"It was fun, Dave," Lily said, smiling as she climbed out of her car. "I'll see you later."

To her surprise - and dismay - he climbed out after her. "You mind if I get a Coke before I'm off?" Without waiting for her answer, he was out of the car and heading for her door. Sighing irritably, Lily followed him. Honestly, if they weren't already planning to break off their relationship before she left, she would dump him anyway. She had dated before, but no one had ever been as bossy and obnoxious as Dave.

Dave snagged the soda from her fridge, then started up the stairs. "Where's your room?" he asked, looking about. While he had been over to her house before, he hadn't been in her bedroom. Or upstairs. Come to think of it, she hadn't ever wanted him in her room. Now, of course would be a bad time. The wounded animal would be a bit hard to explain.

"Uh, Dave?" Lily edged. "How about we stay downstairs?"

A belligerent look crossed his face. "We always stay down here, Lils. I want to see your room."

Lily pressed her hands together, then dropped them. "That's a bad idea."

"Why?"

"I'm . . . not really comfortable with you in my room."

He laughed. "Afraid you'll give in to your inner desires?"

"Yes, Dave," Lily deadpanned. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

He chortled again, and finished climbing the stairs. Lily hurried after him, and grabbed his hand as he reached for the door charmingly marked, "Lily's Room."

"Uh, why don't you go get me a soda? And, er, chips?" she asked rather desperately.

"Sure, Lily." He smiled in a self-satisfied way. "And gives you a bit of time to clean up for me doesn't it?"

She smiled at him, feeling as if her cheeks would break as he headed off. Clean up for him? Hah. Hide school books, newspapers, moving pictures, and, oh, right, a stag? Yeah. She ducked into her room and hurriedly began stripping the walls of her things, cursing Dave under her breath. On second thought, maybe she would break up with the guy now. A Muggle in a witch's room was not a good idea.

"Someone's in a bad mood."

With a shriek, Lily spun around. Why was someone in her room? A murderer. No, a rapist. Oh, god, what if it was You-Know-Who? He was going to kidnap her -

Never mind, she though with a wave of relief. It was only James Potter.

Wait a minute -

"James Potter?" she hissed in disbelief, then rubbed her eyes. She had to be imagining things After all, in reality James Potter could not be sprawled across her bed, reading the single Quidditch magazine she had bought on a whim last month. The insufferable, arrogant, egotistical wizard could not be smirking at her, his hair as tousled as always, blue eyes laughing. And it wasn't a nice laugh either, Lily thought darkly. It was a - a - a really mean laugh.

Great. As usual in the presence of Potter, her speech was deteriorating. It was as though his own IQ rubbed off on hers.

"What . . ." Lily started, then trailed off. "Not possible," she choked out. "Not funny either." Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe it's a boggart . . ." she murmured to herself.

James smirk fell away. "Thanks a lot," he snapped. "Glad to know I am the most horrifying, disgusting thing in existence for you. Well, I'll have you know that I didn't particularly want to be here either."

"Why are you here?" Lily asked, her mind still not quite getting around the fact that Potter, her largest rival, was now sitting up straight on her bed.

Ew. She would have to wash her sheets.

"Why was the stag here?" he shot back at her.

Well, because it was wounded, duh . . .

Lily's eyes widened as his words clicked with her mind and made sense. An animagus? Potter? Impossible. But if it was true . . . Potter's thoughts seemed to mirroring her own, and he pulled up his jean leg to show a bound, but still bloody wound.

"Hey babe, got the soda . . ."

Lily spun around a second time, to see Dave enter, carrying their drinks and a bag of chips. Oh, no, she thought. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Potter was worse then a stag in her room. A stag could cause befuddlement and confusion. Potter could cause - damage.

Dave stopped short, then put everything down with a thunk. "Who are you?" he demanded of the other, putting a protective - or possessive - arm around Lily's waist.

Potter had already covered the wound again. "Does it matter?" he drawled in a bored tone. Lily narrowed her eyes, half expecting him to pull out that infuriating snitch and toy with it.

"Yeah, it matters. I want to know what some stupid jerk is doing on my girlfriend's bed," he demanded angrily. Lily closed her eyes, wincing. She had seen the gleam of interest in James. She was doomed. Doomed, doomed, doomed.

Potter raised an eyebrow. "Your girlfriend?" he repeated, looking over Dave, then glancing away as though he was found lacking. "Why's she dating you?"

"Because I like him," Lily spat before either of the guys could say anything. Not that she did that much. But he didn't know that. And Potter didn't either. And - and hell, she'd snog Dave like crazy if it convinced Potter she liked him. Not that she needed to. He was just so . . . smug.

Lily hated being scatterbrained.

Potter made her scatterbrained.

Therefore, Lily hated Potter.

She shook her head. If I don't start thinking logically soon, I'm going to have a meltdown. If she could only pull herself together - right. She was trying to convince Potter she liked her boyfriend. Not that she cared.

Of course not.

She glanced at Dave, to see how he was taking the random guy in her room. Apparently not well, as his face looked like thunder, and the arm around her was starting to squeeze. Oh great, she thought, now Dave'll probably think I'm cheating on him.

Potter started to smile slowly, which caused Lily to experience a sensation akin to worm slithering around her stomach. She started to speak, but Potter was faster. "I should have realized," he said sadly. He looked at Dave. "Sorry, mate. I didn't know she had a boyfriend."

"What?" Lily asked blankly

"The hell you didn't!" Dave snarled, letting go of Lily and stepping in front of her.

"Wait - what?" Lily interjected, trying to catch up with Potter's smugness and Dave's outrage. "Oh - no!" she said in realization. "I haven't -!" she began in anger. "Dave, don't listen to him, he's just trying to get a rise out of you." She shot Potter a look of disgust. "He's from my school. I have no idea how he got here."

Potter sighed, and Lily longed to hit him. "Look," Potter said, "I am sorry. I just dropped by - you know Lily, she'll always put out for a fellow in need - but I'll be going now -"

Lily could've strangled Potter.

"This is completely unfair," she said slowly, mustering up her strength and trying not to act as though she wanted to kill her coolly amused classmate. "I have done nothing wrong, and you know it."

Dave considered her, then nodded grimly. It was all Lily could do not to toss a superior look at Potter.

"Probably been double-timing you all along," Potter said, a little furrow created in his brow now that Dave hadn't broken immediately.

"Lily wouldn't," Dave said, and Lily genuinely wanted to kiss him.

"Wish that was true," Potter said with a shrug. "But seeing you here, I know I've certainly been taken in -"

"I have not -" she began.

"-and I'd have to say the same about you," Potter continued, smoothly overpowering Lily's voice. "It's certainly no mistake that I'm on her bed - after all, I spent the night here."

Dave's eyes met Lily's. He watched her, waiting for her denial. She swallowed hard. It certainly hadn't been like Potter was implying. "He did not," she said angrily, put the second of delay had obviously registered.

"I certainly did," Potter said, managing to sound affronted. He furrowed his brow lower. "Oh - is that where you went for the last few hours? With him? And I did too stay here!" he added petulantly.

"James Potter-"

"He was here," Dave broke in. "And that's why you wanted me to stay out, isn't it?"

"Just wait a moment -" Lily begged, voice rising. She sucked in a breath, calming herself. She would not allow herself to get upset in front of James Potter.

"Sorry, mate," the evil creature said as Lily glared at him. "If I'd known she was with you, I'd never have come."

"You're welcome to her," Dave said, scowling. "Cheers," he ended angrily, storming out of the room.

Lily spun around, eyes flashing as they clashed with her nemesis. "Dave is my boyfriend, you idiot," she hissed.

Potter grinned at her, making Lily feel even more infuriated than before. "He was your boyfriend," he corrected. "Tragically, he just dumped you."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Get out of my room."

"Nah, don't think I will. Your bed's so comfortable. Care to join me, love?"

"I am not your love," Lily yelled, feeling on the verge of losing what little control she had left.

"No, you're my carrot," Potter said complacently. Lily threw a book at him.

"The carrot joke's a little old, Potter," she said acidly as he dodged the book. It had been a book that started the terrible nickname, in second year; Anne of Green Gables. Potter had caught her reading it in the common room, and just for the chance to torment Lily, had grabbed it from her.

"Give it back!" Lily demanded.

"Don't be such a baby," he scoffed. He started to read, dancing around the room as Lily tried to get her novel back. " Gilbert Blythe wasn't used to putting himself out to make a girl look at him and meeting with failure.'"

"Just like you," Lily scoffed, trying to tear the book from his hands and failing.

"'She should look at him, that red-haired Shirley girl with the little pointed chin and the big eyes that weren't like the eyes of any other girl in Avonlea school,'" Potter continued, hopping out of Lily's path and onto a table so he could read a few more lines.

"Gilbert reached across the aisle, picked up the end of Anne's long red braid, held it out at arm's length and said in a piercing whisper, "Carrots! Carrots!" - hey! Carrots! Just like you!" Potter said in delight.

"You are so immature," Lily said, jumping at him.

"Carrots! Carrots!" he taunted, as she chased him around the room. Finally Lily got a hold on it, but Potter wouldn't let go. "They hated each other, didn't they?" he asked with a grin.

Lily scowled. "Yeah," she said. "But they ended up married," she added spitefully, and had the satisfaction of seeing the look of horror that crossed the twelve year old boy's face.

Five years later, Potter still hadn't given up on the ridiculous nickname, and to her annoyance, it still got to Lily.

"So, Carrots," Potter drawled, enjoying her anger, "What were you doing, dating a Muggle? No wizard good enough for you?"

"Who would you suggest? Yourself?" Lily asked testily.

Standing beside her bed now, Potter lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "Trust me, Evans," he said in a bored voice, "you just don't interest me anymore. I might have held a torch for you fifth year, but that's long past. Besides," he added in a voice meant to insult, "you're boring as hell."

"Well, pardon me for not sleeping with every willing soul!"

"Don't kid yourself, Evans. There isn't anyone willing to sleep with you."

Lily felt her cheeks flame. How had she gotten into talking about this with James Potter? Of all the utterly embarrassing topics. "Like you know what other people think," she said scornfully. "Not to mention the fact that you spent the entire fifth year chasing after me."

"Believe me, Carrots," Potter said, amused, "if I wanted you, I could have you."

"Could you now?" Lily asked angrily. "And I suppose if you kiss me, I'll just melt in your arms?"

"Care to experiment?" Potter countered, voice soft, smooth.

Um, no, Lily thought. She didn't.

Potter took several steps forward, leaving barely four inches between them. Lily found it slightly disconcerting to have to look up to meet his eyes, with amusement. "Come on, Carrots," he whispered, running his fingers through the straight red hair bordering her face. "You know you want me."

"Like hell I do," Lily murmured back.

Potter laughed softly. "Then move away," he told her in a mocking voice, eyes never leaving her own. He trailed his fingers down her bare arms, giving her goosebumps. He held his hands out by his sides. "I'm not stopping you," he said. "Go ahead. Leave."

Physically, he may not have been holding her, but Lily couldn't seem to break free from his gaze. She shivered as he continued to hold it. He laughed again, quietly, triumphantly, curling one arm around her waist, pulling her against him. Lily's eyes widened in shock as she felt the hard counters of his body pressed against her own. She still didn't feel able to move as he placed his hand at the back of her head, winding it through her hair and keeping it there as he moved his face down towards hers.

A moment before their lips collided, Lily's reflexes kicked in and she shoved Potter away from her. "Get away from me," she snapped, shaking. "I'm not just another toy for a spoiled rich boy."

"Spoiled rich boy, am I?" Potter said, taking a step back on his own. "Don't even try to pretend you didn't want it, Lily. Not to yourself."

"I am not pretending anything!" Lily yelled. "In case you've forgotten, you're the one who had a crush on me - not the other way around."

"Thanks for clearing that up," Potter said, glaring at her. "I'll be leaving then," he snapped, sweeping past her and into the hallway.

"I hope you fall down the stairs and die!" Lily called after him, spitefully. A second later she heard a yelp, and a series of thumps as if something heavy was falling down the stairs. "Oh my god," she whispered her first sudden, irrational thought, "I killed him!" She dashed out her door and down the hall, eyes wide. Her younger sister had reached the stairs before she did and was gawking down them, mouth and eyes wide open.

James sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, clutching his leg, eyes screwed shut in pain.

"You idiot," Lily said in exasperation. "You reopened your wound."

"And he'll ruin the carpet," Petunia added. "Who is he?"

"A . . . friend," Lily answered as she rushed into the bathroom and then down the stairs, carrying an armful of towels.

"Are you cheating on Dave?" Petunia asked, in a voice that said she wouldn't be surprised. Lily rolled her eyes. Why did everyone think that? Potter wasn't even supposed to be Potter; he was supposed to be a stag. Plus, she wasn't in the mood to listen to her fifteen year old sister whine on and on as she usually did. "What happened to him?" Petunia asked, following Lily down the stairs.

"He got shot."

Petunia gave a little shriek. "Are you harboring fugitives!" she demanded in disbelief. "Oh my god, Lily, that's too much. You are in sooo much trouble when Mum and Dad get home. Wait until they hear this!"

"He is not a fugitive," Lily told her as she wrapped a towel around his leg. "Fugitives have to be smart enough to escape from somewhere," she whispered to Potter. Angry as she was with him, she hoped he didn't die. He was losing a severe amount of blood, she noted, and add that to what he lost yesterday . . . She shook her head. She would just call up a hospital and leave him there if she didn't think he'd do something terrible to the hospital workers in an effort to get out, in which case he probably would get himself killed. Perhaps she could call St. Mungo's?

She wrapped another towel around, not quite daring to use magic in case she really did get kicked out of school - or at least, that's what she told herself. She hoped she wasn't so vindictive that she would let him reach death without trying to save him. I'll use magic if he gets any worse, she promised herself. "Petunia, would you get the jar of burn ointment in the bathroom?"

She did, reluctantly. Potter appeared passed out, Lily noted critically. He was breathing shallowly, but at least he was breathing, and his pulse was steady. She examined the jar, not knowing if it would be useful or harmful, but it said it was good for small burns and cuts, and Potter had a number of those on his arms, leg, and a few on his face. She rubbed it quickly onto his arm and unwounded leg, trying hard not to think about whose body she was massaging the ointment into.

Hmm. Admittedly, unconscious Potter was rather nicer than awake Potter. And she could think concisely.

When she went to his face, she couldn't help but notice the high cheekbones as she smoothed the cream into the scrapes. She ran one finger along his cheek, then jaw bone, then drew back, startled at what she had done.

"He is sorta cute," Petunia admitted reluctantly.

"And is that your scientific opinion?" Lily said sarcastically. She bit her lip, wishing she had been a bit less harsh. But the whole James-Potter-half-dead-in-her-house-thing was starting to freak her out.

Petunia didn't seem to care. She walked over and considered him. "Do you think he'll die?" she said hopefully.

"Do you think you're morbid?" Lily responded, praying that he wouldn't. She did not want him to die, no matter how much they hated each other . . . despised each other . . .loathed each other. Or at least, she wouldn't let him die even if she oftentimes wished it.

"Of course not," Petunia said sulkily. Her eyes narrowed. "You are cheating on Dave," she reinstated.

"Dave and I . . . are broken up." Lily frowned. At least, she thought they were.

Petunia took a moment to let that sink in. "Well, you moved awful quickly.

"Look, Tunia, Potter and I are not together. We don't even like each other."

"Like anyone would like a freak like you," Petunia snapped, appearing to somehow have become insulted. She stomped off.

"Love you too, sis," Lily muttered, still kneeling beside Potter. Her frown deepened. How long would it be before he woke up? He seemed to be getting paler rather then regaining color. Should she send a letter to his parents, to anyone? It certainly seemed like a good idea. But chances were, his parents and the authorities did not know he was an animagus or that he was disappearing in the dead of night and getting himself shot, and they would be none to happy about. While Lily had no qualms about getting Potter in trouble, especially if it got him off her hands, she had been sort of hoping he would ignore her their 7th year. If she got him in trouble, he would make her last year of Hogwarts living hell.

Not that he didn't try to anyway.

"You won't die," she told him. Then she rocked back on her heels. "Which means you'll wake up and tell me what you were doing around here."

She rocked further back, eyes widening.

Potter was an animagus.

That meant she had blackmail.

ZestyCruton - First of all, your name is brilliant. I want to be a zesty cruton . . . Uh, anyways. You're right. James is the only guy who can be completely brainless and still get the girl. Oh, James . . .

The Devil's Maiden - Look! Almost no waiting required. That's due to half the story being written two years ago, but never mind.!

J.E.A.R.K.Potter - I KNOW! Dumbledore! Ahhhh! Much wailing ensues. I have to admit, I had no idea it was coming. None. Total shock. I had to lie the book down and snare at the ceiling for several minutes before I could accept it.

Frecklednproud - I sobbed the last fifty pages. 'Course, I cry at about everything, but this was full-fledged. It was just, so . . . I don't even know. Wow. And on the other side - thanks for the positive comments! I always wondered what happened when Lily found out what James was, since that's always skipped over.

Starblaze - Thanks! Ha - now how know about the confrontation. And Dave was just a fun throw-away character so Lily and James could bicker. Hope your curiosity is satisfied!

Kaseylynn444 - See, look? Not a long time! I think my favorite's the "surprisingly good," but yeah, you're right . . .

the mouse that roared - Ello, you! All right, I have started your fanfic, which is Ron, silly, not Harry, which is why was like, but that's not an unlikely pair - but no, you're right, I've never seen Ron and Malfoy before.

Dude, Mouse, your know me, James got hurt in Lily's yard so she could FIND him, silly, so I could write a story. You didn't actually think there was sense in it? I haven't quite picked Lily's character - I'm debating the firebrand per usual, and the rather fumbling for words Lily. Anyway, it's loads of fun.

Erm . . . preview, I guess. Just pulled out a couple paragraphs.

"You are not going to leave me alone with a conscious, un fevered James Potter, are you?" Lily half-demanded, half-pleaded. "You can't. One of us will kill the other!"

"After all you've went through to keep him safe?" Remus said with a smile. "Think of it as practice for dealing with unruly kids at school. Good bye, Head Girl." He moved towards the door.

"Goodbye, Head Boy," she told him back, and they exchanged smiles only people with long-time confidence of achieving their goal had. He nodded, and while Lily was still trying to take in this turn of events, he had disappeared downstairs and hopped through her fire, barely pausing to holler back, "King's Cross! I'll bring his stuff!"

And he was gone.

"Doomed," Lily whispered to herself. "Doomed, doomed, doomed."