A/N: Long time in getting these edits up. sigh yes, so here's chapter two edits, love my beta. She rocks. She's the coolest.

Go read her stuff. (take to the sky).

On a note, I was hoping to get a new chapter by June 30, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll be gone for three weeks after that though so don't expect anything till august. Gawd. I feel terrible.

Chapter Two

This Love

September passed without much event. The teachers were buckling down on the sixth year students, insisting that the N.E.W.T.s were next year and that wasn't very far away at all. James wasn't paired with Lily in any of his classes (Professor Sprout had changed his Herbology partner to Jolene and Lily's to Sirius). When James did see Lily, it was briefly behind her pile of books. Snape, too, was quiet and avoided James (James wondered what was so bad about Snape's detention that he wouldn't go near him for fear of earning another one). The only exciting thing that happened in September was a trip to the Shrieking Shack with Remus, Sirius and Peter, and even that had been subdued (Remus had become nervous suddenly, as he was prone to do in the first month of school). September was boring, mostly due to the fact that Quidditch hadn't started yet.

Quidditch (wizard sport, played on brooms) was James' passion. As the Gryffindor team captain and an excellent chaser, James was entitled to this passion. His fellow team mates, Jolene Alexandria and Denis Mercer, were not as impassioned by the sport. Jolene complained that too few women were allowed into the league, plus her American roots kicked in and said that Quidditch wasn't nearly as fun as Riffle (an American game which James knew nothing about). Denis, though he was one of the best keepers seen at Hogwarts, was more interested in reading than in grabbing the quaffle.

James constantly badgered both of them about the upcoming tryouts.

"Jolene, you ready for tryouts?" James asked one morning. Jolene looked up.

"You do know you've asked me that fifteen times already?" she asked.

"You keep track?" James asked, coming to stand behind Jolene.

Jolene pointed to the tally she had on her schedule, glad that James was behind her so he wouldn't see her blush.

"Why do you do that?" James asked. Jolene looked up into his hazel eyes and rolled hers.

"For times like these," she said, hoping she wasn't blushing too much.

"Oh dear," James said, poking her nose, in a way that a brother would to a sister, just to annoy her. "Your lovely friend appears, and so as to avoid having a terrible conflict over breakfast, I believe I shall leave you in peace."

"What brings on this avoiding Lily?" Jolene asked. James grinned.

"I talked to Sirius and he says that if I avoid her, maybe she'll forget how much of an arse I was."

"You still are!" Jolene called down the table as he walked away.

Lily slid into the seat opposite to Jolene. "What's he doing here?" she asked, shooting a glare at James.

"Oh come on, Lily, he's my friend, he can talk to me." Jolene sighed slightly.

"You don't fancy him, do you, Jolene?" Lily asked, looking at Jolene, who ducked her head to avoid her friend's eyes.

"Nope," Jolene said. Lily decided to drop the subject, they had had this conversation since fourth year and every time Jolene insisted she didn't fancy James.

Lily wasn't sure if she trusted her best friend on the topic, but she knew she wouldn't get anywhere, so dropped it.

"What was he here about then?" Lily asked.

"Quidditch, what else?" Jolene replied, drawing a line on what looked like a tally.

"When are the tryouts?" Lily asked, by way of making some sort of conversation start.

"James booked the first slot, since we have the most positions to fill, October first," Jolene said, she looked up, excited. "Thinking of trying out?"

"No, I'm very busy with—with Prefect duties and—"

"You don't like flying," Jolene finished, sighing. "You know, Lily, you really should try to face your fear of flying."

"It's not a fear really; it's more of a—a dislike of flying.'

Jolene rolled her eyes, "Sure it is."

The bell rang before Lily could reply. Lily was glad she wouldn't have to retort to that. She was running out of defensives.

"You trying out, Sirius?"

"James, I don't know how many times I've said yes," Sirius said, looking at his best friend with an annoyed expression. Sirius was (many of his teachers would have fainted at the mere mention of this) working on his homework. Something had taken over Sirius in the past two weeks, making him want to work on his homework more than just making it up. James didn't quite understand this, but he knew this bout of Sirius actually working would fade out, and he would be his old, mischievous self again.

"I know, I know," James said, leaning his chair against the lines of books. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled the charming smile that could get him out of anything. "I just have to make sure you don't back out at the last minute. I've barely heard a peep out of anyone who wants to join the team. We can't afford to lose this year—"

"Because it'll be the first lose since we came to this school. I know, James, now be quiet," Sirius said. "Or tell me the origins of the story of the Grim."

"You know, Sirius, that seems to be more your area of expertise," James said.

"Well then, shut up," Sirius bent over his work again. James, he considered, was really a little boy at heart, wanting things to go his way all the time, and if they didn't… well he would make them go his way.

Sirius had often wondered, when he was thrown into fits of responsibility, if James would ever grow up. Somehow he doubted it. The likelihood of James maturing was as the likelihood of… well, Sirius and Remus going out.

The thought made Sirius chuckle.

"What?" James asked, putting all the legs of his chair on the ground again. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

James pouted, but Sirius didn't notice. While he was straight as a rod, Remus wasn't. Sirius could remember the day clearly when Remus had walked into James' room and announced that he had been thinking and he didn't want to lie to them anymore then he really had to…

The day had been sweltering hot. James kept on reading the thermometer and complaining.

"I can't believe it's thirty-five. It's never thirty-five." He was lying on the floor in only shorts. His stomach pressed into the carpet.

"Shurrup, James," Sirius said. He was in a puddle on the bed, still in his pajamas, though it was past twelve.

"Maybe we could go swimming down at the stream," James said.

Sirius yawned. "We could—"

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," James called. Peter had appeared, wilting into the room.

"How hot is it?" he asked, slumping into a chair.

"Thirty-five—no wait, thirty-six," James replied.

"When's Moony arriving?" Sirius asked.

"Moony is here," Remus said stepping through the door. Of the four of them, he seemed to be the least affected by the heat. He sat down in a chair, keeping his back straight as he looked at them.

"Moony, what's with you?" Sirius asked, sensing that Remus was nervous about something.

"Well, er…" Remus began. James sat up and crossed his legs, putting an arm on his knees for his head to lean on. Peter looked up and Sirius decided to sit up too. Remus went red at the sudden attention.

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Well you know how in third year, when you found out I'm a werewolf?" Remus asked.

"Well, lots of stuff happened that year, Moony," James said. Peter giggled slightly.

"We promised no secrets. Remember?" Remus asked, looking down at his fingers and going red.

Sirius and James looked at each other. "You've kept a secret from us," Sirius said sarcastically, "How could you?"

"It's not funny," Remus said quietly. "It's not like I've had it that long. It's just, I needed to think and make sure I was right about it and—"

"Moony, what is it?" James asked.

"Well, you see, the thing is, I prefer men over women."

There was a long silence as they all stared at him. He stared back defiantly.

"If you aren't comfortable with that, I can change my room and—"

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked. He was shocked, yes, but Remus was one of his best friends. His heart had kicked up at the thought of Remus leaving them. He wouldn't let it happen.

James looked at Remus for a long moment more. "You can't change rooms. We're not going to hate you for this."

Remus seemed to relax slightly. "Really?" he asked quietly.

Sirius was reminded of the time in their third year when they had confronted him about being a werewolf. He swore these were the exact words they had all said.

Peter just had to say—"Yeah, why would we mind?"

Sirius chuckled slightly.

"What's so funny?" James asked, running a hand through his hair. Sirius was thrown back into the present.

"Oh, just remembering when Remus told us…" Sirius smiled as he began to write.

"What? What did he tell us?"

"That he's gay. We said the exact same words when we found out he's a werewolf." Sirius continued to write as James frowned.

"So we did," James chuckled finally. "So we did."

James was comfortable about Remus' sexuality. At least he was now. He sometimes wondered, in the following year to Remus' announcement, why he hadn't over ruled Sirius and said that Remus would have to leave their group. But fifth year had matured him, if not very much, and he soon realized that Remus was still the same Remus he was before he had informed them that he was gay.

After this realization came the sudden wondering if Remus liked him. At the time it seemed possible. At least to the puffed up ego that James had. This, too, had been set aside when Remus found a nice young man in Ravenclaw whom he dated (secretly) until a little over a year ago. They split up for a reason that Remus refused to tell them. Though James had his suspicions.

Confidant in the fact that Remus didn't fancy him, James had had a rather strange conversation with his friend a few days before the summer holidays.

"James, I'm wondering if you could keep a secret from Sirius." Remus slumped down beside James and pulled out his book.

James, who was taller than Remus when sitting, looked down at his sandy-haired friend.

"What kind of secret?"

Remus went red. "Did I ask you out loud?" he wondered.

James lifted a single eyebrow. "Don't change the subject, Moony. What is this secret?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter anyway," Remus said, his face growing even redder. James looked disbelieving. "It's just…. Reasons why I broke up with Evan."

"The bastard?" Sirius said appearing from down the path. Remus buried his head in his book.

"Evan wasn't a bastard," he murmured.

"Yes he was." Sirius waved off Remus and turned to James. "Let's go flying."

"I think I may pass that inviting offer up, Padfoot, I'm catching up on Moony's love life."

"Mr. Padfoot would like to know about Mr. Moony's love life as well. Has said Mr. Moony found a nice young man, after the bastard?" Sirius sighed, sitting beside Remus.

"Mr. Moony may have found a young man, but he is in no way nice, nor is he available to Mr. Moony. Mr. Moony would also like to remind Mr. Padfoot that Evan was not a bastard and still is not, no matter how much Mr. Padfoot hates him," Remus said, taking his head from his book.

"What does Mr. Prongs think of this horrid breaking of our contract for no secrets?" Sirius looked to James, who shrugged.

"Mr. Prongs would pursue this point further, but since a certain person has exited Hogwarts, he no longer cares." James ran his hand through his hair, staring at the entrance to Hogwarts.

A red-head was walking towards Hagrid's cabin.

"Mr. Padfoot thinks that Mr. Prongs needs to find a new obsession."

"Mr. Moony agrees with Mr. Padfoot."

James looked at Sirius and Remus and, even in his Lily-filled mind; he couldn't miss the look that Remus was giving Sirius.

Sirius, for some reason, was missing it completely.

Sometimes James wondered if he had mistaken this look, if he had imagined it. But at other times, James knew perfectly well that that look was almost identical to the look he would give to Lily whenever she appeared.

On October first, James strode onto the pitch, followed closely by Jolene and Denis. A sense of excitement followed behind him; a wave of nervousness swept over the candidates as they looked at the three sixth years who would decide who became part of one of the greatest teams at Hogwarts (okay, there were only four teams, but still, James prided himself on the skill of the Gryffindor players).

He looked at the group. Second years, third years, two fourth years, Frank Longbottom and Sirius stood there. Sirius looked green around the edges and Frank's hands were tightly clasped around his broomstick. The two fourth years, twin girls, seemed to be the calmest there. They held their brooms loosely, breathing calmly. The only sign that they might be nervous was the grim expressions they wore, identically mirrored on the each others' faces.

"Right!" James barked. Several of the people jumped, Frank included. "You're here to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team?"

There were nods and a few "yes's" called out.

"Excellent! We need you!" James looked at the group. "We need Beaters, a Chaser and a Seeker. If you're trying out for Keeper, I'm sorry, but we've got Denis."

Denis looked slightly smug. Sirius forced a grin on his face. James knew that Sirius wanted the Keeper's position, but it was useless, he couldn't let Denis go to put his best friend in.

"Right, so everyone trying out for seeker come to me, chasers to Jolene and beaters to Denis," James said. He would have given a speech about the duties of the team, but he decided that he wanted desperately to be in the air and not have his feet planted to the ground for much longer.

One of the twins and two boys walked over to him. The boys (a second and a third year) looked like they could be brothers. James looked at them with a sigh. The Seeker was the most dangerous place on the team, James had to admit, but having only three people try out for it was rather… disappointing. Sure beaters tended to send the Bludgers towards the seeker and they had to go into hurtling dives that no one would dream of, all while looking for a tiny ball that glittered gold, but couldn't there be a few more people trying out?

"Can I get your names?" he asked resignedly.

"Anneliese Arno," the girl said. She was unusually pale, her light blonde hair done up in a braid, her pale blue eyes were all diluted somewhat. She was thin and fit. Small and perfect for the position. At least physically.

"Jeffery Eaton," one of the boys said. He was in third year, James thought at least. He was slightly pudgy and had darting green eyes. No where close to Lily's eyes though.

"Richard Eton," the other boy said. He was exactly the same as Jeffery but had brown eyes.

"Are you related?" James asked the boys.

"No," they said in unison.

"We have similar last names and look the same but we are in no way related," Richard said.

Blinking a few times James re-focused on Quidditch. "Right, warm up and get up to the left goal post on our side in five minutes."

Jolene looked at her group. It was not promising. Sirius had calmed a little when he heard that Jolene was going to test them, the change was obvious. The other twin was calm and indifferent to the nervousness around her. There were five boys all in third and second year that Jolene didn't recognize.

"Right," she said finally. "Warm up and then take a few laps around the stadium. I want to see how you fly."

James started over towards them. Jolene felt a fluttering in her stomach as she looked at him. His hair was messier than usual, making him look slightly dreamy.

She sighed as she watched him come over. Why does Lily hate him? Jolene thought. She had fancied James since they had both joined the Quidditch team. Only the fact that she was best friends with Lily and that James was mad over her stopped her from telling anyone about it.

"Jo!" James grinned at her and Jolene felt her knees go weak.

"Hey, James," Jolene managed to say smoothly.

"You know how in fourth year you said that Denis would be captain last year?"

Jolene blinked. "What?"

"It's written on our desk from fourth year."

Jolene laughed. "Well you were right about that."

James smiled knowingly. "I'm always right." He ran a hand through his hair. "You're choosing who the other chaser is. I can't help you with the decision. You know with Sirius trying out and all."

"Compromising situation. Why did Sirius tryout if he knew that you'd have a time being fair?" Jolene asked.

"I kept bugging him," James grinned sheepishly. Jolene rolled her eyes with some difficulty; her mind was quickly becoming mush from being close to James.

"Well…" she trailed off.

"It's not the best turn out for seekers, anything for chasers?" James asked.

Jolene tried to focus on the group before her. "Sirius—" she said, squinting slightly. "And the other Arno twin."

"Well, we only need one more chaser, so keep an eye out." James grinned at her.

"Talk to you later."

"Yeah," Jolene said in a sigh. She couldn't wait.

Sirius appeared by her side the moment James was gone. "So, when's the wedding?"

"What wedding?" Jolene looked around; the mush that was her brain was turning back into a functional organ.

"With Jimmy boy over there?" Sirius smirked at her as she went red.

"Sirius Black, I haven't a clue about what—"

"Oh come on, 'Yeah.'" Sirius did a perfect imitation of Jolene's pervious sigh.

"Shut up," Jolene said.

"You love him," Sirius taunted.

"You'll be dead if you don't shut up." Jolene replied. Her brain was once again functional and she had her broom in her hand. "Right, get up there and start flying!" she yelled.

"Go ask James out," Sirius murmured to her as he pushed off.

Jolene glared after him. "What the hell?" she asked pushing off herself. "You know perfectly well he's mad over Lily."

"Yeah, well, you never know, he just might say yes."

"When did he get over Lily?" Jolene asked, looking down to where James was watching them.

"Never, but you might help him get over her." Sirius flew off to join the group ahead of them, leaving Jolene slightly stunned.

It took a few moments for her to remember she was supposed to be watching the people ahead of her. Blinking and shaking her head she put aside thoughts of James for Quidditch.

The game was always more fun than life.

Lily found herself all alone what with Jolene trying out and Ava seeing her boyfriend and Rea attending to Prefect matters. Rea would probably make Head Girl, Lily thought slightly bitterly. Along with Remus Lupin.

But she wasn't going to think about Remus. she sat down at a back table in the library and fumbled around in her bag to find something, anything, to do. her hand touched upon the book her mother had given her when she went home. Trashy romance novels were always fun to read.

Smiling slightly, Lily opened The Sunset Affair and began to read.

Or tried too. Her mind kept on wondering to Remus, and their last conversation. They had been talking near the lake after studying for a bit.

Remus had smiled. "You said that when I told you about my…" Remus looked down.

Lily took his hand. "I know. I know." She smiled. "I promise I won't hate you or treat you like a monster. After all, could it be worse then you're…"

"I'm gay."

Lily blinked. She was about to say "oh." But she knew that it would sound mean. Being a werewolf was worse than being gay. She took a deep breath and let go of Remus' hands.

Remus looked at her. "I'll just go then. I just thought… you should know." He stood and began to walk away.

You're supposed to call after him and say it's all right.

But she didn't. She hadn't yet. And that was a month ago now.

Slightly tearfully, Lily looked down at her book again. she needed to read this. There was a scene in which a woman threw herself at her ex-lover and asked him for forgiveness. Lily thought briefly about doing something of a similar effect to Remus, but shook her head. Remus wouldn't appreciate it.

She had been thinking about Remus a lot since he'd left her on the grounds. It wasn't like they talked in the halls or where other people could see them. James would think Remus meant something by it and probably murder him. So they would meet in places that most people didn't know about. They would talk and study and do all the things friends did.

Lily sighed. She wanted Remus to be her friend again. And it didn't matter that he liked men more than women. She had thought it might, for a while, but she knew, deep down, that it wasn't true.

Now, to think of a way to get Remus to forgive her. Lily shook her head. She would think about it while doing her homework.

Sighing, Lily pulled out her books and contemplated the way to apologize to Remus.

James threw golf balls in the air, thinking about Lily. She would be sitting in the common room, hair over her face, working on homework. She would look up every now and then to talk to someone who would pass. She might stand, close her book and head down to the library to talk to her Ravenclaw friends.

"Ow!" a voice cried above. James looked up to see Richard clutching his nose. Blood was spilling to the ground from it. James rose in the air to look at it.

"Oh, just a bloody nose," he said, slightly disappointed it wasn't more.

Richard glared at him. "You threw the golf ball too hard!"

"Oh," James grinned. "Terribly sorry."

Richard sighed and headed towards the ground. Anneliese rolled her eyes. "Baby," she muttered under her breath.

James frowned. He wouldn't call Richard a baby, just… okay, he would have called Richard a baby last year, but now… now it seemed like that wasn't what Richard was. He was more of an ultra-sensitive boy, but not a baby.

James sighed and helped the boy to the ground. "Sorry, mate," he said, "But you'll have to go to the hospital wing."

"For something so small?" Anneliese muttered something about weaklings. James stared at her. He wanted to wring her neck—

But he couldn't because Richard was going pale now. "Shit. Didn't mean to throw it so hard," James muttered. He helped Richard to the ground and sent Jeffery with him to the Hospital wing.

Anneliese suddenly went into a steep dive a look of deep concentration on her face. James watched in amazement as a few feet above the ground she did a complete 180 and was flying upwards. She lazily came down beside James and handed him the golf ball that he had dropped when helping Richard. "Come on, let's play."

James thought about it for a moment. Then, with a sigh, he pulled out a snitch.

"Catch it by the time we head in," he yelled up to her, "and you get the position." He opened his hand. "Give it a minute to disappear." The snitch flitted away from him and James turned to watch the other groups.

Denis seemed to be doing a good job of dodging the Bludgers being thrown towards him by the beaters. Jolene was tailing a few of the stragglers in her line. He wasn't really needed by either of them.

His thoughts drifted again to Lily. Maybe she would come out and watch the mock game on Saturday that he had scheduled with the Ravenclaw team. Jolene was on the team after all. Maybe, for once she would notice him, and think Wow.

There was a shout from above and James looked up to see Anneliese Arno holding, in her fist, the snitch. She smiled at him and flew down, fixing her robes to make them look even worse than before. "So?" she asked, dropping the snitch into his hands. He closed them automatically.

James stared from Anneliese to the struggling snitch in his hand. "All right, welcome to the team. Catch it again now." James let the snitch go and watched it skitter away. Anneliese appeared to be looking the other way. Suddenly she whirled and brought her broom into a vertical position, flying upwards. Her hand closed around the snitch. She smirked at him as she came down.

"Why didn't you try out before?" James asked.

"I tried out in my second year, but didn't get in. When Hannah said she was going to try out, I'd thought I'd try again." Anneliese watched the frantic beating of the snitch. "And I'm glad I did."

"What insane captain wouldn't let you on the team?"

"The same one who wouldn't let you on the team." Anneliese looked at the pitch. James felt something rising in his stomach. He wanted to wring her neck now.

It was true; Jonathan Pierce had not let James on the team in his second year. It was only in his third year that he got on. James also could remember Anneliese's previous try out slightly. It hadn't gone very well.

Sighing and feeling his anger lessen James looked too at the pitch. "Well, you're on now."

Anneliese nodded as there was a yell. "LOOK OUT!" But it was too late, the ball hit Anneliese in the back of the head. She blinked once before falling off her broom.

James, Jolene, Hannah and Sirius all dived for her body. James and Jolene caught her as Hannah grabbed the broom. They got her safely on the ground while the rest of the group grappled with the Bludgers. The snitch had disappeared.

"Is she okay?" Jolene asked James.

"She's breathing and there's no blood. She's doesn't seem to be awake," James replied. Hannah looked at them, her blue eyes wide.

"Will she be okay?"

"I don't know, we should get her to the castle."

"No, we can't move her," Sirius said, he looked at them. "You don't know what's wrong with her. If you move her it might hurt her."

"Frank, go get Mrs. Coercer," James said. He looked at the girl, her silver hair spread around her face. She looked like she was sleeping. Hannah, the mirror image of her sister was on the other side, holding her hand.

Tense minutes passed. James had the group step away from the girl. He talked in a low voice to Jolene.

"I don't know what to do, if Frank doesn't turn up—"

"He will." Jolene put a reassuring hand on James' arm.

James looked up towards the castle. He couldn't see anyone coming. He gulped and looked down at the girl. "What do you think we should do?"

"Wait. It'll be all right James."

James took Jolene's hand from his arm and clutched it, hoping she was right.

Jolene felt like her arm was on fire. The fire was slowly spreading through her body. James was clutching her hand. Touching her hand. She felt as if she could die and be happy now. The world was fading away and there was only a tall young man with messy black hair. His hazel eyes were boring into hers from behind his wired framed glasses…

Or not.

They were staring at the lawn in front of the castle where the school nurse, Mrs. Coercer, bustled behind Frank. James let go of her hand and Jolene wished he would grab it again. The world was coming back into focus for her and, as usual, it wasn't a nice world.

Mrs. Coercer appeared. She was an aging woman with silver hair that was caught in a braid at the nape of her wrinkled neck. She was a handsome woman for one of her years, athletic and in excellent shape, even for the hundred (give or take) years she had lived. She hurried over to Anneliese's side and began checking pulses.

"I think she'll be all right," Mrs. Coercer said to Hannah. She lifted one of Anneliese's eye lids. Pointing her wand at the exposed eyes she muttered a quick spell. "There's nothing to see here, I'll get her to the hospital wing with Hannah's help." She conjured a stretcher, floated Anneliese onto it, and then got Hannah to gently push the stretcher along.

Jolene watched as they floated away. James shook himself, and looked at the group. "You got someone for the other chaser?" he muttered to Jolene.

"Yeah." She breathed out.

"Denis?"

'Yeah."

"Good." James turned to the group. "All right, I think we've seen enough. We can't announce the placement on the team until we've conferred, and I've talked to the other team captains, but I'm sure we will get it to you as soon as possible."

"Where will it be posted?" one of the second years asked.

"On the board in the Gryffindor common room." James noticed many of the people were staring after Anneliese and her sister. "Right, I'm glad you all tried out and good luck to you all." James turned and walked into the changing rooms, Jolene followed him.

The three sixth years slumped on the bench. "Shit," James muttered, putting his head in his hands. "I hadn't a clue what to do."

Jolene gently touched his arm. "No one did."

"But I should have."

"Why?" Jolene asked simply.

"Because he always knows," Denis murmured.

Jolene glared at him, but James looked up, pulling off his glasses. Red marks from where they had pressed into his face showed in the dim light. "I didn't know. Everyone expects me to know and I didn't."

Jolene grabbed his arm as he rose. "James, don't blame yourself! It wasn't your fault."

"If she hadn't—"

"It was not your fault!" Jolene cried. James stared at her. His eyes were misty with held back tears. Don't cry. You aren't supposed to cry. Guys don't cry.

James whirled and left the changing room. Denis leaned back and stared after him. "It would better to chase a dream than to chase James Potter," he said, seemingly to the air. But Jolene knew that he was telling her to give it up.

Shaking her dark head furiously, Jolene dashed out of the locker room. She wouldn't believe Denis. She might, eventually, catch up to him.

Lily was tired of studying. This was not an uncommon thing among students. In fact, Lily contemplated; she had only ever met one person who wanted to study. Remus Lupin was wrapped in his studies all the time.

It wasn't that Lily didn't study, she did quite a lot (and got top marks), it was more that she wasn't a fan of studying. There were more interesting things to do. For example, today she was going to visit Hagrid.

Okay, maybe it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it was better than being in the library all day. At least at Hagrid's she could breathe air that hadn't been there for the last ten years. It was either that or the lake. Lily didn't like the lake because James was usually there.

Stepping out of the castle she was momentarily blinded by the sunlight. Blinking furiously she took a step forward and tripped. Flying forward she found someone grabbing her around the waist. Strong arms held her in a rather prone position. Still, she hadn't hit the ground.

"You all right?" a kind voice asked.

"Er…" Lily blinked, trying to see who it was. Long black hair and blue eyes. Her heart stirred slightly. "Oh, yeah… just you know, blinded by the light." She laughed idiotically as Sirius helped her up. "Thanks for catching me."

"Oh, you're welcome. Can't help but help you Lily." Sirius grinned at her. Lily blinked. For a moment she could see why girls were falling all over Sirius Black. That smile alone could make her keel over, if she weren't already in love with… I have no idea, Lily told herself sternly. She wasn't in love with anyone. No one at all. But a young man with dancing hazel eyes behind wire framed glasses played in the background. Go away James! She told the young man. James smiled tauntingly and disappeared.

"Lily, you okay?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Lily said a little dazed.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked.

"Hagrid's," Lily replied, smiling.

"Well, have fun there," Sirius said walking into the castle. Lily watched him go and frowned. Wasn't Sirius supposed to be trying out for Quidditch?

Jolene caught his arm. "James," she said softly. James whirled to face her.

He was startled to find that she was his height. Her skin was like chocolate ice cream that had been melting for a while. Her deep brown eyes were blank, almost as if she wasn't feeling anything.

"James?" Jolene asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I am now." James said, staring at her. Jolene began to blush, the color flooding to her cheeks in two bright patches. She looked down at her hand, which was still touching his shirt. "Where are you going?"

"I'm—" Jolene looked up, dropping her hand to her side. "I'm going after you, you looked… troubled," she finished lamely. The red in her cheeks grew.

"Just -- slightly." James managed. "But…er…walking it off…"

"Oh, yeah," Jolene said. They stood in awkward silence. It was unusual. Jolene and James got along well, they were friends. The only thing that kept them from being closer was Lily.

Incidentally, a very flustered looking Lily walked straight into James. "Oh no!" she cried, her green eyes widening. James stared at her.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I keep on bumping into people today, I'm sorry—" Lily had finally seen who she had bumped into. Jolene stepped over to look at her best friend.

Lily's eyes darted between James and Jolene before she muttered a quick sorry and brushed past them. James stared at Lily's retreating back.

"She said sorry to me," James said. "She said sorry to me." His heart was dancing, but as he looked down he saw the lovely color that had been in Jolene's cheeks draining away. He wondered why, she almost always had a cheery smile and bright red in her cheeks when she was around him. Her dark head was down.

"Great," she said, looking up. Her eyes were guarded even more now and her face slightly pained. James felt guilty for being so happy about Lily.

"Shall I walk you up to the castle?" he asked.

"It's not that far."

"Race you?"

"You're on," Jolene cried, darting forward. James followed close behind, laughing along with Jolene.

Sirius entered the library. He glanced around, hoping no one would notice him.

It was useless though, a few of the girls at a table giggled as he made his way purposefully over to Remus' table. Papers were surrounding him as he scribbled away at some essay that was probably due in ten weeks.

Remus liked to keep on top of his work.

His sandy hair was long and wavy, a piece was sticking up in a loop over his head. He had a pair of glasses on his nose, the small button like nose that Sirius liked to poke. Several crumpled pieces of parchment were on the ground.

Remus growled softly to himself as Sirius approached.

"What're you writing?" Sirius asked, flopping into the chair beside Remus. He closed his eyes and put his feet on the table, leaning back against the bookshelf.

Remus looked up and stuffed the paper under a book. "A letter," he replied.

"To a special someone?" Sirius asked, opening his right eye to look at his friend.

Remus went red. "Maybe."

The two legs of the chair that were off the ground slammed down as Sirius grabbed for the letter. "Who?"

"No one you know," Remus said grabbing the letter and putting it in his robes.

"Come on, Remus, no secrets, remember?" Sirius said a stab of jealousy going through his heart.

"I'm allowed to have secrets," Remus countered.

"Not from me, Remus," Sirius said, trying his best to look innocent.

"No, Sirius. I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you interfering with this. I don't want to tell him about it."

"But why not?" Sirius asked.

"Because, I don't it to ruin anything," Remus replied. But he wouldn't look Sirius in the eye.

"Oh come on, tell me. I know lots about the whole—"

"Sirius, you're straight," Remus said, almost bitterly. "Don't try and do anything about this."

"Can't I just know who it is?" Sirius almost wanted to pull out the promise they had made each other in third year. No secrets between us.

Remus looked at him for a long moment; Sirius felt his heart rate quickening.

"How 'bout I guess?" Sirius said quickly before Remus could say no. "Is it someone in our year?"

"Yes," Remus said, reddening.

"Is he in our house?"

"Yes."

"Is he gay as well?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," Remus replied.

Sirius gave Remus a hard look. "Is he in one of the other dorms?"

Remus said nothing.

"Ah-ha!" Sirius cried, trying to be more enthusiastic. But the sport had gone out of the guessing. He felt like he had been cheated. He knew who it was supposed to be, in the back of his mind… Who did he want it to be? "So, is he in dorm one, or three?"

Remus still said nothing.

"Come on, Moony," Sirius said, "tell me."

"No."

"Fine," Sirius pouted. Usually that got his way with Remus. Remus would pull out the letter and hand it to him with a sigh of regret. But this time Remus pulled out another piece of paper and began to write on it.

Sirius stared. Remus wouldn't break, and that bothered him. The silence grew uncomfortable until Lily appeared, looking flustered.

"Er…" she said. Remus looked up at her and then away. Sirius sometimes wondered what went on between the two. They had been friends up until last month, when they had just stopped, suddenly. Lily went red and then said. "Er… Remus—"

"Hello, Lily." Cool, calm, Remus wouldn't look at her.

"Well, I've lost my—er…" Lily looked at Sirius for some sort of guidance.

"Lily, is there something I could help you with?" Remus asked.

Lily teetered on the edge of saying something, but instead shook her head. "Look, Remus, I'm sorry," she managed. "I didn't mean to bother you." She turned.

Remus watched her back for a moment before saying calmly, "Lily, come sit with us for a bit."

Lily turned and smiled broadly. "Really?"

"Of course." Remus smiled.

Sirius stared. He wondered at Remus and how he could forgive so easily. And quickly. Because he was talking to Lily now and she was looking relieved, as if a long standing argument had just been settled, and a guilty feeling was lifted from her shoulders.

Jolene arrived at the front door only slightly out of breath. James came behind her, laughing.

"You're a dirty cheater!" James said, grinning at her. His face was covered in mud.

"It's not my fault you slipped in the mud," Jolene said, repressing her smile. James stuck out his tongue. There was a mew at his feet and he looked down. Mrs. Norris was staring at him.

"Oh, shit," Jolene muttered. "I would get out of—"

"Potter," Filch hissed, appearing. Somehow Filch had learned every short cut in the school in two weeks, which was some sort of record, James was sure. "You're getting mud everywhere!"

"I'm sorry," James said, moving away from the caretaker.

"Stop moving, you'll get more mud everywhere." Filch glared at him from narrowed yellow eyes.

"But I have to move to get anywhere."

"That's not my concern. If you move, I'll give you detention for a month." Filch walked away with a bit of a bounce in his step. "And I think it will be during the next Quidditch game." James stared after him.

"Oh shit. What am I going to do now?" James asked Jolene. Jolene stared at him.

"I don't know the cleaning spell at all. The only person I know who can do it well is Lily… but, er…"

James sighed. "I know, she won't come and help me."

"What about Remus? Would he know it?"

"I don't know, it's always worth a try."

"I'll go get him." Jolene turned and hurried down the hall. James watched her leave and wondered if maybe it was time to give up on Lily. There were plenty of other girls in the world. Take Jolene for instance.

Jolene knew Remus would be in the library. She swore he would be better in Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat knew best. Who didn't know that Remus Lupin spent most of his time studying?

As she entered a surprising (and partly heartening) scene was there. Lily was sitting beside Sirius Black, giggling. Remus was watching Sirius who was saying something. Lily was obviously enjoying their company.

Maybe she would help James.

No, she couldn't let that happen. She wanted James herself, she didn't want Lily to have any sort of claim to James.

Jolene stared at the group. She could go back without help and do the spell herself, or she could get Remus. Lily would be sure to ask about it though. And then Lily would come with them. And Lily would be the one to clean James.

No, that wouldn't work. Jolene glanced around the room. Rea was in the corner, reading. Rea. Grinning Jolene hurried over to her friend.

"Where are you going, Alexandria, in such a rush?" a silky voice said. Jolene turned to look at who was speaking to her.

She saw Severus Snape from behind the bookshelf and made a face. "It's none of your concern, Snape," she snapped. "And I was walking at a respectable pace."

"Careful, Alexandria, don't want to cross me. You just might not be able to make it to the Quidditch pitch one day."

Jolene rolled her eyes. "Excuse me," she said and continued onto Rea. Stupid Slytherin Prefect.

Alex Reynolds listened carefully. Stupid, stuck up, Gryffindor prefect. He thought as Lily giggled. Stupid laugh.

Lily said something that Alex couldn't quite hear, he pushed forward a little more and a book fell from the shelf, right onto Lily's head.

"Shit," Alex breathed out. He backed away from the shelf and down the line. Lily appeared at one end of the row. Alex darted around a shelf just in time. He stared at her with wide eyes. She would never know the book had come from him.

He smiled sardonically. He could exact vengeance when he wanted to. The book wouldn't be the last thing.

"What are you doing, Reynolds?" a hissing voice said from behind him. Alex nearly jumped from his own skin. He turned to see Severus Snape looking at him.

"Looking for a book," Alex sneered. He turned back to the shelf. The books there were about caring for salamanders native to South America.

"I didn't know you were interested in salamanders," Snape snapped.

"It's a recent hobby that I have picked up," Alex replied, running his hands over the spines of the books.

"So, I suppose you have a collection?" Snape asked, his cold black eyes bearing down on Alex.

"Not yet, I'm getting my order soon," Alex said.

"Planning on breeding them?"

"No," Alex replied.

"Very well, I should like to see these salamanders when they arrive, I have my own."

Alex broke out in cold sweat. Snape was watching him, he could tell. And everyone Snape watched had terrible things happen to them. Snape glided away and Alex gulped, loosening his tie. It was feeling too warm in the library suddenly. He stumbled towards the exit, trying to avoid notice in his panic.

Lily was smiling quite broadly when she left the library. Remus had forgiven her! She was grinning stupidly when she bumped into a second year.

She yelped and grabbed her wand. His face was purple and he was only just moving, his tie too tight around his neck. She quickly loosened it and looked at the poor boy.

"Are you all right?"

He wouldn't answer and merely shook his head, mouthing strange words. Lily began to shake. It was scary to see this.

"Come on, I'll bring you to the hospital wing. It's all right." Lily looked around for someone, or something that might have done this. There was no one lurking in the shadows that she could see.

Gently she lead the second year down to the hospital wing. A fourth year girl was on a bed near by, her twin beside the bed. Lily smiled at the girl as she left the hospital wing.

Lily entered the great hall and ran straight into a very bored James, knocking him over.

Again.

Except this time she was on top of him. He stared at her, eyes squinted—his glasses had fallen off—and then he grinned. "Hello, Lily."

Lily was bright red. "Yeah," she said, realizing she couldn't move.

"So, finally changed your mind about me?"

That made her move. Lily pushed herself off of him and glared at him. "Get away from me."

"You're the one who ran into me," James said, his face too going red. He scrabbled to get his glasses. His fingers found a foot.

"You moved," Jolene said, very calmly, handing him his glasses. Lily was gone when he pushed his glasses on his nose.

"Oh shit."

Rea Cunningham rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand. "Nettlera." The dirty flakes moved into a small pile and then Rea preformed the vanishing spell.

"There," she said, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Thank you, Rea," James said. She blushed and said she had to go study. James smiled up at her from the ground.

When Rea had disappeared, James looked at Jolene who was frowning. "Help an old man up," James said, putting his hands forward so Jolene could grab them and help him up.

"James is an old man?" Jolene asked, grabbing his wrists to pull him up.

"Oh so old," James said, putting and arm around her. "Help me hobble up to the tower?"

"Of course." Jolene replied, grinning.

A/N: Yes, so, I'd like to thank my reviewers of six. Here's my little Reviewers Response:

Aspiring Shieldmaiden: Called Songs About Lily because… well, you'll see. But look at the chapter titles and think about a popular band that's around these days (hint: they have a number in their name) and if you can't get it, don't worry about it, it's just a title.

Ruby Snidget Child: Thanks. : ) I have such issues with characters that are meant to be bad but you know they can't be THAT bad. I'm glad I got it "right"!

Guff: Hagrid was 13 at the time, he wasn't old enough for work. He was Gamekeeper's assistant before he was gamekeeper.

Twilight66: Thanks. I can't wait to write more!

Take to the Sky: 3 3 3 you!

Queen's Own: Updates ---- as shown, not often.

Thanks for all the loverly reviews and keep 'em coming. I know it's too early in this to try and bribe you, but if y'all give me at least 50 reviews, there'll be a cookie at the end (it just means a review every now and then from all you who commented before… : ) )