A/N: Okay, now on to Chapter 2! Just as a warning, I have no clue where this story's going.

Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

Chapter 2: Backend of Forever

Coheed and Cambria

Lily arrived in the back of the Leaky Cauldron a mere split second later, thankful she had passed her Apparition test the first time around. The only other person she knew of would've easily passed their first time was James Potter –

James Potter? Since when had Lily started mentally complimenting James? And since when had she referred to him by his first name in her head? It's nothing, Lily tried to convince herself. It's just the heat getting to my head, she thought, ignoring the obvious cooling charm placed over the pub and quite possibly all of Diagon Alley. Lily removed the brick wall to Diagon Alley with her wand and set out for Gringotts, taking advantage of her time before the possibility of James Potter tearing the alley apart in search of her became a reality.

It seemed that every Hogwarts student from a Muggle family decided to visit Diagon Alley that day. The line for the exchange desk was the longest Lily had ever seen it. The parents of younger students stood in awe of the white marble building while their children tugged them along in line. Several students Lily recognized from her year stood ahead of her, counting out the exchange rate from pounds to galleons on their fingers. Lily watched with amusement as several witches and wizards exited the vaults with their pocketed gold, some much greener than they were when they entered (although one particular witch she suspected to be green to begin with). It was finally Lily's turn, and she handed the grouchy goblin the wad of bills her father had given her moments before, receiving quite the pile of gold in return. Sliding the money into a coin purse, Lily exited the shelter of the bank and returned to the scorching sun of outside.

The first stop on Lily's outing was Flourish and Blotts. She'd already gotten most of her school books, but her love of new books, especially of the magical kind, always brought her back in search of something new. Moments later, she left the store with a new copy of Myth or Magic? Muggle Views on Wizards and Witches.

Several Potions ingredients and a set of new robes later, Lily was about to take her most eager steps into Eeylops Owl Emporium when she heard an all-too familiar voice call her name from behind. She cringed at what her heat-induced brain had done before turning around.

The summer had done James Potter some good. He'd grown a bit taller since sixth year leaving Lily, who hadn't grown a centimeter since their fourth year, barely reaching the bottom of his chin. He had donned a black Muggle tee shirt with The Ramones, a Muggle band increasing in popularity, splayed across the front in green. The short sleeves showed off some of the toning Quidditch had done to his arm muscles that the school robes normally hid, which Lily found herself enjoying. James' excited, boy-like run towards Lily almost made her want to giggle. When he finally did stop in front of her, however, Lily found that his hazel eyes had lost some of their old manic folly that she found so irritating, and had been replaced by something else; something she didn't quite recognize.

"Lil- er, Evans!" James greeted with a jovial smile. "All right, I suppose?"

Lily just arched her eyebrow in greeting. "Potter." Lily turned on her heel and entered the shop, leaving James behind her.

James' smile faltered for a split second, but was soon restored in full. "Aw, c'mon, Evans. You said if I could find you, we would talk," he said to her in a sing-song fashion.

Hundreds of glittering eyes followed the pair through the store. Lily wouldn't turn to acknowledge James as she roamed about, careful to avoid the owl droppings. "I had a lapse of sanity," she said to James, who had just stepped on her heel for the third time since their entrance. "Do you have to follow me so close?" Lily hissed at James.

"Sorry, sorry," James said in apology, holding his hands in front of him and giving Lily some space. "I was just thinking that since, y'know, we'll be Head Boy and Girl this year, we could maybe, ah, start over."

Lily wasn't sure she'd heard right. James Potter wanted to start over? Lily turned around to look at him. She was tempted to give him her usual glare, but resisted. "Start over?" James nodded. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And how do you propose we do that?" she asked him

James shoved one hand into the pockets of what Lily noticed were Muggle trousers, while the other one ran through his messy, wind-swept black hair. "We could start by introducing ourselves again." Lily just looked at him. "You know, like 'Hi, my name is James, not Potter'" he said, offering her his right hand in a handshake.

What the hell, Lily thought as she gave in to his suggestion. "Hello, my name is Lily, not Evans," she said as she placed her hand in his.

Instead of gripping her hand in a handshake, James lifted her delicate hand to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. "Nice to meet you, Lily." By the way Lily was glaring at him, James knew he had gone too far. "Sorry, Lily. I shouldn't have done that," he said, his eyes glued to the floor.

Lily was amazed. James Potter, the arrogant twat, was actually sorry. Once her anger (and surprise) had subsided, Lily spoke to James. "It's alright," she said quietly. James shyly looked her in the eyes, and smiled. God, she has beautiful eyes, he thought. The two of them resumed their search, Lily looking while James shared his little knowledge on owls with her as they went. Lily ended up settling on a tawny barn owl, and James was pleased when she actually accepted his offer of allowing him to carry her previous purchases while she vehemently assured him that it was only because she didn't have enough hands.

Readjusting the load in his arms, James grinned at Lily. "Let's go get a butterbeer," he said. "My treat."

Lily stopped in her tracks and narrowed her almond-shaped eyes at James. "We're clear that this is not a date, correct?" Lily said in what was more a warning than a question.

"Of course, Lily," James said in reassurance. "I just thought you might enjoy the rest after all this extensive shopping." Catching the pleased look on Lily's face, he added, "And maybe we could, you know, talk. As one Head to another." James arched an internal eyebrow once the words, which hadn't come out as he meant, had left his mouth. "Er, I meant –"

He had no need to correct himself, however, as Lily nodded and, for the first time he could remember, smiled at him. "A rest sounds great," she said, "but only if we keep everything school-oriented."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," James said as he held the door to The Leaky Cauldron for Lily, despite his heavy load.

Neither student noticed the pale boy with the long, greasy hair with his nose in some sort of book as they walked in, just as he didn't notice them. James and Lily sat at an empty table and piled the purchases into an empty chair. James left momentarily, but promptly returned with two butterbeers. The talk was forced, mostly consisting of Lily telling James what he could and could not do during the coming year. The tension started to dissolve as the conversation began to stray from Hogwarts and into their daily lives. To James' surprise, the straying was initiated by the one who had at first forbidden it.

"I've got to ask," Lily said after taking a sip of her butterbeer. "Where did you get that shirt? Your family's all wizards, aren't they?"

James nodded and swallowed before answering. "My aunt married a Muggle a couple years ago. I got this from them for Christmas," James explained. "I save it for days like this, when it's hotter than the flames of Hell." Lily smiled and giggled a bit, something she had rarely ever done. "Don't you come from a Muggle family?" James asked Lily out of curiosity.

"Yeah," Lily said, mostly to her remaining butterbeer.

"How do they take to you being a witch?"

"My parents are pretty used to the idea of me being a witch and all, but my sister…" Lily trailed off for a second, before resuming her sentence. "My sister Petunia thinks I'm a freak. Her boyfriend does, too," Lily said as she swished the rest of her drink around in its bottle, "but he's a big oaf anyways."

"You're not a freak, Lily," James reassured her. "Would Dumbledore have made you Head Girl if you were a freak?"

Lily snorted and looked up into James' lopsided grin and twinkling eyes. Those twinkling eyes made a quick venture over Lily's shoulder, and froze on another pair of piercing eyes. "Snivellus," James whispered ferociously.

Lily swiveled around into her chair and came to face a scowling Severus Snape. She could sense impending danger in his presence, something she was going to try to avoid. "Hello, Severus," Lily said with a smile. The voice of her greeting was feeble, and her smile swayed more towards a frown as Snape's only acknowledgement of her was a muttered "mudblood."

James stared coolly at the greasy boy, not hearing the insult. "Washed your hair lately, Snivellus?" James asked in an icy tone. Lily shot warning daggers at him with her emerald eyes, daggers which James either didn't see or ignored.

"Go back to your date with the little mudblood, Potter," Snape said just as frigidly.

James jumped to his feet, his wand held threateningly in front of him. Snape removed his wand from his robes with a flourish as Lily ordered James to sit down. All eyes rested on the trio as disaster unfolded in front of their faces. "Take that back," James growled, disregarding Lily's commands. Sneering, Snape spat dangerously close to Lily.

That was it. With a great roar, James soared over the table he and Lily had been occupying and landed on top of a shocked Severus Snape. Lily's butterbeer teetered dangerously from the sudden commotion before toppling and spilling all down her front. A scream of both surprise and frustration escaped her mouth as she jumped up. James threw punch after agonizing punch at Snape's face, not noticing the mess Snape's blood was making of his hands as his glasses hung by one ear.

"ALRIGHT, YOU THREE, OUT!" James and Snape were suddenly ripped from each other by an invisible force and hung suspended in the air. Tom the bartender stood behind the counter, wand raised and face red as a tomato. His wand led the two battling boys from the pub before dropping them to the ground outside. Lily grabbed her previous purchases, as well as Snape's book and both boys' wands before following, her face crimson in both humiliation and fury. Tom grumbled something along the lines of "bloody teenage drama" behind her.

Outside, James wiped his bloodied hands on his trousers and adjusted his glasses while Snape stopped his bleeding (and slightly more crooked) nose with the sleeve of his robes. Both were glowering angrily at each other. Lily held a shaky hand containing a book and a wand to Snape, which he violently snatched as if it had been lying in a pile of hippogriff dung before sulking away.

With one last furious look at James, Lily stomped off in the opposite direction. James chased after her, pleading for her to stop. "Lily, hold on, please! C'mon, stop!" Everything had been going so well, James thought regretfully to himself. "Lily, wait!" Everything until that bloody bastard Snape showed up.

Lily finally did stop, to James' great relief. But when she turned around, that relief turned to dread in the pit of his stomach. He had never seen Lily this angry. A million different emotions passed across her eyes, but the one that stood out the most was pure, utter hatred. Lily threw the extra wand in her hand at James, and it painfully bounced off his chest. A book fell from her arms, but she didn't even notice. Then, with a voice like ice, she spoke to James. "Grow up, Potter." And with a pop, she vanished.

James bent down to pick up the book that had fallen to the cobblestone street. When he finally stood up, Sirius Black was standing next to him, a silvery cloak in his hands. James didn't even acknowledge the presence of his best friend. "Tough break, Prongs," Sirius said as he slung his arm around his friend's shoulders. "You were this close to getting her to promise you our first Hogsmeade weekend," Sirius said as he held his free thumb and index finger millimeters apart, "until Snape had to show his ugly face."

"Don't remind me," James said ruefully as he let his friend guide him away."

"Ah, well, better luck next time, mate," Sirius said as he released his friend. "C'mon, let's go set off some dungbombs in Madam Malkin's. We haven't done that in a while."

"Yeah," James said half-heartedly, Lily's forgotten book still in his hand. Sirius would never know, but as James stared at the spot from which Lily disappeared, he wished more than ever that he could follow her home.

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A/N: So that was Chapter 2 of who knows how many.

Review! Please!