A/N: I know I promised not to update until I got at least 12 reviews, but I really wanted to write this so yeah, here it is.

I hope you enjoy it. And R&R please!

Disclaimer: I wish…

Chapter 9: Irresistible

Be brave little one.
Make a wish for each sad little tear.
Hold your head up though no one is near
Someone's waiting for you.
Don't cry little one.
There'll be a smile where a frown use to be
You'll be part of the love that you see.
Someone's waiting for you.
Always keep a little prayer in your pocket
and you're sure to see the light.
Soon there'll be joy and happiness
and your little world will be bright
Have faith little one
'Til your hopes and your wishes come true.
You must try to be brave little one.
Someone's waiting to love you

- Someone's waiting for you – The Rescuers – Disney

Lily's cheek was stinging, her body was aching all over and she couldn't open one eye. And with the feeling of pain, came back all that had happened last night. Lily wanted to cry with hurt and humiliation, but she blinked the tears away angrily. She looked at the clock at her bedside and saw that it was already 10.30am! Wincing at the pain, she pushed herself out of bed, her had was throbbing and she felt half-dead. She went into the bathroom, to find about twenty different creams intended for cuts and bruises, she smiled to herself, it must have been James who left it there… She halted mid-step. Shed called him James! Why? It was Potter. Potter! She said to herself, but as she thought of the concern he had expressed last night, she thought that maybe she was being too harsh towards him after all. So, first names it was then.

Lily stumbled into the shower, scrubbing at herself to get rid of all the grime and even more so, the feeling of Lucius' hands on her. She washed the bits of caked blood out of her hair and let the hot water run over her for a while, soothing her injuries. She glanced at herself in the mirror and cringed away from her reflection. She looked terrible. She hurriedly smeared on as much cream as she could, ignoring the stinging sensation when it made contact with the cuts. The stuff was surprisingly good, many of the smaller cuts were already healing up, but she still looked like hell. She put on as much makeup as she could, so as to conceal as much of the damage to her face as she could, without ending up looking up like a slut. She performed a quick drying spell on her hair, leaving it down, so it would conceal at least some of her face. When she looked into the mirror again, she could still see most of the cuts and bruises, but she looked a great deal better than she had just a bit earlier. She sighed, it wasn't going to get any better any time soon, besides she was already two and a half hours late to lessons, which was a record for Lily Evans, so with one last disappointed glance into the mirror, she walked through her room and into the common room.

To her surprise, she found James sitting on the couch.

'James, what're you doing here?' she asked incredulously. James started slightly at her use of his first name, but recovered quickly:

'I figured I should make sure you're all right. Besides, it's not as if I would have been able to concentrate in lessons, knowing you were lying alone in bed, all beaten up.' Lily's expression softened. She couldn't believe how nice he was being. 'How're you feeling? Are you alright?'

'Sore all over, but apart from that, yeah, I'm fine.'

'I'm sorry it came out this way' James said in a quiet voice

'Why?' Lily asked, puzzled, 'you knew what was going to happen, you were right all along…'

'Lily,' James said gently, touching her shoulder lightly. Involuntarily she flinched away, the memories of last night flooding back unbidden. James seemed to understand. 'If there were any way I could have saved you any pain at all –' his voice faltered

'It's alright,' Lily said softly, 'really.' James smiled in response to her tone of voice, 'But now we need to go down to lessons. You've already missed too much on my account.' Lily motioned for him to get up, chucked his bag at him, and grabbing her own, set off towards the portrait hole, James close behind her.

Not for the first time, James marvelled at her endurance. He'd seen her face the other night, god knows what that bastard Malfoy had been thinking, to beat her up like that. Lily had handled it so well, acting as if nothing had happened, holding her head high as she walked down the deserted hallways, keeping her composure even when there was no one to see her.

They walked into transfiguration to find a very annoyed-looking Professor McGonagall.

'Potter! Evans! Why are you so late?' she snapped, 'Miss Evans, I would never have expected-' her rant was cut short at the sight of Lily's face, 'Sit down, I will speak to you at the end of the lesson.' Lily heaved a silent sigh of relief, as she went to sit in her usual place, next to Hannah, but in her place was sitting none other than Sirius Black. He and Hannah had been cuddling comfortably until Lily and James' entrance. Now, Hannah was staring at her incredulously, as was the rest of the class. A look of annoyance flickered over Lily's face as she went and sat down in the only empty place in the classroom, which happened to be next to James Potter.

A day ago, this would have been the last place in the world she would have liked to sit, but now, it seemed almost a relief. She knew that she wouldn't be pestered by stupid questions, which were the last thing she needed at the moment. So she sank down into the seat gratefully.

At the end of the transfiguration lesson, James and Lily stayed behind as Professor McGonagall had requested. Once the rest of the class had filed out, casting inquisitive glances at Lily, Professor McGonagall turned to them.

'What happened?' she said in a worried voice

'Malfoy the bloody -'

'It doesn't matter, I promise I'll catch up with the work I missed this morning, I could even do Potter's notes for him too, he was helping me, it wasn't his fault he missed lessons…' James couldn't hold back a smile at her eagerness not to get into trouble or receive a detention.

'I wasn't even for a second going to give out detentions or take off house points Miss Evans.' Professor McGonagall said dryly, 'and I'm afraid to say Miss Evans, that it does matter - Very much so. Such…behaviour…will not be tolerated at Hogwarts. I shall be seeing Mr Malfoy about his behaviour'

'You may go' Lily and James hurried out of the classroom, Lily with a worried expression on her face.

'He won't let it go just like that you know. If Sirius hadn't burst in, god knows what he might have done… it was enough that I got away, but now that McGonagall knows…' Lily gulped, terrified of the prospect of seeing Malfoy again.

'I won't let him do anything to you, If he as much as lays a finger on you, the filthy slimeball…'

'Lily! Are you alright?' She looked up to see the marauders, Hannah and a few people she didn't really know running towards her.

'Oh my god Lily! What happened?' Hannah burst out of the crowd, hugging Lily, who flinched slightly at her touch.

'She doesn't like being touched, well to tell you the truth, neither would I if –' Lily cut him off with a glare.

'I'm fine, touch me all you like.' She forced a smile, and as a result, winced with the pain.

'Lily, are you alright?' came Remus' voice, asking the same question, he was just about to hug her, but James stopped him, to Lily's relief.

'God you people are slow! She doesn't want to talk about it! How thick do you need to be!' James snapped at the gathering crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw Sirius coming up from behind Hannah, hugging her round the waist and kissing her lightly on the neck.

'Oh for fucks sake not now Sirius!' she heard Hannah hiss. Glad for the change of subject, Lily turned to the couple.

'So you found her did you Sirius?' to which he grinned happily.

'Uh, did I interrupt something last night, I'm sorry, I was a bit out of it…' Lily couldn't restrain a smile

'You certainly interrupted something Sirius, but don't be sorry, you saved me quite the few more cuts and bruises.' Hannah caught on first:

'WHAT? You were there and you didn't do anything!' She looked at Sirius horrified, wriggling out of his embrace.

'He was completely wasted, I'm surprised he actually remembers anything from last night, besides he did do something, he distracted Lucius, that's all I needed.'

'Malfoy?' someone said incredulously 'your boyfriend did…that?'

'He's not my boyfriend' Lily snapped, and walked off to her next class, the unbidden tears stinging at the corners of her eyes.

Within a couple of weeks, the gossip had died down, as had Lily's nervousness. She didn't flinch when touched anymore, though every time she saw Malfoy she would start shaking and avoided him wherever possible. She and James were certainly on better terms than they had been. She still snapped at him regularly, but they were generally on first name terms now and they rarely got into full-blown arguments.

The Christmas season was upon Hogwarts and the grounds were covered in a glittering blanket of snow. The castle was filled with decorations and the suits of armour were all singing Christmas carols, most, however, no longer very polite, courtesy of the Marauders. That night was to be the annual Christmas party in Gryffindor house. 'House Parties' were forbidden at Hogwarts, but rules were lax at Christmas. However, this was the Marauders' last Hogwarts Christmas party, it would certainly be one no one would forget in a hurry.

Lily stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, twisting a loose curl round her finger and eyeing her reflection uncertainly.

'Don't look so worried,' Hannah smiled 'you look great!' Lily was dresses in a knee-length pale green dress, which hugged her figure. The skirt, however, consisted of layers and layers of black mesh and lace, floating out slightly and shimmering beautifully each time she moved. The bodice, separated from the skirt by a wide black ribbon, was encrusted with jet-black beading, clinging to the green silk in intricate patterns. Lily's red curls cascaded down her shoulders, preventing her image from being formal.

'You sure it's not too much?' Lily asked uncertainly, after all, it was just a house party.

'It is most certainly not just a house party' Hannah stated, reading Lily's thoughts, 'this is the last Marauder – hosted Christmas Party ever. I could almost call you underdressed!' Lily snorted, but her expression calmed a bit. 'Besides, would I be wearing this if I knew everyone would be dressed normally?' She had a point. Hannah was dressed in an elegantly fitting blue dress embroidered with tiny gold beads, which looked stunning on her, and was certainly far from casual.

'I know why you're dressing up,' Lily smirked.

'Hey, this has nothing to do with Sirius'

'You never actually told me what made you give up your morals about never dating a marauder.' Lily raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation, unable to restrain a smile.

'I was just sick of him bugging me, besides, this isn't a long term relationship or anything, I mean, can you imagine Sirius in a long term relationship?' this was greeted by another snort from Lily. 'My point exactly, it's just a bit of fun, because Sirius is great when it comes to-' Lily's face contorted as she cut Hannah off.

'I do not need a graphic description of what Sirius is like in bed.' Hannah grinned ' I think I'll just take your word for it. And back to the dresses, I'll go like this, but if everyone's wearing jeans, I swear to god, I'll roast you alive!' Hannah laughed

'You do that.'

They arrived at the Gryffindor common room 'fashionable late' due to Lily realising that parties were banned at Hogwarts and blatantly refusing to go, until Hannah managed to convince her that this rule was ignored at Christmas. Having crawled through the hole behind the portrait of the fat lady, Lily let out a sigh of relief, seeing that the majority of the girls there were dressed up a good deal more than she was. She was just about to tell Hannah this, when she realised she was no longer beside her, she turned to find her a few metres away, kissing Sirius. She rolled her eyes in exasperation; this was going to be an interesting night…

'Oy! Lily!' She rolled her eyes at the all-too-familiar voice, turning round to face a grinning James Potter, forcing his way towards her through the crowd. 'Where did you get to I was wondering where you had g…' he trailed off as she turned round towards him and was left gaping at her and very much resembling a goldfish.

'What?' Lily laughed at his expression

'It's just you look so…beautiful' he whispered; more to himself than to Lily. A slight blush crept up her cheeks, but she laughed it off.

'Don't push your luck James'

'What? Push my luck! Never!' He feigned mock horror, making Lily laugh again. 'I'll get you a drink'

'I don't drink!' she shouted after him

'Tough' he shouted back as he battled his way through the crowd towards the drinks table. Boys, Lily thought as she sank down into a couch. Only now did she get the chance to admire the decoration in the Gryffindor common room, she had to admit it was tastefully done, and she could have sworn the common room was 5 times bigger than usual, before she could figure it out, James was next to her again, handing her a cup of punch.

'It was the least alcoholic drink I could find. Sorry'

'There's a first time for everything,' she shrugged, sipping the drink, it tasted nice, just warming her throat the tiniest bit. She allowed herself to sink further into the couch and watched the students milling about the enlarged common room. She watched girls flirting with guys; smiling, laughing and she watched skirts unfurling on the dance floor, as couples danced together, long hair flickering in the light, everyone all smiles. And James watched Lily. She looked so beautiful. He hadn't thought she could possibly have looked any more beautiful than she had been in his eyes, she had even been beautiful that night when she had stumbled into the common room, covered in cuts and bruises. But now she sat beside him, all evidence of any injuries gone, her green eyes glistening, looking more stunning than he would have ever thought possible. James caught the direction of her gaze.

'Dance with me?' Lily looked up and, after a moment of thought, nodded slowly

James smiled as he swayed to the music with Lily in his arms, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. The music finally stopped. Lily raised her head to look at James, a slight smile playing across her lips. He couldn't help it. His lips descended onto hers. They felt so soft as he kissed her, letting her know how much she meant to him. His emotions were soaring out of control, his tongue found itself brushing against her lip and she parted them easily. She kissed him back, with just as much love and need. Lily's hands went up to his hair, her slender fingers intertwining with the jet-black locks. James' hand involuntarily slid down her back… and Lily's eyes snapped open.

She stared at him, her eyes wide with horror.

'No…' she whispered, as she shook her head in bewilderment. She couldn't bring herself to look at James as she ran out of the room.