Disclaimer: I don't own HP, never have, never will!

Last chapter: Part 1 of the Ball!!! Rather weird, if I do say so myself. . .

One warning: A bit of sour language in the upcoming chapters, be warned. And it wouldn't be the same if the vulgar words weren't used.. (same as last chapter)

And now. . . our latest chapter:

Lily ran through the oak doors of the Great Hall, and turned west, in the direction of the nearest girls' loo, her dress flying out after her, but her tears that she thought were so fitting to flow didn't. She reached her destination in about a minute and she quickly headed for the sink to wash her face, as finally, a lone tear coursed its way down her cheek.

Lily hesitated for a while, considering her make-up would be ruined if she washed her face. "Oh, magical make-up, I forgot!" She laughed to herself, remembering how Sirius , had appeared while dressing up for the Ball. She really had no idea why she was laughing when she didn't know how she should feel: horrible or pleased.

Clack, clack. High heels sounded on the floor near the door. Lily smiled to herself, despite how she felt at the moment, betting that they belonged to her two best friends. Sure enough, when the door burst open-

"Lils!" Dana looked alarmed, her hair holding on to it's style. She caught a glance at Lily's smiling face, and obviously heard the comment Lily made about the magical make-up since she said, "We ran all the way here from our dates just to see you chuckling to yourself all alone!"

Clara leaned on the cold tile of the bathroom wall, gasping heavily to regain her breath. "Yeah, what the hell happened back there?"

Lily twirled a ringlet around her finger. "You saw, I saw you two watching me from the corner of my eyes."

They laughed, as the three of them knew that the two cousins were watching Lily sneakily and their attempts to pretend to be innocent bystanders were all in vain.

Dana's eyes sparkled. "Lily, James Potter, the James Potter, kissed you. Kissed you, and on the lips mind you. Wake up! You've been pining for him since two years ago! Why'd you run anyway? If I were you I'd be ecstatic!"

Lily brought out her wand and started fiddling with it. "I so wasn't pining for him! And I don't really know. Oddly enough, I should probably be swooning from head to toe, gushing about how dreamily enchanting it was. But it wasn't at all, y'know. He was making Severus jealous, showing him he could steal me from Severus even as my date. No offence, but that was so immature and made himself look like an asshole! That was a really stupid reason to kiss a girl. Like me."

Clara snorted. "Lils, how the hell did you find out he was trying to make Snivellus jealous?" (a/n: hey it rhymes!)

"Don't call him that! Well, I've been watching him for almost two years and by now, I've pretty much mastered the art of discerning his facial expressions, and that's one hard skill!" Lily said, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "For example, he has this look cross his face when he's excited about something, like planning a prank with the Marauders. Then, he gets another when he's with a girl, all ready for a good snog, and quite seductive."

Dana groaned all in good nature. "Lils! No unnecessary descriptions, please!"

She laughed mirthlessly. "Yeah, then when he's trying to anger someone, this is usually for Severus and Lucius," ("Greasy and Barbie, you mean," Clara snorted again, but sobered up after she earned herself a glare from Lily), "and he was looking exactly like that when I was dancing with him," the redhead finished.

Dana stared at her incredulously. "You're obsessed. Spookily obsessed."

Lily forced smiled and pocketed her wand. "Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I plan on ignoring him after this."

After a while of silence-

"Did you know that was my first kiss? My first kiss and it was only out of spite? Do you know how awful that feels?"

"Oh, Lily. . ."

The two looked sympathetically at their friend, who was trying to hide her disappointment at James only kissing her to get Snape jealous, and failing altogether, walk out the bathroom door.

As they reached the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall hurried to them. "Miss Evans, are you all right? What on earth made you flee from the spot like that? Anything at all to help you available?"

Lily said, "Nothing, Professor. I just had a spider down my dress robes, but it's all taken care of. Thank you for being concerned, though, Professor."

The elder woman peered at Lily through her glasses as if seriously doubting her words but nodded and left.

Lily bade her friends' farewell as they proceeded on to their table. She sighed ruefully as she sat down beside Snape, who leered at her not unlike McGonagall had.

"Damn that Potter," he hissed in her ear as Lily settled down. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Lily said, "And I didn't go to the loo because of that. . . kiss, I went since there was this hairy spider in my dress robes."

Snape laughed bitterly. "Spider my ass, Lily. . ."

He was cut off. "Drop it, Sev. Let's switch tables, all right?" Lily turned to the three Marauders and their dates. She noticed James squirmed uncomfortably and looked interested in his fingernails. "Sir, Rem, Marianne, Clarissa, Aretha, and . . . James, Severus and I are going over to Clara and Dana's table since they want to get to know Sev better. All right?"

The girls waved at them while the Marauders, with the exception of James, who was trying his hardest to appear fascinated with the hem of his robes, glowered at them. Lily stuck out her tongue and took the hand Snape offered her. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Aretha simper up to James, lifting his chin up and capturing his lips in hers. She smirked sadly and turned away, missing the scene of James rudely pulling from Aretha's grip, and the girl's face going into a pout.

The two started walking away. Lily heard James say, "Lily, please. . ." but she ignored him and the fact that that was the only time he didn't say her nickname. When they reached Clara and Dana's table, the two cousins glared at Snape bitterly, as did their dates (Snape was very unpopular at Hogwarts) but smiled and greeted Lily pleasantly. She sighed, knowing it would take a million years before anyone could really understand Severus fully, even she hadn't completely unraveled the person beneath the sallow, pale skin and greasy, matted dark hair.

"Students," Dumbledore stood up, "We'll have a break for dinner and in an hour, the band will play some songs again for you all to dance to. Enjoy your dinner! Chop chop!" He clapped his hands.

Steak, gravy, chicken legs, lamb chops, shrimp, squid, and more delicious food appeared on every table. Lily ate quite a bit, all the while chatting with her friends and their dates, also trying to include Snape, whom everyone else was pointedly ignoring.

In an hour, as their Headmaster promised, the band struck again, and Lily found out that she and Severus were good dance partners, swinging to slow, jazz, pop, and rock. She switched partners occasionally but always returned to Severus. Their conversations mostly centered on the school: teachers, the students and especially the Marauders. She checked her watch after what seemed like only a couple of hours to her and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as her watch sported the time: 11:48.

"Hogwarts! Thanks for inviting us and all! We do hope to see you soon again! The upcoming song is our last one," groans filled the Hall, "and after, we'll be signing autographs in the library for an hour!" Cheers erupted, unlike the previous groans.

Severus smiled at Lily as a slow and pleasant love song came up and reached out for her waist to bring her closer. Lily grinned back tentatively at his shyness and stepped closer to him. But just then, a familiar hand lay down on her shoulder. She sighed and looked up to meet James' brown eyes.

"Yes?"

He stared coldly at Snape before switching his look to her. "You owe me a dance, I presume, Lily Flower (Snape scowled at this 'sweetness') and I haven't found the chance all night to interrupt lovely, flirtatious rendezvous with Snapey-Poo here," James smiled fakely sweet, and Lily could almost hear the concealed anger and hate behind his words with her for dancing with Snape, being Snape's date to the Yule Ball, and over all, choosing the Slytherin above James.

Annoyed and grateful at the same time, Lily looked to Severus, who'd assumed a poker-face, barely hiding his anger. "Sev, would it be all right if I dance with Pott- I mean, James?"

James was put deeply into thought at her calling him, nearly if not fully, Potter. Only the Slytherins called him that, and they were his enemies. Never in his life did he think that his kiss hurt her enough to turn into one of his enemies.

Lily glared at James and laughed inwardly at his lack of knowledge that he'd been the prime of their conversation awhile ago. "Ready, James?" she beckoned to him.

He nodded and watched triumphantly as Snape stalked off, his usual daily scowl returning after three hours' absence. The music started up (I'll Be, by Edwin McCain). Lily stiffened as James' strong, lean arms encircled her tiny waist. Very hesitatingly, she put her arms around his neck. She couldn't reach, though, and stood on tiptoe, even though she was wearing 2 inch high heels. "Lily Flower," James began.

"Potter," she responded bitterly.

"Look, Lily, I'm really sorry about earlier this evening. I shouldn't've done that."

Lily said formally, "Apology accepted," and concentrated on not answering him as much as possible.

"Lily, please, I don't want to lose you as one of my friends. If I said the kiss meant nothing, could you forget about it?"

Lily thought deeply and dared to say, with her eyes on the ground between them, willing her mind forcefully to concentrate on the music, but not succeeding. She sighed. "That's just it, James. Are you sure it meant . . . nothing?"

(A/n: I'm trying to italicize the words, sorry if it comes out weird!)

i What the hell is she implying? How to get out of this one?? /i

James answered very quickly, "Of course. Is it imperative you interrogate my saneness?"

She was disappointed and disheartened. "Yes, I mean, I apologize for prying."

They danced the remainder of the song in silence. James was very surprised when she nearly sent him falling over when Lily pushed him away after the dance, both marveling at her strength and hostility.

'iI need to sort out my thoughts. Too much. Too much, /i' Lily thought hurriedly as she ran outside. "My God, it's freezing out here!"

A shadow covered the distant light from the castle. "What the-" Lily turned, gripping her wand. "Oh, Severus, it's you."

Snape's eyes were unfocused. "Lillian Marie Evans, you are to comply to al my orders and follow me."

He stuck out a hand for her to take. She put her hands in his and was surprised to see his grip was so strong.

Lily giggled and said, "Hey, Sev, what's with the robot act? It's queer!"

Snape ignored her and led Lily in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. i 'Why in the hell are we going there this time of night? What's with my full name?' /i Lily wondered, struggling to keep up with the much taller Snape.

"Sev, are you sure that's where you want to go?"

The Slytherin made no reply. Lily squirmed, but he held on tighter. He spotted her wand and took it, now; both her hands were in one of his hands, and her wand in the other.

They entered the Forest about fifteen minutes later. "Severus," Lil whimpered. "Please! Let me go!" They came to a clearing, well into the forest. They stopped and he dropped her wand. Snape reached in his pocket and Lily nearly fainted as he brought out a sleek, sharp dagger.

"No, Sev! Please, have mercy! Severus, please don't do it!" Lily begged.

She screwed her eyes shut, thinking frantically, i'Oh, God. This is it, the end! I'm going to die this way! I'm going to die young! Please anyone help me! I'd take James; I need to tell him how I really feel before I die. . . Please, James, someone, come!'/i

CRACK.

James Potter was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. He looked around; unable to grasp his bearings for a moment, but quickly sprinted to her when he caught sight of Snape holding the knife. He brought out his wand.

"Stupefy!" Snape slumped and Lily turned pale.

"Th- thank y- you, Jay- James," she struggled to speak. James ran to her and pulled Snape off. He hugged Lily with all his might and asked concernedly, "Are you all right?"

Her shoulders sagged horribly. "N-no."

James pulled away from her and gasped. Torrents and torrents of blood came pouring out of Lily's pierced chest. Snape had managed to slice her. The knife's handle protruded from the middle of her chest, meaning all five inches of the knife was inside.

"Oh, god! Lily, talk to me, dammit!"

She opened her eyes, though it took a great deal of effort to do so. "Jays- so- sorry . . . for to- tonigh-"

Lily felt blissfully aware that she was no longer in pain as she sank into unconsciousness. "Oh, God!" James put a healing charm on Lily, but dared not pull the dagger out in fear that she would bleed more. He picked her up, running fast through the winding trees, and a few minutes later, across the Great Hall, still filled with the Prefects and Head students, all the while blood spilling freely from Lily.

"Madame Prinuella! Anyone, help, please!"

The bustling nurse came out, muttering, "What is the problem- oh, dear! Quickly, put her on the bed! Now, now! No time to lose. After setting down Lily, the nurse sent James out, but he refused to go and watched as she tried to do her best.

Madame Prinuella's POV

As I examined the dagger that hurt the poor child, I was never so shocked. On it were three Potions. Obviously, all were made of Dark magic. One, to make the healing to the wounds take five times as long to heal. One more, to repel any magic aided to it. And the last one, to repel any potion given to heal the wound. Poor child.

It tore my heart to see that the knife had penetrated her Aorta, one of the heart's main supply of blood.

"Mr. Potter, what happened?"

The boy looked up, his face a mask of grief and worry. "Snape stabbed her in the forest. I just sort of apparated there, and I Stunned Snape. He managed to stab her still, though."

"You can't-"

"Apparate on school grounds, I know. I just did, but please work on Lily for now," he insisted.

I shook my head sadly. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do besides what I've done."

He nearly exploded. "What!? Use spells, potions, anything! Why aren't you? You could lose her right now! She's losing a lot of blood, Madame Prinuella and she'd already lost a lot!"

I replied slowly, not taking to heart his outburst, for I already knew what he'd just yelled, "Mr. Potter, in the blade of the dagger were three potions. One to repel healing magic. One to repel healing potions and the last one that makes the wound take five times longer than usual to heal. I've already alerted Prof. McGonagall to tell the Headmaster."

Turning gravely to face the boy fully, I spoke softly, "She may not have long before she departs, Mr. Potter."

He buried his face in his hands. Perhaps to keep the tears I'd caught starting to form in his eyes.

"No. . .Please, not Lily. . . "

Out of Madame Prinuella's POV

It was safe to say James didn't take the news very well. His Adam's apple throbbed horribly against his throat, as unshed tears were washed away, his palms digging into his eyes made sure they didn't escape.

The Hospital Wing door slammed open as the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress walked in quickly. "Dumbledore, it's serious. Whoever intended on hurting Miss Evans, for I prefer to keep Mr. Snape out of the question, lace the blade with three potions, all Dark of course, one that repels any magic, on that repels any healing potion, and one that will subject the wound to heal five time slower than its usual pace," the nurse said, presenting the dagger on a white cloth.

Dumbledore sank into a nearby chair grimly. "What do you suggest we do, Catherine? What are her chances?"

James would have laughed out loud right that moment if the situation hadn't been grave. Who'd thought the mother hen-like nurse Madame Prinuella was named Catherine, such a young, spirited name?

"We have to do it the Muggle way. Emergency storeroom, I have the necessary equipment. As for her chances. . . she might not make it through the night. There's an eighty-twenty chance that she'll survive, and that's the latter."

James' heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He felt like he was going to be sick. i 'Not Lily, please, not her. I couldn't bear to lose her. . . she's a dear friend!'/i

At the most inappropriate time came back his subconscious, or whatever the second little voice in his head was called. i 'That's just it, Potter. Are you sure she's nothing more than a friend?'/i

James grew angry. i 'Bugger off, will you? Now's not the time-'/i

i 'Oh, there's no more perfect time than this. Listen, Potter, hear me out before you completely shut off your mind to the only reasonable person, rather, voice, here!' /i

i 'Fine, I will!' /i

i Good, Potter. All you have to do is, apologize to her, as soon as possible. As soon as you get her alone with you. Oh, and add to that how you really feel for her, if you know what I mean. . . ' /i

i 'That's stupid! She's bloody near a coma, for all I know she may be in one! She's eons and eons away, you sodding git! Besides, I'm damn sure of how I feel for my friends, thank you very much.'/i

i Potter, Potter, Potter. Don't you ever take into consideration your wits? Of course a person in the deepest of comas can hear you! It's like they hear you, and think it a dream, proven true! Oh and about the last bit, are you sure?'/i

i 'Of courser I'm sure! I'll do it, I'll bloody do it, happy? Just shut up!' /i

i'Ecstatic. /i

A thought occurred to him. "Professor Dumbledore, Muggle machines don't work at Hogwarts; there's too much magic in the air, and they go haywire. How. . .?"

"I'm afraid, Mr. Potter, I'm two steps ahead of you. As you see there's no more magic in this room. Test it yourself," the Headmaster said.

James warily took out his wand and waved, "Lumos!" Instead of the very bright light it gave off usually, in its place was the light that gave off an air that it was about to go off any second.

"It's necessary for Miss Evan's sake you leave! Out, out, I need my space!" Madam Prinuella fussed, getting out the machines. James watched her connect their wires to sockets that appeared out of nowhere and took out gauzes, syringes, and other medical equipment before he walked away.

*** Madam Prinuella emerged, two hours later, looking weary. "Come here, Potter," she addressed the solitary figure sitting on the waiting bench out in the hall next to the Hospital Wing.

He looked feebly at Madam Prinuella. "Is it bad?"

"Muggles have machines that help keep patients in critical condition alive. They're called life support, Potter, and currently, Miss Evans is hooked to one of the strongest types. Should she wake up, and the prospects for her are very bleak at the moment, she won't be able to talk. The ventilator, the tube connecting the life support to her is in her throat, blocking her voice," she said. (a/n: Uh! What a boring sentence, 'she said'!) "Go on now, Potter. And Dumbledore says you're to report to him in two hours."

He stood up, bones protesting from the movement after being cramped for so long. "Oh, and Potter? If any of the alarms go off, call me at once, for Miss Evans' sake."

James nodded and entered the deathly quiet room. He sank into the chair set up beside Lily's bed.

i 'She looks so miserable. . .'/i

He took in all the tubes connected to Lily's body, her pale, still form, her cold, almost black-blue lips, and the gauze on her chest, which was rising up and down so slowly, that at first glance, James assumed she wasn't breathing at all.

"Lily- I know you probably can't hear me but it is important that I say this now, than not at all," James began.

i 'God, I feel so stupid!'/i

"Er, what I mean to say is, I know you were upset when you - er-asked me if the - er- kiss meant nothing. You see, Lily Flower, I didn't really want to say the truth. I'm not even sure if you'll wake up to hear it. The truth, I mean. I'm not daft. Not too much, at least. I know you think I kissed you only to make Snape jealous. But that's not true at all," James said softly, more to himself than to Lily.

"I really wanted to kiss you, Lily Flower. Not just mainly because of that slimy prat but because, I think- I mean, I think that I- I like you," James finished hurriedly.

Lily made a soft moaning noise and James froze.

Had she heard what he'd said? He'd never live it down. Never. James watched her like a hawk, his breath caught in his throat.

After a moment's pause, and James' heart plummeting to his stomach, and rising back up again, he sighed, relieved that she was just adjusting or something else.

"Um, so where was I? Oh yeah. You know what, Lily Flower? I think I've liked you for awhile now. I just wasn't sure of it. I started to fully take in your beautiful face, your soft, lustrous hair, your luscious- damn!" James blushed hotly, though no one was listening.

'Not good, Potter. You're BLUSHING!'

"I mean, sorry, sorry, got a bit carried away there. But don't think I like you just because you're gorgeous, not that you aren't. I like that you are so generous, kind and beautiful inside out. I like that you put others before yourself. I like that even when you probably were making fun of me with Snape, I still don't want to lose you. I like that you aren't flirty, like those constantly fawning girls you secretly call, I quote, 'dogs who've pityingly lost all sense of their bearings'. I like that I can call you my best friend without having you gloat around school like you were a goddess. I like that when you are defending your opinion and I have different views, you don't simper up to me and give in. I like that though you are defiant during these circumstances, you're always sweet-tempered, blithe and humble. I like that I can picture your future name: Lillian Marie Potter. Hang on," James started, his face crimson once again, as he clamped a hand to his mouth. "I did not just say that! Anyway, Lily Flower, I'd best shut up and let you have your rest."

James held her pale, cold, seemingly lifeless hand in his as he passed the time away before he had to report to Dumbledore. Her hand fit so perfectly in his.

'She's beautiful. Truly beautiful.'

*** "Potter, Dumbledore's office, straightaway," said the nurse, waking him up. James jerked awake and nodded, looking at Lily. He sighed. She appeared not to have a tiny improvement at all. He stood up and stretched, and after checking if Madam Prinuella wasn't looking, he leaned over her frail body, and kissed her forehead. And positively sped out of the Hospital Wing like a person who'd just seen a harmful predator. Which was exactly what James considered Lily to be.

*** "Ah, Mr. Potter, I need to talk to you," Albus Dumbledore said, as he watched the panting boy take fresh gulps of air.

"About what, exactly, Professor?"

"Yesterday, I have reason to believe, she appeared to you, didn't she?"

"Who exactly, sir?"

"The daughter of the Merchief, Vanessa. And she came, on a mission, to discover Serena Edwards' heir?"

"Yes, sir."

"She found what she came looking for?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who was the heir, Mr. Potter?"

"Lily Evans, sir."

"She gave you the book, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Kindly show me the book, Mr. Potter."

"Now?"

"Summon it."

"I don't have my wand on me, Professor."

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore smiled, as if he found James name amusing to no end, "You're a Magid."

The realization dawned upon James and he felt quite stupid. He managed an "Oh," before the thick leather book appeared in his hands.

Dumbledore smiled appreciatively. "Good, good. May I?"

"May you what, Professor?"

"Open the book."

"Um, sir, as I hope you know, the book can only be opened to Wiccans, and even then, once opened, only Wiccans' eyes are able to adjust to the text," James explained.

He laughed. "But of course, Mr. Potter. What do you think I am?"

"I'm not exactly sure, Professor, but, in my own honest opinion, I think you're just an ordinary Wizard?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"I'm a Wiccan as well, James. Not a direct heir, as you are to Godric Gryffindor and Miss Evans is to Rowena Ravenclaw. But a descendant all the same, of Godric Gryffindor, too."

"Is that why when I was younger, you kept contact with my father?"

"Yes, and with the other descendants as well."

James was incredulous. "You mean to say there are more Wiccans?"

Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling. "Certainly you didn't think you were alone, did you, Mr. Potter?"

James didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "If Lily Flow- I mean, if Lily's a direct heir of Rowena Ravenclaw, why was she Sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Mr. Potter, tell me, if two parents are Sorted into Slytherin and when it is their child's turn to be Sorted, and the child is very intelligent, witty, clever, what House would you suggest to put the child in?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Precisely my point, Mr. Potter. Just because one's parents are very intellectual, doesn't necessarily mean that one should be that intellectual. Miss Evans is smart, but has a more courageous heart, hence she was Sorted into Gryffindor."

"Oh."

"Back to the matter at hand, Mr. Potter. Let me open the book for you and I will set it to Gryffindor's Prophecy pages, and I will ask you to read something."

Dumbledore took out his wand, and muttered, "Fourum Dissendium!"

James heard the same thing, and pretty soon, Dumbledore was pushing the massive tome to him. "Read this prophecy, James."

He squinted, the writing was so small and spidery.

The Dark Lord rises, spreading the loom of terror across far lands Disaster, calamity, 'tis all but terrible in fate But hark! Sharply look and see the faint light that seeps across the great divide New hope, new life, we seek, and we found It tells of two powerful Wiccans: One of courage, indestructible, unwavering The other of knowledge, cleverness, wit Together, they form the hope of all witches and wizards alike Emerald eyes dawn upon their babe Remarkably alike his fiery crowned mother Head unruly adorned with a mess of charcoal, dark as the darkest of nights But never will our savior be opportune enough to ... James stopped, as the rest of the page was blank. "Professor Dumbledore, it stops here."

The older man sighed gravely. "Yes, yes, I was aware. Unfortunately, someone had inflicted the Killing Curse on the Seer before he had a chance to complete it. Do you see, James, the pattern of this Prophecy to that of which Miss Evans read aloud yesterday?"

James nodded, brow furrowing when Dumbledore first called him by his birth- given name. "I think that they both speak of two Wiccans, of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and together, they would defeat the upcoming Dark force."

"Not quite accurate, Mr. Potter. I quote, 'They FORM the hope of all witches an wizards alike'. Together, you and Miss Evans will bring to the world the downfall of Lord Voldemort," Dumbledore said wisely.

James fought the blush creeping to his cheeks at what Dumbledore was hinting. "What are you implying, sir?" He asked still, anyway.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Exactly what you think I'm implying."

James' face heated up more. Oddly enough, that seemed to egg on Dumbledore.

"Actually, Mr. Potter, I think that if I'd tell Miss Evans what I've just told you now, the both of you will know what I'm implying. You have admitted some feelings, I have reason to assume, of some certain feelings of yours for her that might and will (James, who'd steadily been growing redder and redder, looked ready to blush at his bursting point) lead to my implementations."

It was a rather awkward situation, really, one knows not to expect every day to occur. James was in the Headmaster's office, in his tattered dress robes, at three a.m. talking about his feelings for a girl whom he'd just saved and was currently lying in the Hospital Wing, hovering on the edge between going into a coma.

"Professor, is that all?" James asked, fighting the very strong urge to yawn widely.

Dumbledore gave another little laugh that would usually assure James but at this situation, James was far from assured. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry James for keeping you in at such hours. Now, go straight back up to your Tower."

The messy black-haired boy wandered listlessly through the halls of Hogwarts contemplating what had happened in the past forty-eight hours.

First, he'd learned that a fellow direct Wiccan was actually his friend.

And that friend had been kissed by him during the ball, and the reason for that was that he wanted to make Severus envious, and succeeded, but lost too, since that friend was angry.

And then, THAT friend had been stabbed by the same person she brought with to the Ball.

Really', James thought, 'It's a rather small world with bizarre happenings. But then again, this is Hogwarts, and this is just your examples of normal events.'

The Fat Lady was snoozing in her velvet armchair, a bottle of Odgen's Firewhisky at her legs, half-empty.

"Ahem," he said.

She was jostled awake and looked around blearily, trying to regain her bearings, rubbing her sleep-filled eyes tiredly. She squinted at James and asked, "Pathword?"

James nearly fell over laughing at the sight of the Far Lady drunk, when she herself hadn't wasted the moments of opportune to scold him and the Marauders for going out at night to have a drinking binge. "Leonhart".

The Common Room was empty, James noted, then chided himself for being stupid. Who'd be awake at this time of night, er morning? He trudged to his dorm and sighed. Sirius was still in his dress robes, spread-eagled across his bed. Very heavy snoring came from Peter's bed, where his bed curtains were drawn shut. James could distinctly make out Remus and Frank's silhouettes against the pale light of the half-moon.

'Damn, I'm bloody worn out,' James thought as he undressed. No sooner had his head hit the pillow, he vividly dream a horrific nightmare.

It was a restaurant. Probably the new one that opened in the rebuilding of Hogsmeade. And in the restaurant was a table.

There was a table. A table, finely set for two. Also, there was a white lily in the center, in an elongated vase.

His attention was centered on the door of the restaurant, and could make out the boy's identity. It was himself, about a year older, shyly pulling a girl. The girl had tumbling unique red hair. And lustrous green eyes. It was Lily Evans, and she looked a bit older too.

But she appeared as she always did- beautiful with her pale complexion but a little taller, her hair was longer, and James' eyes traveled down to her chest. He noticed that her developments didn't lack in that part, either.

James watched as his older self led her nervously to the table. After a while, a very stiff and formal looking waiter came out and took their orders. They started talking as soon as the maitre'd left.

He leaned in to hear their conversation, but to his disappointment, everything went mute as soon as he moved. He contented himself by just watching the pretty redhead eat and talk. James sighed longingly when the pair smiled at each other. Lily nodded, forked a piece of her cake and moved towards the older James, who looked positively- younger James couldn't read his expression. Lily opened his mouth with her gentle fingers and slid the fork in.

Normally, both James' would have gagged at the prospect of this act of sweetness, affection and love, but he was surprised to see his dream self chew happily and snicker with Lily unceremoniously as his nose was smooshed with icing and chocolate. They both held hands across the table.

James looked around and sure enough, he spotted other couples from Hogwarts chatting with their respective sweethearts, their words of love muted to James. "Yeah," he spoke out loud, this must be Hogsmeade. Le Meringue, I think."

Suddenly, the restaurant's pacific atmosphere was destroyed when the shiny mahogany door blasted into undistinguishable splinters and in walked every witch and wizard on the Light side of the war's fear, Death Eaters.

"STUPEFY!" They roared simultaneously, and repeated this over and over, until everyone, save Lily and the older James, went unconscious on the floor or keeled over in their seats. Lily whipped out her wand and the dream James had his own out as well.

He felt a tug at his navel and suddenly, he was no longer his fifteen year old self but the older James. And as if someone had pressed a button, everything was painfully loud to James after being "deaf" for a while.

He watched fearfully, frozen on the spot, as one of the Death Eaters stepped forward and blared out, "Crucio!"

Lily braced her body for the surely intense pain the Unforgiveable would bring. What she didn't know was that during the process of the Death Eater taking his time to savor their fear, James had jumped in front of Lily, shielding her, and took the full brunt of the curse.

He fell to the floor, the crash breaking the silence of the quieted restaurant. Before the world could fully right itself, he felt pain. Worse than the worst torture he'd ever received in his life. James writhed as he curled up in a very tight fetal position. A thousand little knives penetrated his clammy skin. His ligaments and muscles were being torn brutally apart. His head felt like cracking open. Every part of him ached, every part of him hurt. Hot white pain seared across James' body. He couldn't feel his limbs anymore. James tried curling up tighter, anything to block the pain, a mantra in his brain stubbornly repeating, "It's just pain, it's just pain". James had been under the curse for a little while only when his skin began to break. Little pinprick needles suddenly appeared all over his body and his blood made small rivers down his body. Not once during the whole time he was in pain did James scream, cry, or let the tiniest or softest of whimpers out. HE distantly heard Lily crying his name helplessly over and over again, pleading with the Death Eaters holding her to let her go, and to stop it. James bit down on his tongue hard and it started bleeding as well.

It's just pain, it's just pain, it's just pain

After what seemed like an eternity, the cackling Death Eaters lifted the curse. By this time, James lay on the floor, still, unmoving, no longer willing to take in oxygen.

The taunting face of the Death Eater loomed into view, sneering, "Not so valiant, chivalrous, nor brave now are you, Potter?"

Lily pulled free from the Death Eater's hold and ran over to where James lay. She hugged him close to her, crying silently.

James tried to cup her face with his hand, and made it halfway before it collapsed to his side. "Li- Lily Flo- Flower. . . I lo-love you. . ."

The last thing James saw before his eyes closed and he woke up (a/n: does that make sense to you???) was her face, full of love, concern and tears for him. . .

"Lily!" James shot of his bed, sweaty all over and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. He ran to the Hospital Wing and, his heart still pounding heavily against his ribs, opened the door. He sank into the chair beside the redheaded girl and with one last look at Lily, he slowly fell asleep.

But this time, he wasn't plagued by nightmares. After all, he had Lily beside him and hat meant everything was all right. Everything was going to be all right.