A/N: So I won't be surprised if a lot of you hate me...It's been forever since I've updated and I'm so sorry. I had to read two books (one was 618 pages long with very small print) for my summer reading assignment before I could finish reading the 6th book, and once I finished reading it, all my dance camps began and I haven't had any time to update. Thank you to those who've stuck with me, it really means a lot.

This chapter is definitely not the longest one but once again, I had to find a place to stop it and this just seemed to be the right point. I might be able to update again later this week, it just depends on how much free time I have. So here's a little of what happened last chapter just to refresh your memory:

Her confusion over James's and her "connection" (This was when she looked up and saw James staring down at her with an expression that she'd never seen beforeand she suddenly had all these images of her and James together...) drifted to the back of her mind as Mandy joined her in the back seat. Suddenly, Lily was extremely happy. She was going to Diagon Alley with her best friend. No parents. No professors. No rules. No bedtimes. No sulking sisters. And, no James. Or so she thought…

Rachel- Thanks! No, the hooded figure is not from the future...he will appear again later in the story but that's all I'm going to say. :-)

Please Read and Review!

4. The Leaky Cauldron

By the time they had arrived in downtown London, Lily was so excited she was shaking. Mandy had to keep on patting her on the head to try and calm her down.

"Lily, how come you're so excited? We still have a whole week until school starts!" Mandy asked when Lily started nervously biting her nails.

Lily whispered into Mandy's ear, so her mother didn't hear her, "Mandy, don't you understand- we have a whole week without parents, with our own money, on our own time, and no restrictions!"

This finally dawned on Mandy, at all the possibilities of fun that they could have over the next week, and she joined Lily in her excitement.

Mrs. Evans drove around looking for a place to park, when Mandy finally pointed at an empty space. They parked next to an extremely bright yellow car that looked as though it was advertising mini-blinds. It had parked almost diagonally over two parking spaces so that Mrs. Evans car was almost halfway in the street and halfway in the parking spot.

"Well, thanks Mandy. You just found the best place to park!" Lily said sarcastically as she slowly squeezed through the car door so she wouldn't hit the 'highlighter yellow' car.

"You're welcome!" Mandy said cheerfully, obviously not noticing the sarcasm in Lily's voice.

Mrs. Evans just rolled her eyes at Lily and she grinned. They unloaded their things from the car, and indeed they got some odd glances, for what kind of mental people would carry two owls in cages in broad daylight, along with two huge trunks?

They started walking toward the hidden Leaky Cauldron. Lily noticed another hidden magical store, though she couldn't think of why there would be more than one building to go into Diagon Alley. This place had a large, ugly brown sign that read, Quadrille's Magical Pub, and, like the Leaky Cauldron, it was completely black, though it looked as though it was newer than the Leaky Cauldron, like a couple hundred years younger. Lily decided to ask her mom about this mysterious place.

"Mum, have you ever seen that place before? That 'Quadrille's Magical Pub'?" She pointed towards it and watched her mom's face turn into an expression of confusion.

"What store? I don't see any store over there. There's just an empty alley between Rose's Restaurant and Boutique," Mrs. Evans said, obviously confused.

"Don't you see it? It's right there with the big brown sign. Mandy, do you see it?" Lily asked. Surely they saw it. It wasn't very hard to miss.

"Nope, Lily. Maybe you're coming down with something. Or then again, maybe it's those happy pills you've been taking…" Mandy joked and she and Mrs. Evans laughed. Lily just ignored their voices and they gently floated away.

But Lily couldn't help but glance back at it again before they walked into the Leaky Cauldron. Was she sick? Was she going delusional? Or was there really a place there? Maybe it was another dimension into another magical world. Lily stopped herself right there ­ another dimension? What was she saying? So, she let it fall out of her mind, and replaced it with the excitement of the next 7 days with her best friend.

Walking into the Leaky Cauldron was like walking into a second home (except for Hogwarts, of course.). Lily had known the bartender, Tom, a mangy, old, bald man with teeth missing, since the day she'd walked into this pub. His looks didn't match his personality; she'd figured that out the first day she'd set foot in the Leaky Cauldron. Instead of being a grumpy, elder like you would expect, he was one of the friendliest persons that she knew. He would sneak her extra pastries, which everyone died for, talk to her for hours while other customers grew impatient. He always charged her less than what he should have, and, since he'd never married or had kids, he loved children and teenagers, which made it easy for Lily to be comfortable around him. He had seen her when she was a young girl, as an 11-year-old, walking down in her pajamas to have a midnight snack and listening intensively to Tom's stories of all the sorts of creatures who traveled into this remarkable pub (a couple of these stories consisted of a giant troll who was kind and smart, friendly centaurs who told the truth, and magical unicorns that talked). Not only was the Leaky Cauldron her second home, but she had her second family here. The same people always worked here, including the sweet Ms. Franbury, with her plump figure, dimpled cheeks, short, sleek brown hair, and misty blue eyes. Ms. Franbury was one of a kind, always acting like a mother to Lily, as Tom acted as a father. She always put chocolate frogs on Lily's pillow every night and came to tuck her in (even though she had her real mother to do that). She made sure that Lily was fed enough and that she never had any complaints. She watched over Lily as though she was her own.

For as long as she could remember, Lily had come to the Leaky Cauldron every year right before school started. Each year, the day that she stayed at the Leaky Cauldron increased, so right before her first year, she was at the Leaky Cauldron for one day. Before her second year began, she stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for two days. On the summer before her third year, three days, fourth year, four days, and so on. Now it was the week before her seventh and final year at Hogwarts, so she would be staying at her second home for seven days. Her mother had agreed to Lily a long time ago that she could spend this last week at the Leaky Cauldron with her best friend, and ever since that day, Lily had been looking forward to this week. It was finally here. But, the strange thing was, she didn't want it to be. She didn't want to leave Hogwarts. Hogwarts was also like a home to her. It was where she had made all of her friends, where she learned the beauties and tragedies of magic, and, to her regret, where she had had the privilege to spend time with the magnificent James Potter. Let's not get started on him…Lily told herself.

As soon as Lily was fully inside the Leaky Cauldron, including her trunk, Ms. Franbury rushed over and gave Lily a big, tight hug. Lily hugged her back and smiled.

"Lily! Oh, it's so great to see you! It looks as though you've grown another inch since I last saw you! And you're even more beautiful than I remember! And Mandy! How are you doing, dear?" Ms. Franbury turned to Mandy, also giving her a hug. Then she stepped back and beamed at the three women in front of her.

"Oh, we're going to have so much fun! We can stay up late talking like I did when I was your age! And sneak down to the ice cream parlor and eat some Ice Mice! And you two can tell me all about school, about your favorite classes, the boys you like…" Ms. Franbury stopped at the fading smiles of the two teenagers before her.

"But, of course. I won't take up all your time. This is your last week at the Leaky Cauldron, sadly, and I won't spoil it for you. Merlin knows how much I resisted my parents when I was your age…" The plump, motherly figure walked away, mumbling something that sounded oddly like, "Teenagers…mothers…boys…"

Lily and Mandy giggled. Even if Ms. Franbury spent every minute with them, it would still be a very memorable week.

"Okay, come on girls. Let's carry your things upstairs." Mrs. Evans broke their fit of giggles and they grabbed their trunks and cages and hauled them upstairs to their usual room, Number 4. Lily threw her trunk onto her bed and carried Jade and her cage over to the desk by the window. Just as she was about to turn around to start unpacking, she heard some odd yelling from outside and she could have sworn that she had just heard her name called. She faced the window, opened it, and peered out, using her hand to block the bright sun from blinding her.

"Look! There she is!" Someone yelled. Lily's eyes followed the voice and she gasped aloud. Down in the gravel road, there was a wooden platform set up, with a band sitting on it patiently. And there in the middle of the platform was James Potter. Along with him were his faithful companions, handsome Sirius Black, knowledgeable Remus Lupin, and the stupid git, Peter Pettigrew.

"Potter! What in the name of Merlin's beard do you think you are doing?" Lily screamed, her face already becoming flushed with anger. The images that had appeared in her mind earlier when she was looking at James returned to her memory and a blush added to the deep red of her face.

By now, Mandy and her mother had joined Lily in peering out the window to see what the commotion was.

"Oh, look, Lily! It's James from across the street!" Mrs. Evans said, oblivious to the fact that Lily was not happy to see James. "JA ­ "

"MUM! What are you doing?" Lily interrupted angrily.

"I'm being polite- I'm saying hello to our neighbor. Goodness, Lily. Don't be so uptight!" Mrs. Evans sighed and glanced back out the window.

"Good morning, Mrs. Evans! Wotcher, Mandy!" James hollered, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello James, dear. Now what is this all about?" Mrs. Evans asked politely.

"Oh, you'll see." James said mischievously, winking.

"Oh no," Mandy sighed.

Lily turned away; she didn't want to know what James was going to do. Probably embarrass her. And just after he had looked at her so differently than ever before! Brace yourself, Lily.

"I dedicate this song to the love of my life, LILY EVANS!" James's beaming voice echoed into Lily's ears.

Lily smacked herself in the forehead.

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