Disclaimer: They're not mine and they never will be :-(

Three cheers for Ms Rowling!!!

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Lily was taking on the fairly boring task of folding her laundry. Underwear and towels.

She chose to do this in the muggle way. It kept her hands busy while her mind was elsewhere. On young Fred Weasley in fact.

After sending James and Sirius to St Mungos, Bill had done the rounds, letting members of the Order know what had happened. Unsure of whether or not his brother's condition was related to dark forces or simply the result of a bad experiment, he had thought it best to give the right people a heads up. After visiting Lily he had gone on to Hogwarts to let Dumbledore know what had happened.

Lily had been left with an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. Fred's condition sounded serious, even if it was the result of a gimmick gone bad.

As was often the case when a friend or loved one was ill, unbidden thoughts came to her mind of how she might feel if worst came to worst and Fred's condition proved to be fatal. She thought about how she might remember him if never given the chance to see him again.

While the thought of losing Fred was dreadful to her, the memories he had given her over the last few years were nothing short of charming.

The thought of the twins at their mischievous work made her smile. She was well known for being fond of the terrible twosome, and they in turn were quite fond of her, for their part never making her the butt of their jokes or the victim of their pranks. She had long suspected they might be slightly infatuated with her. A harmless crush that she discouraged, but enjoyed nevertheless. She had always had a weakness for mischievous young men.

And on the subject of mischievous young men, one she would rather have avoided had just apparated into her loungeroom.

James looked around quickly before spotting her on the couch.

"Lily," he said, in a voice so low and husky she might have interpreted it as flirtation had she not noticed the redness of his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked evenly.

"I needed to see you," he stated quietly.

His tone suggested it was a personal need. A need for solace or comfort perhaps. It tugged on her memory. Of the only time in her life she had ever truly been in love. Memory of rejection and the horror of realizing that love had been unrequited followed fast, and she quickly got to her feet, disliking the way he towered over her while he was standing.

It occurred to her that the reason for his visit might be related to Fred's condition. Of course, she berated herself, James was here to deliver bad news on behalf of the Order, not another blow to her heart. Fear gripped her as she wondered what could have happened.

"Why? Is it Fred? Is he alright? Bill came here. He told me…"

"He's okay," James interrupted, "He's woken up actually,"

"Well that's great!" she exclaimed, slightly confused. James's manner suggested tragedy, not hope. "Molly must be relieved. I imagine she was quite distressed by all of this."

James nodded without looking at her, then collapsed onto her couch, his elbows coming to rest on his knees.

Put out that the man she had made a point of avoiding wherever possible for the last fifteen years was now making himself comfortable in her home, Lily glared at him before saying sarcastically, "Tea Potter? A biscuit maybe?"

"No thanks," he replied, not noticing her tone.

She rolled her eyes and took the seat beside him, careful not to let their bodies touch in any way. He'd obviously come here to say something and would be impossible to get rid of until he had done so. She knew him well enough to understand that much.

He stared ahead.

"Do you ever . . . ." he cut himself off.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

He looked her in the eye and her body tingled. A mixture of attraction and hate that she was instantly ashamed of. She looked away.

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if we'd stayed together?"

Her head snapped back to face him and she stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you joking?"

He shook his head, appearing quite vulnerable as he waited for a further reply.

She put her face close to his. So close she could feel his breath. "No," she lied firmly. "I don't."

She withdrew from his personal space as his eyes fell closed. Was that pain she saw crossing his face? Whatever it was it made her angry.

"What is this? Some sort of early mid life crisis? You're feeling lonely and you're wondering if the gullible high school girlfriend will take you back? She fell for the fake charms once, she'll fall for them again. Is that what this is?"

"No," he whispered, almost inaudibly.

"What then?" she demanded.

He met her gaze and held it for what seemed like an eternity, searching her face for something. When the answer finally came it surprised her.

"It wasn't fake."

She snorted, "Oh no? Explain to me then why you so suddenly left me after we slept together for the first time. Was it not good enough for you? Or were you just letting me go so that you could move on to the next conquest? Mark that one off the list, on to the next. What were your words exactly? 'Too young to be tied down'? 'Need to see other people'? You told me you wanted to be married! Don't try to tell me that wasn't fake!"

Anger filled her as she spoke and the harsh memories came flooding back into her mind

He shifted uncomfortably under the onslaught. Good, she thought. Hit the nail on the head. Let him squirm.

"You should go," she said harshly.

He didn't budge.

"Go!" she said again, afraid of what she might say or do if he stayed any longer. She knew he was her weakness, no matter how much he had hurt her.

"There were no others Lil," he said softly, "Never. Just you."

"There were others . . ."

"Name one since you," he challenged.

That stumped her. She opened her mouth to reply before she realized it though. What was happening? Why was James here. He had spent the last fifteen years finding subtle, and some not so subtle, way of letting her know just how little she meant to him. What was he playing at now?

"What do you want?" she asked weakly. "What is this? Are you trying to convince me to sleep with you?"

She winced at her own words, recognizing them for what the were. She had just voiced one of her own most secret desires - for James to come crawling back to her, unable to keep her at arms length any longer.

It was a desire she kept hidden, even from herself, to maintain her protective coat of righteous anger with her former lover. She hated knowing that even after all these years she couldn't stop wanting him, whilst he'd seemed to have no problems callously pushing her to the side once he'd had enough of the teenage romance.

James did not seem to notice the slip.

"No," he said, still in that unfamiliar soft tone, "I just wanted to see that a decision I made a long time ago was justified."

She didn't have the faintest clue what he was talking about.

"Was it?"

Tears welled up in his eyes. "I don't know." He sounded devastated. "If only you didn't hate me," he added wistfully, longing flaring up in his eyes as he gazed at her.

She felt herself melt. It was a look he had not given her in fifteen years and it had taken her back in time. For one wild moment she thought he was going to kiss her. That was certainly the action that had followed that look in the past.

Instead his hand came up to cradle her cheek. She closed her eyes and leant into it, relief flooding through her every fiber. They were back. James was back.

Thought caught up with action.

Horrified she stood from the couch and moved off into the kitchen where he would not be able to witness her tears.

A minute later she heard the cracking sound as he apparated away.

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There's one for the tragic romantics.

How'd you all like it?

I'm not going to have individual responses this time round because I'm tired, but I hope this clears things up for those people who were wondering why James and Lily hate each other. The truth is it's all based on confusion and misunderstandings, and some bad handling of the situation on James's part. They're still in love though, have no doubt.

Philosophy came up in one review. I'm currently studying Philosophy and Popular culture, which may sound like a bludge subject, but you wouldn't think that if you had to contribute to the mind benders being discussed in classes.

Okay, last but not least, please no one hate James for how he's treated Lily. He's basically a good guy and he dealt with the situation as best he could. He's not perfect.

Thanx for all the reviews! You guys are fantastic.

I'll post the next one as soon as I can!

Cheers,

Whiskey.