Hey Guys! Next chapter- coming up! The chapter also has... THE BALL. So let's get ready... cues insane laughter It's also incredibly long. Be grateful. smirks Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, I own nothing, blah blah blah- it's all J.K. Rowlings. I only thought up the plot.

What You Don't Know Chapter 8

When Lily calmed down, and stopped to think about it, she realized that she honestly should be happy. Or, at least, thoroughly confused. James-- Well, what was she thinking? That boy was merely utterly impossible to understand.
He hated her. He had told her that almost every day, beginning in second year. After that detention together [not even the first they had shared, mind you] they had been friendly, and maybe even- flirty?
And then, perhaps Lily should be flattered that he cared she was hugging his best friend. Deep down, she did. Of course, he was being completely unreasonable. Even if she had been hugging Remus in a girlfriendly way- which she most certainly was not- there wasn't anything wrong with that. She wasn't dating James!
Reaching the Three Broomsticks, Lily sat down alone at a table, and pondered the situation some more. Maybe James really, deeply, truly, honestly hated her. And he couldn't stand the idea of his best friend dating her. Lily would be beyond upset if Alice or Hestia started dating James. Of course, that wouldn't be because she hated him.
The ball was only two weeks away. Christmas holidays began a week after that, and then two weeks later, she would be back at Hogwarts. Two weeks with Petunia sounded like hell. It wasn't as though she had not lived through it before. But last summer had been particularly bad. She had dreaded Christmas holidays starting in September.
Half of her wondered why she didn't just stay at Hogwarts. But she knew that, although her parents were aware of the situation between the sisters, they still loved Petunia and Lily equally, though Petunia seemed bound and determined not to see it. They wouldn't send Petunia away for the holidays, and they expected Lily to come back and see them.
They would let Lily go and visit friends, but that, she knew, would be the extent of it. Once, in fourth year, she had pleaded with them to let her stay, but when her parents sounded hurt, she had felt horrible and had changed her mind.
And the ball. She wondered what it would be like. She had only ever attended one other dance at Hogwarts, and that in her fourth year. Neither Hestia nor Alice had found a date for the dance, so the three friends had a wonderful time together, fooling around, and dancing with a few boys who hadn't bothered to get dates either. But this year, Lily would be alone, and Hestia and Alice wouldn't be there to make her feel better about the situation.
She tried to remember the last dance. Fourth year. The year she had realized that she liked James. Did he have a date? No. He didn't. Lily remembered watching Remus and James involved in a deep conversation. They were laughing. Remus had pulled James up, and dragged them over to Lily and her friends.
'Care to dance?' he asked.
James had looked furious.
It was when Lily hastily accepted Remus, leaving Hestia to dance with James [Alice had been asked already] that Lily felt a strong pang of jealousy run through her. She couldn't figure it out. She tried to tell herself that she was upset because Hestia was dancing with her biggest enemy- James Potter, for goodness sake. Then she realized she was angry. She was telling herself that Hestia wouldn't have anything to say to James- they had rarely spoken before.
And then, in quick succession, it all hit her. She wanted James to herself. And not in a shouting-match-hating type way. She liked him. She liked James Potter.

Of course, this realization made her so angry that when James called her carrot-top after that song, she had dumped her drink over him and punched him.
Oh, right. Then they were both kicked out of the dance.
Lily was remembering why she didn't like dances.
'Lily!'
She glanced up.
'Hey, Alice!'
Her friend had pushed her way through the door, carrying several packages and attempting to wave regardless. Lily laughed at her, and got up to help her with her purchases.
'Find anything cool?'
'You are absolutely going to LOVE what I got you!' Alice squealed. 'And I wasn't too sure what to get Frank, so I went with a D.A.D.A. book. He loves that kind of stuff. I got Hestia a picture frame. I thought I'd grab a picture of her and Mystery Man at the ball and put that in. What do you think?'
'I think you're brilliant,' Lily laughed. 'The best Christmas-gift- getter there is!'
Alice laughed with her. 'So what do you say to two butterbeers?'
'I say bring them on!' Lily grinned, and waved to the pretty new bartender.

Starting school after a Hogsmeade day always seemed doubly hard. Mondays were torture enough, and when the students had been allowed out of the castle, and with a ball coming up, Lily was surprised the teachers didn't just give up teaching.
But no- school was almost half over, and fifth and seventh years alike were beginning to have a vaguely panicky look about them as they thought of the approaching tests. Sixth years were feeling pretty lucky, but all had a gloomy sense of doom awaiting them the following year.
Lily, Hestia, and Alice were no exception. 'They're starting to make me nervous,' Lily said, glancing over her shoulder at a group of seventh years, noses stuck into textbooks. 'I mean, look at Carrie and Emma. They didn't even study for O.W.L's, and they look as though they're about to keel over and die! And it's just December!'
'I know what you mean,' Hestia agreed. 'So, please- let's not talk about it,'
Laughing, Alice led the way to their next class- Defense Against the Dark Arts. The three girls all did well in this class, though Lily and James battled for lead in it constantly. The girls all had hopes to become Aurors when they graduated from Hogwarts, and this was one of the most important classes. Of course, all marks were quite important when one was aiming towards such a highly respected profession, but the girls were all smart, and worked hard.
The week passed without incident. The following Saturday, fourth years and above seemed to be infected with a strange disease. Girls laughed nervously at everything, boys seemed to be going out of their way to avoid any member of the female sex, and prefects- not to mention the Head Boy and Girl- were having breakdowns in the hallway, with the extra duties assigned to them eating up all their time.
Lily and Remus, being prefects, were among those walking around in a constant state of weariness. 'This is great, ' Lily commented to Remus as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room, late one night. 'It's a good thing I don't have a date, or he'd take one look at the circles under my eyes and cancel the whole thing.'
Remus laughed. 'I assure you, he would do no such thing. Even when lack of sleep causes your notorious temper to slide, you're charming anyway.'
Lily smiled at him. 'I might have to take back what I said last week about you not being a gentleman,' she told him. 'I don't know where you picked all those manners up, hanging out with James and Sirius,'
Remus stopped and looked at her for a moment. 'Do you- do you hate James?' he asked. Lily was completely taken aback. Nobody had asked her that question since- well, since second year. Before she could begin to form an answer, Remus hurried on. 'I know it sounds like a stupid question. And for a long time, I never doubted that you guys did hate each other. But really-- I mean. Around fourth year, it started getting old. I can tell that sometimes you guys really are mad at each other. But when you're not screeching your heads off at each other, you guys get along pretty well.'
'Aren't we always screeching our heads off at each other?' Lily asked, mainly to stall for time. Both she and Remus smiled at his description.
'Well- no. The last time was at Hogsmeade, and the last fight before that was only a few days prior to that. And when you aren't yelling, you guys talk nicely- and you flirt,'
Lily gaped at him. 'We flirt?'
'Yes,'
'Well, I-' She couldn't do it. She couldn't lie to Remus. It wasn't because he was her best friend- they were only starting to become good friends. But somehow, lying to Remus just seemed so wrong. Lily couldn't have said why. But there was no way she could tell him that she didn't hate James. 'I don't HATE him hate him. I just... I mean, it isn't anything like how I feel towards people like Snape and Malfoy and Lestrange. People who practice the Dark Arts and hate muggles. I have-- hated James in the past. Sometimes I even had good reason. But you're quite impossible to lie to, Remus Lupin, and therefore I admit: I'd rather not fight with him all the time. But he hates me, so what can I do?'
Remus smiled gently at her. 'But he doesn't hate you,' he said quietly. He turned to the Fat Lady.
'Lemon drops,' he said, and the portrait swung open. Remus shot her one last smile, and then disappeared.

Remus Lupin was not a prying sort of person. In fact, he kept to himself quite a lot. He'd only been on a few dates, and those with the same girl, Monica Burns. But he really only had a few friends: the marauders, and now it looked as though Lily was his friend as well.
However, Remus knew only too well the power of secrets. He knew that it everyone had something that they didn't want others to know. And he knew that sometimes, when the wrong words came to the wrong person, the result could be disastrous. And it was for these reasons that he didn't spread rumors, listen to rumors, or do anything of the sort.
But being a quiet person who was friends with boisterous ones, Remus tended to notice things. And so it was that he noticed Lily looking at James, and James looking at Lily, and the way they smiled at each other, and the way they flirted when they weren't upset.
And it was because of this, that Remus knew that Lily Evans and James Potter were in love.
It was a recent discovery.
And talking with Lily tonight had confirmed it.
Remus wasn't sure if he would do anything with the knowledge. He certainly wouldn't tell anyone. But perhaps- just perhaps, he would talk to James, and give him a push in the right direction.
Remus owed his life to the other Marauders. And he knew that Lily was an amazing person. James would be incredibly happy with her. And that was the main reason that he wanted them to be together. After all, he had a gut feeling that the two of them shared the sort of love that only comes to a person once.
He didn't want them to lose that.

Lily was lying on her bed, sighing dramatically.
'Feel free to shut up, now,' Alice said.
'I can't. I'm moaning my aloneness tonight,'
Hestia looked worriedly at her. 'You don't-- you don't mind do you?'
For a moment, Lily wondered what would happen if she told them that, yes, she minded a lot. Maybe Hestia would break up with HIM and then Lily could rest in peace. But, looking at Hestia's worried eyes, Lily realized that she couldn't do that. So she put a smile on her face. 'Of course not, Hess. I was kidding.'
Alice looked faintly relieved. 'Don't worry, Lily. You know you'll have a great time,'
'Yeah, yeah. All I can say is that you two BETTER have a great time, after all the work Remus and I, and the prefects, and the Head people have put into it,'
Hestia and Alice both grinned. 'Don't worry- we will!' Hestia said excitedly. She turned to eye her friend.
'Now go jump in the shower, and get yourself ready!'
'Yes ma'am!' Lily said, saluting.

Two hours later, the girls were finished getting ready. Lily had spent the majority of that time complaining about how much time girls took, but there was no way she was going down without her friends.
And she had to admit, they both looked fantastic.
Alice had now forced Lily to sit down, and her two supposed best friends were doing her hair up and even attempting to put make-up on her. Lily was doing her best to fend them off, but as Hestia had stolen her wand, it really was quite difficult.
'There now, Lily, you look wonderful.' Hestia said, and they backed away.
Lily glanced in the mirror. Her hair was twisted up and it shone in the lamp-lit room. The one thing she really liked about her appearance was her hair color. It was a deep burgundy red, with just enough light streaks to catch the light and shine. She half-smiled at herself.
'Well, at least you guys got rid of the circles under my eyes,' she shrugged, then gave them both a bright smile.
'Shall we go down?'
Arms linked, the three girls made their way down the dormitory stairs.
When they reached the bottom, they found, for reasons beyond their understanding, the Marauders, plus Frank.
Frank was grinning at Alice as though she was in the only one in the room. 'You look absolutely fantastic,' he said taking her hand. Alice blushed prettily.
'See you later,' she told Lily and Hestia, before placing her hand on Frank's arm and allowing him to lead her off towards the Great Hall.
Hestia and Lily grinned at each other after the pair had left the common room. 'They are so cute together!' Hestia exclaimed.
Lily merely nodded.

'May I have the pleasure of escorting you two pretty young ladies to the Great Hall?' Remus asked, coming up behind them. Sirius bounded up.
'Me too!' He exclaimed, grabbing Hestia's arm. Then, 'you don't mind, right?'
Hestia blushed, giggled, and shook her head no. 'I do have a date waiting for me,'
'Ah! And whose the lucky guy?'
'Oh- someone,' Hestia said vaguely.
That left Remus, standing beside Lily with a smile, and James, standing behind the both of them with a scowl.
'Don't like dances?' Lily commented lightly as the three made their ways out of the common room.
James glanced up at her. 'I've really only been to one. And I seem to remember getting thrown out, because some girl dumped her punch on me,'
Lily blushed slightly. 'You called me carrot-top!'
'Children, children, settle down,' Remus told them, smiling faintly. He looked at Lily, and to her surprise, he winked. They reached the Great Hall, and Remus held the door open for Lily, and then motioned for James to go through as well.
Music was already playing. Lily spotted Alice and Frank dancing together in the middle of the floor, surrounded by various other couples. She was unable, however, to see Hestia. That was slightly unnerving.
Remus smiled down at Lily. 'Dance with me?' he asked.
Lily glanced up at him gratefully. 'Your girlfriend won't mind?' she queried, nonetheless taking the offered arm.
'She's not my girlfriend,' was his only answer, as he gently took her hand. For a moment, the only sound was the song playing softly in the background. 'I meant it, you know,'
Lily raised her eyebrows. 'What?'
'Meant what I said. That James doesn't hate you,'
They both glanced over to where James was standing alone by a table of refreshments, wearing a dark scowl. Lily smiled. 'Strange. I bet if you asked anyone in this room, they would disagree,'
'Unless I asked James,'
'Oh, really? Have you asked him for a fact?'
'Not yet. But I have a knack for knowing these things,'
'Ah,' Lily smiled at him fondly. 'And, so what- we don't hate each other. What do you expect us to do? Kiss and make up?'
Remus shot her a sly smile. 'I won't insist on a kiss, but I do think it would make the both of you happier,'
Her eyes widened. 'Remus Lupin! What on earth are you suggesting?'
'You know, Lily- for all of your supposed horror at the idea, your general manner is one of sarcasm. I think you know quite well what I'm suggesting,'
'And what is that, Mr. Lupin?'
'Well, Miss Evans, for the cleverest witch in our year, I'd say there are some things you're rather slow at,'
'And I'd be the first to agree. Mr. Potter over there is much better at transfiguration than I am, or ever hope to be, and you yourself give me a run for my money in Defense Against the Dark Arts. You have quite a talent in that subject, my dear fellow,'
'I think you kindly, Miss Evans, but you mistook my meaning,'
'Oh, did I?' Lily's tone was light and bantering, but she meant it in complete seriousness.
'You did indeed. I meant more along the lines of relationships,'
'Oh, dear. Now the gentleman goes and accuses me of being incapable of figuring out, holding onto, or indeed having a relationship at all,'
'Not at all. You're quite charming- I meant nothing of the sort. I was merely suggesting that you go and ask young James over there to dance. You'll find him a ready partner,'
'Don't be too sure,'
'Go on- it won't kill you,'
The song ended. Lily flashed Remus a brief smile. 'Oh, but it might.' Then she paused, and after a moment added, 'by the way, Mr. Lupin-'
'Yes?'
'From your words, it seems to me that not only do you believe there to be no feelings of hate held for me from Mr. Potter, it also seems as though you believe him to like me in a way that implies more than strict friendship,'
'I knew you were the cleverest witch in our year,'
'Perhaps I'm better at reading people than you thought. But you, Mr. Lupin, have committed quite a blunder: you passed along wrong information,'

Remus looked bemused. 'I did what?'
'I happen to know, mate, that James over there has set his sights on another girl.'
Lily smiled at Remus, bowed, and left him standing on the dance floor. A glance over her shoulder told her that he was smiling at her and shaking his head, and then leaving. Most likely, she realized, to find Monica.
She saw James. She realized she was heading straight for him. She briefly wondered why, and then she told herself she was being stupid. It was a DANCE. That was it. She wasn't asking him to marry her, she wasn't even asking him out. And, after all, the worst she could get was a rejection. But she had a gut feeling she might not get that. James was too polite to turn someone down, no matter how much he wished not to be with them.
'Good evening, Mr. Potter,'
James raised his eyebrows. 'Drunk already?'
'No, but speaking with your dear mate Remus gives a person quite a knack of speaking in a strange manner. Apologies,'
'Apology accepted. Been there, down that,'
They laughed, followed by an extremely awkward pause.
There was another song starting, Lily noticed. Well, she told herself, you're only young once. 'Care to dance?' she offered.
James eyed her, and then held his elbow out. 'Only if you promise not to bite,' he said warily, but there was a gleam in his eye that made Lily unrealistically happy.
Lily laughed as her fingers closed about his elbow. 'Bite? I don't bite. Or at least not very hard,' she amended.
James smiled at her. 'I seem to remember several threats,'
'Well, I can bite hard when angry,' Lily told him.
'And we can all agree that you were angry then,' James told her.
'Hey! You had dumped water balloons on me the first time, called me carrot-top the second time, and locked me in the boy's toilet the third!' Lily defended herself.
James laughed. 'That last one was a slight accident.'
'But there were BOYS in there! Some poor first year who probably is now scarred for life,'
James laughed, and to Lily's surprise, she did too.
He held out his hand then, and she placed hers in it. He put an arm about her waist, she placed hers about his shoulders. She liked his hands. They were warm.
And they danced.
It was absolutely amazing.
Lily had danced with boys before, ones other than Remus or Sirius who were close enough for it to really be a 'just friends' experience, and it had always been an awkward, near painful experience. She hated the lack of conversation.
During their first dance, Lily did keep talking, blabbing on about her fish, and her cat, and how she was excited to see them, but then James put a hand to her lips. 'You don't have to talk, you know,'
For a moment she thought that he was going to kiss her.
'I know,' she whispered.
And then they were silent.
Lily had a feeling that they danced every other slow song together. In fact, she also believed that they danced a lot of the fast ones too. Some they sat out, and talked. Quite a few people were staring, but Lily barely noticed, and when she did, she didn't care.
It wasn't until almost midnight that her perfect night ended. She was walking out to the dance floor with James, when someone grabbed her arm. Lily turned around to see Alice standing there, face white. For one horrible moment, Lily thought that Frank had dumped her.
'Hestia-' Alice said.
'I know,'
'With--'
'I know,' Lily said again, grimly.
'I don't know what to say. I wondered if maybe they weren't together, if it was just one dance- then I saw him get her a drink. But still. Maybe she broke up with Mystery Man,'
Lily shook her head. 'The Hogsmeade day? When you guys both went on dates? I went for a walk, later, after you were back, but before Hestia was. And then I turned a corner. And I saw them - kissing,'
Dead silence. 'You're- you're- why didn't you tell me?'
'I was hoping they would call it off, or at least that she would tell us. She wouldn't want me to tell you, you know that,'
'But I think that this is bad, Lily. Really, really bad.'
'I know,' Lily repeated once more, still solemn.
'What?' James asked, and Alice, glancing at him with surprise, chose not to comment on their hands, which were still laced together.
'Remember the Hogsmeade day when all our friends had dates and we sat in the common room and talked?' Lily asked, not mentioning their row. James nodded, and she could see in his eyes that he remembered that as well. 'That day, Hestia had a date with a guy and she wouldn't tell us who. And then later- you heard what I just told Alice- I went for a walk, to be alone, and I saw her kissing Malfoy. And that's who she's here with tonight.'
James stared at her. 'Malfoy? Lucius Malfoy? Malfoy and Hestia? You're wrong.'
'Look over there,' Lily said, softly. James followed her gaze. Malfoy and Hestia were indeed dancing.
'What?'
'I think, I don't know, but I hope, that when Malfoy asked her out, Hestia didn't know what to say, and so she just accepted. Then she had a good time, but didn't want to tell us because she knew we'd disapprove.'
'But how could she have a good time with Malfoy?' James asked, incredulous.
'I don't know,' Lily admitted.
Alice had strode over to them, and was tapping Hestia on the back. Though they were out of earshot, Lily could imagine what they were saying.
Alice looked furious, Hestia looked hurt, and Lily, glancing up, saw Malfoy looking pleased. Then Hestia began to look angry, and finally she shouted something. Lily glanced at James, who nodded, and Lily dropped his hand, to run over to her friends.
'I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!' Alice was shouting. 'MALFOY? Hestia-' she lowered her voice. 'He is NOT a good person. Why didn't you tell us?'
'Because of THIS! Because I knew that you didn't want me to be happy and that you would get all upset with me!'
'All upset with you! Hestia! Malfoy is a follower of You-Know-Who!'
'Oh, shut up! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! Lily! Tell her she's wrong!'
'Hestia- He's dangerous. We just don't want you getting hurt.'
Hestia burst into tears, and Malfoy took her hand. 'Don't listen to the dirty little mudblood. You're right. They just don't want you to be happy. Now, come on sweetheart, let's go for a walk,'
Hestia shot Alice and Lily a murderous glance and left with Malfoy, who casually slipped an arm about her shoulders, while turning around to shoot the two girls a truly murderous glare.
There was a stunned silence. 'The question is,' Lily began softly, 'does he really care about her, or is he just trying to use her against us?'

One of the hardest things in the world is to wake up after a wonderful night. Somehow, the next day always seems a letdown. And Lily had had a wonderful night. Even after the episode with Hestia, she and James had danced. They had walked back to the Common Room together, and now--
-- Lily glanced around her dorm. Alice was sleeping soundly, but there was no sign of Hestia. That wasn't good.
'Alice? Psst! Alice!'
Lily's soft calls did nothing.
With a sigh, she went to the bathroom and filled a cup of water that she proceeded to dump on her peacefully sleeping friend. Alice let out a shriek and jumped up. 'Lily! What was that for?'
'I'm sorry, Alice. You weren't waking up.' Lily shot her a grin before growing serious. 'And it's 6 in the morning and I don't know where Hestia is. Do you know if she came in last night?'
Alice frowned. 'I came in-- late. And she wasn't in bed then.'
The two girls exchanged glances. 'So chances are she never came up here?' Lily said slowly. Alice nodded.
'I don't like this, Alice,' Lily stated.
'I know, Lils. I know,'

The week after the ball was indeed a letdown. As with any big dance, some were giddy, and some were frustrated. Some had the time of their lives while some had been disappointed beyond belief.
And Lily and James went out of their way to avoid each other.
Neither one wanted to talk about it. Alice had questioned Lily, but Lily had given only evasive answers before turning to tide to how Alice's evening had been.
Because now neither of them knew how to act around each other. Yelling seemed a little silly, because after all, they had spent nearly an entire evening dancing, with never a cross word. It was inconceivable that they should talk about it, and become friends or more than friends. In fact, every possibility just seemed as though it were completely wrong.
And, of course, the rumors flew like mad. James and Lily- THE James and Lily- had been seen dancing together countless times. Neither had lost their temper. They both APPEARED sober, and neither had been kicked out- a big improvement. People who hadn't been there told the stories as though they had.
And, of course, that was not the only rumor going about.
Hestia. Hestia Jones was now dating Lucius Malfoy. An idea too absurd for words. But it was true: those at the ball testified that they had swept out together. And when her close friends were questioned, the interrogator was snapped at, and frightened off with a menacing scowl. Which, of course, only proved the rumor's truth.
It was in the midst of this very turbulent time, that all these rumors were called to a halt with the only interruption that would do it: Christmas holidays.

'Bye, Lily! I'll see you next year!'
Lily laughed. 'I can't wait! I'll owl you, okay? Maybe I could come for New Years?'
'That would be awesome! I'll ask my parents!'
'Me too!' Lily promised. Alice and Lily exchanged one last set of hugs, and Alice bid her farewell to hug Frank good-bye.
Lily glanced around the station. She could see James and Sirius meeting a man and woman who looked rather like James. When Sirius turned around, she ventured a wave. He waved energetically back, poking James. Lily laughed to herself at the expression on James' face, but then their eyes met, and Lily felt lost in them, felt amazed that it had taken her until fourth year to really see their sweetness, and---
----Sirius bounding over and grabbing her up in a tight hug dispelled that feeling. 'Bye, sweetheart!' he cried. 'I'll miss you so very, very much!'
'Right, Sirius,' Lily laughed. 'I might even miss you, too,'
Sirius wiped away fake tears, and then, speaking in falsetto, commanded her, 'Now, make sure you owl me EVERY day, and like, tell me all about that big date, and like, your holidays, and like, girl stuff, and like like like--'
'Thanks Sirius,' Lily said.
'And now come hug James good-bye like a good girlfriend,' Sirius said, grabbing her arm.
'Er- Sirius. We aren't going out,'
'Whatever. You guys danced almost every song last week. You're BASICALLY going out.'
'And we haven't spoken in a week,'
'Absence makes the heart grow fonder,'
'And he's glaring at you--'
Sirius came to a halt. 'He is, isn't he? Charming lad. I'll go introduce you to his parents, then,'
'Those are his parents? Whoa...Sirius...I don't think--'
'Hello, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter,'
'Hello again, Sirius dear,' Mrs. Potter said. She did look rather like James. She had his dark hair, but she had blue eyes. It was his dad that gave him the hazel color. Looking up at James' dad, she realized that they had almost exactly the same face. The only difference was that his father had sandy brown hair instead of black.
'It's lovely to meet you,' she said, holding out her hand. His parents shook it in turn. 'I'm Lily Evans,'
'Your girlfriend?' Mr. Potter asked Sirius. Sirius grinned at him.
'No, sir. She belongs to James here,'
When both James and Lily blushed profusely, but did nothing to deny it- she wasn't going to act as though she hated him in front of his parents, and she could tell he felt the same way- his parents both raised their eyebrows and turned to look at their son.
'Well, not REALLY BELONGS... They aren't going out. They're just in love,' Sirius said, in one of his rare moments of clarity when he realized that James most likely would murder him the first chance he got after this.

'In love?'
'Well, it's quite easy to see, isn't it?'
Lily smiled up at the Potters. 'It really was quite wonderful to meet you. My parents are waiting, and so I'll see you later.' She turned to go, then decided to try to help the situation. 'I take it you know Sirius well?'
'Quite well,' Mrs. Potter beamed. 'We've nearly adopted him,'
Surprised, Lily stored that away to question the boys later. 'Well, then,' she said, attempting a charming smile. 'You must realize that one can never trust a thing he says,'
They all laughed- Lily and James in relief- at that, except for Sirius who scowled at Lily. 'You're quite right, dear,' James' mother said.
James shot Lily a grateful smile that made her stomach turn upside down as she walked quickly away.

Sitting in the car, Lily had been getting a full-on interrogation by her parents, who had seen her being introduced to the Potters, and were rather miffed that they had missed out an introduction.
Lily was seated in back, beside her sister, who was shooting her glares. Lily rolled her eyes. Really! Her sister was nineteen years old! One would think she was beyond that.
'Lily, dear, really- who were those two charming young men?'
'They probably wanted to report her to the police for being such an idiot police,' Petunia burst in icily. It was this comment that made Lily reply sweetly,
'Boys from my school, mum. Sirius Black and James Potter. And besides, wizards don't have police, Petty,' [this last comment was accompanied with a- charming- smirk.]
'Are they- Is one a boyfriend?'
'Oh, no, mum,' Lily said hastily, then seeing the smirk on her sisters face, added, 'not at the moment.'
'What does that mean, Lily?'
'Well- James is a rather sweet boy,'
'James? Isn't that the one you used to complain about three years ago?'
'Oh. Well, he did used to be quite obnoxious,' Lily said, in the same sweet tone that she knew was driving her sister made.
Oh, yes. Her holidays were off to a great start.

Lily had indeed managed to find great presents for her friends, even Hestia. She had hesitated over that slightly, but had decided that it would make the situation worse not to send her a present.
She had sent Alice a muggle camera, something her friend had always exclaimed over. Remus she had sent the two books, Hestia she had sent a scarf, and she had even sent Sirius a bag of chocolate frogs.
Now she was humming tunes to herself as she wrapped her parents poetry book. In the end, she had wrapped a bottle of perfume for Petunia, a gift that she had received from an old friend for her birthday back in April. It wasn't as though she ever used it.
She sighed happily as she looked out the window at the snow that was falling heavily. She loved it when it snowed on Christmas Eve. And thus far, the holidays hadn't been bad at all.
'LILY!' It was Petunia.
'What?'
Her older sister flung the door open. 'Now, I don't expect you to understand the situation, you little freak, but I have a boyfriend.'
'That's wonderful, Petty. I'm so proud of you,' Lily said, widening her eyes in surprise- an expression she made completely for the annoyance of her sister.
'Shut it, brat. Now, he's coming over for dinner today, and he doesn't know about you or your- problems. Okay? So keep it quiet. Mum and Dad agree with me, so don't even try to play on their good side. I swear, if you mess up this relationship, I will kill you with my bare hands,'
'Don't worry, Petty. I'm sure he's perfect for you and I wouldn't do anything to mess with the course of true love,'
Petunia glared at her. 'Just try to act normal, for once in your life, okay freak?' She slammed the door.
'Okay, freak?' Lily mimicked, before following her sister down to dinner.

And, of course, she put on her sweet, charming charade that Petunia hated so much. When her boyfriend- Vernon- asked what school she went to, Lily only smiled charmingly.
'Oh, it's far off in Scotland,' she said sweetly. Petunia looked so worried Lily almost laughed. 'It's a school for particularly bright students,' she added. Petunia turned white.
Vernon smiled at her politely, as he did to her parents. Lily had been right: Vernon was perfect for her sister. He might have weighed about three times as much as she did, but he was normal, and polite. And boring.
Lily kept her charming smile in place, but decided she wanted to kill her sister after listening to several comments along the lines of 'freak sister' and 'don't know where it came from'. Vernon, of course, had no idea what the menacing IT was, but from the look on his face, it was clear he was positive IT was something dreadful, mental, and dangerous, that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with.

James was ready to kill Sirius. He had suffered no end of questioning once Lily had left.
'CAN we believe Sirius?' his mother had asked, and that had only been the beginning.
All James wanted was some time to be alone to think over what had happened. He was in love with Lily. He wanted to talk to her. But he didn't know what to say.
And, of course, because his entire family knew of Lily Evans now, he couldn't go to his older brother, Harry, for advice. Harry was James' role model. Every piece of advice that Harry had ever told him made perfect sense. And besides that, Harry was an Auror.
But, if James went to Harry for advice about Lily, Harry would know it was about Lily, and would know James liked her. James was torn. It was around midnight three days after Christmas that he finally got up the nerve to talk with Harry.
Because other things were bothering him as well. He found a package of chocolate frogs, from Lily, with a funny card attached. For Sirius. On his friends bed. He knew that Sirius had hidden it so that his parents would still believe the James-Lily thing, but he still couldn't believe that Lily would send Sirius something.
He read the card.
'Dear Sirius,
Happy Christmas! I'm not entirely sure why I got you anything- I had some extra money that I didn't know what to do with. Anyway, you can see the thought: yes, chocolate frogs. I debated getting them for my boyfriend, [that's a joke, by the way] but decided you might enjoy them more.
Cheers, Lily.' And then he found another note beneath it.
'Lily, darling-
I feel honored to have received a present from you, but I noticed a lack of gift for James. Now I understand that boyfriend-girlfriend gifts are often private, but how heartless are you?
-Sirius'
James idly turned it over and saw that Lily had written him back.

'Sirius-
You know there's nothing between James and I. We danced at the ball thing. Okay? Besides, he didn't send ME anything. Why does the girl do all the gift-giving?
-Lily'
The notes made James smile. They were very Lily-like. And very Sirius- like, depending on what note one read.
And so now, he thought, he'd go speak to his brother. And hope it wasn't the biggest mistake of his life.

Despite dreading the holidays every year, Lilly felt almost sad as she got back on the Hogwarts Express. Vernon had caused Petunia to make herself scarce for most of vacation, and other than that ghastly dinner, Lily's vacation had been almost Petunia-free. What's more, Lily had a wonderful time at Alice's, despite the missing presence of Hestia.
Hestia.
She had sent Lily back her Christmas present, unwrapped, and with no note. Speaking with Alice, Lily had discovered that Hestia had done the same to Alice. Now Lily found an empty compartment, and sat down to await her best friend.
But two others burst in before Alice did.
'Oh. Hi Lily!' Sirius exclaimed brightly.
Lily glanced up from her book. 'Hi Sirius, hi James,' she said. There was a pause.
'What are you reading?'
Surprisingly, this question came from James. 'The Lord of the Rings,' Lily said. 'It's quite good- my favorite book ever.'
'Is it a muggle thing?'
'Yes, I imagine so,' Lily said, smiling.
'And what's it about?'
Lily turned to look at him. 'Um. Well, it's about this Ring, really. A magic Ring...'
As the two of them entered a near-normal conversation, Sirius crept out of the compartment, stopping Alice before she could enter and interrupt them.

'You know, I think that was the closest thing we've had to a normal, sane conversation,' James remarked some time later.
Lily grinned teasingly at him. 'Even counting the night of the ball?'
She hadn't meant to mention it. They both turned red.
'About that-' she said, at the same time as James said,
'I've been meaning to-'
They both stopped and laughed uneasily. 'Well. Uh. You go first,' Lily said.
James winced. He had a feeling that he was going to say something wrong. 'I- uh- no. Well. That is-'
He held out his hand.
'I had fun. Thank you.'
And he left a very confused and rather surprised Lily sitting in the compartment by herself.

Late that night, Alice and Hestia were talking. 'So your vacation wasn't too bad?' Alice asked.
'No. Nothing more than that dinner I told you about,'
'I can't believe that they made you act like a muggle,'
'Rest assured, however, that I did it quite charmingly,' Lily grinned.
'I'm sure you did,' Alice laughed.
'Will you two shut up?' Hestia muttured grumpily, rolling over in her bed. Lily and Alice exchanged looks, but said nothing.
'Night,' Lily whispered after a moment

It was early at breakfast. Lily was feeling quite happy. She had smiled at James and gotten a smile in return, and despite being a Monday morning, the day was bright and lovely.
An owl swooped down and dropped a letter on her plate. Turning it over, Lily remarked cheerfully to Alice, 'my parents can be so protective. They always send me a letter after the holidays to make sure that I made it safely and don't need anything,'
'It shows they care. Be grateful,'
'I am,' Lily said, smiling.
As she tore it open, her eyes caught at the seal. Her parents never used a seal. 'It's from--' she stopped as she unfolded the letter and began to read. Before she even finished it, she had taken her bag and fled the Great Hall.

When Lily didn't show up for their first three classes, James grew nervous, especially after seeing her rush from the Great Hall during breakfast. When he made his way down to lunch with the Marauders, he saw Alice talking with Frank.
'Alice,' he said.
'Hi,' she replied evenly.
'Do you know where Lily is?'
There was a slight pause. 'She wants to be alone, James,'
'Do you know where she is?'
'Not exactly,'
'Well, do you know what's wrong?'
Alice looked slightly annoyed. 'Of course,'
'What?'
'You'll have to ask her. It's not my business to tell you these things,'
James glared at her, then left the Great Hall, to go searching for Lily. It was quite an easy task. James had the Marauders Map hidden in his bag, He opened it and saw that Lily was sitting out on the grounds, beside the lake. He frowned. It was freezing out.
He raced up to his dorm, pulled on his winter coat, a hat, and a scarf, and ran outside. He found Lily sitting in the snow, staring into the lake, red rings around her eyes.
'Lily?' he said softly.
She looked up at him.
'Oh. Hi.'
There were tear tracks on her face, and she didn't have anything but a coat. She looked freezing.
'What's wrong?'
She stared out at the lake for such a long time that James wondered if she had heard him. Just as he opened his mouth to ask her again, she said something softly. James sat down in the snow beside her.
'Voldemort attacked my house last night. My sister was out with her boyfriend. Lucky, huh?'
'And your parents?'
'My parents? THEY'RE DEAD JAMES!' Lily half screamed, suddenly sobbing. 'VOLDEMORT KILLED THEM! IT WAS MY FAULT, JAMES! IF I WEREN'T A WITCH, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!'
'Ssh, Lily,' James said, pulling her towards him. 'You know that's not true,'
'IT IS!' she shrieked, and as a sob interrupted her words, she hid her head in her arms, her shoulders shaking. A moment later, she added, 'It is. Petunia said so,'
'Petunia?'
'My sister. She hates me. Because I killed them.'
Lily wrapped her arms around James' neck and sobbed as though her heart had broken. James cautiously put his own arms around her, and held her as she slowly quieted.

It wasn't fair. It just plain wasn't fair. Hestia had to go and date Malfoy, something that Lily was sure, so sure, was wrong. And then Voldemort had to go and kill her parents. The very thought made her veins slightly icy. She had always wondered about revenge. She thought the people who dedicated their lives to it were slightly intense. Now she knew why. She knew that if she ever saw Voldemort, she would do everything in her power to kill him.
She also knew that was an extraordinarily stupid thing to do. But try as she might, she could not convince herself that she would ever act otherwise. In some ways in scared her. But in others it was oddly comforting. Maybe she was worth something after all.
She also couldn't believe it, but she was quite grateful to James. She had thanked him for comforting her down by the lake, but had said nothing more to him after that.
No, Lily had come to a startling realization: Petunia was absolutely right.
Lily was a freak. She had heard it countless times: in half-joking tones from her friends, from James during their past arguments, and from Petunia, every time she visited.
Furthermore, she was responsible for her parents death. She didn't belong in the muggle world anymore. She only endangered people there.
And yet- she couldn't belong here. She remembered countless times of being called mudblood, and of being scorned. Everyone said it was no longer that way, no longer so racist, but those of muggle birth knew better.
Muggle-borns were trouble.
And it was glaringly obvious what Lily had to do: keep everyone who meant anything to her out of trouble. In other words, end all friendships or connections with everyone.

Okay. Well, don't worry, it's all going somewhere. I know that I didn't spend much time on Christmas holidays, but I don't like vacation--- it wouldn't do anything for the plot... So: Review, Please!