Author's Note: Yay! I've finally finished the second chapter! For all those past readers, I'm sorry I've taken so long, and for my new readers, enjoy! I've found this chapter a bit more philosophical and whatnot, so if you don't like it, that's ok, and if you do, great! I'll try to start Chapter 3 earlier, but I can't make any promises. Thank you so much for reading.

The dense foliage of the Forbidden Forest looked even more sinister than usual under the pale glow of the moon. Chaotic branches twisted in agony, reaching out with their cruel arms, grasping onto whatever they could reach. The thick-trunked carcasses obstructed paths, their knarled roots jutting out the earth like monsters rising of the surface of the ocean. It was fairly safe to say that this particular forest was one that not many would like to have a Sunday picnic in. None of the mattered to James, though.

The darkness of his surrounding held no meaning to him; he was not only impassive about his surroundings, but he seemed not to take it in. His eyes were trained on the shine of the pallid moonlight of the glossy red hair that bounced in motion. James found himself completely powerless in the death-grip of the prefect, who was half-dragging him deeper into the woods. It had just swallowed them in complete darkness, though James could make out the gentle curls.

Taking in the swearing beneath the girl's breath, he managed to process the light that appeared at the end of her wand, and repeated the spell onto his own wand. With the proper light, James examined the face of Lily Evans, the initial shock of her appearance finally wearing off.

Donning the mandatory Hogwarts robe, with the shining of a Prefect badge and the golden/ orange crest of a Gryffindor; Lily wore her head high and looked at James with intense eyes. They were bright green- as bright as a blade of grass- and gave way to a small, delicate nose, held high not with pride, but with wisdom rarely conveyed by a 16 year-old. Her lips were full, with the bottom protruding slightly. Lily appeared to be waiting for an explanation of some sort.

James sputtered and looked away, trying to elude the inquiring and slightly hostile expression of the girl before him. He fidgeted and creased his brow. This was so...weird Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine Lily Evans- Lily Evans! - standing with him in the middle of the night... alone in the woods...with their wands as their only light... well, yes, he had dreamed of himself and the beautiful Prefect in such a predicament, but he had never expected it to be at a time like this. When James felt so...out of his skin.

Lily watched silently as James fidgeted under her stare. Her face twisted as she studied him. In one hand, he gripped the suspicious cloak, and in the other, his eleven inch mahogany wand which made him a legend in Transfiguration class. The light emitted from both their wands made his amber eyes flash through the shadow of his bangs. That was not what bothered Lily, though. James- and half the female population of Hogwarts- were fond of his renowned hairstyle. He prided himself in his tousled appearance; being beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team gave him admiration from the many ladies at school, and wild hairstyle that added more fuel to the proverbial fire. However, tonight was another matter. While Lily fully expected James to be sported his usual do, she noted his hair lay neatly upon his head. She was slightly unnerved.

"Well...um.... so..." The awkward silence was broken by James' even more awkward interruption. He glanced around, in what Lily supposed was a catalyst for topic change. She hoped dearly that he was going to start rattling on about the different species of tree moss. She was quite surprised when James went into the completely different direction.

"How did you know I was coming out tonight?"

Her eyes widened slightly, but she did not look away. "Whatever you do, James, someone always knows."

He cocked his head. "I didn't tell Sirius."

"That's not what I mean." Lily waved her hand, and made her way over to a nearby rock. She sat down, and looked up at James. He was still, not knowing what do next. Instead, he spoke the first thing that came to his mind.

"I hope you don't expect me to give an explanation. Because you're not going to get one."

"I don't expect anything from you, James."

"Then why do you keep staring at me like that?" He snapped, getting tired of the unusual look Lily was imploring him with. It was hard, though, to ignore her. Those perfect, brilliant green eyes, staring into his, giving him the consideration he had begged for countless times. Now, it was worthless to him; the things he wanted so long ago had slipped away from him so suddenly during these few short hours. He didn't understand the thoughts running through his head, nor the simple reasons why everything was altered so suddenly. He did know one thing, though; the person who he was a universe away. Try as he may to recover that lost part of him, James couldn't even grasp the simple concept of his past self.

Through his thought-monologue, James had taken no notice of Lily's current movement. As he stared off into the formless oblivion. Lily had snuck over to James, sidestepping his view towards the heavy cloak laying limply in his grasp. With a snap of her wrist, Lily was holding the cloak in her hands and James' was feeling quite empty. His head darted back and forth, searching for the thief, and noted Lily with his cloak and an adorable smile. He felt himself melt and forget his troubles for that moment.

"Where did you get this thing from, James?" She brought the embroidered fabric to her nose and sneered mockingly into its faceless features. "I highly doubt that you would make such an intelligent investment like buying this."

Ignoring her remark, James twiddled his thumbs, pretending not to care. "One of my parents decided it would complement my complexion.

"I thought your father was uptight about that sort of thing. "

"Whoever said it was my father?" James stepped forward cautiously, pleased that Lily had taken no notice. "My mother was quite the nuisance in her day. Her classmates called her the Fox; for her cunning and her ability to slip past the fingers of authority."

Lily held up the cloak. "Thanks to this, no doubt."

"The clothes don't make the people, Lily."

It was silent again. James watched as the girl before him contemplated the fabric in her hand. Grassy eyes scanned the surface, taking in the smoothed, velvet-like feel, analyzing the depictions traced with the finesse of God's hands. The more he watched, the more obvious it was how alike this girl was with the cloak. Perfection in material form, gentle and enveloping, but more so was she was like it in character. The cloak's purpose was to hide its wearer from the people's eyes; shield them from the rest of the world. Like the cloak, Lily was unlike others. Hiding the smallest of things wrapped in herself, while exuding a common air. She fascinated James to no end.

"Why did you do it?"

Her voice snapped James out of his reverie. He blinked twice, and his eyes found her face. Lily's features were shadowed by her bangs in the wand-light, facing away from the boy and expressionlessly considering the cloak in her hand. He stared back, not knowing what to say.

"E-excuse me?"

Lily shook her head and brought her gaze back up to James. She was smiling slightly, but the amber-eyed boy could tell; something was not right.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. Reaching forward, Lily grabbed hold of James' wrist, catching the boy by surprise, a blush creeping across his cheeks. Luckily, the girl did not notice.

"Let's go."

James stared. "Where?

Looking back once before heading off in the gathering darkness, he heard the softness of her words in the air; a whisper caught between her red tresses, barely meeting his ear.

"Wherever the path takes us."

Oooooo...my favourite thing in the world...foreshadowing...there might be a lot more in the future, but I like the unintentional. It's so much fun.