Author's Note: Hola again! I know it seems like I haven't updated in a while, but, really, this is, like, super duper fast for me! Sorry – I'm not so good about that.

Ok, so I wanted to say thanks a mundo for reviewing – thanks to Leonie Leo, bRaTsKi, bananaslugg, hpandfriendsruletheworld, Roxy, Tanya J Potter, Emerald Purity, The Potter Identity, Hurleygurl, Phyre's child13, missy, alex, xoKaSsIeox, Cometchick, imber de caelum, LaughingManiac, and whoever else has reviewed since I last checked.

And to los dos who had, er, constructive criticism to offer, namely queenliz1, who said, "i guess it's ok, but one thing: 1) Saer is a Mary-Sue, and we haven't even met her. And Saer? What kind of name is that?" About the Mary-Sue thing, I'm sorry if I didn't follow the procedure… I'm pretty new to this, and don't really understand it all. I thought a Mary-Sue was when you put yourself into a fic… Saer is NOT me --- lol, I wish! —Just a random friend I threw in so Lily wasn't lonely… please explain what I should do if I did it wrong… and I know someone named Saer, and I thought it was kind of cool… lol… btw, it's pronounced like Sarah, but without the "ah" at the end, and dragon lair and unicorn hair, who said, "hi, first off who in hell can be ---insert my description of Saer here--- anywho secondly check your grammar and spelling, don't let me spoil your fun though, have fun writeing" Lol, I actually know TONS of people who look EXACTLY like this, including, sadly for me, my best friend… and as for the grammar and spelling, I KNOW! I apologize profusely for the mistakes, but my priority is fast updating, not perfection… but if you have a specific mistake that you would like to point out, that would be super helpful. Plus, you spelled writing wrong… just thought I'd point that out. lol… thanks, things like that actually help…. Just try to spare my feelings, ok? I'm kinda delicate. Lol. Anyway, read on!

Chapter 3

THoughts

Lily sucked in her breath, looking down as various emotions ran through her mind like a whole friggin' cross-country team.

After the initial shock, the first thought that popped into her head was, "Oh, damn! Now he knows I had a crush on him!" Then she realized how ridiculous that was…but, really, she'd spent a good four years of her life denying that she had any feelings for him whatsoever (in fact, convincing herself and everyone who happened to ask – as well as any poor soul who just happened to be standing nearby – that she hated him). And now he knew. She felt so…stupid.

And she couldn't believe she didn't recognize him! There was a time when Lily could pick James out from 50 yards away (even further if he was with another girl). Admittedly, she hadn't been expecting to see im. It had been seven fucking years! Not to mention that she was at a party at her muggle roommate's muggle friend's house. And James looked very different. More grown up – he seemed to have even grown an inch or two since graduation (Lucky bastard! Lily thought), and no longer wore glasses (perhaps he wore muggle contacts). He seemed more mature. And yet so familiar. The cocky grin. The mischievous glint in his hazel eyes. The way he was still saving her from creepy guys, even after all these years…

Suddenly, Lily realized that she was standing there, staring at James, her mouth hanging open slightly. She closed it with a snap, and blushed when he chuckled.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just so… I mean, I can't…"

James grinned at her. "I know… Hey, you want to get out of here? We can go back to my place if you want…It's really close." Seeing her wide eyes, he added, rather self-consciously, "Just, you know, to talk."

Lily smiled, embarrassed that she had misunderstood him. "Sure." But then she remembered Saer, and added, "But my roommate's here too – I came with her…" she looked around at the mass of humanity around them – swaying, grinding, snogging, and finally located Saer, dancing with and incredibly handsome man with longish black hair. He looked remarkably familiar too. But it couldn't be –

"Is that Sirius Black?" Lily asked James, pointing relatively discreetly at the couple.

James grinned. "Yeah. 'Course. I came with him. Why?"

"Well, he's, er…dancing with my friend Saer." This was not strictly true. Saer and Sirius were only dancing in the sense that Lily and the man she had named Mr. Creepy had been dancing before James came to help her out. But Saer seemed to be enjoying herself a bit more than Lily had.

James chuckled. "Knowing Sirius, if I interrupted him now, he'd come into my bedroom tomorrow night and Avada Kedavra me."

Lily giggled. "I say we let them figure it out on their own – they'll probably be too busy to notice we've gone, anyway."

So they made their way off the dance floor (it took a good five minutes) and, with one last look at the party, Lily and James opened the door and walked out into the cool night air.

It was completely dark outside, except for the warm yellow glow of the occasional streetlight. They walked in silence for a few minutes, which gave Lily time to think about what was going on.

She was surprised at how easy it was to talk to James, dance with him, and laugh with him, after all these years. And, really, they had never been very close at school. There was the whole nightmare of James asking her out, and him torturing Snape, and her getting mad at him and yet having a terribly huge crush on him, and… But now, seven years later, they met up at a muggle party – what a strange coincidence! And she felt so … comfortable with him. It was nice to talk to someone who she'd gone to school with for seven years. She didn't know what he was like now, but she sure knew more about him than she had about any of the boyfriends she'd had recently, when they began dating. He seemed pleasantly familiar, a reminder of her Hogwarts days. Her days as a real part of the wizarding world. And yet, there was the small fact that he was fucking hot! She couldn't believe that she was going back to his place already! But he'd said just to talk. And she did trust him. After all, even at Hogwarts, though he kept asking her out, he never tried to force her into anything when he knew she didn't want it…

James' voice startled her from her reverie. "Here we are."

They were standing at the front door of a large brick apartment building. It was very old, from maybe the 1700s, but in good condition… nice.

James led her inside and down a hallway to a row of elevators. Oh. So they were still in the muggle part of town. Interesting.

They stepped into the elevator when it arrived with a 'bing' and it carried them to the (and final) floor. James' apartment was the only one on the floor – so it must be large, Lily thought. Of course—after all, he wasn't poor.

James fumbled around in his pockets, and finally pulled out a large silver key. Lily giggled when she saw the key chain – there was a drawing of a golden snitch on it. It was nice to know that some things never changed.

"Don't the muggles wonder about that?" Lily asked him.

James looked confused for a moment, and then, when Lily pointed to the key chain, he laughed. "Probably… but no one's said anything yet." Then he fitted the key into the lock. There was a loud click, and he pulled the door open. "Welcome," he said, with a sweeping bow, "to my humble abode."

Lily smiled, rolling her eyes, and stepped inside.