A/n: I haven't updated in a while...the sole reason being SCHOOL!! And oh yeah AIM, but mostly school! ;)

Warning: Only the plot is mine as well as one character mentioned in this chapter (Elise De Lorme).

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The "Picture Perfect, Once in a Lifetime Moment" happened to be a snapshot of Lily lying on top of James and both of them shyly smiling like two lovers who just shared their first kiss. (Ironic because kissing is exactly what they were thinking about!) James came running into the Common Room out of breath and scanned the area for Sirius. He found him huddled over with Arabella in a corner of the room. He also saw Lily with her head in his hands, and a few of her friends vainly attempting to console her. 'Sirius must've shown her the picture!' James thought. He decisively march to where Sirius was standing and with his nimble hands, grabbed the picture out of his hand and with a victorious grin declared, "I'll take that, thank you." He held it out of reach while Sirius was trying to grasp it when, suddenly Arabella sneaked up on James and snatched it out of his left hand.

"I think not!" smirked Arabella.

James grumbled and with pursed lips calmly said, "Padfoot, can I have a word with you," he glanced at Arabella and added, "in private?"

"I don't know James, can you?" Sirius innocently retorted, knowing that James was fuming inside.

"NOW PADFOOT! BEFORE I HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION!" roared James.

"For Merlin's sake Prongs, I was just joking! Some people are so touchy!" Sirius said appearing shocked at James' reaction.

Dropping the idea of being civil, James dragged Sirius upstairs; all the while ignoring the bewildered looks everyone was giving them because Sirius was shouting, "HELP! No, don't rape me! I know I am irresistible Prongsie, but I don't swing that way! Someone help!" at the top of his lungs.

As soon as they were in the Boys' Dormitory, James locked the door and glared at his best friend. "Padfoot, you can't show anyone that picture!" James declared.

"And why not?" Sirius casually asked.

"You know very well why not! My reputation will be devastated! Ever since I stepped into Hogwarts, Evans and I have been enemies! I can't afford to ruin it because you took advantage of an incident! Please, Padfoot! You're my best friend. Try and understand, will you?" James pleaded.

Sirius looked at him thoughtfully and paced back and forth. "Hmm.....what to do.....what to do?" He gripped James' shoulders and quite diplomatically answered, "Well James, after much deliberation and thinking, I have decided that since we are sworn Marauder best friends for life, I suppose I owe you this much."

James exhaled a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Gryffindor! I would've strangled you and forced you to come to this decision anyway!" James replied grinning cheekily. They raced down the stairs together, joking and laughing, the way any two friends would, but their friendship was different. It was deeper and stronger than everyone assumed it to be. They were more like brothers than best friends! Who could've guessed that one day one would be accused for being an accomplice in the murder of the other?

Sirius left to go talk to Arabella and destroy the picture. Meanwhile, James spotted Lily cuddled up on the couch with a pillow and biting her nails. "Nervous habits" he chuckled to himself. She was gazing into the fire, lost in a daze when James sauntered by her. "Evans? Time to return to Earth! We all know you belong on a different planet, but unfortunately for all of us, you're stuck here! Shame really. You know I heard in a Muggle show somewhere that there's something called a mothership that takes you to your home planet and FUO's or was it UFO's......maybe"

He never got to finish because Lily snapped out of her reverie and with a grave expression on her face, brusquely inquired, "What did Sirius say he's going to do with that picture?"

James studied her carefully. The fire behind her was making her copper hair glow to the point where he could see almost a halo surrounding her, like that of an angel. He shook his head to rid his mind of such nauseating thoughts and decided that for once in his life he was going to act civilized towards Evans because he had experienced the same apprehension and nervousness that she was at the moment. So he simply said, "The picture's being torn apart as we speak," and then he left, leaving a speechless Lily. She was expecting a sarcastic remark or a joke of some kind. This new, serious side of James made her uneasy and frankly a bit suspicious. She sighed. Potter had been for lack of a better term, nice to her, and actually done her a favor. He didn't have to tell her what Sirius was going to do with it. He could've let her have sleepless nights and waited until all that was left of her fingernails was microscopic pieces. This would mean that she was indebted to Potter. Feeling quite unsettled, she decided that she didn't like this feeling and that she had to repay him now. Reluctantly, she aborted her carefully construed scheme of revenge as a way of returning his favor.

James studied Lily from the other side of the room. He wanted to see her reaction. Frankly, he had surprised himself. 'Maybe, I owe it to her for making her life miserable all the time.' He saw as a disconcerted look crossed her face. She bit her lower lip as if debating something with herself, then with a sigh she started for the stairs, no doubt to go to the Girls' Dormitory. In a few strides he blocked her path to the staircase and with a lopsided grin, declared, "You know Evans.....I did you a favor back there. I think you're indebted to me now."

Lily raised an eyebrow, mildly astonished at how they thought alike. "Trust me Potter. I already repaid you. More like saved your sorry butt, ehh tomato, tomahto" was the enigmatic reply. She pushed past him and left a puzzled James behind. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*

A few days later, after classes were over, students were crowding around the entrance of the Great Hall. Lily, seeing the commotion, tried to find out what the fuss was about. She spotted Bella's blond locks among the crowd and asked, "What's going on?"

"It's a sign up for something.....some sort of prestigious conference. I don't know too many details. We can find out more when we get to the front, that is if we ever get to the front!" she exclaimed. Once they did, they were able to discern the notice posted on the great oak door.

International Future Diplomats Conference

Secretary General: Elise De Lorme
Place: Paris, France
Dates: Dec17th – Jan2nd For more details: Owl the address below or ask your Headmaster/Headmistress
International Future Diplomats Conference
2888 Rue De Berri
Paris, France
75008

Sign up below if you're interested. Eight representatives from Hogwarts will be selected based on the judgment of the professors and myself. The
delegates will be announced after the Halloween Feast on October 31st.

Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster)

Lily and Bella quickly added their names and ducked out of the mayhem taking place in front of the Great Hall. "It sounds so interesting! I really want to go!" Lily shouted excitedly to Bella over the boisterous crowd. Bella signaled to go upstairs because apparently she couldn't hear anything. By the time they got to the Girls' Dormitory, they were already giggling about meeting cute guys from foreign nations.

"Guess what else I heard?" Arabella gushed eagerly.

"What?"

"The students who go on the trip don't have to make up the work they missed because apparently this thing is intense work in itself," Bella replied. Lily frowned. It's not that she wanted to make up the work, but the intense hard work they had to put into this conference seemed intimidating.

"Oh look at us Bella! We haven't even been selected and already we're so worked up over it!" Lily said sighing. "But you know what would completely ruin this trip?"

"What? Potter coming along?" Bella teased.

"For your information, I was going to reply, Potter and his friends coming! So there!" Lily declared, poking her tongue out.

"You're hopeless!" Bella decided. "Good night!" She flopped on her bed and was asleep in a few minutes.

Lily hugged Mr.Puffles before going to bed. She knew it was rather childish, but she couldn't help it. Mr.Puffles held sentimental value to her. She gave up trying to guess who sent it, ages ago. But she thanked the person from the bottom of her heart for sending it to her. Then, she slowly fell asleep, dreaming of meeting a charming boy her age at the conference and falling in love with him. Little did she know her dreams were about to come true!

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A/n: not much action here.....but there will be in the upcoming chapters! Review! Review! I'll give you three guesses to find out what im gonna say next! (if u dnt know...it wuz gonna b REVIEWWW!)