A/N: Omigod! You guys are all so nice to me! I almost cried reading all those reviews, thankyou so much! I feel really humbled, thankyou! The support is overwhelming!

Luvsirius: are you muslin? Thanks, and Eid Mubarak to you as well!

Fates Fallen Angel: hee, hee, hee! You always make me laugh. So here you are, another SPECIAL MENTION for once again being the longest review! Also, YOU HAVE A MAID? ARE YOU A PRINCESS OR SOMETHING? OR JUST REALLY REALLY RICH?? Wow, I am impressed. No, I don't speak Malay, but I do learn Indonesian at school. I just got a double distinction in an Indonesian competition, so I'm pretty good at it. I'm Indian by birth, but born in Fiji! You should email me, at . Become my personal jester!

Anyone else who wants to can email me too, I'd love it! Besides, it might convince me to UPDATE sooner winks sneakily...

Now, quite a few people were worried about Lily being 'terrified' of Sirius. Stress less! It's not that she's afraid that he's going to kill her or anything; its more that she feels intimidated by him. But, Lily tells you this herself in this chapter, so read on!

Chapter Four

Sirius- Seriously!

The Potter's treated Sirius as if he was their own son. For a few moments, as they all greeted each other, Lily felt completely out of place. She stood, watching them with a slight smile, reminiscing about her own family. She had no idea where Petunia, her sister, was, and it had been ages since her parent shad died. For a moment, she wandered how different things would be if they were still alive.

Then Sirius turned to regard her.

"Hey, Lily," he said, grinning at her. His teeth were very white and even. Lily shrank back a little.

Although she could not explain why, Lily had always had a very strong fear of Sirius Black. He was so confident and charming and strong- he intimidated her so much that she was unable to speak in his presence.

Yet she squeaked out a quick "hi!" before ducking away and into the hallway. There she leant against the wall and breathed deeply. She would have to face up to her fears of Sirius sooner or later, but for now, she opted for later.

She looked down at herself, trying to picture what she must seem like to the Potter's. She wore jeans and a green jumper, and her long red hair hung down her shoulders, contrasting with her green eyes. She probably looked like a scruff bag, Lily decided, and she tucked her hair back behind her ears, attempting to neaten up.

Just then a shadow fell over the paving stones in front of her and she looked up to see James watching her with concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked, coming to stand next to her.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Lily said quickly. "I just, uh, wanted some fresh air." She nodded towards the open door.

"Ah," James nodded. She could tell that he didn't believe her, but Lily chose to ignore that.

For a moment they stood in silenced, then-

"He's not that bad, you know," James said suddenly. "Sirius, I mean. Why don't you like him?"

Lily stared at him, startled.

"I-I don't...it's not that I don't like him, its that...I don't think he likes me," she mumbled, treading all over her words.

"What? He likes you, of course he does," James said hotly. "Sirius would never be mean to a girl. It's just that he didn't know you were an-" here James broke off suddenly.

"An orphan?" Lily suggested quietly. James looked at her anxiously. "It's ok. I guess it would come as a shock."

"Sorry," James said, looking down. "Just give him a chance, alright?"

He looked at her for a moment longer, then turned and padded softly back into the family room.

Lily leant her head back against the cold stone wall. She would brave her fears and talk to Sirius. If only for the sake of the new friendship she had somehow formed with James.

James watched Sirius unpack his small bag into his usual bedroom. Over the years he had spent at the Potter house in holidays, Sirius had made the room his own, with his posters and clutter creating an atmosphere that was undeniably his own.

"So," Sirius said, turning from his suitcase to regard James. "Evans, huh?"

"What about her?" James asked gruffly.

"Well, I didn't know she went to foster homes. Did you?" the tall boy said nonchalantly.

"What does it matter? It doesn't make her nay different." James said. He avoided looked at Sirius, but his voice was hard.

"Relax- I never said it does. She looked a little scared of me. I wonder why..."

"I think she thinks you don't like her," James said reluctantly. "Can't see why."

"Hmm...neither. Ah well, I guess I'd better do something about that, hey?" Sirius said brightly. Turning, he resumed his unpacking. Can't have the little cat shying away from the scary dog, now can we?"

Lily got her chance to prove herself to James the next morning at breakfast. She had resolved to talk to Sirius, to show James that she didn't hate him or anything.

It was strangely chaotic with Sirius around. He was always joking, always having three conversations at once, and always playing pranks. When he was around, James seemed to become more alive as well, and joined in with twice the energy of his partner in crime. Lily, oddly enough, found it comforting. The noise, the laughter, the life- it all reminded her of her own family, and it just made her all the more relieved that her foster family were the Potters.

Anyway, everyone was eating at breakfast, except for Sirius, who was building a castle out of the Weetbix (a/n: do they have weetbix in England?), and James, who was still asleep. Harold was hiding behind his Daily Prophet, and Elena was busy spreading butter on pieces of bread for sandwiches. They were planning to go for a picnic that day, and so the preparation had begun.

Lily cleared her throat nervously.

"So, Sirius," she began, trying to keep her voice cheerful. "Did you start on the Potions essay Professor Herb set us?"

Sirius looked up from the construction site to stare at her. Lily's face dropped. Perhaps she had been wrong to start this conversation- he didn't look too pleased. But then she realized that the blank look on his face was, in fact, puzzlement.

"What essay?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"You know, the one of poisons and antidotes," Lily said, waving her fork vaguely, and almost flinging a piece of sausage into Elena's face.

"Oh, shit! I mean shoot! I totally forgot about that!" Sirius swore, slapping himself on the head and causing his 'castle' to collapse.

"You can borrow my notes if you want," Lily offered hesitantly. "I mean, I've done the draft if you need to have a look..."

Sirius looked at her quickly, his eyes lighting up.

"Really?" he asked. "You're an angel!" he flashed her a brilliant grin.

And in that instant, Lily knew she had nothing to be afraid of.

(Later)

The picnic was a success. James, although still half asleep, decided that having Lily around was definitely a good thing. Even though Lily seemed to be very timid on first sight, she had a mischievous streak in her that James would never have predicted.

They had walked down to the end of the grounds, where a small river ran through the fields, forming a picturesque scene that looked as though it had been painted into the world. Here they set up camp, and, after lunch, Elena and Harold had both retreated to relax on the picnic rug.

Lily occupied herself by making daisy chains out of the yellow flowers that grew all around her, but she couldn't help but notice the strange behavior that James and Sirius were demonstrating. They seemed to be whispering, and every so often, they would lance at her and whisper some more. Sirius seemed to be protesting to something James had suggested. After a few minutes though, he stopped shaking his head and listened to what James was saying. When they stood up and walked towards her, Lily pretended she hadn't noticed.

"Ahem." Lily looked up to see James attempting to look solemn, but grinning in spite of himself.

"So, Lily, after much consideration," Sirius began, nudging James to stop him from laughing, "We have decided to let you become an honorary member of our river club."

"River club?" Lily raised and eyebrow.

"Yeah, the river club we've had since first year," James said. "It's a stupid name, I know. 'Marauders' is much better. But we were young, and foolish and 'River Club' isn't that bad-"

"We'll show you the club house if you swear never to tell anyone! Only Remus and Peter and us know about it, but...well, we like you," Sirius cut in.

Lily smiled at this.

"Well, thanks," she said, standing up. "I appreciate it."

"We knew you would," Sirius said, and for the first time, he grinned at her properly. It was cheerful and sweet and Lily straight away thought that he would make a great brother.

James grabbed her hand and started leading the way past the picnic rug and towards the small patch of woods near the river. Lily laughed as Sirius followed, chatting animatedly about rules and secrets within the club.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destinations. Right in the middle of the mini woodlands was a small hut, made form reeds and willow branches tied together with twine and spells.

"It's so cute!" she exclaimed. "Who made it?"

"Oh, we did the brute work," Sirius said airily. "And Harold did the spells- we swore him to secrecy!"

Lily bent her head and walked in to the hut, exclaiming over the interior as she did. James turned to Sirius and grinned.

"Told you she'd like it," he said smugly.

"There's a tea pot in here- who made the tea? Wow, you have like a whole library of books here! Is it safe to keep them outside like this? Hey! That one's form the Hogwarts library! How did you get rid of the protection spells?" came Lily's voice from within the hut.

Sirius grinned back at James. He was glad Lily was happy. Ever since he had first seen her, eh had wondered what it would be like to see her really smile. Now he knew. He understood why James was so crazy about the girl oh yeah, James would never admit it. But he had a thing for Lily. He had since first year. He had never had the courage to actually talk to her, but whenever he did he would replay the conversation to Sirius four or five times.

At first, Sirius had been doubtful as to whether Lily was right for James. Now he could see that she was.

James had followed Lily into the hut, and now Sirius watched them from the doorway. She was gushing over the pretty material they had used to cover the windows, and James was standing behind her with a smile on his lips. And Sirius wished with all his heart that one day Lily would love James too. Because he had never seen his friend this happy before.

A/N: so, too sappy? I thought the 'River Club' was kinda cute! ï