Predictability

by Y. Kuang

Lily Evans, in her seventh year at Hogwarts, comes to terms with life, love and herself, deals with hardships with her own special brand of humor and sarcasm, and learns a few valuable lessons along the way. Chpt 26 up!

25. Something and Something Better

Chapter 25

This is my personal idea of what Lily looks like, done by a fanartist whose name I can't exactly recall at the moment… I'm pretty sure she intended it to be Ginny, but in my eyes, it's the absolute, perfect, Lily, minus the green eyes… I know, the green eyes are the most vivid trait, but all the same; the rest of the physical traits, plus her expression, basically make up what I imagine Lily to look like, in a particularly pensive moment…

Lily:

(A/N): Yeah, about me not updating in a grand total of… over a year, minus all the mini chapter holders… Um… sorry? Yes, I know, I suck at life. But things have been hectic, and… well, you guys probably don't really care.

Regarding the relationship of Sirius, Evelyn, Remus, and Bella: I've been receiving a couple of e-mails and reviews that tell me a good lot of you believe this is a Sirius/OC, Remus/OC fic as well as Lily/James… Um… no. Sorry to disappoint all you Evelyn and Bella fans, but under no circumstances will they be ending up with either Sirius or Remus. Really… I'd like to think that dear Padfoot and Moony have better judgment than that! Besides that point, Evelyn and Bella are just plot devices, I suppose you could call them. Not to mention the fact that I don't think it's really that common for one to meet the love of their life in high school… Lily and James had a pretty rare and special case. I don't really like those fanfics out there with 'perfect pairings' among Lily, her school friends, and the rest of the Marauder bunch… Like I said, it's just not that plausible. Sorry, it's a pet peeve of mine.

Of course, there are the 'perfect pairings' among the dream team, I suppose… Hermione/Ron, Harry/Ginny, possibly Luna/Neville. Once again, it's not entirely believable that every one of your friends would find that one person that completes them at the wee age of seventeen. But then, JK manages to make it work somehow with build up and what not. I don't think there's been any implications of either Remus or Sirius harboring any non-platonic feelings towards the shallow, material-minded Evelyn and Bella, beyond maybe a casual flirtation. I know… why would Lily befriend such shallow people? You'll find out.

Just had to clear that up!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own a single thing, not the cars, not the money, not the books, not the characters, not even the words! Erm… not that I'm bitter, or anything.

--

--

"Well, well, well, now this is an interesting situation, suffice it to say," a voice followed a rustle of curtains. Madame Pomfrey glared severely at the two seventh years with an expression of utmost disapproval. Punctuating her words with clucks of her tongue, she demanded, "An explanation would be nice. Potter, Evans, which of you would be the better volunteer?"

James chuckled slightly, rubbing a crick in his neck. "I… fell asleep?" he offered weakly.

Madame Pomfrey turned her gaze to her patient, whose hand was still hovering over a pawn on the chessboard, her eyes bearing an expression of surprise. "Oh!" She cleared the board, as if just processing the Head Nurse's demand. "Terribly sorry, ma'am… I… This looks bad, doesn't it?"

"Well, I never! It is hardly necessary for me to point out the impropriety of the situation to the both of you, I should hope. Nor should it be necessary for me to tell you that I will most certainly be reporting this to the Headmaster," she clucked her tongue. "Goodness, the Head Boy and Head Girl. You should be setting an example for your peers. Is that so difficult to attempt without… without jumping into each other's knickers?" Her cheeks flushed at this accusation, though it didn't soften the severity of her gaze.

"Without jumping- I assure you, Madam Pomfrey, nobody was doing any… jumping of any sort, especially not down anyone's knickers," James said, suppressing a laugh. "I fell asleep after attending to my Head Student counterpart… in a chair, which was most uncomfortable, but a good three feet away, nonetheless. At any rate, we didn't… we didn't…" He seemed rather unable to say what they didn't do, whether for fear of enraging the Head Nurse or for fear of bursting into laughter.

Madame Pomfrey clucked her tongue again, shaking her head from surrender, and, perhaps, suppressed rage.

Sighing, she said, "Miss Evans, please remain in bed until further notice; the after-effects of that butterbeer are still likely to surface, as I have told the others suffering from the same illness from the butterbeer. You are in good company in that case, and we can't seem to find the little berks responsible for it…" she gave a little sigh here, as though resignedly accepting that 'little berks' tampering with butterbeer was inevitable. "Though Mr. Potter may stay if he wishes. However, should he disturb the other patients, I fully intend to inform the Headmaster of this situation at once."

Lily nodded, ducking her head. As the nurse moved to leave, still clucking her tongue, she called out, "Madame Pomfrey? Is there any way we could, erm, forget about this… rather embarrassing situation? We weren't doing anything wrong, really, he just fell asleep."

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue again, and, unansweringly, left the room.

The two let out a simultaneous breath of relief and a ripple of laughter. "Well, that certainly was interesting," James chuckled, resetting the board of chess pieces. "Though she didn't say she wouldn't tell, she didn't say she would, either. Besides, she seems the good sort; I reckon your reputation is safe."

Lily tilted her head slightly. "I do wonder; would the 'little berks responsible' for the butterbeer incident by any chance be a group of troublemakers that happen to go by the name of the Marauders?"

"Now whatever would give you that idea?" James said with exaggerated sincerity. "We pride ourselves on originality, and that old trick has been done countless times before… Though there are such things as classics, I warrant. Still, it was a group of harp-playing trolls perpetrating the rules this time, not myself or the rest of the group. I'm offended you think we'd be so… unoriginal."

Lily laughed, moving a pawn. "It was kind of you to help me, at any rate, so I suppose I should thank you for that."

"You suppose?" James scratched his chin, observing the board. "Funny, sounds like you'd rather not."

"You think so?"

"On second thought, I'd rather not," he answered with a chuckle, moving his knight.

He was about to elaborate when the curtain brushed open to reveal Sirius Black grinning roguishly, leaning against the metal staff supporting the curtains. Before James could greet his friend, Sirius spoke, with a well-practiced accusing voice laced with sarcasm and amusement.

"Well, well, well, Prongsy-boy, here I was, worried you'd gotten yourself into trouble, when you've been sitting pretty with our favorite Head Girl doing who-knows-what in the past eight hours," he grinned, walking towards the couple playing chess. "Whatever kept you, James, why, you didn't even come to bed… When Remus, Peter, and I went to bed, you weren't there, so we assumed you'd decided to stay out a bit past curfew, yet when we awoke, why, lo, your berth was empty still… A glance at the Marauder's Map then revealed a most shocking revelation, and at once I hastened away to see if our Map had been tricked at last. It seems our Map is still trusty as ever."

Lily's cheeks colored slightly, whereas James grinned, replying, "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, the original Purveyors of Aid to Magical Mischief-Makers, wrong? Never," he swore, his hands on his heart. Dropping his pompous air, he said lazily, "I fell asleep while assisting our not-so-favorite Head Girl over here, given the fact that she had drunk unhealthy quantities of butterbeer and was therefore alarmingly intoxicated and thoroughly out of it."

Sirius chuckled. "Bet Poppy loved that."

"She has kindly agreed not to press charges," James answered, grinning. "But to more pressing matters… You should know what comes next, Padfoot."

Sirius grinned, standing to his full height. "Why, of course, Prongs. We must avenge this act of evil! As we speak, troops are assembling to decide what ill fate awaits our Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart." With a wicked grin, he mused, "Toffee in his hair? Nah, too juvenile. Throw his wardrobe into the girls' dorm? An interesting idea, come to think of it…"

"Please, no, we'd rather not see that," Lily said with a look of disgust, rolling her eyes. "And I do hope you realize you're discussing all of this in the presence of the Head Girl? It would be my duty to report you if such incidents came about, however much I think he would deserve it."

Sirius shook his head. "Lily… Lils… Lilikins, when have I ever asked even the teensiest of favors from you?" He hushed her with a solemn finger, saying delicately, "I know, I know, your overwhelming gratitude at my selfless nature is apparent enough without words. Is it so much to ask that you turn that pretty little head of yours the other way as I carry out this task in your favor?"

Lily laughed, before imitating his serious manner. "Sirius… Siri… Sirikins, while I realize what a burdensome task this is, that you're doing for me, nonetheless, I'm afraid, for Mr. Lockhart's sake, I must put a stop to all motions for such a- how did you put it?- avenging such an act of evil. Besides, it was his cupid troll-things to blame for it, not him. Not directly, anyway… I mean, he did hire them, after all."

"You see? He intentionally hired them, trolls, I remind you! Nasty little blighters known for their cunning and unoriginal pranks!" Sirius advocated his prank-in-the-works. "Surely you can't be defending such an intolerable little cretin?"

"Seems only yesterday I was calling you an intolerable little cretin," she replied dryly before moving her queen across the board. "Checkmate, Potter. I'm surprised- you're usually more attentive before falling into a trap like that one."

"You always catch me by surprise," he answered with a laugh, glancing up to meet her eyes.

--

It was to the great surprise of the student body when, later that morning at breakfast in the Great Hall, Gilderoy Lockhart ran in screaming in hysteria about his teeth and hair. It soon became quite obvious to any passerby that his hair had been modeled into a stiff, turtle-shell-like helmet, hard enough to make a metallic-like sound when rapped upon.

His teeth, however, were less obvious, as he was unwilling to part his mouth and display his winning smile he normally showcased regularly. Once a teacher forced him to speak, though, it became evident that he was suffering from a serious dental emergency of some sort, his smile suddenly bucktoothed and blackened to a disgusting degree. Someone was kind enough to bestow him with the catchy alias of "Lockjaw, the Bucktoothed Wonder"… something Gilderoy himself credited, no doubt, to the 'creativity' of the Marauders.

Thus, to no one's surprise (no one present, at any rate), when Lily slid into her seat at breakfast, all four Marauders refused to meet her accusing glare.

"I had nothing to do with it," James said before she opened her mouth, while he spooned vast quantities of porridge down his throat. "So stop glaring at me like that. It's… creepy."

Lily glared at him, sitting next to Evelyn across from him for breakfast. "I never said you did. You, on the other hand…" she turned her accusing gaze to Sirius's direction.

"Moi? You must be kidding, Miss Evans; surely I would never cause such catastrophic and disruptive events in the life of Mr. Lockhart," Sirius said with conviction. "We must attribute these events to mere tragic happenstance, for surely you cannot mean to say that I would do such a thing. I've never slighted the poor lad in my life!"

"Sure, and pigs will fly and fish breathe air," Lily muttered under her breath, before taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. "You're cute, Sirius, but not that cute. Don't presume to hold yourself as a person with… morals."

"Never," Sirius promised with a cheeky grin, before attacking his plate of food that frightened some poor passing first years. Through a disgusting amount of food stored in his mouth, chewing rapidly, he said, "Morals… as well as table manners, are things I have learned to do without. Ah, well… It's a tragedy, I know, but I'm sure any future wife of mine will learn to deal with such… habits."

Lily raised a brow. "Habit? Hardly habitual behavior; you exhibit it at all major meals and every time food is served, whether to you or to the person next to you. It's a way of life with you," she said matter-of-factly. "A rather disgusting one, come to think of it."

"Cut him some slack, Evans, he's a teenager, and food and drink are vital essentials to every growing boy's diet," James said, leaning across the table as Evelyn watched Sirius with an expression of disgust. "And, as I've told you before, Sirius takes anything at the top of the food pyramid very seriously."

Lily laughed, stabbing her fork in her salad with slightly more force than necessary. "How could I forget," she murmured, "When he practically inhaled all the cookies I made… it was rather frightening, actually."

Sirius shrugged, replying, "Ice cream: dairy products; hotdogs: meat products; hotdog buns: bread products; raisin cookies: fruits and the top of the food pyramid at last. Throw in a mixture of rakishly handsome looks and an ego that could span the Atlantic and you've got a day in the life of me, Sirius Black, perfectly healthy and, not to mention, very single at the moment."

"Forget it, Sirius," Evelyn groaned through a mouth full of deviled eggs. "No one at this table is the slightest bit interested in your sad and pathetic attempts to breed progeny."

Lily took a sip of pumpkin juice, shrugging as she replied with a straight face, "I'm interested. Why, Sirius, what are you doing this Saturday? We could spend the entire day at Hogsmeade sipping coffees at the new teashop and then cuddle and play footsy under the table in front of all our friends until they choke and gag while clawing out their eyes. I think it'd be a jolly good time, don't you?"

"I don't know, about that, Miss Evans," Sirius replied, "but maybe our dear friend Prongsy would like to have a go at that."

James choked on his drink.

--

"Argh! I can't believe you people!" Leslie threw her hands in the air in disbelief as they made their way past a throng of students to Transfiguration. At the blank expressions she was greeted with, she elaborated, "Today is my last day here! And after you lot disappeared last night-"at this point, she narrowed her eyes at Lily, "that only leaves today for goodbyes."

Sirius quirked a brow, casually draping an arm around Leslie as a passing fifth year looked on jealously. "Goodbyes, eh? Prongsy-boy, did you hear anything about goodbyes of any sort today?"

"Why, no, Padfoot, old boy, I didn't," James replied in mock sincerity. Grinning easily at Leslie, he slid smoothly into his regular accent, as he explained, "The Marauders never say goodbye. All for one, and one for all. United we stand, divided we fall. The very word 'goodbye' has been cut from our dictionaries, for it implies the finalities of parting." Shuddering delicately, as if the thought of parting was terribly horrifying, he quoted solemnly, a hand over his heart, "'Parting is such sweet sorrow.'"

Draping his arm over Leslie's other shoulder, James joined Sirius in escorting Leslie to her next class. Sirius said in the air of a well-practiced speech, "We're the three musketeers!"

"And, you know, that, erm, fourth guy," James added.

"The three little pigs!" a third voice chorused. Leslie swiveled around in time to see Remus cheerfully inclining his head, touching his forehead as though tipping off a hat. Thoughtfully, he mused, "Though I suppose I'd be the big bad wolf, as well."

Nudging Peter, the fourth boy said dully, "The three blind mice. I get it, alright? Ha, ha; very cute; nice little pun… Why is it that you lot are always taking the good ones?"

"Ah, quit being a damper, Wormtail," Sirius said lazily, as Lily rolled her eyes at Leslie. Turning his attention back to the girl at his side, he said, "You know, if you're going to spend the entire day wallowing, that won't do much for memories. I mean, I'd much rather be living life and making memories now rather than spending the last hours just thinking about goodbyes. In the end, you'll have more to remember. Besides, you don't leave for another ten hours, so what's the rush, dahling?" He fluttered his eyes in a rather pathetic imitation of muggle movie characters, swooning every few feet to scare away fifth years.

Lily sighed, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling dramatically, before she shoved the two boys out of the way, taking Leslie by the hand. "Sorry, sweetie, but I don't think anyone deserves that kind of torture. You're too young to die of boredom, after all."

Leslie laughed, tossing a smile over her shoulder towards James and Sirius, the latter of whom pretended to swoon again. Turning back to Lily, she wrinkled her nose and said, "Lily, I really don't see why you despise them so, I mean, they're perfectly nice people, though they do have certain… quirky traits."

Lily laughed, taking the shorter girl by her elbow as they pushed past a crowd. "Believe me; you've only been around them for a few months. Stick around here for seven years and you'll see where I'm coming from," she said. Glancing back to see James helping Sirius up off the floor a fifth time, she turned to continue, "I mean, sure, they do have their moments; Sirius can make me laugh over the most random topics and if you stick around long enough, James seems to be able to make anything happen. But at the end of the day, their company is only bearable for so long."

"And Remus and Peter?" Leslie probed, upon their entrance into the Transfiguration classroom. "What's wrong with them?"

"Other than the fact that they chose the companionship of Potter and Black of their own free will?" Lily replied smoothly, sliding into her usual seat. "Not much, though once you're around the two of them for a while, both give off an air of distinct dottiness, if you ask me." She gave a long-suffering sigh. "But other than that, you're right, they are perfectly nice people."

Leslie rolled her eyes, sighing. "Thank you, oh Princess High in the Land of Maintenance," she responded, opening her textbooks. "I assume you're coming to the surprise party we're having for me in the common room, then? I mean, if I find out you blew me off to get tipsy off butterbeer or to sneak off and study, I will be severely offended."

"And how, exactly, is it a surprise party without the element of surprise?" Lily laughed. "I'll try."

Sirius leaned forward, draping an arm around both girls. "That means she'll run screaming while we get James to try and coerce her into having a life for once."

James rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, mumbling something about, 'that fifth year incident'.

--

Several hours and three classes later, Lily gathered up her notes and poked Leslie in the ribs. "Hey, sleeping beauty, History of Magic is over, we can go now."

Leslie snorted slightly, but otherwise undeterred, turned over and fell back to sleep. Sighing, Lily pinched her arm, receiving no reaction. Looking up, James met her eyes and murmured, "Let her sleep. It'll give us more time to plan the party, you know. Come on, you don't want to miss this one, being only half conscious for the majority of the last one."

Lily gave him an uncertain smile, gathering her books into her bag, tilting her head. He was different, she realized, than the self-absorbed prick he had been just a few months ago. There was something different behind the probing hazel eyes, the familiar curve of his smile… Something had changed. As she scanned his face, lingering at his eyes, something stirred in the back of her memory.

The sunlight had been bright, a shocking change from the pink (and rather sinister, she thought) shades of the night before, followed by the complete darkness after. The warmth of the light reached her, though, and as her eyes slowly adjusted to the light filtering through the green cloth of the curtains, she realized she was in the infirmary. A glance at the clock at her bedside told her two things… It was seven thirty in the morning, and she had an uncomfortable crick in her neck. Lifting her head slightly, she shook the night's grogginess out of her mind, trying to recall the last thing in her memory. It was an unorganized jumble, with pink, fluttering trolls, and someone very warm, with deep brown eyes… It had felt… like home.

This thought brought her to the sudden awareness of a weight on her left hand, barely hanging off the edge of the infirmary cot. Glancing at her hand, she blinked in surprise to find it loosely clasped by the hand of James Potter, who was still asleep in a chair next to her. Jerking her hand away, she stretched her memory further for recollection of the events of the previous night, but aside from a feeling of an oncoming headache, she received nothing. Poking hesitantly at his arm, Lily watched as James shook his head, mumbling something slightly indistinct, though she caught the phrase, 'Not time for school yet, mum.'

Pushing herself up on the cot, she drew the covers of the thin, worn blanket closer, as James's eyes blinked open, squinting at the sunlight. "Hey," he said softly. Blinking against the light, he asked in a scratchy-throated voice, "I'm sorry. Did I fall asleep?"

Resisting the urge to scream bloody murder, she managed to only laugh at his innocent expression. "Obviously. I tried to wake you, but you told me it wasn't time for school yet. And you called me mum."

"I did not," he grumbled, muttering a refreshing charm, yawning widely. "And even if I did, you've got no proof, and no witnesses."

"Ha! What if I were to call Madame Pomfrey over right this second?" she argued, watching him reach back to attempt to flatten his hair in vain. He glared at her as a giggle escaped her lips.

"You try looking like a beauty queen after sleeping in a chair all night," he answered, still blinking the sleep away from his eyes. "And if you were to call Poppy over, I'm sure she'd assume the worst and accuse me of various acts of indecencies that I don't even want to think about. So to save your virtue and my pride, I'd suggest you rethink that move."

Lily shrugged, giving him a half smile, before sinking back beneath her blanket. The return to their usual banter had been comforting for a while, considering she had no idea what had happened the night before, and as there hadn't been much of it in the recent months. Squirming slightly, she admitted she almost missed arguing with him. Their conversations lately seemed to consist of nothing but long silences and awkward words strung together incoherently, as if each was unsure of how to act around the other.

"Hey," James leaned forward slightly to brush a strand of hair away from her face. "What're you thinking right now?"

"What makes you think I'm thinking of anything?"

There was a laugh after this statement, followed by a low and gravelly, "You're Lily Evans; therefore, you're always thinking. Now come on, trouble shared is trouble halved. Or at least that's what my nanny used to say. Of course, my troubles at the time usually consisted of Remus being mad at me for throwing the cat off the roof or trivial things like that."

"Oh, yes, trivial things like that," Lily replied with a roll of her eyes. Sobering slightly as she turned her head to see him watching her attentively, she sighed slightly. "Potter… James, I know this is going to sound a little strange, but, erm… What happened last night? The last thing I really remember clearly is Tessa What's-her-name saying something… though I can't remember what, really, but I'm sure it couldn't have been a very good thing. After that, there was just… a lot of pink." She paused, then giggled, "Oh, Merlin, that sounds really dumb, doesn't it? I'm sorry, really, but… What happened?"

James studied her, tilting her chin with his finger. She shivered involuntarily. "You really are amazing, you know that?" he chuckled slightly. There was something in his eyes- relief, disappointment, a large multitude of things she didn't begin to ponder once he said, "Well, remember how I told you that Lockhart was catering the event? Turns out the Mr. Lockhart was a tad dissatisfied with the number of galleons Dumbledore was willing to shell out for his service, so he sent us a load of trolls dressed as cherubs as a means of getting back. Well, you know how trolls are… unpredictable creatures, and they decided to charm the butterbeer for the fun of it, to watch everyone get drunk off it."

"Oh. Right. Well, that explains the memory lapse, I suppose," Lily nodded distractedly. "And you… why were you here, exactly?"

"I was assigned the task of bringing you up here, and… I fell asleep," James shrugged lamely, his hand jerking up to scratch his neck, leaping away from her face. After a brief pause while Lily studied her nails and James studied her, he said suddenly, as if a rather desperate attempt to break the silence, "Well, seeing as we're up here, do you care for a game of chess?"

"Evans?" James tilted his head to match the angle of hers. "Something… wrong?"

"No," she smiled briefly before turning and pushing the door open. "Nothing. Um, hey, I'm going to the library to research a few charms for the banners, but I'll be back in the common room in a few minutes. So, erm… see you at lunch, I s'pose."

"Right," James nodded. "Lunch."

--

The properties of the color-changing charms often vary with the materials by which the charm will be performed on, as discovered by Fitzgerald in his paper on the Dreyfuss-effect. For example, when acted upon certain types of pine, the colors would take on earth tones, whereas colors changed accordingly to the will of the caster in other types of wood. The same effect has been found in many types of cloths, particularly those spun of more than one material…'

"Well, that goes under the column of useless parp, then," Lily muttered, snapping the thick book shut. Blowing a fine sheet of dust off another book on the shelf of variety charms, she peeled apart the yellowed pages of the index, her finger trailing down the list.

"Hello, Lily Evans," someone said as she glanced up. What met her was a rather shocking surprise of someone who closely resembled a certain quidditch captain with whom she had been butting heads with lately. In fact, she had almost said his name, but, with a double take, realized it was someone else. As she stared at the tall stranger, she soon realized he was speaking again. "That's quite a pile of books you have there, but seeing as I haven't seen you around the common rooms, it's safe to say you're not a Ravenclaw."

Her gaze shifting downwards, she noted the tie with the Ravenclaw colors and nodded slightly. He took this as an invitation and took a seat across from the table of books she'd been reading, saying, "Pardon me for my rudeness, I've forgotten to introduce myself."

She shrugged, catching his eye before turning back to the ancient pages of the book, replying, "So introduce yourself." Upon closer inspection, she realized, he wasn't quite the replica of James Potter as she had thought. Though they were probably within inches of each other's height, and had the same mess of jet black hair, this one was… tidier, she found the word upon her tongue and felt the urge to fight down a laugh.

"Very well, then. I'm Andrew Harris, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain… I suppose we may have seen each other now and then in passing," he said without further invitation. Leaning forward, he continued, "And I was curious as to whether or not you'd be willing to accompany me to the next Hogsmeade outing… as a date, of sorts."

She stared at him blankly before letting out a short laugh. "Pardon?" she asked, a hint of amusement still in her voice. "I'm sorry, Andrew, I'm sure you're a nice enough person, but I'm a bit busy right now… Organizing a party at zero hour doesn't exactly bring out the best in me, and there are probably plenty of other girls you can go ask that would make far better candidates for a date... After all, you're situation can't be so dire that you're willing to risk asking me, is it?"

Andrew inclined his head. "Very well, how can I convince you, then? I'd genuinely appreciate your company this Saturday at Hogsmeade, and while it may not quite live up to your plans of staying in and studying, I can guarantee a good enough time, and a full refund for your troubles if all doesn't go quite smoothly enough."

Lily tilted her head slightly, smiling. It had been a while since any part of the male population had expressed an interest in her outside the friendship capacity, and she herself had been far too busy living her life to be bothered with such affairs, but it was nice to know someone cared. Of course, she was surprised she had any admirers left, given her past behavior at a time when she hadn't quite gotten over her 'boys are yucky' phase… the last mention of anyone liking her in such a romantic sense had been Gilderoy Lockhart, which had ended rather disastrously, at least by all standards of any sane person.

"I'm sorry, Andrew, I'm not really looking for anything in that… area," she answered apologetically, adding as an afterthought, "At least not now, and not for a while. It's been… hectic, and I'm finally starting spell-tape everything back together… or at least I'm trying to before it all falls to pieces again. There's no place, really, for a social life in all that, you know?"

"Well, there's no way a bloke can quite argue that, is there?" Andrew gave her a half smile in defeat as she started gathering her books. "Still… I'd like the chance to get to know you better, Lily Evans… You're a real mystery to the rest of us, you know. So, the offer still stands. What do you say? I wouldn't take up more than ten minutes' worth of your time, I promise."

Lily finished gathering her books and stuffed her notes quickly in her bag as she replied blithely, "Well, in that case, you must be a terribly boring person, Andrew, if you can't think of more than just a ten minutes' worth of dialogue in a full day at Hogsmeade." She smiled, though, softening her words slightly as she gave him a flippant smile, getting up to leave.

"A half an hour, then," Andrew replied, blocking her way quickly as he stood with a quirk of a brow. "That's all I'll ask for, and you can take it from there."

She took the time to consider it… He seemed genuine, for someone to whom she'd never spoken more than ten words before, but there was that nagging feeling… She figured it would be nice to see someone outside of her small circle of friends, really. Throwing caution to the wind, she answered, "Fine, then… I'll consider it."

With that, she side stepped him and left the library, leaving him to call after her, "Is that some cryptic way of saying yes?"

She laughed again, and waved a hand over her shoulder in response.

--

"And where exactly have you been, Lily Evans?"

Lily slid her bag off her shoulder and onto an empty wooden table in the kitchens while ignoring a glare Peter Pettigrew, who was at least four inches shorter than her and looking not the least bit intimidating wearing a green checkered 'Kiss the Cook' apron (now where in Merlin's name had he gotten that?). Behind him, several house elves sprung to work, busying themselves with clanging pots and pans, though she had the sneaking suspicion Peter himself had been manning the ovens and stoves single-handedly, and, by the looks of the fallen soufflé behind him one house elf was quickly disposing of, rather unsuccessfully.

"I've been researching the coloring and text altering charms for the banners we're hanging for Leslie," she answered simply, plopping down on the table top rather than the wooden bench next to it, raising a bag with rolled up bits of parchment as proof. Glancing around, she risked saying, "And you've been… cooking, I gather?"

Peter snorted in impatience. "Not just cooking, I've been cooking biscuits. I couldn't very well have the house-elves do it; they're very good at their job, I'll warrant, but it's just the lack of passion the have for the art of cooking biscuits. If I'd just let them do it themselves, they would have just… whipped it up like they would any meal, without any passion, any care, any love for it… It's not right, Lily, being a bit of a culinary master yourself, you must understand how delicately this must be handled. And naturally I couldn't trust this with James, Sirius, or Remus… They just couldn't have the care for it. They wouldn't be able to see the importance of a few biscuits and cream puffs… the way it's the pastries that really are the deciding factor of whether a party's a success or a flop."

"It's quite alright, Peter, really… I understand-"

Peter ignored her. Instead, he drew a long suffering breath and continued, "They simply don't understand. I thought I could rely on you to help me with this, but clearly you don't care too much about Leslie's going away otherwise you wouldn't have dawdled with your charms nonsense."

It struck a chord. "Pardon me, Peter? 'Charms nonsense'? I'll have you know, that 'charms nonsense' will very well be part of the central focus in the room once people walk in… The banners are just as important as the pastries, you know, and I've half a mind to walk out of here now and leave you helpless." Lily crossed her arms childishly and had the satisfaction of seeing a shadow of fear pass Peter's eyes.

"You wouldn't!" he said in a half whisper. Quickly, he produced a fallen soufflé from behind him, and used it as a peace offering. "Look at this," he said miserably. "Please… don't be cruel. I know you're a kind person at heart, Lily… right?"

Lily rolled her eyes and rolled up her sleeves, setting her wand down and wandering over to one of the kitchen stations at which there was a series of fallen soufflés, each more pathetic looking than the previous one. Several house elves shied away from her as she shook with a sort of silent laughter. Turning to Peter, she said expectantly, "Well, if you expect me to salvage this wreck, I'll need materials, and it seems you've wiped the kitchens clear of their supplies."

Peter seemed relieved to be presented with a problem to which he knew the solution. "I've already sent James to fetch more," he replied, seeming rather pleased with himself, perhaps for having the chance to give orders to one of his best friends who had usually been the one to tell him what to do.

The words, "From where, exactly?" had found themselves to Lily's tongue and she was about to voice her thoughts when the portrait to the kitchens swung open to reveal James Potter himself with a small arsenal of cooking supplies, along with various cleaning products to different spices of every sort thinkable. He tossed her a nod and brushed past, muttering in a low voice, "The biscuit Nazi get to you, as well?"

She shrugged as he set down each kitchen product, listing each off. "There you are, Peter. You've got your ginger, cinnamon, vanilla extract, white sugar, brown sugar, white eggs, brown eggs, baking powder, baking soda, cabbage, lettuce heads, garlic, onion, roasted duck, the-"

"Paprika! Where's the paprika?" Peter demanded as he inspected the materials. "I specifically asked for paprika!"

Lily raised a brow as she listened to this exchange, quickly walking over to the table on which Peter was presently scrutinizing each and every product there, as if the missing paprika would turn up automatically from behind.

"Oh, bollocks," James said, without much conviction. In fact, he looked a bit relieved. "Should I turn back and get it?"

"Bloody right, you should," Peter said angrily, "I can't have my biscuits without it. Really! How you got to be Head Boy when you're this irresponsible, I can't imagine…"

Lily smirked. "Exactly what I've been saying all this time, Peter." James glared over Peter's head. "But still… I don't think you need cold cooked poultry to make biscuits." Picking up another item, she asked incredulously, "You had him get a goose? For what, goose biscuits? In fact, you don't need… any of these."

She picked up a bottle of ketchup, a bunch of carrots, and a bottle of Firewhiskey with a questioning look.

"Hey, hey, hey, hang on there, Evans," James grabbed the Firewhiskey from her in one swift movement. "That's mine."

Lily whirled around. "And what do you suppose the headmaster would say to the Head Boy carrying on about, drinking firewhiskey… something illegal, may I remind you, at our age-"

"That's never stopped me before," James replied with a smirk, and behind her, Peter gave a slight squeak and glanced worriedly at the pair before scurrying off to yell at a house elf for clearing off a kitchen counter with even more food products. James set the bottle down. "In fact, there's many things I could show you…"

He took a step closer, and she, likewise, took a step back. His voice lowering to a slight husky, rumble, he murmured, "I could show you things that would most certainly blow your mind… things that would shock you beyond comprehension and stun that pretty little head of yours…"

He took a swig of the Firewhiskey and said lazily, "But then, there's that pesky legality issue, so… There you go…"

Lily sidestepped him easily and let out a huff, running off to help Peter with his biscuits.

--

Some two hundred biscuits, three hundred cookies, and twelve more fallen soufflés later, the cooking was finally finished, and brought slowly up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower.

"I just don't see why I'm the one who has to carry the most trays of biscuits and cookies," James complained under his breath as he climbed another flight of stairs.

Lily rolled her eyes, holding four trays herself. "Because you have the longest legs, Potter."

James shrugged, and one of the seven trays laden in his arms teetered dangerously before he caught it, thanking the high heavens for his finely honed quidditch reflexes. "I'm just saying… Seeing as we're the Head Boy and Girl, shouldn't that give us some sort of... advantage over the other students on the 'no magic between classes' rule? I mean, besides, this is for a good cause, really."

"Not really, no, but seeing as there isn't likely to be a professor happening upon us anytime soon..." Lily glanced around before she flicked her wrist and levitated the trays up the tower. "Which leaves us," she gestured up the winding staircase, "with all these stairs to climb."

A panting Peter appeared around the bend behind them, as he muttered, "Really, you could have taken into account my asthma, you know. Why couldn't we go, oh, say, the short way?"

James replied lazily, "Because the short way would require use of the front way to the Gryffindor Tower, which would mean risking Leslie seeing all this, and therefore ruining the element of surprise, which leaves us with nothing to surprise her with." He seemed to have voluntarily forgotten Leslie already knew about the party. He added, "And quit whimpering, you're only carrying one thing, Peter."

Indeed, Peter was holding the one soufflé that had not fallen like it was the Holy Grail, or something of equal importance… He hadn't trusted Lily's magic enough to let it go along with the other trays, though he suspected walking it up the tower himself wasn't such a grand idea either, given the fact he had already fallen through the trick steps twice.

"But it must be treated with care," Peter answered, his tone whining. "I mean, I didn't spend a whole two hours learning how to remake this from scratch just to have it fall through the cracks of smash into a wall, you know. You see, this is why I didn't trust you with those biscuits before… your lack of caring. People who don't care about anything never understand people who do."

James shrugged. "Yeah, but we don't care," he answered with a smirk. Peter huffed while Lily listened to this brief interlude, then groaned and closed her eyes, looking as though she were concentrating very hard on trying not to react. Following this, there was a great clattering sound of metal coming from a ways up the winding tower, one which sounded ominously like two trays of muffins colliding and fighting a battle against gravity… one which gravity came out the winner, with an even louder clatter of two trays crashing from a height of six feet to the stony ground. All three winced.

"Great, this is just terrific," she muttered, a slight note of hysteria in her voice. "Exactly how I was intending to spend my afternoon; wasting two hours on making biscuits and cookies in excess only to have a portion of them left behind to be food for the rats and owls of the school and then another forty-five minutes walking up the back staircase of the Gryffindor Tower… with the two greatest gits on the planet. That's just fan-bloody-tastic," Lily said, glaring at a passing suit of armor contemptuously, as though it was to blame for her situation.

It replied with a quick brandishing of its glinting sword.

She rolled her eyes, muttering, "One day, I'll just give up all together, collapsing from exhaustion of climbing up these endless stairs, and leave my poor mortal body to the mercy of these suits of armor, who will surely sever my legs from my body, and I'll never make it to a class ever again."

James chuckled lightly. "Well, in that case… Since as I rather enjoy seeing you in a whole…" In a swift movement, he had swept her off her feet and proceeded to carry her up the winding flights of stairs, despite her loud shrieks and demands to put her down. With a tip of an invisible hat, he said, grinning down at her, "Chivalry isn't quite dead yet, madam."

"Bite me, Potter," she replied, expressing her gratitude, though admitting defeat and gave up trying to wrestle her way out. Despite being in better physical shape than most of the girls in her year, she couldn't quite overwhelm James, given he had the advantage of weekly quidditch practice sessions over her.

James gave her a cheeky grin and answered, "Do you really want me to?"

"Do you really have to ask?" she answered, rolling her eyes. Sighing, she decided to at least make the most of the situation and rested her head against his shoulder. He stiffened for a fraction of a second then relaxed, during which she took the time to murmur, "This feels familiar."

"Well, it would," he answered, giving her a slight smile. "You weren't in much of a state to walk last night, you know."

"I blame Lockhart," she answered, as he let out a chuckle, one which felt like a low rumble against her. Finding the need to busy her hands, Lily drew a finger towards his neck, tracing the column of his Adam's apple and murmured, "You have freckles on your neck in February, James Potter. What kind of abnormal little twit are you?"

"A drop dead gorgeous one, Evans, and don't you forget it," he said in a deadpan.

She stared at him for a few seconds before laughing. "Good one, Potter."

James looked as though extremely affronted by her reaction. "What, are you denying the oozing charm of my charismatic persona? The sinfully good-looking-ness of my body?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she answered, between her laughs. "Black is better looking than you, Potter. You're just… convenient to keep around."

"I've half a mind to drop you now, as it is, Lily Evans," he replied lightly, hopping up three more steps over a trick step, while an armored suit below rattled menacingly. She detected a slight frost to his voice that hadn't been there before and he stiffened slightly against her. She glanced up and there was a passing flicker of emotion that on any other person she would have believed was hurt, but it was gone before she could think further on it. James tossed her an easy grin, and said, "Give me another reason to, and I promise you I will."

"Nah, this is too comfortable," she murmured, letting out a slight sigh as her hand slid across his sweater and to his neck again.

James gave her another mock offended look. "Says the girl who practically just told me she fancies for my best friend."

"There, there," she patted his shoulder pacifying, as though to an eight year old who didn't understand why he hadn't won first place in the science fair. He sniffed haughtily and seemed even more offended. "You're not… completely hideous looking... compared to Severus Snape, anyway. And at least you don't have that awkward, really out-of-proportioned body you did in fourth year, anymore." She smothered a laugh into his sweater.

"Oh, that's much better," he said, miffed. "You're saying I'm better looking than Snape. Let me tell you something, the Giant Squid is better looking than him on its off day, Evans. Really, when you stop denying my charms…" He let the sentence trail off with a grin.

Lily picked her head up from its comfortable resting spot on his shoulder as a thought occurred to her. "Are you flirting with me, Potter?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Evans. You're just… convenient," he answered, using her own words. With an incline of his head and a cheeky grin, he murmured in a husky rumble next to her ear, "Though I suppose there are more ways than one that can be interpreted."

She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Just walk up the damn stairs, Potter."

"As you wish," James replied as he glanced down at her again, an unconscious smile playing at his lips.

--

Peter Pettigrew knew he wasn't the most coordinated person in the world.

And he knew James knew it, as well, as he fell into yet another trick step, cursing his "friend" under his breath. Really… He had been abandoned to by the pair of them to walk the stairs by himself, while he also was forced to endure hearing Lily's fits of laughter and the indistinct murmuring of James's voice that preceded it coming from the stairs above him… Both of which were pretty much telling signs, in his view, at any rate, that James was once again ditching him (him being Peter, of course… if he had been Sirius, James might have at least thought twice about pulling the knight in shining armor act back there) for a girl.

"What else could I expect?" he muttered under his breath as he heard yet another shriek of laughter come from Lily some ways up the stairs.

He wasn't blind to the change in his friend's actions, really. He had noticed, along with Sirius and Remus, the lengths James would go just to get a laugh or a smile out of Lily. And while it wasn't quite the infatuated behavior of their fifth year, in which he recalled James to be quite smitten and completely taken by her, it certainly was… different. What exactly had brought on the change, Peter wasn't quite sure, he left that to Remus and Sirius to figure out themselves. He was just the one that did the noticing, after all. Being practically invisible certainly helped matters, he supposed.

Sure, James was the one with the invisibility cloak, but he, Peter, was the one who saw the most around Hogwarts. He was like a part of the background to mostly everyone, and hence no one noticed him drifting in and out of their conversations, his keen ears picking up what others wouldn't… Of course, also being able to change into a rat to avoid getting caught out of bed by Filch and listening outside the door of the professor's quarters for snippets of conversations always came in handy as well… Either way, Peter Pettigrew knew he was the one in the grouped best equipped with a means of eavesdropping and noticing what others missed.

And this certainly was difficult enough to miss as it was. Oh, the pair had carried on their usual banter, as they always did, but it could almost be considered flirting, given their obviousness about it. But then, theirs was a curious and complex relationship, one no one really knew what to make heads or tails of. Even Peter himself wasn't quite sure… On some days, they acted as though they were closest friends, sometimes even more than what the confines of friendship would allow, then the next day they'd be back to acting as if they were bitter rivals… They really were a confusing and paradoxical pair.

The change hadn't gone unnoticed to anyone, Peter was pretty sure of. But it hadn't been sudden, not really… He remembered at the beginning of the year, even, they had been at their usual cutting, biting remarks, aimed to hurt and humiliate. Then, something had changed… He wasn't quite so sure it had been the sudden slew of deaths the new year had brought, nor what had happened while they had been away from Hogwarts, but… it had happened before that. They had simply stopped the tongue lashing and the verbal abuse, shedding it as though they had just… outgrown it. But lately…

Lately it had been different. Something about them was really, truly different. Peter prided himself in knowing, at least, his friends regarded him as an equal, someone worthy of their respect and friendship. But this year, Lily had inadvertently managed to find her way into a place in their exclusive group, and while they weren't exactly inviting her to be a marauder and teaching her the secret handshake, she certainly was a token member of the group. Through James, Peter supposed… That was how she had gotten in. It was after when he had come home from his parents' house to tell them his mum had died… He had seemed shut off, cold, bitter, and angry… but not to her. Instead, she was the one who had cut through the layers, while they, James's actual friends, hadn't known what to do.

Bringing his memory back to when James had just told them of his mum's death, he remembered the shell of a person his friend had become in the following days. He hadn't wanted to talk to them, but seemed angry at them when they didn't try to talk to him… Or something like that. It had been confusing. He had wanted to be alone, yet he grew angry with them when the left him by himself. After a bit, Lily had been the one to be there for him in the wake of his mother's death, being one to sympathize and empathize and whatnot, Peter supposed. But then, girls were generally good at that sort of thing.

And after that… he had sought out her company on his own, Peter had noticed, and seemed to be trying to return the favor to her, though she seemed to have gotten over the initial pain by then. Yet the times he saw her smile the most was in James's company… Peter suspected his friend purposely went out of his way to make her laugh or bring a smile to her face because it was his way of thanking her for being an understanding ear while he had been in trouble.

He wondered what it was that defined their relationship. Another peal of laughter came from above that he identified as Lily's, before he found the two trays of fallen biscuits they had heard clatter earlier. Of course they had left it behind for him to clean up, as though he were a house-elf… Really. He wondered if they even realized themselves their relationship was way out of the normal definitions of a simple friendship. It was… something different.

Something Peter himself had yet to find.

--

"Alright, alright, alright! You win," Lily threw her hands in defeat, more out of getting sick of his persistence on the subject than an actual admittance of defeat. "But I won't say it."

James quirked a brow. "Say it, Evans, or I reveal that fascinating tidbit of information you gave me back there regarding a spell you cast on your sister last summer to the middle of the roomful of seventy-something people awaiting our arrival with the snacks."

Lily pouted and stuck her tongue out juvenilely. Sighing, she deadpanned, "James Potter is a gorgeous and brilliant wizard, with the muscles of a finely toned Quidditch God and oozes with a charming persona which no witch in her right mind can resist. Are you happy?"

"Well, you could have said it with a little more conviction, but I'll let it slide," he answered with a grin.

Lily rolled her eyes as they finally reached the last step to the concealed back door of the Gryffindor Tower, one which resided conveniently behind a bookcase. "You can put me down now, James," she murmured, though not quite ready to give up the rather comfortable position she had adjusted to, nor the rather nice-smelling human pillow she had obtained.

"What, you don't want me to carry you across the threshold?" James asked, jokingly, glancing down curiously as he heard her inhale a deep breath… Tilting his head, he asked slowly, "Evans… are you sniffing me?"

Lily seemed startled out of whatever reverie she was in and replied, "What? No, I wasn't sniffing you… Why on earth would I be sniffing you?"

"Exactly what I'd like to know," James answered, amused. "You know, you did this last night, too. What did you say… 'You smell like home… and pine trees.' Do you make a habit out of sniffing people?"

"I said I wasn't sniffing you, and I don't sound like that," she grumbled at his high falsetto imitation of her voice. Gesturing towards the neatly stacked row of nine trays of cookies and biscuits, she said, "Now put me down; we have pastries to deliver."

James gave her another, 'as you wish' smirk before he set her down, bending to pick up the trays of food. As he handed her the four trays of biscuits, he noted vaguely with some guilt that they had left Peter to his own devices to find a way back up the staircase. He had the sneaking suspicion, however, that Peter would manage to find a knothole in one place or other eventually, and take the shortcut.

The thought reminded him suddenly of the conversation they had back in the kitchens, during which they had come rather dangerously close to the topic of his own breach of the magical law, something that had seemed funny at the time, and now, suddenly, less so. It was a subject of much debate, lately, given the past few 'close calls' and near misses, from which he, Peter, Remus, and Sirius all managed to get through with not much more than a few scratches and bruises. Still, he cursed himself for being reckless enough to almost let it slip out.

He supposed the alcohol was to blame, really, given his general avoidance of the topic. Still, though… Remus had been adamant in his insistence that they stop, after the last full moon encounter, one transformation which had been particularly painful and difficult to get past. James wasn't stupid, he knew they were playing with fire every full moon night, but somehow, there was that part of him that did it just for the thrill of doing something dangerous, something that many full-grown wizards wouldn't even dare attempt. He supposed it could be the recklessness of youth, but still, it was… exhilarating, just to let loose every once in a while, right under the headmaster's nose, without him knowing. And Remus enjoyed this part of it as well, he was sure. But then, he was always the one who had weighed every option, every side of an issue thoroughly, before coming to a decision.

There had been many times in which Remus had insisted they stop their full-moon antics, particularly in the beginning, but after a while, he had grown accustomed to it and had grown to anticipate it nearly as much as he and Sirius had… of course, there was always that blinding pain, the feeling of having one's insides turned out, and the vomiting worse than a hangover in the mornings for Remus, something even they couldn't help, but at any rate, the times between the pain and the hangover-like sensations (one of the reasons Remus had never touched alcohol) in the morning had been made bearable by James, Sirius, and Peter.

With a slight chuckle, James followed Lily into the small passageway past the door, a narrow corridor which ended behind the bookshelf in the common room. He remembered when they had first figured out Remus's 'illness' in third year, and Remus had launched into an entire spiel on how he couldn't blame them for not wanting to be his friend, but it couldn't be helped, and whatnot. It had sounded rather rehearsed, now that he thought of it, and had the feeling Remus had been dreading their discovery of his sickness ever since they had met.

"I expect you won't want to be friends with me, then," Remus had said, his eyes shining. "I'll give you back the Christmas and birthday presents you've given me over the last three years, then. I suppose it's to be expected, really. I just hope you won't go around telling everyone. Will you at least promise me that? It's bad enough, you know, that every full moon, I have my insides turned out and my head feeling like it's split in two. And then the mornings after, I vomit and get ill, with stuff coming out both ends… Which gives me enough an idea of what it's like to be pregnant, really. I don't need everyone hunting after me with a silver bullet as well."

The whole description, in his then-twelve-year old bluntness had been rather disgusting sounding and pretty much unnecessary in the first place, as they had only wanted to tell him they didn't care. The thought brought on another laugh, and without noticing that Lily had stopped, he collided into her. With a slight 'oomph', Lily had spun around and whispered fiercely, "Watch where you're going, Potter."

He tossed her another smirk and leaned against one side of the walls, whilst she peered through a small hole in the wall just behind the bookcase. "Right," she murmured quietly. "Everyone's in their place, it seems. The banners are up, and Evelyn should be bringing Leslie up any minute now."

James nodded, not caring that much. Moving closer to see, he squinted through the darkness in the room to be able to make out the figures of several people hiding behind furniture, and the streamers and balloons hanging from the ceiling.

He noted to himself that from this position, it was pretty obvious the seventh year girls were supplied with scented soap.

Quite unfair, really.

--

"Evelyn, you don't need your bag to get to dinner."

"Yes, I do; my brush, my mirror, my wand, and my makeup is in there," Evelyn answered, her voice nearing. "And besides, I don't want to be the only one up here… it's pretty creepy when it's dark. I once bumped into a chair and thought it was a lethifold about to smother me."

"Can't you get you bag after dinner?" Leslie's voice wheedled. "Really… I mean, this is my last night here… you know, besides the ball; I don't want to be the last one at the dinner table."

"Well, seeing as we're up here, anyway, I don't see much point in going back," there was a muttered word Lily suspected to be the password and soon enough, there was the sound of the portrait hole swinging open.

And that being their cue, some thirty-odd students leapt out of their hiding places and shouted, "SURPRISE!"

Lily rolled her eyes and swung the door open. Squeezing out from behind the bookshelf, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had been glad to leave behind the musty, dark, passageway, having never been much for being in such close quarters with James Potter. She had the sneaking suspicion that he had been sniffing her, but in all fairness, she hadn't been too discreet in burying her nose in his shoulder, though she swore she'd deny it to her dying day.

The entire encounter in the staircase had been… confusing. She wasn't entirely sure when they had come to such familiar terms that they could joke and play around so easily with each other, at least not to that degree. As she produced the cake before her, several lit up sparklers proclaiming the message, 'Farewell, Leslie and Best of Luck Wherever You Are' in a blazing fire, she gave Leslie a nudge and a smile. "Oh, come on," she muttered, "You couldn't possibly have not anticipated that."

"Me? No, you guys totally caught me by surprise," Leslie insisted as various people in the room came up to hug her. At Lily's disbelieving snort, she said, "Alright, fine, I might have had an idea… Okay, I was practicing my surprised expressions since lunch."

Lily laughed and gave her a quick squeeze, then stepped back as Remus and Peter strolled over. "You have no idea how much I slaved over the cooking for you," Peter muttered. "I mean, really… These little hands have been worked past their due with all the… the…" he faltered as Lily sent him a withering look. "Alright, I confess… Lily did all the cooking."

Leslie smiled and kissed both boys on the cheek before Sirius bounded before them to say, "Well, give us a toast then."

He summoned eight glasses of butterbeer and distributed them among the small cluster of people surrounding her.

"What?"

"A speech," he said. "You know, where you stand up and imagine everyone in their underwear… Well, that always helps me, anyway. I mean, sure, at least three quarters of the room just showed up for the food, but you should at least completely embarrass and publicly humiliate yourself by giving us a little speech to tell us how much you love us, don't you think?"

"No," said Leslie. "No, no, no, no, no… This is my party, and I say-"

"It's your last night, and you need to give us a formal address," Lily agreed, smiling. Pushing Leslie towards a huge pile of parting gifts, she said with a nudge, "Well, go on then, you little tart. Give us a toast."

"I did not sign up for this," Leslie muttered, as Evelyn clinked her glass with her wand, then had Bella put out the small fire in her butterbeer the sparks had started. Sirius then chose this opportune moment to start the couple dozen people around them into a rallying chant of, "Toast! Toast! Toast! Toast!" and added to her, "And not the bread!"

At the encouraging looks from the circle around her, she plowed on, "Alright, listen up people, because you'll only hear this from me once. I really don't know where to start or how to… Um, these last few months have been… great. Who knew school could actually make you learn, y'know? I've made some fantastic friends, met some really great people, and we've shared a lot of laughs, and… a lot of tragedies. Which really, really, really sucks, because who likes tragedy, right?"

"Way to go, Leslie," Sirius called up in support, stood up and clapped.

"I'm not done, Sirius," she muttered.

"Oh," looking put out, Sirius sat back down. "Well, how much longer is this going to take?"

"Shut up, you twerp," Bella said, cuffing him up the head. "She's not done."

Leslie ignored them and continued, "But it comes and goes, and after all that… we've managed to stick together. And that's what's important. Friends. They make it worth living to tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, because without them, life would be pretty empty. So here's to our friends, for all the laughs, the tears, the craziness, and… well, for everything… for making me believe there's still good people in this world, you know?" Raising her glass of butterbeer, she repeated, "Here's to our friends." With a sheepish grin, she asked, "Is that it? Am I done?"

"Aww, we love you too!" someone shouted. "Group hug!"

And with a flash of the camera, the moment was preserved for eternity.

--

"You know, I do wonder where you lot manage to get all this butterbeer all the time," Lily said as she poured herself another glass. "I mean, we're never lacking in the beverage department whenever there's cause for celebration."

James shrugged. "We have our ways."

Leslie smirked. "They probably sneak into Hogsmeade and steal it all," she muttered to Lily. "I mean, really… Who stores that much butterbeer in their trunks? And I'm sure the house elves tire of them eventually."

"We do not!" Sirius looked highly affronted. "We leave money, you know."

"Right, well that makes it much better on the moral compass, does it?" Lily asked. "Sneaking out after hours, breaking into someone's shop and taking their stores of food? Right."

Still, though, despite her words, the solemnity had worn off, and no one seemed without cheer in the room. It seemed almost as if someone had cast a cheering charm on all the occupants of the room; despite the cause for the celebration, no one seemed to have expressed any reasons for tears. Come to think of it, someone probably had cast a cheering charm, given that some of the party-goers were looking a bit hysterical in their laughter. Surprisingly, as she watched the rest of their circle chatter mindlessly amongst themselves, she felt no need to scold someone. It was… easy, she realized, this sort of companionship among them, without the strain of enmity between them earlier in the year.

"Alright, I have to ask," Evelyn made a face, "What's with the music? It's just so… so… sixties."

Lily laughed. "The music is compliments of dear Leslie here, as we're playing all the hits from here before she leaves back for the good old US of A," she answered. "Speaking of, do us a favor and say hi to those American chaps of yours, will you? No offense, but I'd take England over them any day."

"Cheers," James muttered, raising his glass and clinking it with hers. The group slunk into a period of silence for a while, all reflecting, perhaps, on the last few months, and, even, the last seven years. The broody quiet was broken almost suddenly that Leslie snorted her butterbeer.

"You know, I think we should start a conga line."

The random comment, seemingly from nowhere, appeared a James's elbow, by which Peter was resting on the spot of floor beneath the sofa.

With a contemplative look on his face, he reflected, "I mean, really, don't you think that'd be appropriate? It's a line with a beginning and an end, it's never really straight, and people randomly join or leave in the middle of the song…. It's kind of a metaphor for life, isn't it?"

Ignoring at the sudden silence around him, Peter continued, chewing his lower lip thoughtfully, "Besides that, this party's starting to die and we need some way to get people's attention… and I haven't done the conga ever since…. Ever. I saw it on muggle television once, and… well, it looked like fun."

He glanced around worriedly, as if afraid of his suggestion being shot down.

As the various members overcame the shock of a sudden burst of insight from their groups' usually quietest member, there was a sudden shout of, "Aww…. We love you too, Peter!" and a, "That was just… so beautiful!" No doubt from Sirius, who had seemed to be getting oddly teary-eyed at regularly increasing intervals.

There was a murmur of assent as everyone crowded for another hug. Bewildered but obviously pleased, Peter grinned and shouted to the room, "Who's up for a conga line?"

--

"I am going to miss you guys, you know."

"Aww, stop it, you're making us blush," Lily answered, picking a piece of confetti from her hair, limbs tired already from the conga line that had consisted of nearly the whole of the Gryffindor Common Room. After, though, everyone had disappeared slowly, discreetly, quietly, until it was just their own charmed circle left in the common room, lounging around to delay the inevitable… and to finish the endless plethora of cookies and surplus biscuits. It was nearly midnight now, thus meaning the hour of the actual goodbye was nearing.

"Besides… we have all those…" she gesticulated with her hands as the word escaped her before snapping as she grasped it again, "memories to live through, right?"

"Well, I still say we should hide her in a closet and tell McGonagall the Giant Squid must have eaten her," Sirius said, hanging sloth-like from the sofa. "I mean, sure, she's a bit too bony, probably, but we can say she got too annoying and so we slathered peanut butter all over her and pushed her in… Didn't someone do that once already? In our second year?"

"That was you, Sirius," Remus answered. "You slathered peanut butter over a full-body bound Gregory Gudgeon and threw him in the lake, you tosser. I'm sure that he never forgot it."

Sirius waved a hand impatiently. "I force fed him some gillyweed before that; he was perfectly safe. Just wanted an account of what the Giant Squid looked like, and since I was too busy…. I employed his assistance." With a sniff, he covered a hand over his heart and said dramatically, "Oh, the memories! How I shall miss our dear hoggy-warty Hogwarts when our time comes to leave these hallowed, booby-trapped, ghost-infested halls!"

Leslie sniffled.

"Oh, come on, don't start the waterworks now, Les," James said, a frothing cup of some unknown substance in his hand. "If it's this much over you, I have no clue how many blubbering females we're going to have to deal with once Sirius and I leave school." With a cheeky grin, he bravely took a swig of the drink before spitting it out in disgust.

Lily laughed softly, her feet propped up on his lap. "Ego, much?"

"Count on it, Evans," he replied, before grabbing her foot and tickling it. At her squeal, he answered flippantly, "That's what you get for questioning my authority on all things blubbering and female."

"Well, and sure, because that just made ever so much sense," Evelyn muttered to Bella from an opposite chair. "Quit it with the public displays, would you?"

"What exactly are you implying, Ev?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, 'bunnies in heat'. Lily ignored her and turned to Leslie. "Well, you know, we should do something to make this moment memorable, since it's probably the last we'll see of each other for awhile. I mean, of course, you'll be writing to me everyday," she sent Leslie a menacing glare for a moment, "but still… we should go out with a bang, right?"

Mutters of agreement sounded amongst their circle.

Leslie smiled, shooting golden sparks from her wand out of boredom. "Well…" she seemed to ponder the thought. "I'd say we should stuff our faces until they have to cut us out of our uniforms, but we've already done that… And I already have a gazillion pictures from you people, so… I think we should do something a little more spontaneous; something that breaks a bunch of rules, seeing that as of midnight, they really won't apply to me anymore, right?"

"Like…?" Sirius prompted. He had perked up visibly at the mention of rule breaking.

"Well, since I'm sure there is a way, just as I know you'd find it…" Leslie drew a long breath before saying, "I think we should sneak into Hogsmeade. We have, what, two more hours until midnight, right? Well, McGonagall will probably come looking for us fifteen minutes prior, so until then…"

Lily groaned, sliding her feet of James's lap. "You must be kidding me, Leslie… That leaves us about an hour, not to mention the risk of running into teachers and-"

"It was your idea to let this go out with a bang," Leslie answered, cutting her off. "And seeing as it was your idea, you can't retract it. And if we see any teachers, we'll just bolt. Besides, half the fun is the risk of getting caught."

"Famous last words," Lily muttered.

"C'mon, Evans," James nudged her, sliding off the sofa and grabbing her by her feet. "Don't argue just for the sake of arguing; live a little. We've been trying to get you to do something spontaneous all year. Are you saying all that's going to waste?"

Lily sighed, hands up in defeat. "Fine, fine. But let the record state, I did not come willingly."

Leslie clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing to the balls of her feet.

--

Most of the trip through the crowded tunnel behind the one-eyed witch's statue had been a blur, James remembered, sitting at his table, having been abandoned by all his friends, save for Remus, who was similarly viewing the group dancing before them with mild interest, and no intent at all to join.

He had laughed when Sirius had twirled Leslie around, and, with the help of some rather poor transfiguration skills, he had transfigured a table napkin into a rather wrinkly crown, more or less, crowning her the princess for the next hour or so before she had to leave. He had joined in on the last minute toasts, with their sometimes crude jokes and boatload of memories… half of which he himself hadn't been present for. As Sirius started a head bang on the dance floor, James let out a low chuckle… Sirius had always been quite good at distracting people from the inevitable.

His gaze trailing, he finally rested his eyes on the sight of Lily and her friends nearby. She wasn't dancing, really, seeming out of place, almost. He didn't kid himself to presume to know or understand her yet, but he did have an inkling that she must be feeling out of her element there; as much as he knew they both loathed the formal dance floor at school, he was also quite sure of his steps there, at least. Here, it was a different sort of game being played.

As he mulled these thoughts, she seemed to echo them, saying something inaudible over the blasting of music, and wandered over to the bar. He had been about to walk over, ready to exchange their usual banter, when, it appeared, someone else had the same idea. It was a tall, dark headed fellow; one James recognized to be the Ravenclaw quidditch captain, having played against their team a few times. Biased though he might be, he had always considered their own team to be far the superior. But then, he observed, Lily didn't seem to have much trouble with him; she seemed, in fact to be enjoying herself. Oh. Well then. She was laughing. The Ravenclaw bloke had made her laugh.

A low chuckle behind him made him turn. It was Remus, with his usual wolfish grin, perhaps the only physical trace of their full-moon escapades. Leaning forward, he murmured, "It's rude to stare, James."

"I wasn't staring."

"You were looking at the same spot for a minute and a half without even blinking once," Remus answered. "I think that's the dictionary definition for staring. You know if you're that bothered by the sight of them, you can always just look away."

James raised a brow at the tone of voice his friend had taken; it was a taunt, his last comment, testing for a reaction, insinuating… things. "Don't say it," he muttered.

"Say what, exactly?"

James rolled his eyes. Sirius really was a bad influence on him, he decided. Moony had been much more bearable before, way back in first year… Or, he was sure, he would have been, could he himself remember more from first year.

"I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong." Remus gave him a politely curious expression, and James laughed. "You think I'm jealous. And I'm not. I'm just…. Looking out for her, is all. She might need something of a… big brother, I think."

Remus gave him a supercilious stare. "And what, exactly, does big brother need?"

James laughed, twisting back to see his friend. "A little sister."

--

Flattery, they say, will get you anywhere.

Lily herself had never put much thought behind the expression, but clearly Andrew Harris believed it to be true. He had approached her from behind as she had just escaped the closely pressed quarters of the dance floor, for a much needed water break, catching her by surprise. She wasn't quite sure why she had let him stay; it wasn't as though she was looking for a relationship now, of all times, but it was… well, flattering, that someone thought so much of her. And though she didn't quite want to admit it, for fear of sounding vain and self-serving… she liked the attention.

And so, she ignored the fact he was pressing a tad closer than necessary, his fingertips barely grazing her arm, and he had chosen to pay for her drink. It wasn't in her nature to do so, she knew, and couldn't quite understand why she was accepting it, from a near stranger, no less. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friends clustered together watching her, Remus also looking at her with a bemused smile, whilst James studied the bubbles in his glass of butterbeer… well, that's what she hoped it was, anyway.

Sirius, on the other hand, didn't take any notice to the company he was keeping and ignored all rules of subtlety as he broke through the gaggle of girls surrounding him and bounded her way cheerily.

"Lilykins!" he shouted. As he reached her, his arm snaked around her shoulder almost territorially and he grinned at Andrew, who gave the pair of them a bewildered look. "Why, Lily-bean, you've yet to introduce me to your… this… person, here."

Andrew gaped. "I, erm…" he turned to her almost desperately that she had to suppress the urge to laugh. "Are you two involved? Because if you were, then-"

As Lily began to furiously shake her head and tried to disengage Sirius's arm, his other arm just grabbed her loose and unsuspecting hand and encircled her waist.

"Why, yes, Lily and I… we're special friends," Sirius said, adding a knowing wink at 'special friends'. Tightening his grip against her waist, he raised the hand clasped in his and gave it a sloppy kiss, smirking up at Andrew. "Very, very, very special friends, if you catch my drift. And… I'm sorry; I don't know who you are. Lily?" He turned to his special friend innocently. "Are you going to introduce us?"

Lily glared, and could see Evelyn and Bella rolling their eyes, Remus making a poor attempt to hide his laughter, and James spraying butterbeer through his nose. "This, Sirikins, is Andrew Harris. He's the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team," she said coolly.

"Oh, is that so?" Sirius lifted a brow in feigned interest, giving him a polite smile. "A raven, is he? I say, didn't the Gryffindors win against the Ravenclaws… twelve times? Can't say much for your strategy, then, can we? You know, my other special friend, Jamsie," he nodded in James's general direction, "he's the captain of the Gryffindor team. It's basically undefeated."

"Well, I'm afraid most games involving just brute strength must be Gryffindor's forte, then," Andrew replied crisply. "We Ravenclaws rely on our wit to guide us… Any game requiring more than a few brain cells will usually go to us, I believe."

"Is that really?" Sirius asked, smiling toothily and ignoring the dull pain in his foot from Lily stomping on it. "Well, than why is it that my special friends here were both made Head Boy and Girl and you had to settle… probably not for the first time in your life, I'm willing to bet."

"That was low, Sirius," Lily muttered. "Would you please shut your trap for once?"

"I don't see what's wrong with a little friendly house competition," Sirius answered, smiling dazzlingly at Andrew. "Wouldn't you say so, mate?"

"Indeed."

"So, why don't we, ah, step outside and try to resolve things the old-fashioned way?"

"Have you gone completely mad, Sirius?" Lily hissed, stomping on his foot with renewed vigor. "This is completely ridiculous. You can't possibly be serious-"

Sirius grinned at her with a dazzling smile and cut her off as he swooped down and kissed her.

--

James inwardly winced in sympathy as he watched his friend lower his head and plant a sloppy kiss on Lily Evans.

Lily, whose eyes were still open and looking wildly in every direction, didn't seem to appreciate the fact that she was in the position most girls would give an arm for... maybe two, actually, if he remembered the amount of broken limbs at quidditch tryouts there had been, all due to the fact Sirius had shown up to cheer James on. Nor did she seem to appreciate the fact that he was saving her from… er, whatever it was Sirius thought he was saving her from. In fact, she didn't seem to appreciate any bit of the situation at all.

James shook his head, as across from him, Remus had finally abandoned all pretense of trying to still his laughter and was now snorting into his drink. It was quite amusing, he admitted, given that Sirius himself had always considered her to be like a sister. And now they were snogging the daylights out of each other- well, it was a bit one-sided, given the fact that Lily, while she had given up fighting him off, was rather limply staring apologetically at… whoever that guy had been.

Who had he been, anyway?

Shrugging at Remus, James lifted himself from the table and strode over to the three, who resembled an odd comedy scene, almost, and waved to the fellow Lily had been speaking to, while Lily herself seemed to be in the process of removing her shoe, which James had a funny feeling was going to connect with Sirius's head.

Sure enough, the sound of a dull clunk sounded, and Sirius rubbed the spot, complaining loudly. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"You're molesting me, that's what, you dolt!"

James chuckled, holding out his hand at the tall boy staring at the pair with an expression of loss and confusion. "Sorry 'bout him, mate… They're not really dating, just so you know. He's just concerned about her, is all; he's practically her brother, y'know."

The boy gave him a wary look before shaking the proffered hand. "I'm Andrew," he introduced himself. "And I know who you are, I've seen you at Prefect meetings and quidditch games."

James inclined his head politely. "Fantastic," he answered. "So we can skip those pleasantries, then."

Andrew looked almost fearful, no doubt due to Sirius's colorful introduction.

"I… I just asked her out for a date," he muttered in explanation. "She seemed to take it well at the time, I mean… She didn't say no."

James's eyes flickered to the girl in question, who seemed to be giving Sirius the telling off of his lifetime. "She's a special person," he answered simply, cocking his head as he chose his words carefully. "To all of us. So if anyone were to hurt her… Just know she has about four brothers fully willing to Avada Kedavra your brains out at a nod or flick of a finger from her. And I realize it must seem a bit rich to get lectured from me, when I'm sure you're well aware of our history, but…" James trailed off and gave Andrew an easy smile. "At any rate, just hope you know what you're signing on for."

"I'll take my chances."

"Good," James replied.

--

"Ugh!" Lily shuddered as they wandered their way back through to the secret passageway, making a face as she took a large gulp of butterbeer. "I'm still trying to wash out the taste of Sirius Black out of my mouth."

Sirius grinned. "Oh, come on, it was for your own good. You can't honestly say that nancy-boy Andrew is a better kisser than me, can you?"

Lily gave him a look of disgust. "Well, thanks to you, I'll never know, will I? Is this what you're going to do now? Scare away all my potential suitors until I'm forty?"

"If that's what it takes, dearie," Sirius answered cheerfully, whistling as he moved ahead of their group through the passageway.

James dropped his voice as he fell in step beside her. "You do realize he's only looking out for you, right? He really does have your best interests at heart; he's just… expressing it in the only way he knows how."

Lily raised a brow. "By sabotage? I can look after myself without you lot, you know. I thought we'd all gotten over the 'eggshell' phase; and now suddenly the first time a guy shows interest in me, it's all 'protective and overbearing big brother' act?" She sighed. "I don't really care about Andrew, really, not that much. Just the fact that your friend's being a pain in the arse about it…"

James shrugged. "That's Sirius for you; what did you expect? He cares about you. We all care about you," he muttered softly. "But this Andrew bloke, he seems like a nice enough guy. I think he'd still be willing to meet with you."

"You think?" Lily's lip twitched. "I dunno; I never really cared about it much… He only asked me out today, after all, and I didn't even give him a real answer," she let out a chuckle. "Silly, really, all this fuss over something that probably never would have gone anywhere at all."

"I think you should go."

"Why?" she laughed slightly. "Aren't you supposed to be all overprotective and broody as well?"

"Nah, I'd be much more subtle, starting with stealing all his clothes at quidditch practice, then hanging his lucky knickers on the goal posts, and if he really rubs me the wrong way, I'd probably end up slipping a potion in his drink making him inexplicably attractive to both the female and male population of Slytherin," he answered with a grin. Sobering slightly, he answered, "It's a taste of normal, Lily. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I suppose," she sighed. Picking a bit of dirt from her nails as they walked in stooped positions in the passageway, she said, "It's just that… After all that… wanting for something so normal, well… there it is. And I'm not so sure I really want to take it. You know?"

James turned his head to look at her, and an amused look took over his sober expression. "No, actually. I'd jump at the chance."

She smiled slightly. "Well, it's not as though you haven't had plenty of opportunities."

"Touché," he shrugged. With a half smile, he murmured, "I'm waiting for something better, I suppose. Someone who fits me, if that makes any sense… the brainless acts are getting kind of old."

"Then I guess I'm waiting too."

--

"You've got everything, then?" Lily repeated for the fourth time as they trudged down the stairs, three large trunks levitating before them. Half an hour upon returning to the Gryffindor Tower, they had retreated to their dorms as the others cleaned up the damage in the Common Room. "Wand, books, essays, journals, camera, clothes… everything?"

"Everything," Leslie rolled her eyes. Clucking her tongue, she muttered, "And what will you do when you don't have me to condescend and hen-pick?"

"Oh, I suppose there's always Potter," she answered cheerfully. "Are you sure you've got everything? Because I don't fancy having to burden my owl with lugging your underwear over the Atlantic."

"What about underwear, now?"

Lily glanced over her shoulder. "Well, if it isn't Mr. Black, the sloppy kisser. And get your mind out of the gutter, will you? We need to get her to the front of the building before McGonagall shows up and bites all our heads off for slowing them down."

With a sigh, she watched as Sirius dutifully swept Leslie off the floor and carried her out the door, the trunks clumsily leading the way outside the portrait hole. It was only the beginning, and yet, somehow, everything was ending. She wondered vaguely if it would feel the same when they all left Hogwarts. Probably not; Black and Potter would most likely end up moving into a flat next door to hers as soon as they graduated, just for the sake of annoying her.

"Shouldn't you be out there by now?"

Lily started at the sound of the voice, one she had to admit she didn't hear quite often enough. "Peter! You startled me."

Standing by the window, Peter gave a chuckle. "Shouldn't you be out there?" he repeated. "With them?"

Lily frowned as she walked over. Below the window, almost directly, was a small mass of people in separate clusters, apparently all the exchange students and their friends. In a small row away, the teachers stood by, observing, as they always seemed to be, silent and unwavering. Nothing ever seemed to change with them.

Turning back to face Peter, she smiled, "I was on my way down. Just checking to see if she didn't leave anything behind. And what about you? Aren't you supposed to be down there?"

Peter shrugged. "Maybe." She gave him a small smile as she made to go to the portrait hole, until she heard his voice again. "They wouldn't notice, you know."

"They wouldn't notice… what, exactly?"

"Me, there, existing," he said, a slight hint of bitterness in his voice as he smiled a painful smile. "They never do. That's why I'm up here. By myself. As always. Because I don't think they'd really care enough to notice me. Great friends I have, right?"

Lily frowned. "Peter, I don't think…"

"They don't do it on purpose," Peter continued as he glared outside the window. "They just can't help overshadowing me, forgetting me. You know who everyone thinks of when they hear 'the Marauders'? James, Sirius, and Remus. I'm just an afterthought. Poor Peter Pettigrew, the little boy who toddles around after the big kids on the playground. Maybe that's why they don't notice. Because I don't notice myself."

"Peter, I…" Lily faltered. It was true, what he said… He never was seen quite on the same level as his friends. And she, who had always prided herself in noticing, had failed to realize it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't pity me," Peter answered. With a sort of twisted smile, he answered, "I'm the one who made the glaringly obvious mistake of befriending people so much… higher than me. And that's just going to make you pity me more, isn't it?" He waited for a while.

"I'm… sorry, Peter," she frowned. Glancing out the door, she noted the Knight Bus had arrived already, and only a small cluster was out now. They were waiting, she realized. For her. "I have to.."

"Go," he nodded. "And don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Lily hesitated as she reached the portrait hole.

"I'm happy," Peter said in a sardonic voice. "My friends love me. Just… go and say your goodbyes."

--

He was sick of saying goodbye.

As he hugged Leslie and murmured a quick, "Take care," into her tousled hair, he found that he had never quite hated a word such as 'goodbye' so much. It was a sad thing to say, and rather depressing… He had said it too much. And it didn't matter under what pretense, because in the end, it just meant that they wouldn't be seeing each other again.

"This really sucks," Bella said as she, Evelyn, Leslie, and Lily enveloped each other in a four-way hug. "We're going to miss you so much around here!"

That just about summed it up, James thought with a flicker of a laugh inside. Girls were bound to be a bit more showy with the whole act, he supposed, but all the same… they were right. It really sucked. A lot. With a sigh, he took a seat at the snow covered bench conveniently placed by the entrance, noting that most of the other exchange students were now already on board the bus, glaring at their group.

"She's not dying," Remus muttered as he stepped behind James. "And it's not as though we won't write every once in a while. There's no need to get all weepy."

"I can't help it!" burst a hysterical Sirius. "We're going to be so far apart! I can't bear it!"

"Aww, I'm going to miss you too, Sirius!" Leslie murmured, pulling him into their group hug. "Remus, get your arse over here!"

"You're using British slang now, are you?" he muttered as he exchanged another look with James. With a sigh, he smiled and hugged them as well, "Take care, Leslie. We're going to miss your impersonations of our favorite gamekeeper."

James laughed. Leslie's eyes narrow. "You too, Potter, get over here," she demanded. James lazily left his stoop and strolled over, and was pulled in by his collar.

"Yeah, I'll miss you too," he muttered, and placed an affectionate kiss on her head. He wondered if this would be how it was when they graduated… All this drifting apart, and no matter how hard they tried to stay together… Nothing seemed to last anymore, nothing was permanent enough. What was the point? He caught the Head Girl's eye as Leslie stepped away from their crowd, now with the addition of a small basket containing four stuffed animals: a wolf, a dog, a stag, and a mouse… Rather obvious, really, but no one ever seemed to get it.

"So this is it," Leslie sighed as she turned on the last step of the bus. "Keep in touch, okay? I'm going to miss you guys so much!"

A chorus of, 'we love you too' and 'take care' sounded after her announcement, as she finally ascended the steps and plopped into what seemed to be a loft bed, and waved frantically out the window for a fraction of a second, before with a bang, the bus vanished out of their view. James could have sworn he had seen a few trees jump out of the way, though.

"Well, she's gone," Lily said, the first to break the silence as they all stared off in the direction the bus had gone, looking for a nothing. More softly, that James suspected only he had heard, she murmured, "She was only the first to leave."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He knew what it meant. And as her startled expression turned to a blank one, he was sure she knew it, too.

Nothing was ever permanent.

--

--

(A/N): Finally! The chapter's done! Now don't be surprised if it turns up updated in a few weeks; that's just me revising after rereading my work and being disgusted by it. Once again, I'm going to plug a piece of fanart that I found to be my idea of the perfect Lily, minus the green

Oh, yes, terribly sorry that Lily's first kiss in the entire story so far was from Sirius, but… yeah.

To Come: Filler chapter, calm before the storm, then comes the actual storm, then the lovely aftermath, and… all that jazz. We get a bit of handholding, and a few sappy moments, I suppose, not to say that our favorite couple actually becomes a couple yet… erm, if that made any sense.

Don't expect the next chappie for a while; high school's just been… very strenuous this year, my mother just had a healthy baby girl… yay for her. Do feel free to e-mail me at for updates on the story or general egging me on for updates… You guys really do help in getting me off my lazy arse and onto the keyboard! And besides, if you write to me, the chances are that I'll reply. And if I don't… either I didn't read it or I just generally suck at life, which means you should just send me another e-mail. J

Off to do homework now… Happy Halloween! Til next time, dearies!