Chapter Seventeen:

Disclaimer: Just realized I never put a disclaimer in. I don't own anyone in this story… except maybe Lily's three best friends.

James awoke the next morning with a slight throbbing in his head. He groaned as he vaguely tried to remember how many goblets of firewhiskey he had drank last night. It was really all Lily's fault. If she had come to the party, he could have resumed snogging her instead of playing drinking games with his teammates. So, actually, it was Kailyn's fault. As mean as it sounded, if Kailyn hadn't come barging into the Head common room crying, James would never have had to stop snogging Lily in the first place, therefore never even having to go to the stupid party. So the entire thing was totally Sirius's fault. If Sirius hadn't been his usual flirtatious self, Kailyn wouldn't have come crying, Lily wouldn't have spent the night comforting her friend, and James would've woken up with Lily in his arms, instead of with a throbbing headache. James shot an annoyed look at Sirius, who was hanging halfway off his bed, about to fall off. It was always Sirius's fault.

Just as James was about to hurl a pillow at his best friend's head, Remus walked into the room with a rather confused look on his face.

"You left Lily's sister on the couch last night, right?" Remus asked. James winced as he sat up in bed.

"Yeah, she was completely drunk. I couldn't get her to wake up, so I just left her there. I figured her parents wouldn't want to be wakened in the middle of the night by their drunk daughter," he said.

"Well, she's not there anymore," Remus said. James looked at him in surprise.

"Do you think she went back to the visitor wing?" he asked.

"Does she even know how to get there?" Remus asked. James shrugged, trying not to laugh at the image of Petunia wandering around Hogwarts with a hangover.

"What time is it?" he asked wearily, rubbing his eyes.

"Almost ten. You better get up and start getting ready. Today is Hogsmeade day," Remus replied, grabbing some clothes and walking into the bathroom. James sighed and threw his pillow over at Sirius. Sirius groaned and pulled his covers over his head.

"Padfoot, wake up. I need to talk to you," James said, turning to face Sirius.

"I don't want to talk," Sirius mumbled. James wrenched the covers off Sirius's face.

"We have to get ready to go to Hogsmeade," he said. Sirius's eyes snapped open.

"Do we? Excellent! I'm running out of dungbombs," he said contentedly. He sat up and rubbed his head. He was always better at dealing with hangovers than James was. Sirius looked at his best friend expectantly.

"Padfoot," James began awkwardly, "I think…I think it would be best…"

"Are you breaking up with me, Jamesie?" Sirius sobbed in a false high-pitched voice that caused Peter to stir in his sleep. James scowled as Sirius laughed.

"Padfoot, I don't think you should go around hooking up with every good looking girl you see anymore," James said seriously. Sirius eyed him with concern.

"Does this have to do with Lily refusing to sleep with you?" he asked sympathetically. James glared at him in outrage.

"No! And she isn't refusing to sleep with me…she's just not ready yet!" James yelled in slight desperation.

"I understand that it can be rather frustrating," Sirius said solemnly, struggling to keep a straight face. James sighed wearily.

"This doesn't have to do with my sex life…"

"Lack of a sex life," Sirius corrected swiftly. James gave Sirius a dirty look.

"This is about you hurting girls," he continued, "I know we've had our fun in the past, Padfoot, we've had some really great times. We thought we were the coolest guys in school, getting any girl that we wanted. But now when I look back on some of that stuff…it's not funny. I don't know how many girls we've hurt in the past, but I think its time we stop. I mean, I know I'm already done playing games, because I've found the girl that I want to…" James paused, his face suddenly flushing.

"Marry? Spend the rest of your life with?" Sirius supplied. His eyes sparkled, "Make passionate love to?" James rolled his eyes.

"I knew you weren't capable of having serious conversations," he muttered. Sirius grinned.

"No, I understand what you're saying, Prongs. And I'm happy that you found that girl. But what does that have to do with me?" he said.

"I just want you to stop playing all these girls just for fun. I know you don't realize it, but you've caused a lot of girls a lot of pain." James said.

"Not true!" Sirius sang, wagging his finger, "I am proud to say that I am still friends with almost every girl I have ever dated-slash-hooked up with. Now you on the other hand…"

"Kailyn was crying last night," James interrupted, "Because of you. Because she saw you snogging Angela." Sirius looked at the ground guiltily, his face paling a little.

"I didn't think…I'm so used to just doing things in the moment…" he trailed off uncomfortably.

"I know you care about her, Padfoot. So just think about what you really want, and then talk to her." James said, clapping Sirius on the shoulder before walking over to the closet. Sirius looked out of the window at the miles and miles of green grass stretched out before him.

'What do I want?'

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"I really could get used to this!" Bridget remarked, stepping out of the luxurious bathroom in the Head common room. The four girls had spent the night talking in front of the fireplace, on a blanket spread out on the floor, stuffing themselves with the chocolate cake that Lily had baked for James.

"Did you try the chocolate flavored toothpaste?" Annabelle asked excitedly. Bridget wrinkled her nose.

"I had enough chocolate last night to last me a month," she retorted.

"Lily, go get ready! We haven't got all day!" Annabelle suddenly exclaimed.

"I would've been ready a long time ago if Bridget hadn't taken an hour in the bath," Lily laughed.

"I wanted to use all the different kinds of bubbles," Bridget grinned sheepishly.

"Should we wake Kailyn now?" Annabelle asked, glancing at her friend.

"Let her sleep, poor girl," Bridget murmured.

"Well, isn't she coming to Hogsmeade?" Annabelle asked. Lily knelt down beside Kailyn and shook her lightly.

"Kails?"

Kailyn opened her eyes and sat up sleepily. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were still tear-stained.

"Good morning, Kailyn," Bridget said, giving Kailyn a hug.

"Morning," Kailyn smiled.

"Are you, er, coming to Hogsmeade with us?" Annabelle asked tentatively.

"No," Kailyn said, shaking her head firmly. Bridget and Annabelle exchanged worried glances.

"Are you sure? It'll be fun!" Lily said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it'll be just us girls! Well, that is, if…" Bridget glanced at Lily.

"Of course it'll be just us girls!" Lily smiled.

"It really does sound fun, but I don't…I just don't want to see Sirius right now," Kailyn said quietly.

"You won't! Hogsmeade is a big village. We'll stay away from him at all times!" Annabelle said reassuringly. Kailyn smirked.

"Yeah, like James will be able to go the whole day without seeing Lily at least once. And if James comes, Sirius will come too," she said dryly.

"I'll tell James to stay away," Lily promised.

"Besides, your brother won't let you stay behind!" Bridget pointed out.

"Tell Grant that I'm not feeling well," Kailyn looked at her friends, "Please, just let me stay here. I'm really tired and I could use the rest." Lily nodded hesitantly.

"You can sleep in my bed if you want," she said quietly. Kailyn nodded and shuffled towards Lily's room.

"Boys are such dogs!" Annabelle sniffed.

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The Great Hall was swarming with people rushing from one table to another, chattering excitedly about the trip to Hogsmeade. The Muggle parents and siblings were especially excited, and were listening eagerly to stories about the different shops and the Shrieking Shack. Lily expected her father to be among these eager listeners, and was surprised to see him sitting at a table, watching his wife yell at Petunia.

"We are very disappointed in you! That is no way to act when you are visiting your sister! Just because you don't want to be here doesn't give you the right to act up like this!" Mrs. Evans shrieked angrily. Lily cautiously sat down opposite her mother and sister. Petunia was slumped in her chair, her head between her hands.

"What's going on?" Lily asked. Mrs. Evans looked at her, her face red with anger.

"Your sister went to that Quidditch party last night and got drunk!" she hissed, glaring at Petunia again. Lily stared at Petunia in surprise.

"You went to the Gryffindor party?" she asked. Petunia looked up.

"Yes. James invited me," she said smugly, before slamming her head down on the table. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Did he?" she said, looking at James, who was seated at the opposite end of the table. James saw her and waved. "I'll be right back," she announced, getting up and striding over to where James was sitting. She pulled him out of his chair and dragged him into a corner.

"Continuing last night, are we?" James grinned slyly, leaning in to kiss her. Lily ducked out of the way, and then faced her boyfriend again.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" she demanded.

"Er, kiss you?" James said in confusion. Lily sighed impatiently.

"I mean by inviting Petunia to the Gryffindor party and getting her drunk!"

"Hey, I didn't get her drunk!"

"Well why'd you invite her?"

"Because you're always saying that you and her don't get along, so I thought this might give you a chance to have some fun together…to share a fun experience!"

Lily looked at James and shook her head slowly.

"James, you don't understand what she's like. She hates everything about magic. We live in two different worlds. She doesn't think they could ever be mixed together. I'm surprised that she didn't create some big scene at the party. If I was there, I'm sure she would've insulted me…or my friends… or you. I have tried so many times to get her to accept who I am, but she won't. And every time I try, she starts to hate me even more. She barely even talks to me anymore." James looked appalled as tears started flowing down Lily's face. He quickly wiped them away with his thumb, and tilted her chin upwards.

"I'm sorry if I made it worse. But I really think a part of her wishes she could experience all this. I thought that maybe if she got the chance to feel like she was a part of it, even if it was just for one night…maybe she would try to understand you. But if you think I'm wrong, then I'm sorry, and I won't ever intervene again." James kissed the top of Lily's head and hugged her.

"She seems to like you, though," Lily frowned, resting her head on James's shoulder.

"Most people do like me," James laughed, "It was only you who took three years to come around."

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"She's avoiding me," Sirius said darkly, slumping into a chair at The Three Broomsticks.

"Well you did break her heart," Peter said, stuffing two Chocolate Frogs into his mouth. Sirius glared at him, twirling his wand in his fingers. Peter whimpered every time the tip of the wand was pointed in his direction.

"Maybe she's just spending time with her family and we didn't see her," Remus suggested.

"Maybe she didn't come," James said. Sirius whipped his head towards his best friend.

"What do you mean, she didn't come? Don't be daft, Prongs, she wouldn't skip a trip to Hogsmeade just on my account!" he said. James shrugged as Madam Rosmerta came to the table to take their orders.

"What'll it be, boys?" Madam Rosmerta asked fondly.

"Two bottles of firewhiskey," Sirius muttered.

"Four butterbeers it is!" Madam Rosmerta chirped, slapping Sirius lightly on the head as she left.

"What's taking the parents so long?" Remus wondered aloud, glancing at Gladrags clothing shop out of the window.

"Mrs. Potter is buying Prongs a new pair of knickers," Sirius said moodily. James rolled his eyes.

"Does saying that really make you feel better, Padfoot?"

"A little," Sirius grinned.

"Here they come!" Peter announced, as the front door swung open. The Lupins, Pettigrews, and Potters bustled towards the boys' table, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Evans.

"Look who we've invited to lunch!" Mrs. Potter sang, clutching Mrs. Evans' arm.

"James, you played wonderfully in yesterday's match!" Mrs. Evans beamed.

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans," James said. He looked at Mr. Evans, who seemed torn between smiling and frowning.

"Yes…well done," Mr. Evans finally said stiffly. James smiled politely before glaring at Sirius, who was covering up his laughter with a false cough. James wanted desperately to ask where Lily was, but he was afraid Mr. Evans would have a fit.

"Where's Angela?" Remus asked his mother.

"Oh, she's still shopping at Gladrags," Mrs. Lupin replied. She glanced curiously at Sirius, who had just let out a sigh of relief.

"Cheers," Sirius muttered, raising his goblet.

After lunch, James took Mrs. Evans aside while Mr. Evans was busy talking to the other fathers.

"I suppose you want to know where Lily is?" Mrs. Evans said kindly, her eyes twinkling.

"Well, that's one thing I wanted to ask," James said sheepishly.

"She's gone shopping with Bridget and Annabelle…she told me that you hate shopping," Mrs. Evans smiled.

"Yeah, I do," James laughed.

"She thought you would probably be busy with your parents anyway. I think she's spending the day with the girls," Mrs. Evans said. James nodded.

"It's alright. Could you do me a favor and tell her to meet me by the lake after she gets back? Say at around seven?" he requested.

"Of course I will, dear," Mrs. Evans said warmly.

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Petunia put down her fork and looked around the almost empty Great Hall. This had definitely been the most boring day of her life. Her darling parents had decided to punish her for getting drunk and "acting up", and so had left her behind while they went frolicking around that village with a weird name. She had spent the entire day in their room, except for when she got hungry. She tried walking around the castle, but she kept getting lost, and nearly fainted when a ghost threw an apple at her. She still was not sure if that had been a hallucination or not.

Petunia walked out of the Great Hall and carefully walked up the staircases, clutching the banister for dear life. It had almost thrown her off last time. Her family should have gotten back by now. It was starting to get dark outside. She got off at the visitor wing (something that had taken her the whole day to learn) and walked towards her family's room. She stepped inside and saw shopping bags sprawled all over the beds, but her parents and sister were no where in sight. Petunia heard the shower running in the bathroom. She stepped up to the door and knocked.

"Mum?" she called. She knocked louder.

"I can't hear you!" Mrs. Evans called from inside the bathroom.

"Mum, it's me!" Petunia yelled.

"I still can't hear you too well, honey. But before I forget, James wants you to meet him by the lake at seven!" Mrs. Evans shouted over the running water. Petunia's eyes widened as she fell onto one of the beds. She gripped the edge of the bed hard, as she gasped for air. Her James was finally going to confess his feelings for her. He would take her hands in his...they would be bathed in the moonlight, with their reflections glittering in the lake. And then…he would lean forward and kiss her – a soft, gentle kiss. She would run her fingers through his messy hair…

Petunia grabbed her mother's watch from the bedside table and glanced at it. It was a quarter to seven! She quickly brushed her hair and dabbed some lipstick on her mouth. Then she grabbed her coat and ran out of the room.

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"Are you sure you're alright now, Daddy?" Lily asked worriedly, as she took her father back upstairs to their room. Mr. Evans touched the side of his face happily.

"It's amazing, really! How fast the school nurse healed my wound! Magic is simply amazing!" he exclaimed. Mr. Evans had gotten a bit too excited at Zonko's Joke Shop, and it had resulted in a pack of Exploding Biscuits exploding in his face. Luckily no real damage was done except for a small gash on his face. But Madam Pomfrey was able to fix it right up.

Lily followed her father into their room, where her mother was applying lotion onto her legs.

"Lily? What are you doing here?" Mrs. Evans suddenly asked, looking at Lily in confusion.

"What do you mean, Mum? I just took Daddy to the nurse," Lily said, in an equal amount of confusion.

"Yes, but you came back about ten minutes ago, and I told you that James wants to meet you by the lake at seven!" Mrs. Evans said. Mr. Evan's head snapped up and he looked at his wife disapprovingly.

"Mum, I was down at the nurse ten minutes ago," Lily said slowly. A look of realization suddenly dawned on Mrs. Evan's face.

"Oh dear," she laughed, "It must have been Petunia. I thought it was you. Well, never mind! You better get going now, it's almost seven!" She smiled at her daughter, ignoring her husband's glares. Lily nodded and ran out of the room.

"Really," Mr. Evans huffed, storming into the bathroom.

"Oh come off it, Charles!" Mrs. Evans giggled, as Mr. Evans slammed the door behind him.

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Petunia glanced wildly around her, feeling slightly dizzy at the sight of so much grass and darkness. She had no idea where she was.

"Damn it!" she shouted in frustration. She was already late for her meeting with James. Knowing that she would soon see James was the only thing that was keeping her from being scared to death. It felt like she was lost in the middle of a forest. Suddenly she caught sight of the moonlight glittering on the ground. She ran towards it, tripping over a large rock on the way. She fell and slid down a small slope, stopping when her nose was about two inches away from water. A smile crept onto her face, as she touched the water with her finger. She had found the lake at last. Petunia lifted her eyes and peered across the lake. She felt her heart slam against her chest, and could hear it pounding loudly in her ears. There, bathed in the moonlight, was James…and Lily. He had her hands in his, and he was kissing her – a soft, gentle kiss. She was running her fingers through his messy hair…

Petunia's blood-curling scream cut through the peaceful silence like a knife.

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A/N: I am soooo sorry for not updating in so long! I started the chapter, and then every time I sat down to update I just couldn't stop thinking that this story is so horrible…and I would find a thousand things wrong with it. I probably left out half the things I wanted to write in this chapter, but I don't care…I'm just glad I finally finished it. Sorry if I disappointed anyone. I think I'll be going up to 20 chapters for this story…maybe a few more. I really will try to update faster, and write the next chapter soon. You know what helps motivate me? Reviews! :) Thanks sooo much to the people who review… not only does it make my day, but it really encourages me to write and helps me improve. Thanks especially to oliverwoodschic – it was seeing her third review for Chapter 16 that made me force myself to sit down and finish this chapter today! lol so hope u liked the chapter… please review!!

By the way, I just wanted to say that i'm taking out the small Vernon storyline that was in two of the earlier chapters. I guess it really wouldn't make sense at all. I'm pretty sure no one will have any objections! :)

Bananas