Disclaimer: As always, I don't own any of the characters from Harry Potter. The only characters that belong to me are the characters which do not appear in any book or movie.

Chapter Four: Hogsmeade

"And what could you possibly have to talk about with Lily, Potter?" A mean voice from somewhere in the room.

Lily watched as James's eyes narrowed at something behind her. "None of your business, Castleguard." he said.

Lily spun around to see Clarence emerge from the shadows. "Clarence, what are you doing still up...and out of your dorm?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing, Lily." Clarence said, stepping closer to her, causing James to step a little closer to him.

Lily chuckled slightly, "Uh, no, Clarence, actually you can't. You see, I'm Head Girl. You, well, you're not even a prefect."

Clarence didn't even acknowledge what she had said. He stepped around her and got right into James's face. "I think we need to have words, Potter."

"Maybe words aren't the answer for us anymore, Castleguard." James said as he reached for his wand.

"What are you doing?" Lily demanded, but neither boy was paying her any attention, "Stop this!"

Clarence and James had both drawn their wands and had assumed dual stance. Lily could not believe what her eyes were seeing.

"I thought I distinctly told you to stay away from Evans." James said.

"You did what?" Lily exclaimed. Once again, she was ignored by the two.

"You can't make me stay away from he, Potter." Clarence retorted.

James grinned, "Wanna bet?"

"Oh, yeah." Clarence said.

"Enough!" Lily screamed in the tone she usually reserved for Head Girl use. "Mr. Potter!"

"Lily..." Clarence started.

"AND Mr. Castleguard! You will desist this demonstration of male egotistical macho stupidity immediately!" Lily commanded. She was very good at her job.

"Evans, listen, I..."

"No, James, you listen!" Lily cut him off, "You don't own me! You cannot control who can and cannot talk to me!"

"Lily..." Clarence tried again.

"And you!" she turned her venom on Clarence, "Don't follow me around and lurk in shadows and stuff! It's creepy! I don't like it!"

Both teenage boys stood in silence, both looked very contrite about their behavior. When Lily was satisfied that she had lectured them enough, she turned away from them to go to her room. A smile crept across James's face, even though he hadn't had the chance to discuss what had gone on earlier the evening with Lily.

"What's with you, Potter? She yelled at you just as much as she yelled at me." Clarence said.

"Yes, but, my ignorant little toad, you have to read between the lines. That was the first time she had EVER called me James rather than Potter." James grinned.

Clarence felt a tinge of worry hit him dead in the stomach. He watched James strut back up to his dormitory with that stupid cocky grin on his face which Clarence would've like absolutely nothing more than to hex into a green crooked tooth grimace. James and Lily could not be getting closer...he wouldn't let it happen. She had never shown the slightest bit of interest in James, but he had been right. She had called him by his first name, which was something she just did not do. Clarence wanted Lily for himself and he wouldn't let somebody like James Potter stand in his way.

"You didn't tell him?" Cerra exclaimed the next morning as she and Lily were dressing themselves for Hogsmeade.

"I couldn't." Lily whined. She was allowed to whine to Cerra. It was in the rules of being a best friend. "Clarence showed up and he and James started fighting, which I of course had to break up, and I found out that James told Clarence to stay away from me! Can you imagine the nerve that that boy must have?"

"Oh, you loved it! Admit it." Cerra said as she slipped her shirt over her head, "You love that way that James gets so jealous over you."

Lily looked impassive for the first moment, then she broke into a girlish smile, "It's just so cute!"

Cerra laughed from her stomach, "Oh, Darling! You are a woman after all!"

Lily grinned and she and her friend headed to the great hall for breakfast. When they entered, they spotted Flora and Sirius Black sitting across from one another. Lily and Cerra shared a look and then went over to investigate.

"Oi," Lily said, sitting down next to Flora, "what's going on here?"

"Are you bothering Flora, Black?" Cerra demanded, taking the vacant seat on the other side of Flora.

"No," Flora said, "he's not bothering me. He's actually...taking me into Hogsmeade today."

"Come again." Cerra said.

Sirius just sat there with his eyebrows cocked. His three comrades joined them not a moment later. Peter looked typically rumpled, Remus was well dressed and seemed more than ready to keep his mates in check should the occasion arise, and James...well, James looked beautiful with his clothes slightly disheveled and his hair sticking up in every which direction.

Somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes of pointless small talk later, everyone was leaving the great hall and heading to Hogsmeade. Sirius and Flora broke away from the group first. Sirius pretty much just stood up and took Flora by the arm and led her away. Cerra and Lily were about to head off on their own, but James stopped them.

"Why don't you two girls hang out with us, today?" he blurted.

Cerra and Lily turned back to him. Lily should have jumped at the chance to go with him and she could finally maybe get him alone and talk to him. They really did need to talk. She smiled warmly at him, but it was Cerra who answered.

"Maybe we'll run into you there, but Lily and I are gonna spend some girl time." She cooed and pulled Lily away from the table.

James had this disappointed look on his face and Lily just shrugged helplessly to him. As soon as they were out of the dining area, Lily glared at her friend.

"What was that about?" Lily demanded, "I thought I was supposed to talk to him."

Cerra smiled, "Yes, darling, but after that verbal whiplash you gave him last night, you have got to stand firm for at least a while. Play a little hard to get, otherwise he's gonna think he can just walk all over you."

"First of all," Lily rationalized, "I don't think he will ever feel that he can walk all over me. Secondly, don't you think I've played hard to get for long enough?"

Cerra laughed out loud, "So what's one more little day, huh?"

Lily stared at her as though she were an idiot and simply said, "Hell."

Cerra chuckled into her hand before throwing an arm around Lily's shoulder. Poor Lily seemed positively devastated at the prospect of keeping her secret from James for any longer. She had been harboring these feelings, they had been building for so long and she had been keeping them all bottled up that the very thought of telling him seemed like pure heaven. Just getting all of it off of her chest sounded like a sweet release. Cerra knew what he friend was feeling, but she also knew how the majority of guys thought. If Lily went to him right after she had screamed at him, he, like most men, would think that it cancelled out the lecture and that would be the end of Lily's Head Girl authority over him. Lily didn't think that way. She saw her Head Girl status as being separate from her personal self and expected everyone to see it that way, too. But not everybody thought quite like that. Cerra wasn't certain that James thought like that, but she was certain that most men were wanks and that Lily didn't deserve that.

Lily's bottom lip jutted out and her eyebrows scrunched together. Cerra laughed and gave her a squeeze. "Oh, no worries, dearie. If you put it off for one more bloody day, I assure you, James Potter's affections will not be swayed."

Lily smiled at her friend's words and felt herself relax a little. She shook the terrible feeling off and the two girls made their way down toward the village.

Lily walked into Honeyduke's Sweet Shop with Cerra at her heels. Lily went straight for the licorice wands and Cerra went straight for Claude Jordan, who had just bought some pumpkin pasties. Lily stood and quietly observed her. She watched how Cerra giggled and touched Claude's arm as she brushed her hair back behind her shoulder. Cerra had the power to make men crawl for her, why couldn't she be more like that?

Then James popped into her mind. The way he smiled at her, the way he defended her, the way he stared at her when he thought that she wasn't paying attention and the thoughts were amazingly comforting. She didn't need to have Cerra's power over men, as long as James kept looking at her the way he did with those soulful brown eyes of his. She blinked herself back into reality and wondered how long she had just been standing there like a knob. She grabbed a lollipop and went to pay for her candies. Cerra stepped outside with Claude while Lily was waiting in line.

"Sweets for a sweetie." a familiar voice said from behind her.

"I do have a weakness for sugar, I'll admit." Lily replied.

"I'll have to remember that." Clarence said, "I had meant to ask you last night if you'd come with me today, but Potter ran you off before I could really get the chance."

"He didn't run me off." Lily said quickly, "I was angry with him...with both of you...for your bickering and childish fighting and arrogance."

"Nonetheless," Clarence continued, "I'm glad I bumped into you."

Lily paid for her treats and allowed Clarence to walk with her out of Honeyduke's. She had the sneaking suspicion that he had not simply 'bumped into' her as he had said, but that he had been searching for her. She had begun to notice how he had the tendency to turn up wherever she happened to be. It was starting to get on her nerves. She had, at first, thought him to be a rather nice bloke, but he seemed to slowly be growing more and more into a stalker.

Meanwhile, at Zonko's Joke Store, Sirius laughed heartily as someone set off some fillibusters by mistake. Flora smiled, but she did not laugh. She had never really cared for practical jokes; it was not in her nature to be cruel. When they finally left the shop, Sirius zeroed right in on Snape, who happened to be passing by. Without hesitation, Sirius knocked him to the ground.

"Sirius!" Flora exclaimed and knelt down immediately to help Snape.

Snape looked at her with his shock evident on his face, "Flora? You're here with S-sirius Black?"

Flora's eyes were kind, "Oh, Severus. He's not as bad as he makes himself out to be. Not really. Honest."

"He doesn't deserve you, Flora." Snape said, "He doesn't deserve so much as your notice, let alone you company."

"Oh...Severus..." Flora didn't know what to say.

"He is not worthy." Snape said, climbing to his feet and pulling Flora up as well.

"Wait a second!" Sirius piped, "You don't think that I'm worthy of Flora's affection? Wow, I thought that I had heard just about everything, but apparently I was gravely mistaken!"

"Sirius." Flora warned.

"You aren't good enough to lick the mud off of the bottom of her shoes!" Snape exclaimed.

"There's mud on my shoes?" Flora lifted one foot.

"Get away from us, Snivellus, before I hex you into oblivion."

"You don't frighten me, Black. However, I'll go because I don't want to ruin Flora's visit to Hogsmeade with immature fighting." He turned to go, but first he said softly to Flora, "He can't make you happy."

"He can't make her happy!" Frank Longbottom said to James, Peter, and Remus, who all just stared at him like he was an idiot. He had balls talking about Sirius like that to his best friends, even if they agreed with him. The Marauders did not stand for insults. "She is a beautiful, innocent creature and he...well...he is..."

"Not." James said, trying to steer Frank clear of the very real danger that he was heading for.

"Sirius is a womanizing playboy with morals loose enough to net a runaway Hippogriff!" But apparently, good old Frank was beyond the point of a safe return. "Flora can't actually be interested in that buffoon."

"Frank, you do realize who it is that you're standing here ranting to, don't you?" James asked.

Frank looked at each of their faces as if taking the in for the first time. "Oh, dear." he said.

James chuckled and Remus slapped Frank on the shoulder. Poor bloke looked like her was about to have a heart attack. "No worries, mate." Remus said, "Given your current circumstances, I supposed we can let that one minor comment slide."

"Then you agree that he's a..."

"Don't push your luck, mate." James interrupted Frank before he could dig his own grave, "We have good graces, but they don't go on forever."

Frank looked at them. They looked strikingly like a mafioso. James was the Godfather, his two bodyguards, Remus and Peter standing on either side of him. They seemed to be playing the part. Both Peter and Remus were stone faced and threatening while James sat there, grinning in a way that said he could easily turn deadly and kill you, without ever losing the smile. All that was missing was the Godfather's right hand man, Sirius. Yeah, that was definitely what this lot were. The Marauders, the Hogwarts Mafia. Frank shook his head and walked away before he said something that he knew he would come to regret. As he left, James's attention shifted to who had just emerged from Honeyduke's.

"Are you cold? You look cold. Here, have my coat."

"Clarence!" Lily exclaimed, "I am fine! I am warm! I am happy!"

Clarence smiled, "Well, that's definitely good to know."

"Clarence," Lily said a little more softly, "there-there's something that I need to tell you." She didn't want to hurt Clarence's feelings, but this could not continue. He was starting to really weird her out.

"There's something I need to tell you, too." Clarence said, his eyes twinkling like a cat who just spotted a canary.

"Oh, boy." Lily mumbled.

"Lily..." Clarence began, "I have thought you to be the most absolutely beautiful girl at Hogwarts since fifth year..."

"That's sweet, Clarence, but..."

"And I have been wanting to ask you this for a very long time now..."

"Oh, Clarence, don't."

"Lily Evans..."

"Really, don't."

"Will you go out with me?"

"You did."

"Well," Clarence said, taking her hands, "will you?"

James felt his heart leap into his throat. That little weasel, Castleguard had had the nerve to ask Lily, HIS Lily, to be his girlfriend! Oh, he would suffer the consequences for this one. James would make him pay in un-Godly ways.

Lily stared at Clarence. He looked so hopeful. Her eyes caught all the people around them who had stopped to see the show. Why did he have to do this here, in front of half of the student body of Hogwarts. Now, not only was she going to hurt his feelings, she was going to humiliate him, as well.

"Oh, this isn't easy." Lily said, more to herself than to Clarence.

"What isn't easy?" asked a very confused Clarence.

"Clarence," Lily said, most kindly, "I c- I can't."

"W-what?" Clarence asked.

"I can't go out with you."

Lily's words were like heavenly music to James's ears. She couldn't go out with him. She COULDN'T go out with him! The phrase just kept repeating itself in his mind and he wanted to jump and skip and sing for joy.

"I don't know if I understand...I thought you liked me... I thought that we liked each other." Clarence stammered. He looked crushed and Lily felt just wretched for having been the cause of it.

"I do." she tried to explain, "I do like you, Clarence. You are one of the nicest guys that I have ever met, but..."

"But, what?"

"But, I like someone else."

For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, James's heart leapt from his chest up into his throat. Someone else?

"Oh." Clarence said in a very shaky voice.

"I like him so very much, Clarence," Lily continued, "and I just don't think it would be fair to you if I went a gave you false hope that there could ever be anything more than friendship between us."

"I see."

"I'm so sorry, Clarence, really." She tried to say his name as much as she could, as if saying it could make him feel better.

"That's fine." said Clarence, "I understand. I mean, you can't help the way you feel, can you? No! Don't worry, I'll be...I'm fine."

"Still friends, then?" Lily asked.

"Of course! Don't be silly. It would take a lot more than something like this to ruin our friendship."

"Right, then." Lily smiled, "Well, I'll be off. Enjoy the rest of you day."

"Yeah, you, too." Clarence said as Lily leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before walking away.

James watched Lily walk past him. She flashed him a dazzling smile, then ran to catch up with Cerra and Claude. He found himself wondering who could have caught her attention and interest. Lucky bloke. James would have to see to it that he became unlucky...but the way that Lily had smiled when she had spoken of him to Clarence. He truly envied the man who was able to make her smile like that. So radiantly. Maybe it was time for him to back off and let Lily be with someone. If this guy could make her that happy, then maybe he deserved her. Nah, James was still gonna find out who this guy was and make his life a living hell.

"I'll talk to you guys later." James said and took off in a dash after Lily.

"Where is he going?" Peter asked.

Remus looked at him, "Do you really need me to answer that?"

"Suppose not." Peter shrugged.

"Thank God." Remus said, "For a moment there, I was worried you actually were that think." He slapped Peter on the shoulder and the two headed off in the same direction James had gone.

"Was all that was Severus really necessary?" Flora asked Sirius as he lead her into Hogshead tavern.

Sirius laughed, "You're joking."

"I'm as serious as a heart attack. What has he ever done to you to deserve to have you scorn him in such ways?" Flora all but demanded.

"He was born."

"Not funny."

"You really are this nice, aren't you?" Sirius said with glowing eyes.

The statement caught Flora off guard. "I don't know quite what you mean."

"You." Sirius said, "You're just a genuinely kind person."

Flora smiled, "Well, I...I try to be."

"Wow." Sirius grinned, "You're amazing."

Flora's eyes disappeared, she was smiling so big. Her cheeks flushed to a bright red and she had to look down at her hands in attempt to avoid Sirius's roving eyes. He was marveling at how brilliant her face was when she smiled. She really was just so lovely. He went to the bar and got them each a butterbeer before leading her to a table in the corner for them to sit down at.

"Here, this will warm you up." he said, handing her drink to her.

The door to the pub opened as Cerra, Claude, and Lily came in. Lily spotted Flora and Sirius almost immediately and caught Cerra by the arm to point the pair out. Cerra smiled wickedly. "Let's join them, shall we?" she said, taking Claude's hand and leading him to their friends' table, with Lily bringing up the rear.

"Hello!" Cerra exclaimed, "How fabulous running into the two of you here!" She forcefully shoved Sirius over in his booth to make room for herself and Claude to sit down.

"Imagine that." Sirius said most unenthusiastically.

Lily quietly slipped into the seat next to Flora, mouthing the word 'sorry.' Flora smiled to let her friend know that everything was okay and that she wasn't mad. Cerra seemed incredibly pleased with herself as she sat there, saying nothing, looking smug.

"Isn't it the most beautiful day?" Lily said for no other reason than to hopefully begin a conversation to ease the tension of the situtation.

Flora played along with her. "It really is. I absolutely love the snow."

Cerra would have none of it, "So...what you two been up to today...all by yourselves?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Caledon."

"That's why I asked, Black."

"We've had a lovely day!" Flora chimed in an attempt to extinguish the forest fire that was about to explode.

"Really?" Cerra asked.

Flora rolled her eyes and decided to change the subject. "Hello, Claude. I haven't seen you in ages, how are you?"

"Oh, I..."

"He's fine!" Cerra cut in, "What made your day so lovely, eh? I'm curious."

James, thankfully, chose that tense moment to show up. "Hey, guys." he said, pulling a chair up to the end of the table.

Sirius looked to his best friend pleadingly. "James, mate, help me."

"Well, hello James!" Cerra sang.

It was about then that Peter and Remus appeared as if from nowhere. "Fabulous!" Sirius said, "Now, it's a party."

"Are we interrupting?" Remus asked with a tinge of resentment to his voice.

"No, mate. Sit down." James instructed, flashing Sirius a warning look. His tone toward Remus had been uncalled for. Remus and Peter both pulled their own chairs over to the booth and joined the group. Sirius was growing more and more frustrated. Cerra was loving every second of it. She was determined not to let Sirius Black get poor innocent Flora all alone so he could take advantage of her. She just would not let it happen.

"So, James." Cerra said, "Clarence asked Lily out today, did you hear?" All she had to do was get the whole group in on a conversation, and they would stick together for the rest of the day. It was a full proof plan.

"Is that a fact?" James said, playing ignorant, "I suppose I'll have to think of a very good curse for him. Won't that be fun."

"That won't be necessary." Lily said.

"Why is that?"

"Because I said no."

"Did you? Why?"

"I like someone else." Lily confessed.

James's eyes narrowed, "And who might that be?"

Lily's mouth opened, but no sound came out. It seemed as if everybody in Hogshead was staring at her at that moment. She couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. The room had suddenly gotten smaller, when did it get so small?, and she couldn't move. The only thing she was able to do was stare into James's eyes...his beautiful, beautiful eyes. Everyone at the table, all of her friends, were looking at her expectantly...waiting for an answer. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to confess her feelings to James right then and there, in front of their closest friends, not to mention a rather large handful of other kids from school and half a dozen strangers...and Claude! Her breathing was shortening. Someone was suffocating, had to be. That was the only thing that could make breathing so damn difficult.

"I..." she stared at James. He was looking directly into her eyes. Could he see into her soul? Could he see everything that was going on inside of her? "I..." she struggled to find the words to tell him everything that she wanted to say. "I'd rather not say...as it were." she finally choked out. Damn her mouth! It betrayed her!

"Keeping secrets, Evans?" James asked, eyes sparkling madly in the dimly lit pub.

Lily took a long ragged breath. He had no idea.