A/N: I'm BAAAAAAAACK! And it's only been, what, two months? ...Yeah, sorry about that. See, I went through this phase where I just, didn't like HP fiction anymore. I'm reading it less, but I finally got the motivation to continue this story! It is my baby.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I'm kind of experimenting on the way Lily narrates everything, and I... adjusted it a tad here. I'm trying to make her as teenager-like as possible, and yet give her those strange personality traits that no one seems to understand. So, I hope you like it, and I hope her way of seeing things is somewhat understandable. So, tell me vhat you teenk.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to the four friends of mine I met through FanFiction. (where would I be if they hadn't IMed me...) There is Morgan, of course (penname is Abarraine), Abbey (DoNtLetMeGetMe), Olivia (TheLovelyLily), and last but totally not least, Anna (like wild fire). They rock.

Now then, READ! And I want reviews! Gracias. :)

Ch. 7 "Yin and Yang"

Veronica kept staring at him. She literally couldn't stop. The large Ancient Ruins book in her lap lay forgotten, as did the quill she was absently chewing on. I quirked a smile and coughed. Loudly. She jumped slightly and hid her blushing face underneath her hair. I laughed aloud.

Sirius looked up from his chess game curiously. "What's so funny?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing." I glanced back at Remus, then at Veronica's flushed face, and I did the best I could to conceal my grin.

Our original plan was to meet in the common room, but Madame Hart went out of her way to make sure I didn't leave my bed, especially after what happened yesterday, at the Quidditch game. So Veronica, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James all came up to my hospital ward instead. The empty room was loud and disrupting, and I couldn't have been happier. It was all Sirius's idea, bless his little soul. He, too, was concerned for my sanity. Then he dragged his three friends into it. They resisted a little at first, but were now contently gathered around the small table that held Remus's battered chess set, which sported a heated game between himself and Sirius. They were actually sweating.

Then I, of course, dragged Veronica in by the hair—not literally of course, but it could have been by the hair. That girl frowned and protested and narrowed her eyes at me until her face was frozen that way, but I didn't care. I needed her support. Was I really expected to come out alive from a room filled with just the Marauders? No, this time I was armed. They wouldn't dare do anything vulgar in her presence. She's just too darn cute.

"Rook to… I didn't say Queen! What are you doing! No, that's not what I… stop that! Go back! You little… Remus, your chess set is possessed!"

Remus broke into heaves of laughter. His pale lips delicately embraced his pearly white teeth, and his pale skin matched perfectly with his light brown hair and eyes. Drop-dead gorgeous, and yet slightly refined, as if there was so much more to him that he wasn't going to let out any time soon. Perfect match for anyone, really… especially Veronica.

"They're just trying to help you," Remus explained to an infuriated Sirius once he calmed down. "That move would have lost you your Queen, see? Look at my knight…"

He traced the attack pattern on the chessboard and Sirius's eyes widened in realization. "Oh!" Sirius said. He looked down fondly at the Queen piece and patted it on the head. "Thanks, Queenie," he said happily. The Queen piece ducked away from his fingers and began muttering angrily. I laughed.

Sirius turned his head around and looked at me. A slow grin appeared on his face, widening and showing his white teeth. "You think that's funny, Lil?" he asked mischievously. "Why don't you come on down and give it a shot? Here, you can play James. He thinks he's the Master of Chess, too; let's see who's the winner."

James laughed good-heartily but didn't make eye contact with me. I gave Sirius a small smile. "No, thanks," I said. "I'm too tired."

He snorted. "Right, Lily, you're too tired to get out of bed and walk a ferocious distance of two feet from your bed, but you're not too tired to walk the half-mile all the way down to the Quidditch pitch."

"That was different," I sniffed. "Anyone should be willing to make sacrifices for Quidditch."

Sirius gave a bark-like laugh. "'Atta girl, Lily," he congratulated. Veronica laughed. Remus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. I felt like singing.

A new chess game began, and Veronica went back to her homework. I wished I had something to do. Even chess can get boring at times, surprising as that sounds. The room got all silent for a minute, too. The only sounds to be heard was the shuffling of chess pieces on the board and people blinking. I had a tickle in my throat but decided against coughing, afraid I'd ruin the mood.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that James was just as bored as I was. He was slumped in his seat and his eyelids were threatening to close. He was lazily glancing at the chessboard, then sighed dramatically and glanced my way. I pretended not to noticed, and instead looked at him out of the corner of my eye, through a curtain of hair I artfully detached from behind my ear. And he didn't see me.

I am too smart.

James turned his attention back to his closing eyelids, and I was once again bored. I noticed Sirius's uninterested frown, and Remus's blank stare, and it was really obvious that none of us were having much fun. Peter was actually snoring, and Veronica's head was propped up on her fist. She yawned very widely, her vampire teeth glistening in the light.

That was it for me.

"Oh come on!"

Everyone's heads snapped in my direction, eyes widened in surprise and confusion. I felt myself flush slightly, but was rather proud for getting the attention of a group of people that once resembled dead fishes.

"What?" Sirius asked, a bit annoyed at my sudden—not to mention loud—outburst.

I hesitated. What was I suppose too say? Let's blow this Popsicle stand! Somehow I didn't think they would appreciate the joke as much as I did.

"Can we… go somewhere?" Yeah, right, that was the sentence I was looking for.

Sirius sighed loudly. "And where exactly would you like to go, Lily?" Was he really this use to my short attention span?

I narrowed my eyes a bit. All right then, since my happiness wasn't of major priority, let's talk about them. Book reading, playing chess, snoring, and counting how many times you can blink in a minute sounds like so much fun.

Yeah, right.

"I don't know…" I began, breaking off impatiently. I felt myself getting more and more anxious by the second, and all of a sudden I was jittery. It was becoming impossible for me to bear the bleach-scented hospital room for one more minute. My eyes darted from the window to the door absentmindedly, brain searching for a haven for me to escape to.

I heard people talking in the background, but I ignored them. Something to the nature of "she has no self-control" and "where in the hell did you get that bruise from!" I think had more important matters to contemplate on, thank you very much.

Everyone's attention seemed to slip from me to a rather large bruise on Sirius's forearm, which he was saying he got from a mountain troll up on the outskirts of his summer home in Bulgaria. I knew for a fact he had no such house, and was only stating he did for egotistic and self-amusement reasons.

Men, I thought as I attempted to lift myself out of bed. The crisp, starched sheets lining my mattress crinkled loudly, and I nervously glanced at Veronica and the Marauders. Sirius, thankfully, was keeping them entertained enough for me to slip out of my bed and dash for the door. Well, okay, hobbled.

Just as I was closing the door, I heard a "Lily?" Even though I had expected this, as I had been in plain sight of them, my heart raced and my head began to spin, as always when I was under pressure. It was because of this that I never was too good at arcade games, such as Pac-Man, as I would get so nervous when being chased by a neon-colored monster that I wasn't able to concentrate on the cherries that made them edible, or at least where I was going.

I scampered out of the Hospital Wing and into the corridor. The door behind me reopened.

"…Lily?"

Naturally, I ignored the person—male, I concluded from the voice—and continued my way down the empty corridor. I was a bit startled by the vacancy of it, but then remembered that is was a Hogsmeade weekend. My heart slowed down a bit, knowing that my chances of being caught were much slimmer. At first I was pondering why Madame Hart hadn't noticed my escape, but I also remembered that she had gone to the aid of a second year Hufflepuff that had been bullied by a gang of Slytherins. They disgusted me, really. The world could be a much better place if it weren't for people like them.

"Um… Lily?"

I smirked. It still pleased me when I was able to confuse James, or at least startle him. I suppose I was doing a bit of both at that moment.

"Lily, are you okay?"

I silently rolled my eyes, instead focusing my attention to the breeze hitting my face from the open windows. I began to walk faster, increasing the intensity of the wind. It was a good break from the stale air I was forced to breathe in my hospital room. Besides, there was no reason for me to explain to James my sudden need for a change of scenery. Only Veronica, and I suppose Sirius, understood the way I work, so I was guessing that was why they didn't follow me. Remus is too laid back to worry about me, and Peter wasn't even conscious.

And that left none other than Mr. Big Shot to come to my rescue.

He quickened his pace to match mine, and his long legs quickly fell in tune to my steps. "Why did you leave?" he asked.

"I told you I wanted to." I didn't want to explain it, but it was looking like I would have to.

"I know, but why?"

I sighed. Gosh he was nosy. "I suppose I like a change of scenery," I answered. I took a sharp left, down a less-lit corridor. There were no windows here, and I had a sudden bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

James chuckled lightly. "I take it you like change," he said, not taking notice to my sudden change of personality.

"Change is good," I replied, my attention slipping more and more from him. "Having one thing for too long makes it unbearable."

He looked at me. "You think so?" he asked, in a tone much different then the one he just used.

But I didn't respond. I was too busy concentrating on the uncomfortable feeling I was experiencing, trying desperately to place it.

As we descended further and further into the darkness, the room seemed to get stuffier and it felt like the walls were moving in. I felt myself starting to sweat from the enclosure. A sudden shock came over me, and my hand flew up to meet James's arm to reassure myself he was still there. In my mind, everything made sense; it all clicked. I knew what this reminded me of. Images kept flashing in my mind, almost like a demented slide show; the darkened hallway, the torches going out, his voice in my ear, my mind going blank, his fist colliding with my stomach, the freezing stone floor.

My mind was racing and my grip on James tightened even more. I bunched the cloth from his robe up in my fist so tightly I though my hand was going to fall off. We had stopped moving, and James was saying something worriedly, probably thinking I was some intelligent-starved alien, but I barely noticed; the only thing I was concentrating on was getting the hell out of there.

"James," I whispered, my voice so low even I could barely hear it. "James, we have to go." He kept asking me to repeat myself, barely catching what I said, but my nervous system was starting to fail and I forgot how to open my mouth. I spun around quickly, keeping my eyes focused on the bright torch light at the mouth of the corridor, increasing my speed as I headed towards it. It was almost like I was underwater; I wouldn't be able to breathe again until I reached the surface. It really did feel like I was holding my breath, too—I was getting lightheaded at an alarming rate and my chest was in a tight knot. It took almost all my strength to remind myself to inhale and exhale. I heard James's padded footsteps following me, hitting the ground in an uneven gait as he tried to catch up with me.

The light hitting my face was like a breath of fresh air. I stepped gratefully into the wide corridor, and I could still felt the breeze coming from the open windows. My heart was still racing at the speed of a racehorse, and although I felt better now that I was in a better-lit, larger room, I was still a bit dizzy. That little episode I just had came on rather suddenly, and I was still suffering from the after-affects. I was guessing it was a minor post-traumatic experience—the man attacking me in the Slytherin corridor being the cause—but just because I knew what it was didn't mean I was over it.

"Lily," I heard James call as he jogged up next to me. "Lily, what the hell just happened? We were talking and then all of a sudden…" That's something like what James said to me, but all I remember doing at that part was leaning over and vomiting onto the pearly marble floor.

—

"Here, drink this."

I thankfully accepted the glass of water James handed to me, and drank it down as he took a seat next to me on the corridor floor. I sighed as I finished the water and leaned my back against the wall, closing my eyes and appreciating the silence of the empty corridor.

Although James had practically begged me to, I refused to go back to the Hospital Wing, as I just spent all that time trying to get out, and I still had a few hours until everyone was due back. Besides, Sirius could stall Madame Hart is need be. I also told James not to call for Filch, so he magically cleaned up the vomit himself. My headache was too bad for me to have the willpower to drag myself to the Gryffindor common room, so I decided to stay in the corridor, sprawled out on the floor, mycheek pressed against the cold stone wall. James took the glass from me and Vanished it, probably making it reappear back in the kitchens where he got it. He exhaled deeply and stared at the opposite wall for a moment, before turning his head in my direction. "Wanna talk?" he asked.

I looked at him. "What about?" I asked weakly, trying to move as little as possible not to further upset my dull headache or my upset stomach, still queasy from the retching.

He shrugged. "I don't know," he mused. "School, friends, the weather…"

I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or was actually serious. "I don't know," I replied. "You pick."

He shrugged again—a usual habit, I could tell. "Well," he said, taking a long pause. "That was scary."

His bluntness was a bit surprising. "You were scared?" I asked incredulously, inwardly surprised that James Potter himself was in fact human. Just guess how I feel…

"Of course I was scared," he answered, his hazel eyes now at his feet. "You freaked out, how else was I suppose to feel." Even he realized how sharp that sounded. "What I mean is—"

"It's fine, James, I get it."

He looked a bit hurt, but didn't say anything. He once again turned his attention away from me, and there was a silence. My mind began to drift, and I started thinking about my sister, Petunia. And once I started thinking about her, I started wondering what her reaction would be if she had been with me in the darkened corridor instead of James. Would she not care, like she usually does, or would there be a glimmer of worry in hergray-blue eyes? Would she blink and make the glimmer vanish, or would she pick me up and carry me outside, whispering in my ear that everything would be alright, like she did when we were younger? James actually seemed to care, and the difference between him and Petunia became very distinct. They were complete opposites, and they both treated me in entirely different ways. A perfect yin and yang, in my opinion. I suddenly realized James was talking, and his voice pulled me back into reality.

"When do you suppose we should go back?" he asked.

"Never," I replied with an inward grin. "I'm perfectly fine right here."

He laughed a bit. "Yeah, me too." There was something in his voice that made me look at him. I can't explain it, but it was very unfailiar. He smiled at me, and I felt myself grinning back. I repositioned myself on the floor, and for one fleeting, unexpected moment, I was glad it had been James with me in the corridor instead of Petunia.

NOT ANOTHER A/N! Now, dear reader, please note that it is only chapter 7, so the climax of this story will not happen yet. Also, Lily and James's relationship is still growing (remember, they were not exactly close in chapter 2) so don't get irritated, and, please, no splotchy faces that are red from anger. If you are confused by Lily's little episode, also known as a post-traumatic experience, BE REASONABLE! She just had a traumatic experience (her getting really beat up by that guy), and, as she was in a familiar setting (small, dark corridor), it makes sense that she had some flashbacks. I saw it fitting, and it opened a window of opportunity for Lily to notice James's, currently immature, affections. And when I say immature, I mean he is not full-fledge in love yet. I always imagined his feelings to sprout in 7th year from a crush to love love. I also introduced a budding romance between Veronice and Remus. So cute.

I have probably bored you all to death with this little paragraph, and I will not further keep you from hitting that little purplish button down there that reads "go" or whatever it says. If you review I'll love you forever and ever!