Morning "Bloody hell!" The muffled voice blurted out as the portrait of the giggling fat lady swung close and hit the stumbling figure on the back. The figure was tangled up in his robes; his head was lost somewhere underneath the mess of cloth and all Lily could hear were his muffled swears. She squinted at the person, whose arms were now flailing about and trying to fit through the sleeves. She supressed an urge to giggle because it reminded her of James a couple minutes ago trying to get out of his cloak. Instead, she crossed her arms and waited with curiosity to see who the person was.. although the voice sounded quite familiar..

Finally, a mousy head poked through and Lily's eyes bugged out of her head when Peter Pettigrew's red face appeared before her.

"Guys! Oh, Merlin! You'll never believe this! There was a meeting and..." Peter trailed off suddenly when he realized that there were two extra people in the room. Lily gaped and Alice glared at him, apparently trying to assess the situation and sort through the blatant lie the Marauders had told them before. His mouth dropped open and he glanced quickly at his friends, hoping they would cover up for him.

"Er..." Sirius began bluntly, failing to think up any excuse.

" 'Er' what?" Aliced began slowly and calmly, but there was no mistaking the malicous glint in her eye. "You know, I'm not sure if you're aware of this but I'm not a fan of being lied to."

"Neither am I," Lily added quickly, screwing her eyes up at James and Sirius. Remus looked utterly embarrassed, and was a bit disgusted with him; she had thought he was better than that. She stood up and looked at Pettigrew, who was trembling slightly. A second later Alice got to her feet. There was a moment of silence and the sound of heavy rain splattering against the windows filled the dark room. No thunder, Lily thought thankfully for a split second before she continued.

"How are you, Peter?" She surprised the Marauders by the very cordial tone of her voice. She pasted a smile on her face and dug her fingernails into her thick cloak. James's thick cloak, she thought quickly as she kept smiling with her mouth but not her eyes.

"I-I'm fine.." Peter stuttered and looked pleadingly at one of his friends to get him out of the awkward situation.

"Oh, are you?" she continued placidly. She stared straight into Peter's eyes, but the boy could not look at her and kept flicking his eyes around at the ceiling or the floor or his friends instead. This annoyed Lily even further and her mind and tongue were already abound with ways humiliate herself, which of course she did not want to do. She resisted an incredibly strong urge slap someone, preferably James, but she surprised even herself as the smile stayed plastered on her face.

"That's funny, Pettigrew. I was told you were sick and up in bed," she said sweetly. "But you don't look very ill, do you?" She shook her head. Alice was already dreading the outcome of this situation and debated whether to jump in or not.

Lily continued. "So why don't we clear up this little misunderstanding?" She glanced at James and Sirius now, both of whom were frozen in their seats in... was that horror? That made Lily happy. She looked over at Remus and shook her head ever so slightly, and he quickly looked down at the floor, his cheeks flaming. She was dissapointed in him; it was obvious, and Remus found himself feeling terrible.

"Anyone?" Lily pressed. She crossed her arms and turned to James. There was no longer a smile on her face, but she didn't look as angry as James expected. He wished the sun would come out or the fire would be lit or anything so that he could look at her eyes and try to see what she was thinking. But it was all dark. Dark and depressing.

"James?" she said quietly, cocking her head to one side; it didn't quite come out the way she expected. Her voice was soft and questioning, and the word lingered in the air for a few seconds while everyone stared. She was asking for him to tell her the truth- James knew, she knew, and everyone knew. Sirius cleared his throat, but found that his voice was caught and he didn't know what to say anyway. Besides, this was their fight, he reasoned.

The chilly air rustled gently and the rain continued to pound on the windows, which were holding up quite well, thanks to McGonagalll. The room was still dim and there was no sign that the fire would be lit anytime soon. The cold was almost suffocating and the air was dry and prickly; Lily still felt the oddness of the atmosphere and it alarmed her. Outside, it seemed like there was a lull in the storm, because there hadn't been any lightning and thunder for a little while, even though the rain was relentless. Lily still waited for an answer.

James stared at her pleadingly, almost like Pettigrew had before. There was no mishievious glint, no bubbling laughter or haughty grin on his face. He sat there awkwardly in his Hogwarts uniform and robe, the clothing crinkled and messy just like his dark hair. He was begging her to let go, she could see it in his eyes, but she didn't want to. Alice saw it, and she knew that she wouldn't because Lily was too stubborn. Remus saw it and prayed that James would make the right decision. Either way, everything could be ruined. James's chance... or their secret; he wasn't sure what the right decision was to begin with. Even Sirius saw it, and he almost wanted James to tell the truth, but that would ruin everything... Glad it isn't me, he thought guiltily, but in truth, he really was.

There's no way out, James thought helplessly. His heart was beating in his chest and he was overwhelmed, just by her emerald eyes. She stood in front of him so stiffly, arms crossed, her lips brought together in a fine line that reminded him of McGonagall. She was waiting still, and he had no idea what to say.

It all came down to what he thought was more important, he knew. He thought of his dad, he thought of their mission.. he couldn't blow it. But then there was Lily, standing there in his cloack, who only demanded the truth. Was there a chance for him?

Suddenly, he leapt out of his chair and stood upright in front of her, their noses inches apart. Sirius's eyebrows shot up and for a fleeting second he thought he was going to kiss her. Alice held her breath; she was lost and she didn't know what was happening. Remus frowned and waited.

"That's not fair," James whispered breathlessly, staring at her, his hands at his sides.

"What's not?" she asked quietly, furrowing her eyebrows. She was breathing unsteadily now.

"You have no idea," he answered softly and shook his head.

"Then tell me." Her eyes probed his face, demanding some response. She uncrossed her arms and clutched her nightgown across her front.

James shook his head slightly again. "I don't think I can."

'You can!', Sirius thought fervently, wanting to jump out of his seat and shake his friend. He hoped that James, the idiot, wouldn't ruin the only chance he ever had with Lily Evans. At the same time, Remus bit his lower lip and sincerely hoped James wouldn't ruin himself. The truth, James, just the truth. What could Lily do anyway?

Lily stared at James, unaware that there were other people in the room now. Her childhood rivalry stood in front of her, just mere inches away, and she studied his face without making it look like she was. Where had the bumbly little boy with horribly messy hair gone? He was painfully attractive now, she noticed with dismay...but painfully pratty at the same time, and that made her so confused. And now he was a liar, she thought bitterly. Well, he hadn't actually said anything, but Lily would bet anything that he would lie to her face. She waited for it.

James bit his lip; having her so close to his face was making him lightheaded. She was just too pretty, and it sickened him to know that she hated him. He hated himself, suddenly. Hated everything that he was. A superficial empty shell with nothing inside. She knew him before he even knew himself, he thought sadly. There was no chance with this girl. She was way too good for him.

But she never answered his question from before, and he ventured at it again after a few moments of silence because he wanted to know exactly why.

"Why do you hate me?"

Her eyes flashed and she paused for a coupel seconds. "You're a liar....but I don't hate you.."

"I haven't lied, I haven't said anything yet," James protested weakly. Wait, did she just say she didn't hate him?

"No. You lie to yourself. Every day," she answered flatly, her face as blank as a peice of parchment.

She had taken what he was thinking and flung it into his face without even knowing it. His bubble burst and he felt like he had nothing left. He was empty now. Totally empty.

He was wasting his time. He knew it. He had liked this girl for the past three years, even thought he knew nothing would ever become of it. He mentally slapped himself. You're an idiot, James. What a bloody waste of time.

"You're right," he said after a while, shaking his head incredulously. "You're completely right. I can't believe I've been wasting my time. I'm such an idiot." He sadly backed away from her surprised face and stumbled on the carpet. "I'm such an idiot," he kept repeating. "I'm such an idiot."

He looked up at her questioning eyes and said blankly, "I'm sorry."

And then he left without a word, five confused sets of eyes watched his retreating back; the emerald set the most confused of all.