HEY GUYS!
Sorry it's been forever, I was in Italia and I couldn't figure out how to update from there, what ever, I'm back now. I'm also thinking of staring a new story, it'll be Lily/James, and it's not going to be quite so serious as this one. I'm going to make the Lily a little crazier. I still don't have a BETA, but I understand that it's sometimes more fun to read a story if your not looking out for grammatical errors. Which if you haven't noticed are quite common in my fic. ANYHOW! Let's get on with the story.
L8r!

LEE

Fair Trade

Disclaimer: ….STILL OWN NOTHING…..god, I wish that this paid, I am flat broke, I don't have two half pennies to rub together. Which considering they don't exist is probably why.

Chapter Five: Best of the Balconies

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LILY'S POV:

Something was squeezing my hand, it was warm, firm, and fit there perfectly. Then it was gone. A door clicked somewhere, all the sounds seemed to take a long time to process, she heard only half the words someone was saying, they were speaking much to fast. Slow down. She wanted to say, I don't understand. But her tongue wasn't moving, as her mind slowly caught up to the world around her she began to make some sense of who was talking, but how in the seven hells of Hades did she end up in this bed. She could feel the silk sheets rubbing against her arms. But she had been wearing a sleeved sweater when she got off the train…hadn't she?

Memories flashed threw her mind, people running across the platform, wizards in billowing robes and white masks, James racing towards her, James setting her down onto something soft, James wiping her forehead with a cool, damp cloth, James humming a sweet lullaby, James holding her hand. There was also a woman, a woman who had slipped off her jewelry and clothes sliding her into a large t-shirt. James? My eyes were caked with sleep, but I still hadn't gained the control of my arms. I listened to the conversation going on around me.

"She's still so pale." That was Remus, so that means that I'm in a wizarding house. "Are you sure she okay?"

"Yes, Remus, she'll be fine once the hex finally wears off, let's just hope one of us is here to warn her not to open her mouth." Who is that? Not someone I know surely. Yet the voice still sounded so familiar. Whoever this woman was, Lily had defiantly heard her voice somewhere. "She strained her muscles in her back pretty bad when she fell, she'll hurt for a while. Aside from that she'll be fine, I assure you."

"She hurt her back! Why didn't you tell us this before?" Marcella, Lily would recognize that voice anywhere.

"James was in the room, sweetheart, he was practically ripping his hair out yesterday when we told him he couldn't do anything. Telling him Lily would be in anymore pain would probably send him over the edge."

"Did anyone besides me notice that this is the first time he has left her side in the last day?" Sirius…He was staying at James's house this summer, does that mean that that's where I am too?

"His obsession with her definitely isn't helping, I think he is in more pain than Lily-dearest here."

"Everyone, come along now. Time for dinner. Let's see what the house-elves have thrown together for us tonight. Lily needs sleep."

A door clicked a gain and she heard her friends, and the woman who she assumed was James's mother leave the room. Opening her eyes was difficult, there was so much sleep in her eyes. She slowly reached a hand up to her eyes and wiped it away. She found that even that small movement caused her back to ache, she winced but didn't open her mouth, remembering what Mrs Potter had said about the hex.

Opening her eyes Lily saw a white and gold canopy high above her head. Threw her peripheral vision she saw she was in a magnificent room, all white and gold, probably as large as the entire top floor of her house. She saw a large wardrobe in the corner and the entire wall in front of her was curved and she saw threw French doors an amazing balcony over looking what looked like at least 50 or so acres of land, meadows and lakes.

Very slowly, so as not to hurt her back she pushed her body of the bed and started to push herself into a seating position. The door opened, startling her and her arms, losing their strength, collapsed under her. Causing her to land on her lower back. Hard.

"Ahh!" Her scream ended soon however as bile and yesterdays breakfast came up from her stomach. James's was at her side instantly, holding a bowl under her chin, while she threw up whatever had been in her stomach, which, thankfully, was not much. Lily winced as she ran her tongue over her teeth, tasting the bile in her mouth. James, sitting beside her, vanished the vomit, but kept the bowl under her. He tentatively rested his arm around Lily's shoulders, causing her heart to beat twice as fast. Why, this is Jam—Potter, it's not like I'm another one of his groupies. He shouldn't have this effect on me, but –despite this thought- promptly collapsed into his embrace, happy to have something to lean on. "Tha--" More bile, and more food, let me tell you, strawberry jam doesn't look so great coming back up.

"Shh… don't talk, what's wrong?" I decided to forgo the first order, and answered his question instead.

"My back—" More bile. More partially digested food.

"Your back? What's wrong with your back? No, wait don't talk I'll get some paper." He was worried! How cute! I didn't find it so cute when he moved off the bed and I had to sit on my butt again. It hurt like hell, so I promptly collapsed back onto the pillows. Causing James to rush back over to the bed and see my face all twisted up in gut-wrenching agony… at least it felt gut wrenching, I don't know if looking like your in agony is a very becoming expression, but whatever expression was on my face was enough to make James upset. "Merlin!" He ran his fingers threw his hair; he did that when he was nervous, I noticed. "Come on, let's get you up."

Wait a second, he's not actually going to-Ohmigod! She thought as James carefully picked her up off the bed and held her close to his chest, moving out to the balcony. My god, quidditch does Potter good…real good. What? I can't help feeling his abs when he's holding me this close. SUE ME! She thought to herself bitterly as James sat her on the stone ledge/railing on her terrace, overlooking a waterfall and lake. Still not having the strength to sit up on her own, she leaned against his chest, and realized that if she kept her back bent a certain way: 1. Her back no longer hurt, 2. she could sit on her own…well almost anyway, 3. she could hang her feet over the edge of the balcony, 4. she could still lean against James's chest. NO! Wait! Scratch that last one, you damn traitorous mind! Hold on a second, what's James doing with my hair? James was in fact doing something to her hair, though not what she was expecting. He calmly, slowly, steadily ran his fingers threw her bright red locks.

Lily shot up like a rocket when she realized what was happening, which caused her back to hurt like hell, which caused her to open her mouth, which then forced James to put the bowl in front of her, which caused her to slip perilously close to the edge of the ledge she was sitting on. However, getting strong muscles was not the only thing James's got out of Quidditch practice. Once she was done with the bowl he had his arm around Lily's back and before either realized what was happening she had her hands on his chest and was looking into his light hazel eyes.

Which flicked down to her lips and back into her emerald eyes. And again. James then slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. This can't be happening! What happens if I- I pulled away. Quickly. I guess a bit too quickly, James's eyes where so sad they were enough to make me depressed. For once in her life, Lily actually wanted to snog James L. Potter, but she couldn't. No one was watching, nothing like that, she honestly, honestly couldn't. If she did, she knew that she would get carried away like she did yesterday… or maybe a few days ago?...because she had to face the music, she didn't even try to stop James until she felt his hands on her stomach, after the shock ran down to her toes she welcomed him. And then she would end up Frenching him, then next thing you know they would both be covered in puke. James however got the wrong impression, as he then said something under his breath that I didn't catch, but I'm sure had Marcella in there some where. I didn't even half a chance to explain –or demonstrate- the problem because James scooped me up, careful as always, but avoiding my gaze, and had just set me on the couch when Mrs. Potter came into the bedroom.

"Oh, good darling, you're up. I need you to take this potion; it will counter act the hex. Now it doesn't work for everybody, but it should help, if it does work, then I'm going to give you another one for your back, some of the muscles ripped off the bone -dearie, you must have landed very hard- James be a dear and hold this bowl for me-, if the potion doesn't work you'll system will simply reject it, and you'll throw it back up."

The potion did work, so she took the one for her back as well. Then Mrs. Potter –she was in fact Mrs. Potter, she looked to much like James not to be, she introduced herself as Laura though, so she may be an aunt or something.- kissed me on the forehead, made me eat a lump of chocolate, and bustled out of the room. There was a moment of awkward silence, until she decided to break it.

"How long have I been out?" James looked up from his position as I sat down on the couch beside him.

"A little less than a day." He looked away again. "You didn't sleep well; it made us…me…nervous. Do you always have a problem sleeping?"

"Ever since my cousins were murdered…" James looked up, astonished, "they were visiting my house when…everyone got out except for the toddlers…" I closed my eyes as I felt tears coarse down my cheeks, but I couldn't stop now, I needed to finish the story…needed to tell someone what had happened over Christmas. "Aunt Maggie forgot to grab the toddlers," I felt James move next to me and put his arms around me, all embarrassment over the kiss forgotten, "Chris and Leslie were three years old…"I was sobbing by now, my face buried in the crook of James neck as he pulled me onto his lap, "the death eaters made us listen to them scream… as the house burned down…" I couldn't talk anymore, but it didn't matter I'd gotten out the important part. I stopped crying after a few minutes, and just breathed heavily into James's neck, who was back to humming that unfamiliar lullaby. When I finally got my facial expressions under control I pulled back and took a deep breath, more to calm my heart than anything else, which had started beating erratically when James looked at me. I realized that I was sitting on his lap, and was surprised to find that I really didn't want to move, so to cover up the expected silence I asked in a wavering voice "What's that song?"

James blushed, "Oh, it's- well, I made- back in- …my mother used to sing it to me." He nodded as if to confirm it.

"Oh, it's beautiful." And it was, sweet and soft, a tune that would never get old. "I wonder where she learned it…" I muttered, more to myself than to James, who blushed again.

Then I made the mistake of looking into his eyes, always so happy when he was around his friends had a spark in them, one that I didn't recognize, but one that sent a shiver down to my toes. He swallowed and ran a hand threw his hair, opened his mouth, then closed it. During this time I just looked at him, followed his every movement and started to smile as he got more and more nervous. He looked away from me, at any where in the room but me. Finally I decided I had had enough.

"Do you find me so repulsive that you can't even look at my face?" That shocked him, he snapped his head around to look at me, and already had the "Nnn--" part of 'no' out of his mouth when he realized that I had moved my head closer during his guestroom sight seeing. As such, when he moved his head our lips grazed each other. He pulled back immediately, and was starting what I could tell was an apology when I did something neither of us expected.

I, Lilianna Elizabeth Evans, kissed him.

I slowly slid his arms around my waist, he was too stunned to do anything, then I wrapped my arms around his neck. That got his attention, his lips immediately started moving beneath mine, and sent a shock threw my body. It was like kissing lightning, only better, because you can't hold lightning, or run your fingers threw it's hair. Only when I opened my mouth to move the kiss up a level. He did something I totally did not expect. Something so un-Potter-like, you probably didn't expect it either.

He pushed me way.

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Sorry mi chicos! No James POV, there probably won't be any in the next chapter either. Not until I get a Beta any way, it's too difficult to do to POV's when no one's there to make sure your not screwing it up.

L8R!

LEE

PS: Don't you just hate me for the cliffie?