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Chapter Thirteen: Coming to Terms and Moving to Fast

"Thanks for coming to say good night." Lily smiled at Emerson. "It was completely unnecessary, but very thoughtful."

Emerson smiled his ten-carat smile. "I missed you. And besides, every time I see you it's like I've won the Quidditch World Cup."

Lily laughed, and Emerson leaned in and kissed her longingly for what seemed like minutes. Finally, they broke apart.

"Good night, Emerson." whispered Lily as she turned to go through the portrait.

"'Night, Lily." he waved before turning to head back to Hufflepuff tower.

Lily walked through the portrait into the Heads Common room, where James lay spread out on the floor by the fire, doing homework.

"Good night, James." Lily called as she headed to her room, she slowed her tracks down as it became apparent that James was not going to respond. She turned around sharply.

Lily had had enough of being ignored.

She stormed up to James, who determinedly continued to work as if no one was towering above him.

"Listen, Potter." she snapped. "I know you don't exactly…approve…of me dating Emerson, but…darn it, James. It's been a week! You can't go on ignoring me like this! I can't help it if I'm attracted to Emerson, I can't help it if I have a good time with him, and I can't help it if he asked me out!" She paused as she noticed that he had stopped scribbling notes. "But, James, I do like him. You can't hate me for dating him. You can't pretend that I don't exist just because I like him!"

James, not looking at her, replied. "I don't see why I can't ignore you. You did it oh so well to me for the better part of our Hogwarts careers."

Lily stomped her foot on the ground, making James's parchment unravel. "Because! We have to work together, James!"

James gathered his work together and shoved it into his bag, before standing up.

"I've got to go."

Lily let out a sarcastic laugh. "Right, James. Just keep on ignoring me! Keep being a jealous little prat!"

James turned towards her. "I'm not jealous." he replied through gritted teeth.

"I have a hard time believing that!" retorted Lily before she stormed off to her original destination.

"You are jealous, mate." stated Sirius as he, James, Peter, and Remus lay around in the Room of Requirement the next night.

James groaned. "I know, but how can I not be? I love her and she's off with some bloke."

"Well you can't let her see that you're jealous. That's a big turn-off for girls." said Remus.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "When did you become such an expert on girls and turn-ons, Moony?"

Remus blushed slightly. "Since I've had a girlfriend."

"It's only been a week." replied Sirius skeptically. "You are already calling her your girlfriend?"

"A week or not, his relationship with Ellie is more stable than any you or I have had." reasoned James glumly.

Remus smiled reassuringly at James. "You'll get Lily in the end, Prongs."

James huffed and leaned back in his chair, pulling his arms behind his head. "I don't see that happening."

"Look, mate, you have to be her friend during this," explained Remus. "If you don't… all the progress you've made this year won't mean anything, you'll be right where you left off."

"Yeah, and it will prove her right." agreed Peter.

The remaining boys looked questioningly at Peter.

"He'll be a prat. If he's going to be an arse to her he'll be a prat, and she'll be right," explained Peter with an uncharacteristic exasperated tone.

"Merlin, even Peter has girl-wisdom now. What have we come to?" laughed Sirius.

"I have a girl." offered Peter, somewhat bashfully and uneasily.

"Really?" exclaimed James, with surprise and excitement. "And just when were you planning on telling us about the bird?"

Peter smiled sheepishly. "Well I wasn't sure it was anything till yesterday."

"Who is it?" asked Remus.

"Claire Frost." Peter answered confidently.

"Hey, she's a sixth year Hufflepuff. Pretty nice, Wormtail." congratulated James, as cheerfully as he could giving the circumstances.

"Merlin, now the world really is bloody mad. Moony and Wormtail have girlfriends and Prongs and I are dateless."

Later that night James sat in front of the fire drawing out Quidditch plays, when he heard Lily discreetly as she could, ruffle by.

"Where you going?" he asked casually, praying that it wasn't off to see Emerson.

Lily looked surprised at seeing him there. "Off to the owlry."

James closed his playbook. "Oh really? I need to bring a letter by there myself. Mind if I join you?"

Lily looked at him unresponsively, perhaps still shocked that he was talking to her—actually having a conversation, when he hadn't so much said a hello to her all week.

James ran to his room and came back with a envelope sealed with a red wax seal that appeared to have a delicately scripted "P" with a coat of armor behind it.

"Alright, shall we?." started James as he followed Lily out of the portrait hole.

Halfway to the owlry, Lily had enough of James's meaningless babble, he was carrying on like nothing had happened between the two of them, when it was just yesterday that he insisted on not speaking to her.

Lily stopped and faced him, her eyes glowing menacingly.

"James, what are you playing at?" she demanded, arms folded, clutching the letter tightly.

James stopped in mid-sentence, and his brilliant smile faded as he pulled his arms down by his side and faced Lily.

"I am trying to make things right. I wasn't right to act how I did, ok?"

Lily's eyes lost their fierce glow as she took in his words and she sighed. "I see. Do you even have a letter to send, or is this just a scheme to try and get an apology through?"

Her tone was not bitter, angry, or annoyed—just tired.

"No, I'm afraid I inherited my father's memory and that I've forgotten Taffy's birthday." he answered casually, starting to walk.

As he had hoped, Lily started walking again and followed his conversation. "Who's Taffy?"

James smiled. "My house-elf. Or one of them at least, she's taken care of me since I was little."

Lily nodded in understanding. "How old is she turning?"

James shrugged. "I'm not quite sure, my mother always told me never to ask a woman her age, she's got to be in her fifties at least, though—fairly young for a house-elf."

Lily smiled. "Well aren't you just polite."

James glanced at her for a moment before asking, "So, who's you're letter to? Or is it confidential?"

Lily smirked at him. "It's a letter to my parents…my father mostly, I've been having horrible tooth-aches, I believe my wisdom teeth are coming in."

James made a face of disgust. "Bummer. I had Madam Promfrey dissolve mine with a potion last year, why don't you try that?"

Lily sighed. "My father is a doctor…as long as he can he's going to make sure I do things the Muggle way. He's not sure about healing…and his best friend is a dentist."

James nodded. "What's a dentist?"

"A Muggle doctor for the teeth. Wretched profession, really." she answered with a grimace.

"So is this a huge, painful operation with lots of blood and drugs?" asked James with a sarcastic tone and an expression Lily knew so well—one with false concern, humor, but never letting a grin spread across his face.

"Oh yes, I'm sure, because that's what dentists do." Lily answered in her own humor, with an earnest look that wiped over her fine features.

"Dreadful bastards, aren't they? I'll have to meet one." James replied with such sincerity that Lily could honestly see James trying to go get his teeth cleaned.

The image brought Lily to a fit of giggles, and pretty soon James had joined in on the laughter.

They reached the owlry in laughter, which stopped short when they saw who was in the owl-populated room.

Hazel Hodges, a girl that had been one of Lily's other roommates for the better part of six years, a pretty girl with a slim figure, that had a knack for lying and making up elaborate stories, the kind of girl that had people believe she was a ditz, yet was actually brilliant. Lily and Allison couldn't stand her. Hazel, who's name fit her well, her hazel eyes, brown-hair with multi-colored streaks through it, was currently snogging Samuel Stebbins, and from the looks of it, they weren't stopping soon—and from what Lily could tell, didn't even realize they were there.

James cleared his throat loudly, and Sam and Hazel snapped out of their daze.

"You know, there's the Astronomy Tower for that." stated James, who Lily could tell was biting his cheeks to keep his laughter ebbed.

Sam had blushed three shades darker, while Hazel held her dignity and narrowed her eyes at James and Lily.

"Well you aren't exactly looking innocent yourselves."

James and Lily glanced at each other.

"Really, Hazel? Because as far as I can tell, we both have letters…we are in the owlry…Merlin, that looks suspicious. See the truth is, James and I we're planning on snogging each other senseless, but you two have affectively ruined the mood." replied Lily, slightly annoyed, severely sarcastic.

Hazel narrowed her eyes at Lily again. "That's what I thought." With her words she literally dragged Stebbins out of the owlry behind her and left James and Lily to themselves.

James just shook his head. "Merlin, Lily, I believe my humor has rubbed off on you."

Lily smirked. "Or mine has rubbed off on you."

"Oh, no! We're friends." replied James playfully gasping.

Lily smiled. "I guess we are."

"Check mate." exclaimed Ellie as she and Remus played Wizard's chess.

Remus just smiled and held his hand to his chest. "Oh, I've been beaten." he stated over-dramatically.

"Oy, everyone, Moony's been beat at chess!" exclaimed Sirius, with a wicked grin on his face.

Remus shrugged and whispered to Ellie, "Ever since I beat him fifth year he's been advertising every time I lose."

Ellie giggled as she sat across from Remus in the Gryffindor Common room on the Thursday night.

James, Sirius, and Peter were currently playing Exploding Snap.

After his turn, James turned to Ellie. "Where's Allison and Lily?"

Ellie gave him a sympathetic smile. "Off with Jacob and Emerson."

James sighed. "Oh."

Ellie walked over and sat next to James. "Look, James, I know this is hard for you…but if it makes you feel better, none of us really approve of their relationship. Even Jacob says Emerson is a flake."

This however, did not improve James's mood. "I don't understand why the bloody hell she's going out with him if he's not the best guy in the entire world, because for the last few years I've had the distinct impression that she only went out with the best blokes."

"I don't know…honestly, no one really does…we have our suspicions but…as far as she has told us, she really does like him…she finds him attractive." explained a sympathetic Ellie.

James looked just a sullen and continued playing cards.

"I bet it's because his hair falls perfectly." commented Sirius. "Or is it his beautiful teeth?"

James just shot him a glare.

"I thought you and Lily we're on friendly terms again…at least that's what she says." stated Ellie.

"She talks about me?" exclaimed James with excitement in his hazel eyes.

Ellie laughed. "She said you were talking again so you could get work done. Don't get too excited."

James let out a sigh. "Sure, we're on friendly terms. But I just thought she would ditch Burton by now."

Ellie laughed again, and James glared at her with annoyance. Ellie playfully hit him. "She hasn't even been dating him two weeks, she doesn't know she doesn't like him yet."

Sirius and James just shook their heads. "Girls are too confusing."

"Girls are confusing? Have you looked at your chromosomes lately?" retorted Ellie. "Do you know how hard it is to tell how guys actually feel about you?"

Ellie looked at Remus and caught his eye. "No offense, Remus. But honestly. It is almost impossible to tell if guys are really interested or if they're just being friendly. And if they are being friendly and are interested in you, are they in to you for you? Or do they just want a physical relationship? Guys are ten times harder to figure out then girls."

James and Sirius looked appalled. Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "I have never let my affections for a girl gone unknown."

"We've noticed." replied Ellie. "And lets see…the girls you have dated—if you can call it dating, you have just had physical relationships…girls think you just want them for their bodies."

"That's not true." argued Sirius. "Girls are more complicated anyways, half the time they act like they want it…and then they pull something like…emotions in to it. And that just screws everything up. You can never tell what they want or when they want it."

James, Peter, and Remus just sighed. This argument was going to take a while…and nothing was going to be solved.

"Can't I see the inside of your palace this once?" begged Emerson, with a puppy dog look that softened all of Lily's restrictions.

"You can't, Professor Dumbledore would know." debated Lily softly as Emerson played with her hair outside of the portrait hole.

"C'mon, Lily, you know you want to show me." He smiled. "I'll show you mine, but I'm sure its nothing compared to your common room."

Lily argued with her conscious for a few moments before deciding. "James is either at practice or with his friends…you can come in, just for a look…and then you're out. Promise?"

Emerson smiled brilliantly. "I promise, love."

A faint blush passed over Lily's cheeks. "You're going to have to cover your ears, I have to say the password."

"But of course." he agreed, clasping his hands over his ears with a charming grin.

Lily shook her head with a smile as she muttered the password and prayed James wasn't inside.

Emerson followed Lily in, and she heard him gasp. "This is amazing! It's almost as nice as my house."

Lily smiled politely while Emerson jumped on to the comfortable couch in front of the fire.

"Ok, we better get out of here…I don't know when James will be back."

Emerson layed out on the couch. "Oh come on Lily, loosen up. It's not like James hasn't had his girls and friends in here."

Lily narrowed her eyes for a flash of a second, before putting on a smile as Emerson used his charming smile—there was something magical about his smile that made her forget she was upset. "James hasn't had anyone up here." she argued lamely.

"That you know of." finished Emerson. "Come sit with me."

She took a seat beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder. He began massaging her neck and Lily smiled exhaustedly.

"That feels good…I've had such a long day."

Emerson kissed her neck and whispered. "Just forget about it." His mouth slowly moved closer to hers and he began to kiss her energetically and Lily responded.

He kissed her mouth and down her cheek to her neck and his hand started to crawl under Lily's blouse. She immediately tensed as she felt his cold hands in a place they shouldn't be.

"Just relax." he whispered, eyes closed.

Lily pulled away. "You've got to leave, Emerson."

He withdrew his hands and looked at her reluctantly and then grinned. "Alright. Have a good night."

His lips found Lily's again for a brief good night kiss and he was gone.

Lily sat on the couch staring through the portrait hole minutes after Emerson was gone. They hadn't been dating two weeks, and he was moving too fast. She shivered as she thought of his touch and got up, smoothing her blouse and heading off the bed.

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