James awoke suddenly to find the blankets he had placed on the sleeping Lily thrown aside in a heap on the floor. He arose from his seat to pick them up and cover the sleeping girl lying there.

What an angel he thought to himself. I wish that angel were mine. But considering the circumstances, well, we'll see right? Maybe it will be all right in the end.

James bent to pick up the blankets from the floor when he felt Lily's eyes on him. Or, at least he thought he did. He turned around to find Lily still asleep behind him. But there was someone watching him. Someone was there; he was sure of it. Another Gryffindor? Stumped, he made his way up to the boys' dormitories to check. He'd check the girls' next.

James climbed the boys' stairs and peeked into the First Years' room, all present and accounted for in their beds. Then the Second Years', Third, Fourth, Fifth up through the Seventh Years' dormitories, and found that everyone was where they should be. He did the same with the boys' dormitories.

James could go where he pleased. He and his fellow marauders had learned the secret to invading the girls' dormitories. Usually, boys were blasted from the doorway of the girls' rooms, yet a simple countercharm was the trick to gaining entrance. He quickly accounted for the first through fourth years' sleeping figures innocently in their beds. When he reached the Fifth Year Girls' room, he paused, and gazing in to the newly added extra bed on the far wall. This was where Lily would be sleeping from now on. Her suitcase lay open on her bed, and her pajamas spilled out. Lacy camisoles and short bottoms. He looked further and saw that her undergarments were also poking out. He inhaled sharply. How he wished he could see Lily like that…

A snore from within the room startled James and he realized that he had better get himself out of there and on to the next room. He finished with the Sixth and Seventh Years' dormitories, and found that everyone was in their beds where as they should be.

That's odd, he thought. There was definitely someone in the room other than Lily and I. Maybe they're gone now.

James descended down the stairs back to the commonroom. He looked to the couch. Lily was still sound asleep. He looked to the boys' dormitory door. It was exactly the way he left it when he went into the girls'. At the bottom of the door he had affixed a piece of tape with his wand, so as to see whether his intruder went in the boys' dormitories while James wasn't watching. Whoever, or whatever it was, did not open the door. James was sure of it. That meant that the intruder either was still in the room or went out through the portrait hole. He closed his eyes and breathed. The intruder was still in the room, but he couldn't feel where.

Maybe I'm slowly going insane or something. My mind must be playing tricks on me. Or, I'm so tired I'm imagining things. Whatever the case, I'll let it rest so I can get some rest, for now, he thought.

Walking back to his chair, James noticed that Lily was stirring. She sat up, unaware of where she was. She woke with a start and stood up, looking around frantically.

"Where the hell am I?" she asked out loud, clearly startled.

"This is the Gryffindor commonroom, remember?" answered James.

She turned to see him. "James?"

"In the flesh. You fell asleep back there, so I, uh, carried you back and put you there. I wanted to be near you to explain how you got where you are, like I am now so you wouldn't be freaked out. I, uh, hope you don't mind."

"No, no I don't. Thanks actually. I was like, oh my God how did I get here was I drunk? I mean, last time…well, we won't go there. The good thing is we're ok, right? I don't really feel like going up to the dormitory just yet. Do you mind if I sit here for a while?"

"No, not at all. I don't really want to go to bed either. I guess I'll help the fire out a little, though. It seems to be dying." James pretended to die a dramatic death on the floor, got up, and bowed.

Lily giggled softly, barely audible, and rolled her eyes. "Lovely. Next time you'll knock yourself out and I'll have to be the one rescuing you!"

"Nah, I think I'll be all set. And, so will this fire," he said as he finished stoking the fire.

"I have an er, question for you James," Lily said cautiously.

"Yes? Did I do something wrong? From the looks of your face, I did." James was worried. What could possibly be the matter? Please no don't hate me, he thought.

"Er, that girl you were all over? In transfiguration this morning. Who was that? Are you still…together? I don't want to step on someone else's feet. Or be second hippogriff to someone. Like you. I'm…sorry. I'm not meaning to be a prat or anything. I just want to get out of a situation I could get hurt in."

James looked at Lily, stunned. Why hadn't he noticed that she was in his Transfiguration class? She would have had to be anyways, all the fifth year gryffindors had classes like Transfiguration together. "Well, she was my girlfriend." Lily looked crestfallen. "But she's not anymore. We had a…falling out so to speak. It just didn't work; we weren't set out to marry each other. And don't worry, I wouldn't dream of doing that to you, he added, just for good measure.

"Well, ok then. I was just afraid. Afraid of getting hurt. I don't need anymore crap like I always get."

"No, Lily, you don't. Guys can be stupid. I know, I'm one of them." James sighed. He had been quite the asshole lately, and he wasn't proud of it. "Ok, time to finish fixing this pathetic looking fire."

James strode over to the dying embers, and Lily got a tingly feeling in her gut as she watched him work. She moved over on the couch to make room for him. "Hey, uh, I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier. You didn't have to listen to me bitch about everything. I'm glad someone at this stupid school cares. I figured I'd get here, and bang I'd be the new kid on the block, the loser, and like, no one would care. So yeah, thanks. And thanks for carrying me up here. Really, thanks for everything." Lily smiled for the first time all night.

"Bang!" exclaimed James, startling Lily. "I made you smile! Finally. You should do that more often. Really," he said as he winked at her. He sat down beside her.

"You know," James continued, "I've had my own troubles, and well, I understand when someone's got it rough. Don't worry about it. And trust me I won't tell a soul. You're not one I would like for an enemy…Besides, I like your company. You're an interesting girl."

And a beautiful one. Actually I love spending time with you. He wanted to say what he was thinking, but didn't think it was what she wanted to hear just then. It might scare her.

"Interesting? What's that sposta mean? Is that good-interesting? Or bad-interesting?"

"Oh, definitely good-interesting. You've got character, more than any of the other girls at this school. They're empty-headed valley-girls, the lot of them. You, you're something else. Sirius told me about this morning's class. It should have hit me that I was there too. I'm just an oaf, what can I say? You're a smart one too. And pretty. Any guy is an idiot to have to even look twice at you." James furrowed his brow, afraid he had said too much, while Lily raised hers.

"Oh really now, Sirius told you about class, did he? Well, I suppose I see what you mean. That bitch hanging off him was quite a, um, slut, and a stupid one at that. I spent almost the whole class teaching her this charm. And it's simple, really! I mean, I didn't mean to sound arrogant or anything." Lily winced.

"Haha, don't even worry about it. To be quite honest I didn't like her either. Her and my girlfriend, are best friends. Ex-girlfriend," he added, when she raised her brows again. "Bitchy ones, the both of them. I can't stand either of them," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, but you know, hearing you say that, I wonder what people said about me at my old school."

"Huh? About you? What do you mean.?"

"Well, I was a lot like them. Everyone saw me as a face. One of the popular girls. Well, I don't mean to sound stuck up or anything but, I always had a guy. I guess that's what got me into trouble. I mean, no one knew that I was on the high honors every term. See at our school, student helpers do that sort of thing. Our headmaster had several student helpers in his office. Take care of attendance, write the list of who made the honor roll, etc. Well, I was really good friends with one of them, and I had her purposely leave my name off each time. The teachers were suspicious, sure, but they didn't say anything. I figured that was what the guys wanted, someone less smart than them. I mean, I had the boyfriends right? Oh well, maybe not the right ones. But they were good looking. And that matters. I think. Sorry I just like totally shot my mouth off…I hope you don't mind, there I go again ranting and raving!"

"Haha, that hardly sounds like ranting and raving to me. It's just getting your feelings out! That's just fine with me, really, I don't mind. I actually kinda like hearing you talk. Cause you always say interesting things, seriously I've never met anyone like you. But I must say, you're at least partly right. Anyone who said looks don't matter had his head stuck where the sun don't shine. They aren't everything, but they matter."

"Hmm, is that a good thing? The interesting me part?"

"Sure. I think it is. You're unique I like that." I like you too. No, I more than like you. I want you, like you, he thought. He knew he couldn't tell her that. Not just yet.

Lily gazed into the fire. "Ever wonder what it would be like to be someone else?" she asked aloud.

"Yeah, sure. A lot actually. You know, I actually get sick of having girls hanging off of me all the time. Disgusting really. You know that kid? Arthur Weasley? No, you probably don't. He's a nice guy. Really nice. Smart too. And even with the flaming red hair, he's not too bad looking, if I can say that. You know, being a guy and all. But he's normal. He's got his share of the ladies, but they don't follow him around like mosquitoes follow the light. Some days I just wish I could trade spaces with Weasley for a day. To see what it would like to be normal. He's got a wizarding family, you know. People don't call him mudblood. Traitor maybe, but not mudblood. Dirty word. Er, by the way, I'm a pureblood. I just don't care about birth. It's stupid how the slytherins play it really. Sigh I guess it's my turn to rant, huh?"

"Like you said, I don't mind either. You're different than the guys I've gone around with too. From what I can see you're pretty popular, but you don't seem like a sex-craving jerk. You seem like a really nice guy. Yeah, you're right. I don't know who that Arthur is. Show me sometime. I think you're fine being yourself, though. Don't worry about being pureblood, I don't care about blood either. And for the record, you don't need to trade spaces with anyone. I swear, you're fine the way you are. I mean, not many guys can be a girl magnet like you and not be a jerk."

"Haha, you'd be surprised! I'm not perfect, and certainly I'm no longer friends with my exes. For what it's worth, they all think I'm an ass."

"I don't see why."

"You've known me only a day. I was a jerk. But then you know, I looked at myself in the mirror and said to myself, James, what are you doing? Is this really what you want? And you know, I realized that it wasn't, and that it was time to change. So I decided to, you know, be more of the good guy than the bad guy. I mean, sure a lot of girls want 'the bad boy' but I've realized that isn't me. I thought about what you said earlier about Snape. And, well, you're right. He doesn't do anything to me, so what am I doing being a jerk to him? I guess I decided to not bother him anymore. Mainly for you. Cause you asked."

James thought he heard a snort from somewhere in the room, but he wasn't sure. "Lily, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like, like someone laughing or something. I'm not sure. Maybe it's my imagination or something. I'm pretty tired. But that's honestly the 3rd time I heard something strange around us. I'm starting to worry."

"Naw, I didn't hear anything. Maybe you are just tired. Who would be up at this hour?"

"Well, you and I are. But I doubt anyone else is. Everyone's probably sleeping right now, so we don't have to worry."

"You know what? If I was with any of my normal guy friends right now, that realization, the one about everyone being asleep, might have really bothered me. You know, cause they would have tried to take advantage of me or something. That's what they all wanted. A friggin piece. But I trust you. That's definitely a good thing," Lily said, smiling again.

James thought he heard the funny snorting noise again, but he didn't say anything this time. Jeez, I'm really losing it aren't I. "Kind of um, romantic here sitting in front of the fire, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Lily stared into the fire. "It was never like this with any of the others."

"Others?"

"Yeah, the other guys. We'd just, you know, go in the closets and get it on." Noticing the look on James' face she added, "I'm still a virgin though. Surprising maybe, with all my stories. But I just, I don't know. Couldn't do it."

"Haha, that's good. With all the rumors around about me too you'd think I'd have done it too. But I haven't. I have to admit that I spread some myself, cause I mean, being a 'girl magnet' as you put it, it doesn't really mix with not getting laid. Wow. You know, I just realized, that's pretty shallow of me. What in the hell was I thinking?"

"Hah, we all make mistakes. I've made a motherload, so I totally understand. But what I don't get is why girls throw themselves at guys and just do whatever in the hell they say. I mean really, where does that get you but pregnant out on the street with no job, half an education at fifteen or sixteen?"

"I've thought and thought about that, but I can't seem to come up with a decent response. I guess those girls must be either stupid as hell or brainwashed. If I was a girl, well, I'd be gay, but anyways, if I was a girl I wouldn't take crap for two seconds. It's got to be really degrading to act like that. Or, be treated like that. I try not to treat girls like that. I prefer to treat them as a princess, as they should be treated."

"Wow, that's the first time I heard that."

"What the hell kind of guys were you hanging around? Were they born in the damn gutter? Jeez, you definitely deserve better than that. Man oh man. I can't believe this. A girl like you, getting craaap like that. Unbelieveable. Well, you just tell me if you get any crap here, and I'll take care of it." Hopefully I won't need to cause you'll be mine, he thought. Giving in to his desire, he ignored that fear and put his arm around her. He turned her body towards his, and she relented to his touch. She leaned over and rested her head against James' chest. He inhaled sharply, breathing in her scent. It was intoxicating.

"You know, James, this might work," Lily said finally.

James' heart skipped a beat. "What did you just say? What might work?"

"Oh, that. Umm, that was nothing. I meant like, here. This school. It might be all right." Lily's heart was beating like a drum. I hope he can't feel that, she thought. That was close. I can't let him know that I like him. What if he doesn't like me? Well, as more than a friend.

James' heart sunk. He was hoping that Lily had meant them. "Lily," he began. "I know that this is weird and all. But I've never felt like this with any other girl. Like, that feeling that you've known someone all your life, but you just met them. I've known you for only a few hours, but I feel like I've known you forever. I don't get it. Call it fate or whatever, but I mean it."

"Aww, James. That's so sweet. That's the first time I've heard that one, but I guess I see what you're saying. I just spilled my gut to you, and I don't usually do that. Girls that wear their hearts on their sleeves are idiots."

James smiled at her. "Glad I could be of service. And you're right too. They are idiots." Seeing Lily raising her eyebrows at that comment he added, "No, you aren't. You're fine. Understandably so. I mean, all that crap that happened to you, how could you keep it bottled inside?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't write in a diary, cause someone could find it, and that would be a disaster!"

"Um, Lily?"

"Yeah?"

He hoped she couldn't feel him, pressing into her back. He adjusted a little bit so that he was sure she couldn't. "I've never asked a girl this before, but, uh…"

"Uhhh what?"

"Can I um. Kiss you?"

Lily giggled. "No guy has ever asked me that before. Ever. They just, did it when they wanted it. Always the gentleman, huh?"

No, I've never asked that either, he thought, but you seem different. I don't want to lose you over a stupid kiss that I tried to steal.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I wouldn't mind."

Lily turned to face him, and he put his hand in her hair. Their faces neared and their lips finally met. James' tongue glazed her lips, requesting entry to her mouth. Slowly she let it in. James' tongue inspected her mouth, and she the same for him. They kissed slowly and passionately, James running his hand through Lily's hair. Lily reached over and put her arms around James neck. As she pulled away, she rested her hear on James' shoulder.

"Yes," Lily sighed. "I think this'll work." James didn't hear her. He was listening hard for any weird sounds around the room. He could have sworn that he heard the portraithole door swing shut. But, maybe it was his imagination. Choosing to ignore it, he instead turned to Lily, who had once more fallen asleep upon his chest.