how you found this," he said softly as he took off the cloak and set it down carefully on his bed.

"Um – yeah – sure – you're welcome," she said awkwardly.

He sat down next to her. Neither of them knew what to say. They both sat in silence, staring into the mirror across from them. After a while, however, James smiled. His smile turned into a grin and he looked deeply into Lily's reflection. She raised an eyebrow at she looked at his. Then, James let out a laugh and tapped her on the back.

"You're it!" he said, laughing, as he ran out the door.

Lily stood in surprise for a while, her mouth hanging open just slightly, but then she too let out a yell and ran down the stairs after him. She had no clue why they were doing this, two fifteen-year-old prefects – but she admitted to herself that she was having fun.

"Ha – I got you – whoops!" Lily shrieked.

She had tagged James back, but had tripped on the edge of the rug and flew forwards, knocking James down. (A/N: I know; I know. This happens in nearly everyone's stories, but too bad! I'm using it too! I'm not adding fluff, yet, though – duh! They're still 'cousins'!) She shook her head as she got up, and dusted off her pants. James rolled over onto his back to look at her. His brow was furrowed in a way that made Lily think that he was studying her harder than he had ever done before. She blushed under his gaze, though she wasn't sure why and turned away.

"Um, so, I'm it, is it?" James asked, getting up.

"No, let's not play anymore. At least, let's play something other than tag, I mean, that's a kid's game," Lily said in a baby voice.

"And you sound exactly like one, didn't you know?" James put in.

She narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him. He just smiled back and shook his head. Damn, he had no clue what it was, but he knew that something about Lily just – made him go crazy. It wasn't her looks, though they weren't half bad.

Okay, I admit it. Forget the half bad. She's the best-looking girl I've ever seen. Damn Sirius – if he wasn't so much better looking than I am, I might have had a chance with her before we – uh – found out that we were cousins. And she's smart and funny, too. And she's not that ditzy, giggly type of girl. She's not like those twins – Dani and Mickey. She's sensible and she knows what she's doing. Damn, I love that woman… Wait – what am I thinking? She may not be my cousin – but she doesn't know that. And – I'm only fifteen… I'm not supposed to have feelings like this. This is just some silly crush – like that time in second year when you thought you liked Adriana Sliger. This is just one of those times. It doesn't mean anything – so forget about it. And even if it does – you haven't got a chance. She thinks you're related already. Liking your cousin would just be – sickening. But – what if she does know…

James shook his head again, to get his thoughts out of his mind. Lily noticed this and mistook his frustration for a mistake on her part and bit her lip as she approached him to apologize.

"I'm sorry, James – did I do something wrong? I'm sorry if I did," she said, cocking her head so that she could look him in the face, what with his head drooping and his eyes glued to the floor.

"What – no – you didn't do anything," he said, giving her a weak smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked him, shooting him a playful look out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, I'm sure!" he said, a bit too loudly for Lily's liking.

"Jeez, what has gotten into you? You're acting so – so strangely all of a sudden. And now – jeez, you've no reason whatsoever to get angry like that!" she snapped back.

"Lily, I'm not being angry," he said, rolling his eyes.

 "Fine, then – you are not angry. I'd just like it if you didn't treat me like – I don't know. I'd like just a little respect if you don't mind," she said.

She stormed out of the room, leaving James completely confused and somewhat annoyed by her sudden show of aggravation. He sighed and sat down on the couch, kicking his feet up onto the table. He leaned back sighed deeply once more.

Well, there go your chances with her…

"James, is that you?" Flo asked, walking in.

James looked up at her. He bit his lip, seriously contemplating something. She seemed to understand that something was bothering him, and so she sat down next to her. She ran her hand over his hair, trying to make it lie flat, but she knew it was impossible, just as he did. It was more for the gesture it showed him than the trial and failure that mattered.

"What's wrong, James? What made Lily – well, why did she just – leave, like that?" she asked him softly.

I can tell her, I think. She knows, anyway – that's for sure. She was there then. I'll tell her. I'll ask her. She can help me. Flo knows me better than anyone else – except for maybe Sirius. She'll know what to do.

"Flo, can I ask you something?" he asked slowly.

"Jimmy, boy, you know you can always ask me whatever you want," she said, smiling.

"Flo, why did you, Dad, and Professor Dumbledore lie to Lily and me and say that we were cousins? We're not. I know that, now. I – I found out, accidentally. I didn't mean to. But, why did you guys lie to us?" James asked, staring ahead of him, frowning.

"James, whatever the three of us did, we did it for you two. You're such a child, Jimmy. Can't you think of any reason for such an action? We didn't do it to hurt either of you. You can assure yourself of that. I love both of you as if you were my own children. Even your dad looks on Lily as his daughter. I suppose you know that for two years she posed as your sister. He grew so attached to her – you won't even believe it. Why do you think you both had memories and dreams of one another? Lily's talked to me about it too, once or twice. She – she just never doubted whether or not you two were cousins. Well, essentially, I could tell that her main thought was that, but she never put it into words."

"I can't think of anything, Flo."

"Honestly, now, Jimmy, are you still a little toddler that has to be spoon-fed every bit of information? Think hard, boy, and you'll get it. Just think. Think about everything. Think about your dreams and your memories. Think of everything that has happened since you first met Lily. Think of her. Think of – think of your feelings for her. How have they changed since you found out that you weren't related to her, hmm?" Flo asked. "Have they fallen apart, or have they grown more intimate?"

James' eyes grew wide. For a second, he had frozen. His brain seemed to have shut down. But within seconds, it was up and working again. James turned his head sharply to look at her. His eyes were full of questioning, yet hers were full of warmth and understanding. She smiled affectionately down at him.

"Those letters weren't there on accident. If you must know, I didn't agree with what Will and Albus were doing. I put the letters there myself. Really, now, you don't think I stand oblivious to everything that goes on in this household, do you? I knew you had hid her present there. I know what she got you. I knew that you would be tempted to read those letters. I could see you falling in love with her as the hours passed, James. I'm not as thick-skulled as you may think," she said, shaking him up with her hands.

"Flo, I never said you were 'thick-skulled'," he said, speaking for the first time in minutes.

"I know. I'm just trying to get my point across," she said, smiling playfully at him.

"It's across, Flo. It's there. I've got it. I just don't know what to do about it," he said, slouching back against the couch.

"Give it time, Jimmy. She'll find out, too. I'm sure of it. She will need more time than you, though. She doesn't have a family like you do. I've met them; they're horrible. But they love her, and that's what counts. If it takes her until she graduates to find out that you're not her cousin, and that she loves you, it'll take that long. You're not to go around and messing with it. You'll only make everything worse. Is that understood," Flo said sternly.

"It's understood, yes, sir!" James said, saluting her with a wide grin on his face. "Flo, you're the best!"

He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Even though he was fifteen, he didn't find it awkward in the least. Flo wasn't a 'housekeeper' or a 'maid' – she was a friend. Even Sirius loved being around her. She may have had gray hair and fine wrinkles on her wizened face, but she was their friend. And she was the best.

"I know, Jimmy. I know."

*

A/N: Okay, was that a good chapter, to make up for all the time it took? Was it absolutely, outrageously horrible? Well, whatever it was, review and let us know!