Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters which you recognise in this story.

A/N: Wow! Thnx all of u who reviewed!! I honestly didn't think I'd get more than five!! Well, I've decided to continue it as a sign of my thnx to u guys!!

Never Love Again

Chapter Two: Loosening up

The girl in the bed stirred, before peeling her eyes open reluctantly.

This is so cosy, she thought. But why do I have this throbbing headache?

Suddenly, her eyes functioned properly again, and she jerked up, taking in the features of the room she was in.

It was a large, luxurious room, and rather messy too; magazines (Quidditch Today) were strewn on the floor and various spell books were scattered, there was also a large pile of clothes.

Male clothes.

That's when it struck her that she was in a boy's bedroom.

OH MY GOD, she thought.

Just then, the knob on the door twisted, and in came the infamous Gryffindor Quidditch seeker, James Potter.

"JAMES?"

"Er-yeh, hi," he began. "I'm sorry, I forgot you were in here, I just came in to get a magazine."

He picked up the newest edition of Quidditch Today, and was about to leave when he heard her voice.

"Why am I here?" Lily asked, struggling hard to recall what happened the previous night.

"Huh?" A confused James said. "Man, you must have been really drunk! Don't you remember anything?"

Lily raised her delicate hand to her head, and just when they came in contact, a sudden flashback flooded back to her.

She remembered the hostile war she had with her family, which had left her with no family.

James saw the sudden change in her expression. Her face was now filled with agonizing pain and misery.

"Um-Lily, what happened to you last night?" he asked in a soft, gentle tone.

Lily paused. The silence between them grew, creating an awkward atmosphere. Her emerald pools blinked and she looked up before she spoke.

"I lost my family."

Her tone wasn't of anger, yet despair couldn't be heard either.

James was lost for words. His brain strived to think of something comforting to say, but his mind went blank. Seeing her like this broke his heart.

"I'm sorry, but-"

"Don't be."

"Well, you can stay here for now." He offered, with a soft tone, though it wasn't out of pity, it was out of kindness and also the complicated feeling he received when he approached this beautiful girl.

Lily gave a genuine smile to James, and her impression of him had slowly began to change.

She once thought of him as the popular, rich brat who cared nothing for other people's feelings, but now she knew otherwise.

"SHIT! The Hogwarts Express is leaving in one hour!" James exclaimed, suddenly remembering that today was September 1st.

Lily quickly scrambled out of bed, then realised that she was only wearing a loose vest and briefs.

Lily blushed the same colour of her hair, and a hint of red crept up on James' cheeks too.

"Er-where are my clothes?" Lily said while wrapping the covers around her.

"Um- oh yeh, yesterday you were really boiling up-"

"WHAT!" Lily cried, her heart hammering fast, at the thought of James Potter undressing her.

"No. I didn't um-I mean Sally, my maid um-took care of your clothes. I'll go get them now!" After saying that, James hurried out of his room.

"Thanks" Came the embarrassed muffle from the girl under the sheets.

***

When Lily was dressed, she met Sirius in the Potters' dining room.

"What are you doing here?" They both said in unison.

Lily laughed. "Um-yeh James took me here last night."

Sirius smirked.

Lily seeing this, quickly spoke warningly, "NOT LIKE THAT."

"Oh."

"You still haven't answered me." Lily asked curiously.

"Well, you would see me here, considering that I live here!"

"What?" Lily asked in shock. "You live with James Potter?" Then she stifled a giggle. "You two spend WAY too much time together!"

Now it was Sirius' turn to look undignified.

"Hey Siri-baby, where are you?" came James' teasing voice.

He walked into the dining room to find Lily in fits of laughter hearing his comment.

He smiled seeing her laugh, she looks beautiful when she does that, he thought without realising.

Sirius glared at James, then mouthed to Lily, "I am d-e-f-i-n-t-e-l-y straight!" But this just caused Lily to laugh harder.

When James finally calmed her down, he said bye to his parents, who both gave him a hug and Sirius too.

"Bye mum, bye dad," James called out when about to leave.

"See ya later!" Sirius shouted casually.

"Um-thanks for having me Mr and Mrs Potter," Lily said awkwardly.

"No problem dear! It was a delight to have you, even though it was only one night, you should come stay next summer!"

She smiled gratefully at James' parents and glanced longingly at them. She really envied James and Sirius. They had such a caring family, their presence emanated love and affection. She yearned deeply for that.

***

When they reached the platform, they were just in time to catch the Hogwarts Express.

They actually might have missed it because of Lily. Even though she had been crossing the barrier for six years now (it's now their sixth year), she was still very nervous.

James had had to grab her arm and drag her through the barrier.

Sirius saw this and knew James hadn't just done it because he didn't want to miss the train. He knew his friend well enough to sense that he liked her, and that he felt the need to look after her. He also knew that James, himself was unaware of this.

~~

Finally, after much walking, (and screams from their fans), they reached the marauders' usual compartment.

"Hey Remus! Hey Peter!" Sirius called cheerfully.

"Heya guy!" James greeted.

Lily felt really awkward; she knew she was out of place.

These guys are the most popular guys in school, what am I doing here with them? I probably just look like an idiot! She thought uncomfortably.

James sensed her uneasiness and quickly remedied it.

"Guys, this is Lily Evans. I gather you know that," James said.

Remus looked at her surprisingly, while Peter looked blankly at her.

"Um-hi."

"Hi Lily," Remus welcomed friendly.

"Yeh, hi." Peter said, bored.

"Um- I think, I'll just find another compartment." She said awkwardly, edging towards the door.

"No, wait!" James shouted, seizing her arm, then blushed and let go.

He didn't know what made him shout out, but he wanted her to stay, and Sirius and Remus knew this too.

"Yes, stay with us Lily, unless you don't like our company," Remus said.

"Yeh, or you really might think I'm * ahem *, since I'm hanging out with these guys!" Sirius joked.

Lily loosened up a bit and smiled gratefully at them.

***

Throughout the whole train journey, they talked a lot. The marauders chatted about their pranks, and James tried to include Lily as much as he could.

Lily felt this and was really starting to receive complicated feelings towards this boy, who had rescued her from the pub and offered her a place in their compartment.

She was feeling a feeling she had never felt before, and she didn't know what that was.

When lunch came, the witch with food trolley came across their compartment. Lily, who hadn't had breakfast, was starving, but she didn't have any money on her, so she didn't buy anything or ask for money. She still had a little bit of pride left in her.

Remus, seeing this, offered her a chocolate frog, but she resented it, but thanked him nonetheless.

I am not going to be pitied, she thought boldly.

Soon, the train almost reached the school, and the marauders were discussing their ultimate prank they had been planning.

Peter didn't speak quite so freely and kept glancing at Lily, but she shrugged.

"Hey Lily, you promise you won't tell on us, right?" Sirius asked.

"Nah, no point." Lily said, somewhat sadly. She felt no need to work exceptionally hard now; she had no one to please.

On the other hand, she felt a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders, knowing now that she didn't always have to be a studious, boring student. She could actually have some fun for once in her life.

"Only if you let me in on it." She added.

James looked stunned, but grinned to show his approval. The others looked surprised too, but didn't say anything, as James was unquestionably the leader, and they mostly agreed on what he thought.

Laughter was shared immensely in their compartment, and by the time they reached Hogwarts, their ultimate prank was all planned out and one beautiful redhead was certainly given her part in it.

A/N: Ok, what dya think? In this chappie, Lily's learning to loosen up and her friendship with the marauders will develop more in next chappies!!

Please hit the review button once you've read this, I really wanna hear your comments!! Cheers!!

S2 blue moon