Disclaimer: Yet again, I am just having some fun with Jo Rowling's characters. This is non profit. Back off lawyers! XD

Chapter Four

4:00am

"I'm sorry Lil," James blurted out after a few moments.

Lily had been comfortably leaning against James, half asleep, for the past ten minutes while silence reigned in the damp, drafty closet. Lily had been awfully comfortable against James' shoulder.

The redhead picked her sleepy head up and blinked herself awake and watched James as he ran one of his hands through his messy jet-black hair.

"You do know I hate it when you do that? You just do it to look like you've hopped off a broomstick, and all the other girls love it," Lily told him, but not in a snarling way as she usually would've. She was slightly gentler this time.

"Then I'll make sure to never do it again," James said with a wink. "But honestly Lily, I'm sorry if I've been a hassle since you met me."

"Well not the instant I met you," Lily smirked at him, with a finger on her chin contemplatively. "You were okay for the first five minutes." James gave her a dead smile. "And you haven't been horrific tonight. I've seen you worse."

"But?" James asked, knowing there had to be a 'but'.

"James, if I tell you what I'm thinking, I will murder you slowly and painfully if you tell anyone what I'm going to tell you okay?" Lily said sternly.

James wasn't used to Lily being so serious towards him. She was either angry or furious. The look in her green eyes made him nod his head in agreement. "I won't tell anybody what you're thinking. I know what you can do to me Lils, you're a damn talented witch."

Lily grinned. "Thanks." Then her face resumed the serious expression. "When we leave this closet you're going to turn back into the arrogant James you always have been as long as I've known you. I never wanted to get involved with you because of how you act.

"If I told you I had liked you, you'd have used it against me and dumped me a week later when you got bored of me. So I thought it was much smarter to avoid you as much as I could." Lily stared at the floor as she revealed what she was thinking. "I'm a sensitive person and I don't want my heart broken."

James stared at her incredulously. "So you… you do like me? You would say yes if I asked you out tonight?"

"No," Lily replied honestly, turning her head to the opposite side of James. "I would say no until I knew you'd change. Because if you're just going to go and bully Snape and pull pranks on Melody to find out all the secrets of Hogwarts and use me just for snogging, I would never date you. And…" Lily couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She didn't want to tell James this… but she couldn't stop the information from pouring out.

James grabbed her chin and forced her to look into his hazel eyes. "Look Lily… you are not like any other girl here at Hogwarts. I care about you more. And tonight has proven this to me. It proved how much I really care about you. I swear I wouldn't hurt you."

Lily smiled bitterly as the first tear fell and she slapped James' hand so he would let go of her face. Her green eyes glittered coldly. "You would make promises and never keep them. I know you wouldn't be able to."

James sighed as he leaned his head against one wall and Lily leaned her forehead against the other side. He's not saying anything… I knew I was right about him.

4:09 am

"If I tell you this will you promise not to tell a soul?" James asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Lily turned her face away from the wall she was staring at and nodded her head lightly, curious as to what James was going to say.

"I have this… friends. And he's a werewolf," James started.

"Remus," Lily nodded.

James stared at her in shock. "How the heck did you know that?"

"I figured it out in third year," Lily told him, shrugging. "Melody and I were looking through a textbook full of lunar charts and stuff while she was studying for her Care of Magical Creatures class and looking up stuff on werewolves. We were suddenly fascinated by that stuff and kept track of the lunar patterns. One thing we noticed is that Remus was missing every full moon, usually sick or visiting a sick family member.

"Melody guessed he was a werewolf and we didn't want to ask him or anything, but we overheard Sirius and Peter mentioned something about it in a corner of the common room one night. Nobody else would've probably guessed what they were talking about," Lily reassured James. "But we were suspicious of Remus already. Later we confronted Peter about it and he looked so nervous when he was lying about it that we knew our assumptions were true."

"Ah," James muttered. "Anyways… during the first full moon last year, Sirius decided it would be 'fun' to get back at Snape for something he did over the summer to us I don't wish to relive by having Snape run into Remus in werewolf form.

"I had no idea of what Sirius was doing and he didn't tell Remus either, just Peter and he swore he'd beat Peter to a bloody pulp if he told Remus or anybody else. Peter was so frightened that he ran and found me and told me. I never told Sirius that Peter told me, but I ran out to stop Snape from going into the place where Remus was hiding in werewolf form. Snape caught a glimpse though, and Dumbledore made him keep it a secret. Snape blames me as much as he blames Sirius, Remus and Peter."

Lily looked at James weirdly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I haven't told anybody else besides the people who were involved in the story and already knew firsthand," James explained. He raised his hand, beginning to ruffle his hand through his hair before he thought better of it.

"I want you to trust me Lily, because like I said, I honestly care about you," James shrugged, looking Lily straight in the eye.

His hazel eyes told Lily everything she ever hoped to find there. They told her he was being honest and that he really cared for her.

The redhead began smiling again. "You think that was a story?" she asked him cockily. "I'll tell you a real story. In fourth year, Mitch decided he wanted to figure out where the kitchens were. Of course, he had no clue, and so dragging me and Melody along, we went for one heck of a trip around Hogwarts. I swear, I had no clue of half the things there were in this school! Anyways…"

4:27 am

"I am so tired," Lily mumbled as she leaned against James again. She found that the boy sitting to her right was a much better pillow than the wall to her left. Her eyes were closed and James' cloak still lay over her shoulders above her own cloak.

"Well, it is almost 4:30 in the morning," James answered back, his eyes closed as well and his head leaning on top of Lily's, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Hey Lily?"

"What James?" Lily snuggled closer to James. He's so warm…

"I was wondering… have I redeemed myself in your eyes?" Neither of them moved nor spoke for a minute. James was waiting apprehensively while Lily ran over possible answers in her head. Finally, the right one emerged from her lips.

"You could say something like that," Lily said quietly. The existing tension in the small closet began to dissipate.

"What would you have me do to fully redeem myself?" James asked quirkily as he lifted his head and in turn Lily lifted hers. Both sets of eyes were open and staring at one another again.

"Can you read minds James?" she questioned, smirking.

"I have many talents my dear Lily, perhaps telepathy is one of them. But should I tell you or should I tell you not?" James said with a grin. Lily punched his shoulder lightly and James feigned being mortally injured.

"So did you read my mind or not?" Lily asked him, her green eyes glittering with anticipation.

"I believe I did," James nodded his head, still grinning, his own eyes sparkling with glee. "But before I comply with your wishes m'dear, I must say that I never intend to break your heart or hurt you in any way Lily. I promise you."

With that James leaned towards Lily and cupped her face with both hands, one unraveling itself from Lily's waist, and pulled her towards him with a kiss. James had had his share of kisses, and Lily's was certainly the number one kiss on his list.

He had wanted to kiss her for many years, even when he still didn't like girls very much he was curious. Finally his curiosity was indulged and to his pleasure, the kiss was more than he had ever wished for.

Thinking along similar lines, Lily found both of her hands working themselves around James' neck, one working its way through his hair and the other feeling his bare back. I think I always wanted this… I think I always wanted him to kiss me. And he did! James kissed me! I'm going to worship Mitch and Melody for this.

James' hands found themselves on Lily's back as she broke away and leaned her forehead against his. Both parties were smiling like they had won a million galleons.

"I think you read my mind wrong Mr. Potter, considering I never was thinking about kissing you," Lily lied, cocking her head to one side.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," James told her.

"Who said I was being sarcastic?"

"I did."

He kissed her again, and together in the broom closet on the seventh floor of Hogwarts, Lily Evans and James Potter fell asleep in each other's arms and with smiles on their faces.

XxXxX

Aha! The kiss! Heehee… XD They kissed! –twirls- Yeah, so, again, the chapter wasn't very long but these chapters are usually around three to five pages anyways. This one is four. Again, thanks SO much for the reviews you guys. You all SO rock! So much so! There's going to be one last chapter where Lily and James are released from the broom closet and face Hogwarts and their friends… Thanks again you guys! Adios!

7-11-05