A/N OK guys, b4 I even start I know that this post is ridiculously short but I really didnt wana give away the all important revelations...thats right! next chapter YOU WILL FIND OUT WHO HE IS!

So baring that in mind plz dnt hate me for the shortness!
Also, I think the next chapter is the last one, though I think I am going to do an epilogue which I have yet to write, anyway, ENJOY!

Love, Requirement and Hoods Removed

'I want you, Lils,' she drew a sharp breath, 'I think I love you.'

She looked at his face and at his eyes, trying to see that sparkle that he got when he was joking but it wasn't there. He was being deadly serious. He moved his face closer to hers, their arms still wrapped around each other, and their lips touched softly, just for a moment before he pulled away, trying to read her expression.

Upon noticing the look of panic in his eyes at not being able to work out what she was thinking, Lily smiled.

'I love you too.'

The look of relief swept across his face and he grinned, pulling her into a tight hug. 'James,' she whispered, 'just don't hurt me, ok?'

He pulled back and placed his hands on either side of her face, making her look him directly in the eyes. 'Never.'

And so that was it. The start of 'Lily and James'. They were no longer and never again would be 'Lily Evans' and 'James Potter', from that moment on, until the day that they died they would always be 'Lily and James'.

On the surface, they acted exactly like all new couples would. They walked along the corridors holding hands, they snuggled in front of the common room fire and they kissed each other goodnight before they headed up to their separate dormitories for bed. But underneath they had a relationship so deep and so intense that was laced with such compassion and understanding that most boys and girls of their age would never have even considered.

After what had happened to her, Lily had felt incredibly vunerable, more vunerable than she had ever felt in her entire life and she didn't like it at all. She had always been an amazingly independent girl, the same girl who, without hesitation, had ventured out the previous summer in the middle of the night to meet up with a boy she didn't even know. But Lucious Malfoy had destroyed her, he had stripped her of every ounce of independence and courage and left her a girl who was afraid to walk to her next class in a crowd of people.

But one person had changed that. James Potter. He was her rock, her support system and he had changed her as much as Malfoy did, though in the complete opposite way.

Not many couples at the age of seventeen could be practically certain that they would be together for the rest of their lives but 'Lily and James' would bet a thousand galleons on it.

Ever since the attack our mystery man had been sending Lily notes begging her to meet him and she had just been ignoring them but now she had decided she must go. It wasn't fair to him for her to just leave him wondering but she wasn't going to 'see' him, she was going to 'tell' him. She had decided a few weeks ago now that it wasn't fair to either him or James to leave things the way they were. She was going to meet up with him that night at 11pm like always but this time it would be to tell him that it was over. Whatever the relationship was that they had had (because she couldn't have told you herself what it was) was now finished. She had James and she was happy.

Speaking of James, it had been a month since that day in the empty classroom and it was the best month of her life. So far he had kept his promise and he hadn't hurt her. In fact he had done the exact opposite. He treated her as though she was precious, with great care and tenderness.

One of the things that she had been worried about was about how 'fast' he would want to go because she felt that since everything that had happened she didn't think she could handle it but he seemed to understand this even without her telling him.

She felt so safe around him. Everytime he took hold of her hand, her whole arm tingled with warmth. When he kissed her it was with such softness that she felt she could never let go.

One of the other things she had been slightly concerned with was Sydney's reaction but they had gone and told her almost immediately and she was so ecstatic she had bounced around, hugging them for at least 20 minutes.

Now Lily was seated on her bed, listening to the gentle snores of her roommates waiting quietly for the time when she would leave for the room of requirement.

She glanced down at her watch and saw it was time. She got up quitely pulling her cloak around her shoulders and left the room silently.

She paused for a moment outside of the door and took a deep breath before pushing on the handle and entering the room. It was just as dark and quiet as the other times she had been here but, as always, she knew he was there.

'Lily, I'm so please you finally came, I was so worried,' she turned as he stood up from a chair in the corner.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered but so that he could still hear her, 'I just couldn't.'

He nodded, 'I understand completely.'

The pair sat down on the bed and for a moment neither of them spoke. It was Lily who broke the silence. 'I can't do this anymore.' She didn't look up at him, but instead kept her eyes firmly glued on her hands.

'I was expecting that,' she looked up, 'Don't worry, I've stayed longer than I should have anyway.' With these words he stood up and moved to the door.

'Stop!' she said suddenly. The figure paused and turned, slightly, 'I need to know,' she said simply, though both her voice and her hands were shaking.

He nodded and the lights came on. He moved his hands up to remove the hood he always wore. Lily felt as though her stomach was doing somersaults, this is what she had been waiting for. She wanted to stand up and walk forward but she couldn't seem to make her legs work so she stayed seated on the bed. Then, in an instance, it was gone. The hood and with it the mystery.

Review Response

Raine - you only have to wair one more chapter to find out if you're right

Asia - dont you just love James when he's all sweet and romantic. I do, though I do think that Sirius has got to be the sexiest of the marauders.

About writing a sequel, I have thought about it since you mentioned it and I am trying to think of a way I could continue this story on and Im struggling a bit. I do have one idea but I cant tell you it yet cos it will give away info from the next chapter. I will tell you next time.

b2okworm1 - bout the claustraphobia thing, i actually struggled with that because I dont personally know how a person might react to this kind of attack. I knew I needed a situation where Lily sorta explodes n James comes to the rescue but I wasnt sure how to do it. Though I dont know how a rape vitcim would react I, myself, get claustraphobic so I knew how it felt so I just used that.

Glad you liked it neway,

thnx for the support

Yuna - sorry for the suspence but Im afraid theres a bit more now

pillowwolfpup - i jus hav to say i love your name