Lily walked briskly through the corridor, determined not to speak to anyone at all on her way to the great hall.

            "Uh, Lily, can I speak to you for a moment?" said a Ravenclaw 4th year named Brandon Malexus from behind her.  Drat.  Her plan ruined.  She sighed and turned around.

            "Yes," she said, trying to sound annoyed, but not too rude at the same time.

            "Uh, you know, I was wondering if, uh, if you might want to go out with me, umm, sometime," he said.  He seemed to be afraid to look directly at her, instead he looked at his feet, then the staircase on the left, then the ceiling, until she interrupted his random-object-gazing by saying

            "Well, no."  She was not in the mood for sugar-coating any answers.  She simply did not want to go out with him.

            "Don't feel bad, Brandon," said James, walking arrogantly up to them, "Lily wouldn't say yes if the most famous, richest wizard in the world asked her out, she obviously doesn't think anyone's good enough for her."

            "That's not true!" retorted Lily.

            "You're right, of course, you think everyone is good enough for you," said James, looking her coolly in the eye, "You're just afraid.  Afraid to say yes, afraid to kiss a guy even if you really want to."

            Lily stood up on her tip-toes and kissed him, right on the lips.  She held her lips there a moment longer, lingering in his sweet scent.  It felt so good to be this close to him.  She pulled back, turned on her heel, and walked away.   She had spoken to two people, and she wasn't even half way to the great hall yet.  This was not a good day.

            That night, instead of hanging out in the common room, Lily went straight to her dorm.  Just as she was about to curl up in bed, drown her sorrows in the darkness, Shaylyn walked in.

            "Lily?  Is everything ok?" she asked, concerned.

            "Oh, um, I'm just a little stressed with that 8-foot-long essay from McGonagall, that's all.  I think I'm gonna go….somewhere, and take a walk…or something."

            "Alright," said Shaylyn.

Is there nowhere I can go in this stupid castle and be alone?  Stuff would probably be better if I could think without Shaylyn or James interrupting me all the time.  Why are they all in my business anyways? Thought Lily.

            She got to the lake.  She peered into it.  The castle was reflected on its shimmering surface in all its glory, but there were depths of water beneath the glassy surface, depths you could almost see, but as soon as you got close your eyes would jump back and see the glittering reflection of the castle again, just screaming for you to stare at it.

            Then James walked up behind her, she could see him in the lake.  She quickly turned around.

            "Lily, I think we…" he said.

            Lily couldn't help herself.  She put her arms around his neck and kissed him (again).  He looked so cute, his cheeks red from the cold and his sweet caring eyes looking right at her.  She suddenly pushed him away and ran as fast as she could, running from her embarrassment.  How could she have been so stupid?  She was gasping for breath, the cold air stinging her throat, so she threw herself into the snow, her tears nearly freezing as they ran down her cheeks.

            "Lily, wait, don't run away from me!" He ran after her and easily lifted her to her feet.  He wrapped his arms around her and she realized that he was like the lake, with depths and deceptions and tricks of they light.  But with him, Lily wasn't fooled by his shining surface, she could see straight into his heart, and she realized that she really did love him.

            "I love you, James," she whispered.

            "I love you too, Lily, I have always loved you and I have waited so long to hold you."

            "Don't ever let me go."