Disclaimer: All of these characters and settings belong to Ms. J.K. Rowling, who, I've heard, is the richest woman in England now. Soon to be the richest woman in the UNIVERSE too.

After what I'll say is about a three or four year hiatus…I have dusted off this poor (but in my mind lovely) fanfic and have tried to return it back to its original splendor.

Enjoy!

With the natural high of Winter Holiday almost completely dissipated, life began returning to its regular routine at Hogwarts. The winter decorations were beginning to disappear from the Great Hall, and professors began assigning ludicrous amounts of homework to their poor, unassuming students.

And with that in mind, Lily continued to walk silently from class. 'Let's see I have to finish my Charms essay, review Potions, reschedule the tutoring session, and tell James about the ---" Lily's train of thought stopped when she mentioned James' name. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a suspicious—and tall—cloaked figure that had been following her ever since she left class. With a sigh and a smirk, Lily's eyes looked straight again and she continued to walk.

She began walking at an even brisker pace then before, and noticed that the cloaked mystery man hurried its pace to keep up behind her. Lily swerved in and out of the crowd heading back toward the dormitories. The cloaked figure darted back and forth too. When Lily was finally out of the crowd, she immediately stopped walking and stood still in the hallway.

Not noticing Lily's stop, James crashed right behind and into Lily's figure.

"Whoa!" Lily said, as she flew forward. Turning around, she smiled at James, who looked like disheveled and tired of chasing her.

"You weren't supposed to STOP, Ms. Evans. Good gosh." James smiled as he helped pick up the textbooks that flew out of Lily's arms. "I'm skipping the rest of my classes today, and I was hoping to continue my stalking undisturbed until we reached the Common Room."

"Tough luck, buddy." Lily leaned in and kissed James on the tiny spot between his neck and his head. James blushed, and they returned back to the dormitories without further ado.

Remus smacked his head down on the table. The resulting, large thud made Sirius jump with a start.

"Bloody hell?!" Sirius exclaimed, his Quidditch magazine flying out of his hands.

Remus looked up dolefully. "Are you okay?"

"Except for the seven years I've just had scared out of me, I'm just grand. Thanks." Sirius picked magazine up off the floor. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just Hogwarts. We've been back for nearly two weeks, and I already feel as though Winter Holiday was a million years ago. I'm behind on so much…" Remus' eyes drifted over to the large stack of parchment paper and textbooks that laid strewn next to him. He whimpered.

Right before Sirius could respond, the soggy bodies of James and Lily stumbled in the Common Room, straight from what looked like a battle with a storm cloud that they both lost.

"What in the name of all that is holy is going on outside?" James exclaimed, shaking snow off of his scarf while Lily shook her water-logged quill and parchment roll. "It went from chilly to snowstorm in about three seconds. I am glad that we'd already reached Gryffindor Tower."

Sirius got up from his seat and helped James with his cloak and peered out the window. "Well, Prongs, there goes our prank. I knew we were trying drench the Slytherins out of their rooms, but looks like our water source has now become a giant ice cube." Sirius pointed to the lake. James shook his head in mutual disappointment.

While the boys were commiserating, Lily walked over to the still hunched figure of Remus.

"What's going on, Lupin? You aren't looking so well." Lily sat in Sirius' vacant seat.

Remus gave Lily a sad look and began to speak cautiously, "Things are not exactly going my way right now. I feel behind in classes and a bit overwhelmed and"—Remus stopped to see if James and Sirius were still at the window—"to top it off Juliet has been avoiding me all week."

"What? No…" Lily placed a reassuring hand on Remus' back, hoping to alleviate the discomfort that was apparent on his face. "You must be mistaken, she adores you and your company. Maybe she's just busy. And for the homework, we'll catch you up in no time; stop by my tutorial session tomorrow and I will help ease the load."

Remus smiled a wan smile at Lily and thanked her. "You're a good friend, Lily. Maybe you're right. This could just be the exhaustion speaking—I'm losing my mind. And it's not even a full moon yet." Remus sat up and began collecting his things together to drag back to his room.

By that time, Sirius and James had concocted a back-up plan to make up for the one the snowstorm changed on the Slytherins. As they drew up the diagrams and worked out the timing, Lily grabbed James' cloak and walked up with Remus to they boys' room.

Lily sneaked a glance at James from the corner of her eye, and saw him move his head quickly in her direction while Sirius was scribbling something down. For a few delicious moments, the pair's eyes were locked, and Lily could feel James' affection rush from his body to hers. She blushed and turned away. James smiled as Lily hurried up the stairs with Remus. Sirius and James finished their plan of attack.

Once again, the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were not safe.

Lily sat her desk, with the sound of snow falling softly on her windowpane. She looked up from her essay, and rubbed her eyes. Two hours of Advanced Charms was slowly eating away at her sanity. She couldn't recite anything anymore without possibly wanting to snap her wand in half.

Lily stood up and walked over to her book bag which was perched on the edge of her dresser. She reached inside and grabbed the letter which she received via post today, and headed toward the window. Looking out into the vast darkness, she could barely see the faint traces of the moon and from that, the tiny dots of people and places within Hogwarts. She sighed and wondered what her friends were doing now.

Sirius and James had left a while ago to do whatever illicit deed Sirius had been planning, and Lily had dropped a now calmer Remus off at his room. Peter was probably hiding out in the library. Lily glanced over at Juliet's empty desk and wondered where she was.

'Hmm…what could be so troubling that she would avoid Remus for so long?' Lily remembered how inseparable the two have been, and shrugged her shoulders in confusion. 'Probably none of my business anyway, but I hope she's okay.'

Lily sat down on her bed and shut a part of the canopy curtain to keep warm. She looked at her letter – nicely addressed in Aunt Lavinia's handwriting – and ripped open the seal. Her aunt's scent of lavender and mint was evident in the lily-laden stationery that was used. Lily smiled.

'My dear Lily…

I write in hopes that I'm not disturbing you amidst your difficult studies at school, and send word that everything is going quite well at home. We miss you very much and are always thinking of you…'

Lily read through the letter quickly, which basically updated her on the happenings at home—her parents' estate and belongings have been settled, and that Lily and Petunia had quite a bit of money left in their name. Lily's eyes widened at the large sum of money that her aunt had written.

Lily felt tears start to form in her eyes, and remembered how her parents would always speak of traveling once Lily and Petunia had moved out. That they would be very frugal with their own purchases and subscribe to travel magazines, in hopes of one day finding their dream vacation together. Lily would joke around with them, but now, they jokes didn't seem quite as funny. If anything, she would give anything to hear them laugh and dream once again at their kitchen table.

She wiped the solitary tear that fell down her cheek with her sleeve, and briefly finished the letter. Petunia was doing well, and her romance with Vernon was still in full bloom. Lily rolled her eyes and placed the paper back into the envelope. With a slight sniffle, Lily jumped off her bed and put the letter in her desk drawer. Just as she was about to shut the drawer, Lily heard a creak from the corner of the room.

Looking up, Lily turned and saw nothing but Juliet's unmade bed. Lily peered closer and didn't see anything. Turning around back to her desk, Lily held back a scream when she saw James sitting on her chair.

"James Potter, are you trying to kill me?" Lily's face regained the blood that just rushed out, as James laughed. He stood, and gave Lily a hug. Sometimes, Lily believed that his quick, Quidditch-trained reflexes were too useful for his own good.

"No, my dear Ms. Evans, but I was hoping to wish my favourite girl goodnight before she retired to bed for the evening."

Lily's face, pressed right now to James' Prefect badge, cracked into a smile. Leaning back, but still holding on to James, she let him see her face. "Nice save, you bloody git." They kissed, as James maneuvered them over to her bed.

Sitting down, James noticed the blurry look in Lily's eyes. "What happened, Lil? Have you been crying?" He placed a hand on her cheek.

Lily looked up, and relished the feeling of his warm hand on her face. The hand that could effortlessly grab a snitch in midair was the same hand that could erase all of her fears and worries. She shook her head.

"Nothing's wrong, James. I just read something sad in a book, is all. You know how much of a sap I could be," Lily lied. She could not bear to tell James the entire truth right now. He would be so worried about her, that she could not bear to make him feel that way when he had classes and Quidditch—not to mention his own family—to be concerned about.

"You sure?" James inquired, his hand never leaving her face. His thumb was now stoking her soft, porcelain skin. He brushed a long, auburn strand of hair from her face that had managed to escape her clip.

Lily nodded and pulled James into an embrace. How very lucky she was to have James and all of her friends taking care of her.

An hour or two passed, and James realized that he needed to head back into his room. The pair just sat on Lily's bed enjoyed each other's company while the snow continued to fall outside.

There were moments when neither said anything at all, yet the silence still remained a comforting time for them. They were still connected.

James managed to extricate himself from Lily's warm grasp and put back on his cloak, which he had draped against the side of her bed. Adjusting his badge—he had come from night Prefect duties—he took off his tie and held it in his hand.

Lily sat up and proceeded to grab her cloak and walk James back to where the boys' rooms were. James persuaded her to stay.

"Don't go, it's cold in the hallways and you're warm here." James told Lily to put her cloak back on her chair.

Lily gave him a knowing look and put her cloak away. "Whatever you want, James, but it's not a big deal, really. I want to see you back to your room."

"I know, but do not bother. It is easier this way. Stay here, keep warm." James leaned in and kissed Lily goodnight. For a few minutes, neither noticed anything else in the world.

"Sweet dreams, Lils. Say goodnight to Juliet for me too. Where is she so late?" James said, walking toward the door.

Lily looked over and shrugged. "I have no idea. She is usually back here working, but I guess she has other ideas." Lily leaned against the door frame.

"Hmm." James slouched a bit, appearing to be in thought. Lily thought he looked adorable. "Speaking of other ideas, I ran into Sophie Welles tonight. Gosh, she is a piece of work."

Lily made a grimace. "Thanks for ruining the mood, Potter."

James laughed, "Naah, there was no harm in my saying anything. It's just that she followed me on my entire night-shift route for a good hour. I had to hide in the Prefect's bathroom to get rid of her."

Lily crossed her arms and shook her head. "I don't know why she is a Ravenclaw sometimes. She tends to lose all semblances of common sense." Seeing James' look, Lily added, "Don't get any ideas, buddy."

James smiled and held up his hands in mock surrender. "What it takes to keep Ms. Evans happy. Goodnight."

Lily smiled as she watched James saunter down the stairs back into towards the boys' dormitories quietly. She then went back to her empty room and shut the door.

It has been a long, long day.

Good golly, it's feels nice to be back.

I apologize to all those I've left hanging for a while, and am thankful that you returned to reread my fanfic again. I really appreciate it. Even if you hated it, I appreciate your taking the time to read and/or review.

To all those who reviewed, thanks a lot.

Take care, readers! Be well and have an excellent Thanksgiving. Be safe.

Stellar