lSummary: Sequel to "Time to Fly (Friends Forever)". Lily and James haven't seen each other for seven years. A school reunion rekindles their friendship, but how far will friendship go?

Disclaimer: I was recently told that disclaimers are just an excuse for fanfic writers to feel better that they're copying someone else's work. Well, here's my excuse: nothing's mine!

Author's Note: *nature program voice* And once again, the elusive Miri crawls out of her den to publish another chapter. This is a rare occasion, so please watch. *normal voice* Yergh. Again it has taken me a lifetime and a half to publish this chappie...the sad thing is it was sitting on my hard drive nearly completed for about a month. *bangs head on desk* And again, I'm horribly sorry. Forgive me.

And this kinda goes without saying, but ever since OOTP came out, we learnt some stuff about James and Lily that kinda changed the whole aspect of their relationship...well, this fic is now drifting a little from the canon and trucking along the path I'd designated it before OOTP to become a semi-AU. Not changing any personalities of anyone/altering the plot 'cos of new canon, okeydoke? Enjoy.

Seven Years

Chapter Seven

By Lady Wildcat

The night of the reunion. Lily reckoned that everyone from their year was there. The Great Hall was filled with people, but Lily had her eyes only on one.

She went up to James and tapped him on the shoulder. "Shall we dance?" she asked, as the band struck up a new, slower song. Her heart was thudding wildly as she awaited his reaction.

He smiled nastily, something she had never seen on James' face before. "I don't think so, Lily."

"But why not?"

"You're not my girlfriend any more." Suddenly, Leia Clark appeared next to Lily. Gorgeous, thin, model material Leia. Oddly, she was in her Hogwarts uniform from seventh year, which was ridiculous as she had to be at least 24 now, but Lily didn't really notice. James continued maliciously.

"Leia's my girlfriend now, Lily. I never loved you anyway. Just get over me already." He took Leia's hand and led her to the dance floor.

"James?" Lily whispered. She watched the two dancing. Watched James kissing her. The mere sight of them together stung her more than his words had. She let a solitary tear run down her cheek.

Sirius came up to her and patted her on the back. "What's wrong, Lilykins?"

"Nothing," she whispered fiercely. "Go away."

Sirius shrugged. "All right." He returned to his date, a large buxom cucumber with lipstick on. Lily could only sit and cry.

Wait a minute. Was that a cucumber--

Lily blinked, and the dream shattered. Sirius and his vegetable date were nowhere to be seen. She was back in her bed in her room, listening to the clock strike three.

"Just a dream," she said quietly. "A normal, run-of-the-mill dream." She pushed her hand through her hair and tried to calm herself down.

This is what happens, Lily Evans, she mentally scolded herself, when you sit up too late two nights before the reunion looking at the attendance list. Weird dreams come from lack of sleep.

However, Lily knew that it wasn't lack of sleep causing her bad dream. It was that name, so innocently situated between Richard Baker and Francis Coldwell--Leia Clark. Just seeing that on the attendance list had nearly made her jump out of her skin. Of course Leia would be there, she was part of Lily and James' class--but it was still a shock.

Lily's image of Leia had remained the same for seven years--cute, blonde, skinny with the perfect amount of curve, tall. Leia, with her perfect blue eyes and perfectly arranged clothing. The Hufflepuff colors of yellow and black had suited her immensely. Lily's hair was just the right shade of bright auburn to make it clash horribly with the scarlet and gold of Gryffindor.

Before the end of sixth year, Lily had thought Leia a nice enough girl. A little dense, but nice. That was, of course, before James had broken up with Lily for Leia. She was once again dragged into the memory that had remained with her since sixth year.

"Lily," James said. He was twisting his hands nervously and wouldn't meet her eyes. "We need to talk."

"About what?" He'd been acting strange all week. She hoped it wasn't anything she'd done. "James, what's wrong?"

He finally raised his eyes to hers--those clear blue eyes that always made her knees shake every single time he looked at her. He regarded her with an emotion that she couldn't put a name to, but she could read some strange sort of sadness in his expression.

She broke the silence. "James, what is it?"

She laid her hand on his arm, and he jumped back as if he'd been burnt. He broke their eye contact, and, looking past her, said coldly, "Lily, I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Silence. Either that, or she'd gone temporarily deaf. But no; there was a slight roaring in her ears that was getting louder by the second. "What?"

"Just what I said, Lily. I'm breaking up with you. I've found someone new."

"But--" The roaring was louder now. "Why..."

"I--just don't think it was working out. It's over, accept it, Lily."

"James--"

He looked at her again, at her eyes filling up with tears, and his face softened. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "God, Lily, I'm--" He broke off and strode away, leaving her to cry alone.

How many times over the past eight years had she relived that? Lily absentmindedly played with the edge of her sheet. Way too many. She'd thought of that night over and over, trying to figure out what went wrong--what she'd done wrong.

James hadn't been right. Things had been working out. The night he broke up with her was just about three days before the sixth-month mark of James asking her to the Christmas ball ("Let's go just as, um, you know, friends and all") and just over the five-month mark of him kissing her during a dance at the same ball. Their relationship hadn't fizzled at all—if anything, it had grown stronger with time.

Lily, at first, almost hadn't believed it. She'd almost believed, with a desperate sort of belief, that it was all a very large, insensitive prank. It was an idea her head had halfheartedly manufactured, as an explanation for the inexplicable. But she'd known the day after the breakup--the day Hogwarts let out for the summer--that it wasn't a joke; she knew when Sirius walked into their compartment on the train, gave James and Leia a cold glance, and put his arm around Lily. If it had been a prank, Sirius would have been in on it. She'd cried silently into his shoulder for the whole ride home.

A year later, she and James had spoken again--a real conversation, not like those strained ones they'd had when planning events as Head Boy and Girl. He'd asked her to forgive him, and, secretly relieved, she had.

She'd forgiven, but not forgotten. She hadn't forgotten how it had felt to have her heart unexpectedly stomped on; to see James with Leia on the train the next day, regardless of the fact they broke up after two weeks and James didn't really date for the whole of seventh year; to want to reconcile with him for a whole year but afraid of being hurt again.

And Lily most certainly hadn't forgotten how James made her feel, because it was all coming back to her now in an overwhelming rush of déjà vu. Fifth and sixth year all over again--she was now painfully aware of James every time he touched her, found herself saying insanely stupid things in front of him, and was now frequently found daydreaming imagining what it'd feel like for him to kiss her again.

And, just like fifth and sixth year, as far as Lily knew James only saw her as a friend. Only worse now, because she'd had her chance with him, and it hadn't worked.

She needed an aspirin or something. This was too much for her to handle this late at night. She was beginning to get a headache.

***

Her previous night's dream was still in Lily's head when she was eating breakfast the next morning. She was so absorbed in staring at the butter melting on her toast and thinking mournfully of Leia that she didn't notice the person standing behind her until he waved his hand in front of her face.

"Liilyyy..." that all-too-familiar voice said. "Earth to Liill-yyy..."

"Eh?" She spun around and looked up at James. "Oh, it's only you." Only you. Right. Am I such a pathetic idiot that I can't look at him without my heart rate going doubletime?

He pulled out the chair next to her. "So," he said as he heaped scrambled eggs, bacon, ketchup, sausage, and three pieces of toast on his plate, "excited about the reunion?"

"Euhm..." She poked her grapefruit. "Um, yes. I guess." She thought for a moment. "Is there anyone you're particularly interested in, um, seeing again?" Smooth way to introduce the topic, Lily.

James paused chewing, then resumed. "No."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she responded automatically.

He swallowed, then grinned at her. "You're the only one I really wanted to see again, Lils."

"That's sweet, but are you sure?"

"No one I can think of right now." James looked at her. "Why? Is there someone I should be remembering or something?"

Only the perfect girl you left me for. "No, no, I was just wondering." For the first time, Lily noticed the seats around her and James were empty. "James, where's Remus? And Peter?"

"With Sirius."

"...Well, where's Sirius?"

"In McGonagall's office."

Her eyebrows went up. "Why are they in there?"

He winced. "You don't want to know." At her inquiring expression, he continued. "Let's just say it involved a blowtorch and a large pile of carrots."

"Okay. You're right. I don't want to know." Lily shook her head. "Good old Sirius. I know we can count on him never changing."

***

Author's Note: Another chapter...just a whole little tribute to our lovely Sirius. *big OOTP sigh* Heum. Anyhow, I'll be in camp for 2 weeks, but thinking about what to write for the next chapter, promise…next chapter starts the long-awaited reunion! Yay!

Best,

Lady Wildcat