Hey everybody. I'm going out of town tomorrow for two weeks, so it might be awhile until the next update. This is my longest chapter yet. I was halfway through typing this when I realized it was about the length of two of some of my other chapters.

Disclaimer: I own the plot and Max and Anna and that's it!

Chapter 15

Lily woke up to see that it was still very early. The sun was barely up, and the sky was a light pink. Lily got out of bed to discover that she was not the only one up this early. Anna was already up, and by the looks of it, getting ready to leave.

"What are you doing up so early, Ani?" Lily asked still feeling a bit sleepy.

"None of your business," muttered Anna to a rather shocked Lily. And then she remembered the fight with Anna. Had that only been a few days ago? It seemed like a lifetime to Lily.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked tentatively as Anna opened the door, and was about to leave their dormitory.

"Out for a walk," said Anna with forced politeness in her voice.

"Ani, can I just talk to you?" pleaded Lily.

"That's kind of what you're doing," said Anna with a sarcastic tone that did not suit her at all.

"I'm sorry," Lily apologized softly, feeling horribly about how she had treated Anna, and about how Anna was now talking to her. "It wasn't right to endanger your relationship with Remus just so Max and I could play a stupid, childish prank on James and Sirius."

"Are you still going through with it?" asked Anna. "Even if it does make a difference with my relationship with Remus?"

"Am I going to keep dating James, you mean?" asked Lily choosing her words very carefully.

"Yes," answered Anna looking dead serious.

Lily glanced around at the sleeping figures in the dormitory before quickly changing her clothes, and joining Anna at the door.

"Are you going to continue dating James?" repeated Anna, more insistently this time, as the two of them left the dormitory and sat down in the deserted Common Room.

"Anna," Lily addressed her slowly, "if I tell you something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?"

"Yes," replied Anna, wondering what Lily was going to tell her. "What is it?"

"Not Max, not Remus, not Sirius, not Peter, not James, not anybody?" demanded Lily cautiously.

"Of course," said Anna looking curiously at Lily.

Lily did not speak right away. She seemed to be pondering what to say.

"I'm not sure if I want to go through with it," said Lily.

"Go through with what?" asked Anna, although she had a strong feeling what "it" might be.

"Max and I had this brilliant prank to play on James and Sirius, and I just don't want go through with it anymore," said Lily rather simply.

"Why not?" asked Anna as though the last few days had never happened.

"James is," Lily began before letting out a sigh, and continuing, "James is a good guy, and he doesn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve to be humiliated in front of the entire school."

"Are you feeling okay, Lily?" asked Anna who was now staring at Lily, completely nonplussed.

"You think I'm crazy," said Lily looking at the shocked and puzzled.

"No," said Anna quickly although she still had a very stunned and confused look on her face. "It's just... what happened?"

"The day that we had a fight, you know the one where James said he wasn't going to tell me the truth?" asked Lily.

"Yes," said Anna with the smallest trace of annoyance in her voice, as though she still hadn't forgiven James for what he had said.

"Well, he actually did tell me the truth about the hospital wing and what happened in third year," said Lily with a dreamy look on her face.

"You already knew all that though," Anna pointed out, staring at Lily trying to fathom what Lily could be thinking.

"I know, but that's not all," said Lily a bit defensively. "I think that I still would've gone through with the prank if it weren't for last night."

"What happened last night?" asked Anna with an overwhelming feeling of curiosity.

"It was a full moon," said Lily, not noticing that Anna's already pale face had lost most of its color. "And I went into the library to talk to James about..." Lily felt her stomach drop. She had told James that she still wanted to date him, but it had still been part of the prank. Had her feelings towards James really changed that quickly?

"Anyways," Lily continued. "Max and Sirius were there too, and they left and they must have run into Snape because they somehow got him to follow Remus into the Whomping Willow, and –"

"The Whomping Willow?" Anna interrupted suddenly, her voice full of panic. "Does Snape know about Remus now? Did Remus hurt Snape?"

"No, no, Ani," comforted Lily. "James followed Snape in and pulled Snape out. James saved his life."

"Really?" asked Anna disbelievingly. "James saved Snape's life?"

"Yes! And now I feel," Lily struggled to find the words to describe her feelings. But she wasn't sure they could be described. "It's different. I don't think I can dump him in front everyone anymore. I don't think I want to dump him at all."

"You want to date James Potter?" asked Anna looking at Lily before checking her watch to see if they'd been talking for more than hour, to make sure that it wasn't an imposter using the polyjuice potion.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" asked Lily worriedly.

"They might figure it out when they see you two holding hands," said Anna with a smile on her face.

"I mean you won't tell anyone that it started out as a prank?" asked Lily.

"No," sighed Anna. "But I think that you should. I mean, James has a right to know. What if Max lets it slip or something? I really think that James would rather hear it from you."

"Ani!" protested Lily, although she secretly agreed with Anna. She knew that James would be happier if she told him. "You, Max, and me are the only ones who know and we're not going to tell him!"

"Lily," said Anna warningly.

"I'll tell him," said Lily giving in. "But let me wait a little while. I'm not ready yet."

"Fine," Anna agreed, looking around and noticing how many people were in the Common Room now. She now realized that James was making his way towards them from the boys' dormitory.

"Hi, James," Lily greeted happily as he joined them.

"Hello Lily, Anna," he said with a stiffness in his voice when he spoke to Anna that made it clear that he had not forgotten their fight.

"Hi," replied Anna in a rather small and timid voice. "I think I better go now."

"James!" scolded Lily after Anna had left them. "That was rude!"

"Do you know what she said about you, Lily?" asked James who was now glaring at Anna as she was leaving the Common Room.

"Yes," replied Lily softly.

"What? How do you know?" James asked as he stopped glaring in the direction that Anna had been in, and looking confused.

"She told me about the fight you and her and Remus had," lied Lily with a guilty feeling, and avoiding James's eyes, although, he didn't appear to have noticed this. "James, she's really sorry."

"And you just forgive her? Do you know some of the things she said?" asked James furiously.

"James! It doesn't matter! She's sorry! Remus is sorry! Everyone's sorry! Can't you just forget about?" asked Lily.

"Fine, if you say so," James replied after a few seconds with a less than sincere look on his face.

"Thank you," sighed Lily gratefully. "Let's just go to breakfast now."

The next several weeks passed by quite uneventfully, partially owing to the fact that Lily and James were now dating. So, they no longer played their weekly pranks on each other.

Lily couldn't ever remember being as happy as she was in those last few weeks than she had been in her first, second, third, fourth, and fifth year at Hogwarts. Lily had dated other guys before, but she never felt the same rush of excitement that she felt whenever she saw James coming.

However, on every time Lily was with Anna or Max she felt a little twinge of guilt. Lily still hadn't told the James that she had only started going out with him as a prank. But why did it matter why she had started going out with him as long as she wanted to go out with him. And whenever Lily saw Max she couldn't help thinking about how betrayed Max was going to feel when Lily didn't dump James. And what made it worse was that Max had just started to date Sirius, as Lily and Max had agreed earlier.

Lily was sitting in the corner of the Common Room thinking these things over one day, when she was joined by James.

"Hi," he said bending down and giving her a quick kiss. "What are you doing?"

"Studying for finals," said Lily peering over her Charms notes. "Something you should be doing too."

"Lily! I don't need to study! I already know it all!" said James looking shocked at her suggestion.

"Really?" Lily asked doubtfully.

"Yes, and so do you," he said proudly, as he grabbed Lily's notes from her hand and tossing them into the fireplace.

"James!" Lily yelled. She quickly pulled out her wand and removed her unscathed notes from the burning fire.

"How come they're not all burnt?" asked James looking completely flabbergasted.

"I charmed them so they can't be destroyed," Lily answered.

"How'd you do that?" James asked staring at her notes.

"You know all of it, huh?" asked Lily with a small smirk on her face.

"Lily, Lily, so I don't know one charm. We can't all be perfect like you," James told her grinning, as she went back to studying her Charms notes.

"Can't you take a break from studying for the man you love?" asked James playfully.

"Is Sirius here?" Lily asked jokingly, glancing around the Common Room.

"Yes, Lily dear, I am here," came Sirius's voice, just as Lily spotted him a few feet away. Wondering why she hadn't seen him before.

"Oh, Sirius!" said Lily standing up, her voice full of mock concern. "James has found us out!"

"It's okay, love," said Sirius giving Lily a kiss on her cheek.

"Ha ha. Very funny, you two," said James dryly before giving an unnaturally large sigh. "I guess I can't ask you to come visit me in the summer. Not with Sirius there."

"You were going to ask me to come visit you?" Lily asked excitedly.

"But now I can't because you're in love with Sirius," said James sadly.

"James! I want to come see you!" yelled Lily as though James was deaf.

"But you love Sirius," sighed James. "Too bad I already told my parents that you were coming."

"James, you idiot! I don't love Sirius! I love you!" Lily yelled at James, suddenly aware that the whole Common Room could hear them. Lily felt her whole body go numb. She had never admitted this to anyone before. What if James didn't feel the same way? What if he broke up with her because of it?

"I love you too," James stammered, looking a little stunned by Lily's confession.

"I knew it!" yelled Sirius, killing the moment that had just occurred between James and Lily.

"Shut up, Sirius," mumbled James as he leaned in to kiss Lily.

"What's going on?" came Remus's voice, as he, Anna, Max, and Peter had just joined Lily, James, and Sirius (although Lily and James didn't seem to have noticed this).

"Well, Lily and I confessed our love," said Sirius casually as though they were discussing the weather.

"James seems to be taking it well," commented Remus glancing at them, as Max hit Sirius.

"Ow!" said Sirius rubbing the spot on his arm where she had hit him. "What was that for?"

"We've been dating for less than two weeks, and you've already cheated on me with my best friend?" asked Max hitting Sirius in the arm once more.

"I'm in an abusive relationship!" yelled Sirius, as Anna, Remus, Peter, and Max laughed.

"Now how often does the guy get to say that?" asked Anna.

"So, what happened after you and Lily confessed your love, Sirius?" asked Peter.

"Lily doesn't seem to be very faithful to you, Sirius," said Remus as Lily and James finally pulled apart.

"Oh, well, James invited her to spend the summer with him. Then she and James confessed their love."

"Poor Sirius," said Anna patting his arm sympathetically, as Lily and James looked up and saw who had joined them.

"When did you guys get here?" asked James.

"A few minutes ago, but you and Lily looked kind of busy," said Remus slyly, while James grinned widely, and Lily blushed about the shade of her hair.

"So, where have you all been?" asked Lily attempting to change the subject.

"We were studying in the library," said Max. "Lily, I was wondering if you could help me with my Charms notes."

"Sure," she said absentmindedly, as she stared lovingly at James.

"Great," said Max. "I left them in the library. Come with me."

"Can't you get them yourself, Max?" Lily asked as she slipped her hand into James's hand.

"Come on, Lils," said Max forcefully grabbing Lily's arm, and dragged her out of the Common Room, before Lily even had the chance to grab her Charms notes. Max kept pulling at Lily until they had rounded a corner.

"What do you think you're doing, Lily Rose Evans?" yelled Max.

"I was going to help you with your Charms notes. That's why you dragged me out of the Common Room," said Lily staring confusedly at Max.

"I meant with James!" shouted Max.

"What are you talking about?" asked Lily trying to sound as though this was all perfectly normal.

"You've changed Lily! Or you're one hell of an actress!" screamed Max.

"We've already had this conversation," said Lily coldly.

"And now we're having it again! I saw you two the night of Sirius's prank! And it's only been getting worse!" ranted Max, her voice getting louder and louder with each word.

"Are you done?" Lily asked icily.

"No! I'm not!" shouted Max. "Are you going through with the plan or not? Are you dumping him at the Quidditch match on Saturday or not?"

"No," whispered Lily so softly that Max could hardly hear her.

Max turned to leave but Lily caught up with her.

"As if you don't understand!" Lily hissed quietly. "You know what I'm going through because you're going through it too! You just don't want to admit it! You may not love Sirius they way I love James, but I know you care about him!"

"Wrong," said Max coldly, her eyes flashing dangerously. "And come Saturday, I am dumping Sirius Black at the Quidditch match."

Max stormed away angrily, as Lily turned around and headed back towards the Common Room. But as soon as she turned the corner, she came face to face with James.

"I think we need to talk," said James coolly.

This is normally the part where I'd thank my reviewers, but I didn't actually have any, so... Please review this chapter.