A/N: yay reviews! Thankyou all so much for the wonderful reviews- I haven't had any flames yet, that's how nice you all are! Well, I've had some different opinions on what Sirius should be like, and so far I reckon I'll let it be a surprise to you all. And some people had worries as to whether Lily would have a thing for Sirius. Don't worry, that won't happen- I hate fics where that happens coz its just too sad!

Thankyou to everyone who added me to their favorites lists, very flattering! Now, on with the fic, eh?

Chapter Three

Here Comes Trouble

Lily practically avoided James for the rest of that week. She spent all her time with Elena or Harold, and when James was around, she tried to be inconspicuous. Why? Because James set her off course. She didn't know how to react to anything he said. So she tried to ignore that he was there. Harold took her for tours of the grounds, and Elena took her for a brief shopping trip to Diagon Alley. She bought Lily the most beautiful set of robes, all green and soft and swishy. Lily felt as if she was in a dream, and any moment now, she would wake up, back in a scummy little house with screaming foster parents who only took on kids for the small grant the government gave them.

By the end of the week, she was wishing she could live there forever.

Saturday dawned with beautiful weather, as Harold pointed out that morning at breakfast.

"What say we go for a picnic?" he suggested, peering around the table over his glasses.

Elena looked up.

"Sirius is arriving, darling, we can't," Elena reminded him regretfully.

"You guys could go, and I'll stay here and wait for Siri," James offered.

"No, I wanted to go for a grocery trip anyway," Elena said. "You and Lily can stay here, and your father can come with me."

Lily looked up at the sound of her name. She turned to see James watching her expectantly.

"I don't mind," she said quickly. "Unless James does..?"

"Nope, it's ok," James said. He turned back to his food nonchalantly.

Lily sighed inwardly. She had no idea what to say to the boy and here she was stuck alone with him for a few hours. But what could she have said?

The parents departed shortly after breakfast, and Lily set to work cleaning up around the house. She had good practice at it- it seemed that a lot of 'foster' families only took on children so that they could stand in as servants while the rest of the family had a vacation.

"Let me help," James offered, coming to stand next to her at the sink as she scrubbed a frying pan.

"It's ok," Lily said quickly. "There are only a few more things to wash, after all."

"But in don't want you to think you have to do all the work around here."

James gently took the sponge out of her hands and rinsed it out under the tap. "Stay and keep me company," he said, throwing her a smile.

Lily nodded dumbly and went to stand on the other side of the bench. She was utterly confused. Was this the boy who had almost avidly avoided her for most of the week? What was with the sudden kindness?

"Look, sorry about being so quiet lately," James said, looking down at the pan he was scrubbing. "I just didn't know how to react, you know, what with you being from Hogwarts and all." He looked up to stare into her eyes. "I didn't know you were an orphan," he said honestly.

"That's ok," Lily said. She grinned at him, not upset in the slightest. "Not many people do. It's not something I talk about much."

James smiled back at her.

"Oh, shit," he said, glancing down at his hands. One of his sleeves had come unrolled and was now drenched in water. He looked up at Lily in mute appeal.

She laughed a little and walked back around to stand next to him. Taking the soggy sleeve in her hands, she carefully rolled it back up his forearm to his elbow, conscious of her fingers brushing against his arm, and his gaze upon her face. It was strange, but none of her usual shyness broke through here- it seemed so natural to be doing the dishes with James that she never thought twice about the way he was looking at her.

(James' thoughts)

James watched as Lily pushed his damp sleeve away from his hands, and couldn't help but smile to himself. She was kinda cute, Evans was. Straight away he tore his thoughts away from that track. He couldn't let himself feel that way. It burned him with embarrassment. The memories of when he was in first year and had first seen Lily were still fresh in his mind.

He had spotted her on the platform, and had been stupid enough to inform Sirius that he thought she was cute. Sirius had gone out of his way to shove them in awkward positions, such as squashed together in the boarding line, and next to each other at the house tables. James had always felt like the biggest prat whenever he was near Lily. She had obviously not noticed, though.

"Wow, I can't believe Sirius Black will be here soon," Lily mused, wandering over to the couch. "You know, I've never really talked to him before?"

"Uh, really?" James said, pulling himself out of his reverie. "Well, you haven't missed out on much- he still acts like he's in first year."

Lily smiled, just as the sound of a car sounded outside.

"He's here," James grinned, and jogged out to the front hall. Lily followed apprehensively.

James dragged the heavy door open, revealing the beautiful day that lay outside.

Standing with his back to them was a young man, his broad shoulders braced as he glanced over the grounds. Dressed in a black jacket and black denim jeans, his shaggy black hair just brushing the base of his neck, Sirius Black looked scarier than ever.

Suddenly he turned around, his smile a white flash against his swarthy skin.

"Glad to see me?" he grinned.

No, Lily thought faintly. Terrified is closer to the truth.

A/N: sorry about the wait! This took me forever to write, but I have an excuse! I'm Muslim, and it's Ramadan at the moment, so I've been fasting. It's hard to keep my mind on task when I'm hungry! :P. anyway, did you like it? If so, then what did you like about it? Let me know in your REVIEW! Ten more and you can have another chapter by next week!

Luv, Jaizar.