A/N: and here's chapter 5! YAY lol… sry I took a while to update! Oh and there's a little sexual content in this chapter, in case you're uncomfortable with that kind of stuff lol… it's not too extreme but yeah, just a note, it will get worse in next chapters, so if you're uncomfortable with this then… well okay anyway read on haha

Liz widened her eyes at the present at the foot of her bed. She picked up the note beside it.

Liz, I love you. Go out with me, please. James

Her heart beating at a mile a minute, she proceeded to open the present. Is this his sick idea of a joke? She couldn't shake the thought from her mind. Her hands soon fell upon a brilliant silk robe which must have cost a fortune. She gasped. Could it be?

"Wow Liz!" Alice ran over to her, her mouth hanging open in amazement. She fingered the robe longingly. "Who gave you this?"

"James," Liz told her, picking up his notes.

"Are you sure it wasn't for Lily?" Alice asked. Liz's eyes narrowed.

"Not everything has to be about Lily, you know…"

"I know but… he's liked her since forever…" Liz didn't trouble to hide the anger on her face.

"No need to rub it in," she said.

"I wasn't—"

"Yeah, okay. I think I'll go have breakfast now," Liz said coolly. She left Alice in the room with a crestfallen face. Liz had to stop herself from skipping towards James as soon as she saw him in the common room. Instead she strode past everyone down to breakfast. She took her seat between Lily and Molly, who had faithfully saved her a place at the overcrowded table.

"Guess what!" she said, her spirits quickly rising.

"What?" they said in unison.

"James got me a really expensive robe! And he said that he loved me and wanted to go out with me!"

"Are you sure it wasn't for Lily?" Molly asked, and Lily blushed. Liz's face turned a violent purple.

"Actually, it had my name on it. I guess he got sick of Lily's miss perfect act," she said, struggling to keep her voice in control. Now it was Lily's turn to get angry.

"Or maybe he set his sights a little lower," Lily said before she could stop herself. Molly clapped her hands over her mouth and looked from one to the other. Liz squeezed her eyes shut.

"You don't mean that," Molly said to Lily.

"Yes I do," Lily said defensively. "I'm sorry Liz, but honestly, you can't expect to insult me that way and get away with it!"

"You're right. I'm sorry," Liz said calmly.

"That's okay. I'm sorry too, I didn't really mean it anyway," Lily responded, giving her a quick hug. She waited for Liz to say that she didn't mean it either, but she never did. Lily laughed nervously.

"James never gave you that present did he?" Lily asked, laughing. "Haha, you almost fooled me with your little angry act!" Before Liz could answer, James walked into the Great Hall, followed by Peter, Remus, and Sirius. Liz stood up uncertainly and James flashed his brilliant smile in her direction. He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. Lily, Molly, and Alice (who had just walked in) gaped at the couple. James bent his head and kissed her deeply.

Liz had never been kissed before, but she was sure that if she had known what she had been missing, she would surely have killed herself. She kissed him back with all her heart, and his hand slid down to her butt. She giggled but didn't stop him. Then suddenly his tongue found its way into her mouth, exploring it in ways she hadn't imagined possible. They must have gotten quite caught up in it because Molly soon coughed behind them, indicating that she wanted Liz's attention. Liz pulled herself away reluctantly. Her dream had come true. And it was all worth it to see Lily's stricken face, however mean that might seem.

"Ehem… Liz, we'll just go… Transfiguration should start now…" Molly said tentatively. Sirius ran a hand through his dark hair.

"I think we'll come with you four," he said, apparently indifferent to James' exchange with Liz. They walked off, leaving the two giving each other a sort of goodbye kiss.

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Lily couldn't describe what she had felt when she had seen Liz kissing James. Of course, she had felt surprise, they all had… but it was something more. A kind of jealousy that tore her up inside… when would it be her turn to experience something like that? And why was plain, boring Liz the one who had it all? You could have had it if you had said yes to James, a nagging voice said. Suddenly James didn't seem that bad. He was annoying, but in a sweet way. And he had the most amazing looks that came second only to Sirius. But he was Liz's now. Lily buried her head in her book as she took notes on the chapter. She still couldn't stop thinking of the smug, satisfied look Liz had given her after she kissed James. The look that said I won.

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James couldn't believe his success. Liz had believed everything! He couldn't seem to forget Lily's contorted face while they had kissed… Oh, he wasn't fooling himself. Lily didn't like him yet… but it was only a matter of time. Especially as he had deflated his head the other night.

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Molly felt herself tearing up inside. She and Arthur had liked each other for so long… and the most they had done was a kiss on the cheek! And here came Liz and James… after five minutes in which James told Liz how he liked her, they were making out as though it was something they did everyday. She looked at Lily, who seemed to be biting her nails nervously. She sighed as they were dismissed. Possessed by a sudden fierce energy, she looked at Liz with hate, and made her way towards Arthur.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked him. He blushed. Honestly, it would seem like it was the first time she'd ever talked to him!

"S-sure," he said.

She pushed him into an empty classroom, making sure that Liz saw them on her way out.

"Arthur darling… I need you desperately!" she said, improvising. Then she pushed him into a chair, and sat on his lap, her legs struggling to put themselves around his waist like she had seen so many other couples in their year do. Unfortunately, they fell off the chair and Arthur hurt himself quite badly. Still yearning for that one kiss, she leaned in and kissed him full on the mouth. At first he seemed merely surprised, but soon he reacted and the kiss grew more passionate. Longing for more, she took his hand and laid it on her breast. Underneath her, she felt a slight bulge in his pants, and it suddenly struck her what they were doing and their situation on the floor. She couldn't help it.

She burst out laughing, and he stood up, embarrassed.

"Sorry," she spluttered. He sighed, his face turning redder.

"Maybe this isn't the right moment," he said rubbing his sore arm.

"Probably…" he put a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her out of the room, and she thought of how far they would have eventually gone if she hadn't stopped him…

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Liz looked over at Lily's face to see if she could see anything other than determined concentration on their homework. They had been studying in the library for an hour, when Lily put her pencil down.

"I'm tired. Let's not do our Potions. Professor Slughorn doesn't really care about us doing it anyway," she laughed.

"You mean he doesn't care about you not doing your homework," Liz scowled. She was sure Lily had been driving at that all along.

"Well. Yes. I suppose because I don't have much trouble with Potions," Lily said. She knew she shouldn't have said it, but the envy she had felt before was still very much a part of her, and she felt like she had to find some way to make herself feel better than Liz, no matter how childish it sounded like. Liz's eyes gleamed and Lily knew she would pay for that comment.

"James said I was the most beautiful girl in the school. He said—"

"That's great," Lily spat. She knew she had deserved that but she couldn't help feeling a little angry. Just then, (as if her luck wasn't bad enough), James strolled in wearing a smile that she couldn't resist returning.

"Liz! I've been looking all over for you!" Lily's smile faltered and she quickly looked away as he swept Liz into his arms.

"J-j! I missed you!" Liz murmured. Lily felt like throwing up. She couldn't believe her ears. J-j? Liz pressed her lips against James', and Lily blushed, picked up her books and left, leaving Liz giggling behind her. On her way out, she bumped into Sirius.

"Leaving?" he asked her. She nodded. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with those two, would it?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. She looked at her feet and mumbled something which, even to her, had no sense. He laughed. "I thought so. Want to come with me? I'm sneaking off to Hogsmeade… we could get a drink or something?"

She couldn't possibly leave. It was against the rules. An image of Liz and James flashed before her eyes.

"I'd love to."

A/N: another chapter done ;) yay! So don't forget to REVIEW because I can't update without knowing how great/horrible it is! Go ahead it takes less than a minute lol