MPPSexxySiriusJamesRemusI'm so glad you liked it! Ah yes, everyone hates the Blacks. Evil, evil people.

CaliDuchessYOU! You checked your email! Must put this in scrapbook of "Things Not Done Often"… Just kidding! So how've you been? Well, it's either let Sirius get married and kill Caitlin off later, or have him not get married at all. So I haven't chosen yet. See, if he gets married, then what will happen to Caitlin once they do get married? Then James/Lily get killed, Sirius is in Azkaban… WHAT HAPPENS TO CAITLIN?! As you can see, I'm a bit undecided.

Lilchocolatechip011- Thanks for understanding. Oh yeah, and I'll start refereeing next year, too, so add that to my busy Saturday! LOL Well I'm glad you liked. Thanks for reviewing!

BlackLupinHey you! You are a good girl. Don't worry; after Chapter 33 there will be a big gap (because I don't know what I'm putting in next… maybe the wedding… -shrugs-) and you can work on updating. –sigh- It's a busy, busy life. I also love how overprotective Sirius is of Caitlin! I wish I was in your shoes! Don't worry; if I do decide to kill you off, you'll be married first. It either: you die (scary words), you guys get divorced, or you never get married at all. Unless you find an alternative… ooh! I've got one! I'll email you to tell you what it is! Ah yes, since you get Sirius, I get Jake, and then we can be sisters-in-law! I've always wanted an older sibling, brother or sister… or both! You're lucky. Well, actually I'd prefer one each, but… being the oldest really sucks.

roxygurl25-I'm glad you're ungrounded! Yeah, 'that wedding' is still in the making. I have to do this chapter first before I give a second thought to 'that wedding.' Actually, I've given it quite a bit of thought already… The typos will be fixed when I find the time. Thanks!

LanetteYou spoke at just the right moment (err, I think..) The whole Lily/James thing is going to be in this chapter! I've been planning this for a long time! Thanks for reviewing!

pottsI'm glad I got them the right way. Thanks for reviewing and say hello to Samantha for me!

A/N: IMPORTANT! Everyone listen up! I have modified Chapter 22 so it fits the story. Please re-read it! Thank you!

Chapter 33: The AstronomyTower

"Aw, come on, Siri-poo," Vylette whined while placing a manicured hand on his arm. "You used to love me-"

"Correction, Snyder," Sirius said icily. "I never felt anything for you. Now move. I've got things to do."

"But Sirius," Delia Richards whined, "we really, really want to go…"

"Please, please, please?" Wendy Patil whimpered.

"Come on, Sirius, don't you feel anything anymore? We want to see you get hitched," said Rachel Morris.

I don't feel anything for you, Sirius thought bitterly. He tried to refuse, but many pleas and whines soon filled his ears, and he consented—out of aggravation, not approval.

"Fine," he said angrily. "You can come to the wedding. Just. Do. Not. Bother. Me. Again," he said through clenched teeth. The fourteen girls squealed happily, and Sirius stormed off.

He found James in the Great Hall, drinking pumpkin juice and playing chess against Remus. James looked up.

"What's wrong, mate? You look like you were just trampled by a stampede of thestrals," he said, concerned.

"Or Blast-Ended Skrewts," Peter piped up.

Sirius rubbed his head.

"Close. A stampede of my exes. They were all begging to come to my wedding."

James choked on his juice, spraying out orange liquid.

"Your what, excuse me?"

Remus looked worried. Realization struck Sirius.

"Oh, right," he said. "I forgot to tell you—while you were out cold, I proposed to Caitlin. She said yes, and the wedding's going to be on Valentine's Day," Sirius concluded.

James still looked thunderstruck, and Remus looked anxious.

"Wow," James said. "Wow. You—you, Sirius Black—are getting married. And you didn't tell me? This is…" To everyone's surprise, James' serious face broke into laughter. "This is hilarious!"

Remus looked at James quizzically, and Peter stared, confused.

"It… it is?" Sirius ventured.

"Of course! You, Sirius Black, most-wanted bachelor and number one playboy, are getting hitched! This is rich," James howled, tears now rolling down his cheeks. Sirius looked agitated and tried to explain.

"Look, it's perfectly normal. Caitlin loves me. I love her; I'd do anything for her. We've talked this over so it's only natural that-"

James howled again.

"Where are you going for your… honeymoon?" he choked out.

"Haven't decided yet," Sirius muttered, his face turning an interesting shade of maroon. "Oh, yeah… and you're my best man," he said, reddening even more.

"A… wedding!" James howled again.

As the two were arguing over the whole idea of a wedding (Sirius doing the arguing, James doing the laughing), Caitlin approached Sirius.

"Hey, Sirius?" she said. "I have something to tell you regarding our guest list."

"Alright, well…" Sirius said shiftily, "I have something to tell you as well… but you go first," he said quickly.

"Okay, well… you know Matthew Steiner?"

"Your ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes well… I passed by him in the hall earlier this morning, and I realized I didn't invite him, so I gave him an invitation and… that's one more for my side."

"You what?!" Sirius yelled, causing all of the occupants in the Great Hall to turn and stare. James waved them away.

"Sirius-"

"You invited your ex-boyfriend—who you were very serious about, I might add—to our wedding?" he thundered.

"Sirius, we're just friends!" Caitlin protested angrily. "We broke it off a year ago and the feeling was mutual, so we agreed to stay friends! That's all, Sirius, I promise!"

"Caitlin, you cannot invite your ex-boyfriend to our wedding!" Sirius commanded. "You just can't! And why are you getting all defensive, anyway? We are getting married, Caitlin, and you cannot bring old flames! What if something… happens?"

"And why can't I, Sirius?" Caitlin snapped. "Oh, honestly, do you really think something would happen between Matthew and me? Why can't you just accept that we're just friends? Why won't you believe me when I say that?"

"Why do you want him there so badly, Caitlin? Do you have a thing for thick-headed, brain-dead losers?"

"I'm marrying you, aren't I?"

The fury grew in Sirius' face. "Look, Sirius," she continued. "Leave it. What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Well, I…" Sirius shifted his feet, "I need to expand my side by…" he counted off his fingers—"fourteen people."

"Oh? And who are these fourteen new people?"

"Well… I'd rather not name them all."

"Sirius…" Caitlin said warningly.

"Okay, well… my ex-girlfriends."

"And you tell me I can't invite one ex? What is wrong with you, Sirius?" Caitlin demanded hotly.

"Nothing!" Sirius said heatedly. "They were following me around and whining all day! They'd follow me until the day I died if I didn't say yes!"

"You'd deserve it," Caitlin muttered.

"It's just that… you and Steiner were serious. My exes were just flings, Caitlin. They meant nothing. Nothing could ever happen between us."

"And nothing would ever happen between friends, either! Look, Sirius, I'm marrying you. Not Matthew. And if you still refuse to trust me then… I need to be alone," Caitlin said, holding her forehead. She left briskly.

"Caitlin, wait!" Sirius called out, but Caitlin was already out the door.

What have I done? Sirius thought miserably.

"Oh, James," Sirius sad dully in the Common Room that evening. "Caitlin came up with this idea that we both appoint one person to be in charge of planning the wedding on their side. So I'm appointing you. Dunno—some weird girl thing," he said, shrugging, still looking at the floor.

"What?" James yelped. "What could I possibly do for decorating?"

"Dunno. Girl thing—but you're in nonetheless." Sirius didn't take his eyes off the floor. All day Caitlin hadn't spoken to him. She had refused to unless he took back what he said about Matthew Steiner or told all of his exes they wouldn't be able to attend the wedding. He declined, so she had purposely avoided him for the rest of the day.

"Do you know who the girl is for Caitlin's side?" James asked casually.

"Nope. Didn't ask. Might be Katherine—they're pretty close."

James nodded.

"What is it?" Lily asked breathlessly as she ran into the Head Lounge. "What happened?"

James walked in a few minutes after, yawning and running a hand through his already-disheveled bed-head hair, but quickly smoothing it when he saw Lily.

"Dumbledore called a meeting?" he asked. Caitlin snickered.

"You two are such suckers," she said, laughing. Lily and James looked confused. "I called this meeting—if you could call it that. You two are the ones chosen for planning the wedding and all that, so in result you'll be spending a lot of time together. We still need decorations and to design the cathedral, so that's your first task. I'll see the results tonight, I promise. Ciao!" she said, and left the room.

James looked at Lily uncomfortably. Lily only looked angry.

"Stuck with you," she muttered. "I can't believe it. Alright, let's buckle down so I can get out of here. I've got sort of a layout of the cathedral and a list of our flower arrangements and everything."

James was still staring at Lily.

"You know, Evans, you really need to lighten up. You know, have some fun for once. Don't you ever think of anything else but work?"

"Of course I do," Lily snapped. "Like right now I'm thinking of how long it's going to take us if you don't focus. Now come on."

James sighed, and reluctantly looked at the large layout Lily had pulled out.

-Three hours later-

As the two were finishing up the decorations for the cathedral, the clock grew closer to eleven o'clock.

James scooted his chair closer to Lily so he could see the parchment more closely, and Lily could smell his aftershave. He had a musky scent, and she felt something inside she did not want to feel. I have a boyfriend, she reminded herself sternly.

As James leaned over, their hands touched, and Lily drew her hand back quickly. James looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face, then quickly turned his attention back to the church.

He looked up again quickly. "Lily," he asked, "what are you doing tonight?"

"I've told you, it's Evans. And I'm not doing much, just studying. N.E.W.T.s are coming up. Not that you should care what I'm doing, Potter."

"Lily," James said, "will you go out with me tonight?"

Lily threw her hands up in the air and gave James a disgusted look.

"Potter, I've told you time and time again: I have a boyfriend. I will not go out with you. Now leave me alone."

James turned back to the parchment, and Lily couldn't help feeling just a little bit guilty.

That night, Lily sat in the Ravenclaw Common Room, her eyes staring at her textbook but glazing over as she got lost in her thoughts.

She couldn't comprehend why she wouldn't obey herself, and why she had to spend so much time with James, and why life was so cruel. She couldn't put aside her feelings for him, and any time she finally managed to subside them, they came jumping back up again once she saw him. She didn't think she would ever get a break.

She tried to focus her thoughts on Chris, but her mind wouldn't listen. Lily kept thinking back to James, and the Yule Ball… how she admitted openly that she had feelings for him but would never make anything of them. How he had treated her so coldly but had changed today… as if he had sincerely wanted nothing more than to just be with her. How his hazel eyes glistened when she rejected him so harshly. How…

I have got to get back to Astronomy, she told herself. Lily looked back at her long chart, but the words made no sense and didn't register in her head. They floated around, not connecting, and Lily found that for once in her life, she couldn't think. Couldn't reason.

Lily picked up her chart and quill, slipped on a robe on top of her pajamas, and crept quietly out into the hall.

Once in the dark Astronomy Tower, Lily didn't feel the resolve to complete the chart anymore. She let it drop quietly to the ground and stared out into the night sky as the soft wind blew through Hogwarts' tallest tower. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and shivered slightly.

"Cold?" A familiar voice from the shadows asked.

Lily nodded before she could stop herself, and then turned around to see who her visitor was. She jumped and gasped.

"Potter! What in the name of Merlin's beard are you doing up here? You scared me!"

"I could ask you the same question, Head Girl," James replied smoothly, and sat down beside her without an invitation. He wrapped his coat around her shoulders. She took it off and threw it to the ground.

"I don't need anything of yours, Potter," she snapped coldly before turning back to the sky. "I'm fine. Now bloody leave me alone! What are you doing, stalking me?" James only picked his coat up wordlessly and put it back upon her. This time Lily made no effort to remove it.

After a few moments of silence, neither of the two speaking nor daring to move, James spoke.

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

Lily whipped around.

"Yes, I think so."

"Haven't done your Astronomy chart yet?" James asked, nodding to the parchment on the stone floor.

Lily nodded.

"Yes, I just don't understand Astronomy. I can do it perfectly well, but I don't understand the purpose of naming and identifying all the stars. I mean, what's the point? I'd rather just sit here and gaze at them. It makes them seem much more mystifying that way. Astronomy just defines each star as something, but… I'm rambling, aren't I?" she asked.

James smiled. "Yes. But I don't mind." He turned his focus back to the black sky. "They make me feel so small. So insignificant, you know? Like I don't really matter. Do you ever get that feeling?" he asked, looking at Lily.

"Sometimes when I'm up here. But usually I…"

"You're just too busy working to notice the things around you?" James asked with a knowing smile. Lily scowled.

"I hate to admit it, Potter, but you're right. And I suppose you were right about loosening up, too. But you know, planning the wedding isn't considered work to me. I've always wanted to plan a wedding. I've been… do you promise you won't tell anyone?" she asked.

James nodded.

"I've been dreaming of my own since I was a little girl," she said.

James reacted to this with an unreadable expression. He said nothing in response. A strange look overcame Lily's face.

"I don't know why I just told you that," she said in disbelief.

James smiled slightly. He was about to say, "Because you know you can't resist me," but thought better of it.

All of a sudden, Lily saw James leaning ever so slightly toward her. She turned around, and James stopped with a jolt. Lily pretended she didn't notice what James almost did, since she didn't know what to say.

"Lily," James said softly, startling the girl beside him, "I just wanted to say… I'm really sorry. Wait—let me finish," he said, holding up his hand at Lily's interruption. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for all… all I've put you through… and I… I know this is a bad time… believe me, I know, but… I wanted to know if maybe… if you wanted to… we could give us a second chance. I know things are different now, but… I really like you, Lily. And I understand that you've never liked me much, and you don't really have any reason to, but… could you give me a chance?"

Lily looked at James with sad eyes.

"James, I… look, I'm confused right now, too, but I honestly don't think that it would help if… if we… picked up where we left off. I don't think we'd be any better off James—it would just confuse us more. And right now I don't really need the stress. I'm under a lot of pressure-"

"We all are, Lily," James interrupted, "but don't you think we could give it a shot? Us, I mean. Lily, please-"

"James, look, don't make this harder than it already is, alright? I… I just can't do this. I have a boyfriend. You have Nikki. We just… that's our lives now, James. Don't dwell in the past, please. It hurts too much." Lily looked out the window, pain evident on her features.

"Lily, I'm sorry again. I can never do anything right, can I?" James said bitterly, but disgusted with himself instead of angry at Lily.

"No, James, it's not that, it's just… we both have our own lives now. We gave us a shot. It was just… I suppose it was strange, you and me after being enemies all these years. It's not that I can't stand you, James. Well, it was true that I couldn't, but… I just don't think its right anymore. We have our own lives, and our own things to do. James, you and me… we're history," she said softly, her eyes glistening. James said nothing, only looked down at the floor, so she continued.

"James, you're fun to be around, you really are. I'm sorry, too, about putting you through what I did. But now… we could call a truce. I wouldn't mind. But as for anything beyond friends… I don't think that would work out. I'm very happy with Chris right now, and I don't think anything could change that. I'm sorry," she said softly, the tears threatening to spill. "We had our chance, James. We can't do this anymore. I can't live two lives. Things should go back to the way they were. It makes it more comfortable, more secure, when you know what's going on-"

Lily never got to finish her rambling sentence as James pressed his lips to her fiercely, not wanting her to say anymore. There were tears in his hazel eyes, but he kept control of them and fought them back. Lily astonishingly found herself responding to the kiss, silently telling him what she would never dare tell even herself: that she was happy here.

James was the first to pull back, and he the first thing he saw was Lily's pale face, her skin paler in the moonlight, and tears in her emerald eyes. He stood up quickly, tripping over his own feet.

"I should go," he said aloud, but was only trying to convince himself to leave the place he loved most.

Lily said nothing, only looked away, not wanting James to see her face. James left, and Lily could hear his footsteps echoing down the stone staircase. She didn't call after him, and didn't follow him, only wrapped his coat around her arms tighter.

Another wedding-planning meeting was scheduled to begin at nine the next morning in the Head Lounge, so Lily and James both reluctantly made their way to the seventh floor. They sat down in silence, neither saying a word to the other.

Lily pulled out the layout of the cathedral and set it on the table. "Caitlin didn't like what we did with the left side, so we've got to redo it and then we'll be done," she said bluntly. James nodded, and the two worked on what they needed to complete.

"Okay, so let's rearrange the roses here," Lily said, and in reaching for her quill, her hand brushed James' arm. She blushed but refused to look at his face. James, however, was gazing at her with unmasked feelings. "And if we put the food cart here instead of here…" she erased the food cart with a spell and re-wrote it on the other side of the cathedral.

"There, she should like that," Lily said confidently, but James still hadn't paid any attention to what she was saying.

"Lily," he ventured, "about last night…"

"James, I've already forgotten. It's for the best," she said bluntly, but didn't look at him.

"Lily, look at me," James commanded, and when she didn't obey, he tilted her chin up. Lily looked at the floor, but eventually looked up at James. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know I shouldn't have done that. But… still, Lily, don't you ever think of what we could've been? Don't you feel anything?"

"James, now isn't a good time," Lily muttered.

"Now is as good a time as any," James countered. "Lily, we can't let this just keep happening."

"Don't I know it," Lily murmured under her breath.

"Lily, be serious. We can't keep doing this. We've got to decide. And right now is best. We can't keep putting it off, and you know it. Lily… we don't know what we are, and I don't want to keep it that way. I'm sure you feel the same. We've got to decide right now, Lily. I've waited seven years, and I'm not waiting any longer."

"I… James, don't you understand? I don't know what I feel for you, though it's… not bitter rivalry. And I have a boyfriend, James! We just can't do this!"

"But are you sure about that, Lily? I mean… this is you and me here. We don't want to-"

"Look, James, this is my life. I know what I'm doing," Lily spat.

"This is my life too! You're always accusing me of being selfish, and now look at you! Lily…" James started, but somehow couldn't finish what he was about to say.

"James, we just can't, don't you understand?" Lily nearly screamed, frustrated. "I can't! I just can't do this! I've got a life, a reputation, I've-"

Once again Lily was cut off as James kissed her passionately, not wanting to hear her side of the argument and facing rejection for the millionth time. But this time, neither pulled back for a few minutes. Lily spoke first.

"James, we really, really shouldn't have done that," Lily said, fear in her voice.

"Will you just stop thinking about your reputation for one minute?" James asked. "Lily, you know that from the first day of Hogwarts, when we were both eleven, I've been asking you out… but you thought I was just crazy, didn't you? You refused to believe I had a soul and you…" James' eyes glistened, but once again he refused to let the tears fall. "You just thought me annoying, some small prankster, a bug on your windshield… but did you ever really know?"

He waited to see if Lily asked, "Know what?" but she didn't say anything, so James plunged on ahead.

"Did you ever really know that… it wasn't a joke? That what I felt for you was real, Lily? I… I've been thinking about this for a long time—you and me, I mean—and I… I love you, Lily.

"I'm not asking you to feel pity for me, or feel sorry enough that you date me just to make me happy. I'm just… I think it's finally time I told you.

"It's your decision. You and me, I mean. Go ahead. Make the decision—I'll be waiting whenever you need me." With that, James stood up and left the Head Lounge while Lily sat in awe at James' sincere speech.

A/N: Guess what? Not even a truce, if you noticed. I'm so evil. That's it for this chapter! I put a lot of effort into it, so I hope you enjoy.

Also… did anyone figure out the thing about James' head and the Bludger? Only someone with a very good memory could get it… or maybe you all are too clever and came up with it!

I'm sorry, I'm rambling, so I'll shut up now and leave you all to review!

Love you all!
OutofAzkaban