None of this is mine; it's all J.K. Rowling's.

Chapter 5: In which James Begins to Regret Ignoring his Relatives Advice on Women

Or

In which James Plays Footsy

James stared at Lily's already sleeping form and wondered at his remarkable luck to have a girlfriend like her. Dragging himself away from her, he began packing. It was odd that he could think clearly now with her here, but the moment she left he became a complete basket case. He grinned, thinking about how his relatives would react to the complete loss of his ability to focus. Damn, he'd probably have to tell them the truth or else they'd all be nosey and worried.

He could picture it now, Aunt Lauren would say something to him and he wouldn't by paying attention, so he'd ask her what she'd said and then she would exchange the 'look' with Uncle Robert that said, 'poor boy, he's completely out of it over this girl'. Then the 'look' would be passed to his Uncle Matt and continue on until it went through all 12 of his aunts and uncles and his parents. All the while James would be forced to sit there embarrassed out of him mind.

Now that he thought about it, maybe worried and nosey was the better option. In fact it definitely was. He would, of course, tell his mom though. She wouldn't out him to the rest of the family. She probably wouldn't even tell his dad until James went back to Hogwarts. Everyone knew his dad couldn't keep a happy secret if it killed him. Only one problem with this plan; he'd have to come up with a guise of sorts to ask his father about protection against Voldemort. He could tell him he was writing a paper on it for Defense against the Dark Arts. That was pure brilliance. James was startled out of his reverie by an owl tapping on the window. Opening the window he let the unfamiliar owl in. He took the letter from its leg and found it was addressed to him in an unfamiliar hand. Odd. When he looked up the owl had flown back out. He shut the window then turned back the letter. He broke the blank seal curiosity outweighing caution. The letter was short and unsigned:

Lily Evans is staying at Hogwarts for Christmas

And would gladly accept any offer to spend the

Holiday's elsewhere.

What in the world did that mean? Lily always went home for the Holiday's. Why would that be any different this year? And who would know that James had been considering inviting her to his house, but didn't want to pull her away from her family? Because, if she really were staying at Hogwarts it wouldn't be any trouble at all for her to come home with him. It would be amazing; he could introduce her to his parents, show her the house, and maybe if he was lucky he could push her into a snow bank. He'd always imagined that she would be adorable covered in snow. But who in the world would have sent him this mysterious letter? James looked at Lily who was still sprawled peacefully over his bed. He walked over and kissed the top of her head. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment he scribbled a note that he'd gone to the common room in case she woke up. Walking down the stairs, James found the common room nearly empty. That was odd. Normally it was teaming with people right before a break. Then he spotted Ally and Sirius making out on the couch. That explained it.

"Hey you two, knock it off. No one wants to see that."

Ally pulled back and said, "Then don't look," and went right back to kissing her way down Sirius' nose.

"I just need a moment of your time guys. Please!"

Ally gave an annoyed sigh and moved a little off of Sirius.

"What is it James?" Sirius asked, clearly eager to get back to his previous activity.

"I was wondering it either of you sent this," James said extending the note he'd just gotten. He sincerely doubted it since it looked like they'd been at the making out on the couch thing for a good deal of time, but maybe they'd see something he hadn't.

Ally snatched it away and after a quick perusal said, "Well it's not from me. Besides I thought Lily was going home for Christmas."

Sirius glanced at it as well and said; "Besides, only Remus and I know you were considering inviting her."

"You think Remus sent it?"

"No, he wouldn't," Sirius looked puzzled, "I've got now clues. I don't think I ever even seen handwriting remotely like this before."

"You're going to invite Lily home for Christmas?" Ally squealed, completely forgetting about the not, "That's so sweet."

"Well I can, but I don't want to mess up her plans," James said.

"Who cares? If I were Lily I would rather go home with you than see my family. Besides," Ally said extending the note back to James, "It sounds like she's staying here. I'd wondered why she wasn't packed yet. That little witch! I bet she didn't tell me on purpose, so I wouldn't make a big deal about her spending Christmas here alone. She's been acting so strangely lately." Ally looked at James asking him with her eyes if her friend would get better. "Don't worry, she will," James whispered, more loudly he said, "I'm going to ask her to come."

"Awesome."

"Yeah, that's great. So, can you leave now?" Sirius said wrapping his arms around Ally's waist more possessively.

"You realize that the reason no one is in the common room is because they don't want to watch you two make out."

Sirius looked at Ally, moving a hand to her face, "I guess we could move if we're that repulsive."

"Yeah," Ally whispered, staring dreamily into his eyes.

No wonder everyone had abandoned the common room.

"We've got dibs on the astronomy tower!" She cried leaping up and dragging Sirius with her exited the portrait hold.

The few people left in the common room applauded and James gave them a quick bow before heading back up the stairs. His first thought upon entering his room was Lily. She was still fast asleep. She must really be exhausted. Sitting down beside her he ran his hand down her hair, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. As his hand reached her back he sighed. She was so thin. If she came home with him he could make sure she ate enough. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, James cleared himself a spot on the floor and laid the now crumpled letter in the center. He'd just had a brilliant idea. Charms wasn't his strong point, but he could certainly give it a try. Dragging out his barely used Charms book from under his bed, he found the page about identifying objects owners. He wasn't sure, but having written the note you would figure that the writer would be connected to it in some way. Reading over the charm, he tried a bit of the wand work. He probably should pay more attention in class; then this would be easier. Turning to the note he closed his eyes muttered the incantation and hoped for the best. When he opened his eyes it looked as though the floor had been covered in a dark mirror, but he didn't see himself in it. He saw Snape.

Snape was cursing as he wrote a letter.

James watched as the letter came into clearer focus; it was the letter he'd received. He heard Snape muttering about how foolish some girl was.

"Why did she have to keep doing him favors? After all he wasn't going to keep paying them back forever. Besides, this note ought to count for a few good favors." When the letter was finished, he folded it and addressed it to James.

Then the mirror went blank and started shrinking into the floor like it was being sucked down a drain pipe. When it was completely gone and the power of the spell dissipated, James stumbled backwards, landing heavily on the chair beside his bed.

Why would Snape write that note? Why would someone like him repay Lily's kindness? How would he know Lily was staying here for the holidays? Why would he care? How did he know James was considering asking her to go home with him? Had James been completely missing something about Snape all these years? Had Lily seen something he had not? Snape had done Lily a favor by sending this note, and by doing Lily a favor he'd done James a favor as well. He could never hex Snape again. How would he explain this to his friends? Lily would be pleased though. He perked up at that. But should he tell her about the note, about what Snape had done? Had Snape helped her out before? Is that what she'd been talking about this morning when she said she'd learned about the benefits of kindness?

James glanced over at her. It was getting near to dinner time; he should wake her up. His mind swirled with questions as he studied her. One of the straps of her tank top had slipped down her arm while she slept. He gently tugged it back up enjoying her enticingly tousled look. His gaze traveled down her body and then stopped at her back. Her tank top had scrunched up and revealed the base of her back while she slept. What had caught his eye was the thin red scar across the revealed skin. James stretched out a finger and touched it. What was it from? He pushed up the back of her tank top a little more intending to get a better look at it only to find that the scar didn't stand alone. It was part of a grotesque checkerboard of scars covering what he could see of her back. He knew what had caused them...a whip. He'd seen scars like this once before on Sirius. His mother had done it; that had been the last straw. Sirius had run away after that. But the Sirius' scars had been healed to barely visible lines on his arms and chest. These scars clearly hadn't been seen by a healer. Was this another aspect of Lily's terror? Some of the scars were farther toward healing than others, had someone been beating her over a few months? Why hadn't she told him? That's when he realized that he had completely invaded her privacy. She would hate him for it, but he couldn't forget about it, she needed medical attention. He trailed a finger down a series of the scars, wondering how he could ever convince her to see a healer. How he could convince her to forgive him for prying into her life where she didn't want him to be.

"Souvenirs," Lily said startling James. He looked up at her. She rolled over, hiding her back, "Death eaters do so love for you to have souvenirs. Not that you'll ever bring them home, but I suppose it's the thought that counts."

"You need to have those healed," he said.

"I don't live near St. Mungo's James, and it's not like I can take something like this to the hospital wing."

"My Aunt Marie is a healer."

"Well, that's nice for you," Lily said, sounding rather cross. She tugged down on her tank top so it thoroughly covered her waist.

"Well if you came to my house for the holidays you could meet her and if I could talk her into working over Christmas, she could take a look at your back."

Lily looked at him, startled.

"I know you're not going home, Lils."

"How did you find out?"

James hesitated, "Someone told me."

Lily looked at him suspiciously then said, "Alright, keep your secrets, Gods know I keep mine."

"So you'll come?!" James said eagerly.

"I haven't packed."

"No problem. You can just wear my clothes."

"I guess I could get my stuff together by tomorrow," Lily said slowly, "Are you sure your family won't mind. I don't want to intrude."

"They won't mind at all. I was supposed to bring Sirius home, but he decided to go to Remus', so he told me to ask you."

"Alright, I'll come," Lily said decisively.

"Great!" James said, pulling her into his arms and lifting her straight off the bed.

"James!" She squealed as he spun her around.

"We're going to have a blast!" He set her on her feet grinning and impulsively leaned down and kissed her. James pulled her close twining his fingers in her hair. Lily wrapped her hands behind his neck and pulled him even closer. When the kiss finally ended James was breathless. Moving his hands out of her hair, he hugged her to him.

"I love you," he whispered. He was rather worried about saying it for the first time when they weren't arguing. Not that he hadn't meant it, but it just doesn't mean the same thing when you're yelling it. She tensed and for one horrible moment he thought she'd pull away from him. Then she let out a shuddering sigh and melted into his arms.

"I love you too," her voice was so quiet, he wondered it he'd imagined it. Pulling back a little, Lily lay a delicate hand on his cheek. "I love you so much," she whispered, her eyes shining with tears.

James put his hand over hers, entwining their fingers. "You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that," James said.

"You have no idea how good it feels to say it," Lily replied leaning her head on his chest.

James buried his nose down into her lustrous hair breathing in its sweet smell. Then his stomach growled. Way to ruin a romantic moment.

Lily giggled, "Hungry?"

"Starving," he admitted.

"Let's eat."

They got to dinner a little late, but there were plenty of extra spaces. James helped Lily into a seat by Remus and then did a quick hop over the table to sit opposite her. Smiling at life, he dug in. Then he looked at Lily. She was staring at her empty plate like it was a challenging arithmacy problem. "Not hungry?" He asked, concerned.

"Oh, no, I just don't know what I want to eat."

"Try the mashed potatoes."

Lily got some and took a bite, "What I'd really like is an apple turnover."

"Haven't seen any, "James said, "We could run by the kitchens after dinner."

"Not that's ok, I'm just being silly. It's just that...Oh never mind."

"No, tell me," James said putting down his fork to let her know she had his full attention.

"Well my family used to go to the apple festival every year and...we didn't this year...so I'm just having apple cravings. I guess I haven't had my yearly dose of apples." She gave a small laugh, "Obviously it's driving me crazy."

"Why didn't you go?"

He smile dropped off of her face, "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"Maybe later?"

"Later is fine." Turning to Remus, she said, "Where are Sirius and Ally?"

"Who knows?" He said, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah Lils, you should have seen them going at it in the common room. I swear that a few first years have been mentally damaged for life."

"It wasn't that bad," Remus interjected, "But they should really limit that kind of thing to broom closets."

"I think it's cute they finally got together. They make such an adorable couple," Lily said.

Right then Sirius and Ally finally showed up. They both squeezed in beside James. Lily shot him a sympathetic glance.

"So, what have you two love birds been up to?" Remus said winking suggestively, which set Lily off into fits of laughter. James just laughed to his plate. Sirius would probably clobber him if he cracked up like he wanted to.

Apparently Sirius and Ally hadn't caught the joke though because Ally simply launched into an extremely in depth description of their day together. Right as it sounded like she was running out of things to say Sirius jumped in and started repeating everything from his perspective. James soon found himself about to fall asleep from sheer boredom, suddenly, a tiny foot tapped his. His head shot up and he met Lily's eyes. She was grinning like a cat who was stalking a canary. The tiny foot was slowly creeping up his ankle. Gods, now he finally understood why his Aunt Reese and Uncle Andrew were always joking with him about finding a girl to play 'footsy' with. He'd honestly thought they were insane, or more likely drunk. James had no idea what to do. The foot had stopped moving, so that probably meant it was his turn; his turn to do what, though? He should have paid more attention when Uncle Andrew gave him the 'talk' about the whole 'footsy' thing. Too late now, of course. Hesitantly, he used his free foot to inch up Lily's proffered ankle. Lily grinned broadly at him and then winked. Sirius was still blabbering on about something or another, but his voice seemed distant. Lily was at the center of his world. Then she pulled her foot away, he immediately missed the contact.

"That's great Sirius, but James and I have to go now."

"Go where?" He asked.

"Fishing," James said definitively. He then jumped out of his seat and gestured for Lily to do the same.

As he hurried away he heard Sirius say, "Fishing? Isn't the lake frozen right now?"

Sometimes he was so dense.

Once they reached the great hall James said, "Let's go somewhere."

"What about fishing?"

He stuck his tongue out at her and pulled her through a covered doorway. Leading the way, James took the familiar turns leading to his favorite place inside the castle (except, of course, wherever Lily was, but since that was prone to change, he figured it didn't really count). They emerged into the dark, yet warm room. "Here we are," he said announcing the obvious.

"It's nice," Lily said, clearly not understanding why the small circular room was impressive.

"Look up," he whispered. Instead of following his own advice he watched Lily as she turned her face up the heavens that could be seen through the clear glass dome covering their heads. He watched as her beautiful face turned to awe.

"It's so amazing," she said tilting her head so far back it looked like she would fall over.

James stepped behind her just in case he needed to catch her. She stepped back and settled herself in his arms.

"I don't know if I've ever seen anything so beautiful," Lily whispered in awe.

James looked up at the stars, taking in the way they twinkled like jewels through the glass, so clear and pure; they were beautiful, but he'd seen something far more breathtaking. He thought back to Lily with her face turned up, skin dappled with starlight, eyes smoldering green, and her hair flowing down her shoulders glowing reddish gold in the faint light.

"Not half as beautiful as you." She laughed like he'd told a joke. "I'm serious."

"I certainly hope you aren't Sirius."

"Don't change the subject; you're gorgeous."

"James," she whispered plaintively begging him without words to stop.

"Why won't you believe me?" He asked, trying to understand how anyone could be so blind as to not see her beauty.

"Because it's not the truth James," she said finally.

He turned her around. "It is Lily. It is true. You always try to hide it, but to me your beauty shines right through." He gently touched her face. "You've never looked so beautiful," he said willing her to believe him.

"I'm beautiful when you look at me," she whispered reaching up to touch his cheek.

James gave into temptation and kissed her.

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I can't believe it I actually got more reviews than usual! Just to be fair though, I'm warning you that the last chapter was probably the best one I'm going to write. I mean aphrodisiac soap; you just can't get better than that. Although Daystar claims that chapter 7 (I think it's seven, anyway) is tolerable.

Just to say if anyone (cough – niffer – cough) sees the connection to Pieces of Me, it wasn't intentional and I'm actually rather embarrassed about it. I just can't see myself doing a song fic. Just in case you like song fics though, here are the words niffer feels exemplify this chapter:

Cause with you
I can let my hair down
I can say anything crazy
I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground
With nothing but a T-shirt on
I never felt so beautiful
Baby as I do now
Now that I'm with you
With you
Now that I'm with you

Daystar – I have earned sooo many niffer happy minutes lately, I'm not going to have to update for a good few weeks. j/k. But you better be coming with me Tuesday night to pay me back.

Katalina – Wow, it's a real toughie guessing this one. .. Us kats have to stick together. Thanks for reading though. I'm glad you liked it. By the way, I don't think Remus ever does find his banana. Poor fellow.

Bubbles – The shampoo thing is awesome. I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I wrote it.

Siriusforeva – Ally and Sirius are cute together. I absolutely love writing about them.

Drumergirl90 – I definitely agree about this is the best chapter.

KrissyP – I can picture my friends doing that too, although I don't know about me. I'm more the type who avoids other people's showers. I could do the laundry room though.

Jen – Yeah, Lily gets to have all the fun and poor James has to put up with it. The shirt thing actually comes from real life though; I've actually helped my friend steal boy's shirts before.

Crazayladay – That scene definitely shows why you shouldn't write these things at school. My chem teacher nearly killed me I couldn't stop laughing for so long.

Dk Lily – no kidding I wish I could have James

Pixi-kitty – Thanks for saying the compliment, I do try to write as well as I can.