Hmm… how long has it been since I last updated? Almost a year, I believe… well, sorry about that. Actually I wrote this chapter last year. I just forgot to post it. Anyways I hope you like it and please review… Thaaaanks!

Chapter 5:

They flew past the quidditch pitch then the Forbidden Forest until they reached the town of Hogsmeade.

"James!" Lily exclaimed, "What are we doing here in Hogsmeade."

"Just wait and see." He increased his speed a little bit, but not too fast for the sake of Lily. They passed Zonko's and Honeydukes and James then landed his broom at the last store, which looked to be abandoned, found near the end of Hogsmeade.

The store was dark and dusty, its windows were covered with so much dirt that you could hardly see anything inside. Lily wondered where they were and what are they doing there.

"In case you're wondering what in the world are we doing here in a place like this on this side of Hogsmeade," James said behind her, "Well, inside that store is actually an exclusive club. It's pretty famous to people everywhere except here."

"A club?" Lily looked excited. "I never knew there was a club in Hogsmeade."

"Well, now you do. Nobody here really knows about it. I didn't, but a friend of mine told me about it and said that they served the best drinks.

"Drinks, huh?" she gave him a wide smile before taking his hand and pulling him towards the store. She was about to open the door when a thought hit her and then she dropped her hand.

"What's the matter?" James asked.

"I just realized I'm not dressed for it." She gestured to her rumpled top and loose pants.

"So what?" James opened the door for her. "True, you're not properly attired, but as soon as they see that beautiful face of yours, they wouldn't notice what you're wearing."

She raised her right brow. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good, but you do know that flattery gets you nowhere?"

He grinned and pulled her hand while entering the club. "No I don't, but I do know that I did bring you here to enjoy and not to go back after five minutes because you're not dressed for it. Besides the music's great here and I want you to dance with me!"

She stopped in her tracks. "Umm James, that's another problem. I don't know how to dance."

He pulled her hand again and proceeded walking. "Don't worry, I'll teach you. If you know how to do the waltz, why not this?"

They passed through a series of hallways before they finally reached the end where a big wizard in bright purple robes stood by a large door, as if guarding it.

"Hey Gus!" James said when they reached him. Lily could hear loud, upbeat music from the door behind the man.

"Hey James! Haven't seen you in awhile." The huge fellow replied.

"Been busy. By the way, this is Lily." He gestured to her. Lily found herself looking upwards at him. He's huge!

"Hello." She said nervously.

"Great to meet you! C'mon in!" He opened the door for them and they became deaf at the sound of the music.

To say it was impressive was an understatement. It was spectacular. Everywhere there was movement. There was a bar in the far right where people watched the bartenders perform fascinating moves with their glasses and drinks. Every time someone asks for a drink, they take their wands out and cast spells at firewhiskies wherein it shoots out colorful specks before going inside the glass.

In the center of the room was a wide dance floor where people danced to the beat of the music. They were so many of them that some bartenders took away the tables nearest to the dance floor to give them more space to dance. More people went to dance and again the bartenders took away more tables. Lily was captivated by the excitement. At the other side of the room were couches and tables where people drank, talked and made out.

The room would have been entirely pitch black if it wasn't for the colorful lights beaming around the room in different motions. The room spoke of movement. Everywhere you go there was a need to move, to dance, to have fun. Everyone was dancing to the beat: the bartenders, the waiters and waitresses, the Even the lights were moving in tune to the music.

James led her to the bar in the far corner of the right. They passed by the dance floor where people of all sizes and colors were dancing senselessly and yet with so excitement that Lily felt like dancing herself. When they arrived at the bar a bartender immediately went up to them.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked. Up close the man looked so dark that he could hardly be seen, his black clothes adding to his appearance.

"I'll have an exploding firewhisky," he looked at Lily with a glint in his eye. "I'm guessing you haven't tried drinking alcohol have you?"

She looked at him proudly. "Of course I do."

He raised an eyebrow. "And by that I don't mean champagne." Lily laughed.

He was looking at her so intently that it made Lily's stomach lurch. Yet she still raised her head high and said proudly, "Fine. The only alcohol that I ever tried was champagne and I didn't even finish one glass because daddy took it away from me."

He laughed aloud. "This lady here will have the express." He said to the bartender. He looked hesitant.

"You sure?"

"Damn right."

"Whatever you say." The bartender began getting the ingredients and they made themselves comfortable in the high stools.

"What did you order for me?" Lily asked James.

"The express."

"What's that?"

"You'll see." The bartender came back with an armload of ingredients. He prepared James' drink first. He took a weird-shaped glass and poured a clear-colored liquid in it.

"Color?" he asked James, matching his timing to the beat of the music.

"Blue."

"Sky?"

"Aqua."

Lily looked at the two of them. She didn't understand what they were talking about. James saw the look on her face and smiled at her.

"Look." He pointed his head to the direction of the bartender. Lily followed and was stunned at the amazing performance before her.

Holding the glass of firewhisky on his right hand and a small blue flask on the other, the bartender threw the small flask very high in the air meanwhile pouring the firewhisky in another flask that was filled with bubbling liquid. A small eruption occurred inside the flask and immediately the bartender grabbed it and poured it back to the glass and then catching the small flask which came down from the air and poured it on the smoking glass. A beautiful blue spectrum of color flashed brightly from the glass then suddenly it stopped, leaving only a clear blue liquid.

"Here you go, sir." The bartender gave him the drink and began preparing Lily's drink.

"This is what made this bar popular," James explained, amused at Lily's stunned face. "They never have drinks like these in other bars. No one would dare try follow it."

"Why's that?" Lily asked after a few seconds.

"First of all, no one ever found out what they're made of, and second, one person who claimed that he knew how to make it tried to open a bar and it closed after five days."

"What?" Lily exclaimed. "Why did it close?"

"Because the costumers kept comparing it to the ones here and the ones who haven't tried it here in Hogsmeade thought it was only show and a waste of money, and it wasn't even that good a performance. The next night there was not one costumer in sight; so was for the next three nights. On the fifth day the owner had no choice but to shut it down since it's gonna cost him more if he didn't."

"Too bad." Lily straightened up in her seat. "What about the former bartenders here? Don't they know how to make this stuff? What if they get fired?"

"A simple memory charm can do the trick. I have a friend who used to work here. He told me that when you enter this job you had to sign this contract saying that if by any chance you have to leave that job a memory charm has to be performed on you. The contract also said not to tell anybody what this drink is made of." By the time he was done speaking the bartender was already done mixing her drink. It didn't look fancy and had no performance unlike James' but it was on a large glass shaped like an hourglass but it stretched a bit more vertically.

"What's this?" Lily asked.

"It's the express, lady." The bartender replied. "Enjoy." Then he disappeared into the back room.

James raised his glass. "Cheers." He said and Lily raised her glass. James gulped down half of his glass while Lily watched him, amazed. Unsure of what to do, she followed his example, although it was far less an amount than his, because as soon as she drank it, a fire so hot blazed inside her throat that she coughed aloud.

She felt the burning liquid flow down her throat, giving her a blend of both distaste and somewhat unusual pleasure.

"What on earth is this made of?" she asked James, who was looking at her with an amused expression.

"It's just firewhisky mixed with a large amount vodka and rum. It's a simple ingredient, but when mixed together it forms a very hard drink."

"Then why did you let me drink this?" Lily inquired.

"I kind of thought you needed to try the hard ones before tasting the lesser ones."

"And why is that?"

"No reason."

Lily hiccupped. "You are a bad influence, Mr. Potter."

"You think because I let you drink alcohol means that I am a bad influence on you? I think not." He denied, but he was grinning widely.

He offered her his drink. "I thought that you'd like to try this."

She looked skeptical but she took it anyway. Feeling bolder from the drink she took earlier, she gulped down the rest of the drink left in the glass and felt the same burning sensation in her throat but there wasn't the feeling of distaste anymore. It actually tasted… good.

"I presume that you liked it."

"Yeah, I thought it was better than mine. But I'm not really sure yet. I need to have another go at my drink." Lily started raising her glass to her lips but James took it away from her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Lily asked disappointedly.

"Not making you drunk, that's what." James said, raising his voice a little. The music began increasing its volume, as well as its tempo.

"Let's dance." He stood up and pulled a whining Lily to the dance floor.

"I don't know how to dance—"

"I haven't finished my drink—"

"I'm not dressed up like all those other women—"

"Jaaaaaammmmeeeeessss!"

"Will you just— shhhh!" James exclaimed when they arrived at the dance floor. "Don't worry about it. In the midst of all these people around us, no one would notice you."

James spent the next half hour teaching Lily the moves. He noticed that she was a fast learner because after another half our later she looked as though she was born to dance. She was there grinding her hips against him when an erotic but upbeat song was played and she was jumping along with the crowd when particularly loud rock song is played. Aware that James danced different steps because he was a guy, Lily learned some of her dance moves from the other women dancing beside them. She learned them fast and well, and before they knew it, she and James were at the center of the dance floor dancing and the others forming a circle around them and cheering.

Lily never had this much fun in her life. She definitely knew that she was coming back here again, with or without companions. James was an excellent dance partner. He danced so ecstatically and with so much ease that you feel like dancing is the most fun thing in the world.

After what seemed like hours they stepped off the dance floor and went to one of the high tables.

"You're a pretty good dancer." James complimented as he was seated on one of the high chairs.

"You too, and also a great teacher" Lily said, "I never knew that this could be so much fun! I'm definitely coming back here."

He laughed. "I thought that you would." He stood up. "Stay here while I get us something to drink."

Lily nodded and watched him walk away. Then she moved her gaze to the dance floor.

I wonder what Jen will think of this, she thought. Jen was always the party animal. She invited Lily to go with her to millions of clubs but Lily was always adamant about staying in.

Jen will surely flip when she finds out there's a nightclub in Hogsmeade. She smiled at that thought. She can't wait to tell her.

James came back with two blue exploding firewhiskies. He took a seat and gave her one.

"Cheers once again." He said, raising his glass. Lily raised hers and took a large sip. She loved the taste of alcohol. It gave her a feeling of warmth and relaxation. But she knew that she had to control herself or else she'll become an alcoholic.

They stayed a couple more minutes before realizing that it was almost 5:30 in the morning. When James pointed that out Lily looked almost ashamed while James just laughed aloud. They finished their drinks in one gulp and took off.

"I had the best time ever." Lily said to James. He put an arm around her and waved at Gus, who seemed to be busy with two scantily clad girls.

"I'm glad you did."

They walked silently along the hallway. Lily was tipsy by then, walking in slurred motions and hanging on to James for dear life. Without realizing it, they were walking the path towards the entrance of the castle. She noticed that they were quiet the whole time.

"I'm glad you brought me to that place. It somewhat helped me." Lily said.

James put an arm around her and held her tight. Just as they were nearing the entrance door, James diverted their path and brought her to a nearby tree. He leaned his forehead in hers and whispered, "I'm glad I brought you there too. To tell you the truth, I find that you're a way better dancer than me."

"No, I'm not. I just copied the moves from other girls." she said, smiling into his chocolate brown pools.

"You're much better than them."

"No I'm not–" She was silenced by James giving her a quick peck on the lips. He pulled away for a moment and stared at her eyes. Even though it was only a brief kiss, her eyes were already filled with passion. He kissed her again, this time more sensual. He was gentle, his lips softly brushing against hers while his hands roamed around her body.

Lily felt again that burning sensation in her stomach. She didn't understand how James could make her feel like this.

James' lips moved from her lips to her neck, sucking on it slowly then blowing on it. He could feel Lily ready to collapse any second now. He felt good knowing that he made her feel like this.

Lily's knees were so weak that she had to hold on to James for dear life. She realized that, if she were uneducated, she would have sex with him right there. In fact, she was almost nearing that point. She tried to divert her attention so as not to get into it.

Bad move. When she looked away she was terrified to see Jen staring at her, open-mouthed.

"Shit!" she cursed. She totally forgot that Jen wakes up early in the morning for her daily jog! James stopped kissing her neck and looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She ignored him and kept looking at Jen's disgusted face. James followed her gaze. Lily got out of her reverie and immediately got herself out of James' embrace and walked toward her.

"Jen, I can explain." Lily started.

"What—who—ehh" Jen looked confused, then angry.

"Umm…This is James. Erm..James, this is Jen, my best friend."

"Pleased to meet you." James went up to her and formally offered his hand to shake. Jen just looked at him still with that disgusted look on her face, so he dropped his hand.

"Well…. I better be going then." He started to give Lily a goodbye kiss, but the desperate look on her face decided against it. Instead he nodded at her and bid the girls goodbye.

Jen straightened her back and told Lily, "You. Me. Talk. Now." In silence they went back to their common room. It was still early, so no one was awake. They sat on one of the couches and Lily prepared herself for the interrogation.

"So….what was that all about?" Jen stood and paced in front of Lily.

"Well, uh—"

"Who was that guy?" she interrupted.

"Umm—"

"What about Matt?

"Okay do you want me to explain or do you have to interrupt me all the time!" Lily suddenly burst out.

Jen sat down opposite her. "Fine. I'm listening."

Lily told her all about the engagement and the deal and her relationship towards James.

"So you're saying you guys are getting married after Hogwarts but before that happens you are going to do stuff that totally involves independence?" Jen asked.

"Exactly."

"Well then what in the bloody world are you doing spending all that time with him?"

Lily grew silent.

"I wasn't able to think about that."

"Think of it, Lils, he's agreeing to your stupid deal yet you're not doing it at all. I mean, sure you get to party and everything, but you get to do those things with him! What in the world is wrong with you?"

She stood up and faced Jen. "You're right! What am I doing? I'm supposed to have fun. Independently! So what about James Potter? He will never go away. What I need to do is to spend more time with you guys!"

Jen stood up. "Right on, Lils!" They high-fived and jumped up and down excitedly.

Jen suddenly stopped.

"What about Matt?" Lily stopped as well.

"Hmm… well we are having some kind of relationship right now, why not continue it?"

Jen seemed deep in thought for a while before she nodded. "Okay, that's your life. Anyways, do you think you can take me to this club you were talking about? It sounded bloody fantastic!"

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