Hey again! So, this is the moment you've all been waiting for: James is finally here! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Forgive the manic laughter, but I can never seem to shut up laughing when I put Lily and James in funny and uncomfortable situations. Anyway, I had quite a good time writing this chapter, as this is the only thing saving me from not losing my sanity, what with a hectic school schedule and all that hinders me from updating(seriously, there should be a law against making freshmen work too hard, but hey, it's summer already, so why bother?). By the way, I apologize for the late update. Really sorry. Anyway, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. The rest belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter 4

The Ministry Party

It was finally the day before the Ministry party would occur. The whole place was a buzz with excitement, and many, especially the females, could hardly concentrate on their work. You see, aside from this party being a breather for everyone, it also provided an opportunity for them to mingle with other people who had high influence, and get an opportunity for them to rise in position.

In the Criminal Law Department, Lily was still as busy as ever, writing as fast as she could. She had a lot of things to do, and she wanted to do them all before the party so she wouldn't have a meltdown on Monday. Suddenly, her door opened and Kelsey walked in.

"Hey Lily!" she said brightly as she stepped inside. "Excited about the party?"

"Of course I am," Lily replied, smiling as well as she put down her quill. "I cant wait for tonight. I know how the Palladium Hall will look tonight, and I can tell you it looks great".

"You should know," Kelsey replied. "You designed the place and planned the whole thing".

"Yeah, well, let's just hope nothing's there to ruin it. I mean, I worked really hard to make this year's party awesome, and I really wish no one or nothing would ruin it for me".

Kelsey looked strangely uncomfortable at that sentence. "Um…right Lils. Anyway, I've got to go. I'll see you at 7, okay?"

Lily nodded and Kelsey left. As the door closed behind her, Lily couldn't help but wonder why Kelsey, Jeremy and Kevin Tyler acted so strangely whenever she said something like that as she picked up her quill and set out to work once more.

..------..

The next day……..

"This is it! The long-awaited day has finally arrived!" Kelsey sang out excitedly as she stepped into Lily's office.

"Kelse, calm down. You seem a little way too excited for this. Are you sure you did one cheering charm on yourself today, or did you overdo it and caused damage to your brain?" Lily joked, smiling as she watched her friend.

"Hahaha, Lily, very funny. Come on, don't get all psychological with me, I know you as excited as I am, Kelsey chided her.

"Of course I am, Kelsey. It's just…..I can't seem to shake off the feeling that something big's going to happen tonight. I don't know what, but it just feels so weird" Lily said.

Kelsey laughed, but she sounded nervous. Not noticing, however, Lily continued, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips, "and I happen to know for a fact that you're just so thrilled about going tonight".

"Of course I am, do you think I'd be this cheery if I wasn't?" Kelsey replied. "Anyway, what're you gonna wear?"

Lily smiled mysteriously. "It's for me to know and you to find out".

Knowing that any amount of coaxing would not get Lily to reveal what she was wearing, Kelsey simply sighed and said, "Fine. Be that way. Anyway Lils, I've got to go. A load of paperwork beckons!" she ended unenthusiastically as she left the room.

Once she had shut the door to Lily's office, Kelsey sighed once more and continued walking, not to her office, but to the Department of International Magical Cooperation. She needed to talk to Jeremy.

..------..

"Jeremy, I can't do this anymore. It's so hard to hide everything from her!" Kelsey wailed to him. Thankfully, it was already lunch break, so they decided to eat out and talk. "It's like she keeps on mentioning it. It's driving me crazy!"

"Kelse, calm down. She'll find out tonight; I'm sure you can wait that long without spilling everything to her," Jeremy reassured her.

"That's what I'm afraid about. I known Lily since Hogwarts and I know she will not be pleased. In fact, I'm not gonna be surprised if we see her trying to jump off the roof after she finds out," Kelsey said.

"Lily's a rational person. She'll be fine. Sure she'll be shocked, but I'm sure she'll get over it in a few days," Jeremy said, although his voice lacked assuredness.

Kelsey looked at her boyfriend in disbelief. "Jeremy, please be realistic. Seven years of hatred is hard to forget".

Jeremy shook his head. They both sipped their drinks, both thinking about the upcoming party, and what would come out of it.

..------..

It was around six o'clock, and Lily was in her bedroom, getting ready for the party. She had already slipped on her dress and was doing her hair. She was wondering how to do it. Should she let it down in waves, perhaps? Or pull it up? Finally she decided on letting her hair in pretty auburn waves, clipped on the side with a diamond-studded hairpiece. Simple yet very elegant, she thought. Unconsciously though, her mind drifted back to Graduation Day, wherein she had arranged her hair in the same manner. Everyone had said that it was very becoming, and she had thanked everyone for the compliment. Everyone except one.

A few touches and an hour and a half later, Lily was finally ready. Enlarging her mirror to make it full-length, she surveyed herself. She was wearing a floor-length one-shoulder gown made of the most wonderful satin, with a soft blue color and covered with a sparkling blue beading. With her elegant accessories, hairstyle, and matching clutch bag, she looked marvelous.

With one last look of scrutiny, Lily took her bag and Apparated out of sight.

..------..

Twenty minutes later, Lily was with Jeremy and Kelsey, who was wearing a rose-colored halter dress inside the lavish Palladium Hall. It was obvious that this was to be a grandiose and formal party. With the lavish decorations and lovely orchestra music, it was no doubt that Lily had certainly done a good job.

The three separated and mingled with the crowd, Lily sometimes talking to more than one person at a time. Suddenly, dinner was announced, and everyone sat down to a scrumptious gourmet dinner of lobster, pasta, steaks, and other delightful selections of foods. Jeremy, Kelsey, and Lily sat on one of the tables and ate their food, occasionally talking. Despite the light-hearted atmosphere, Lily still had this got feeling that something shocking would indeed happen.

"These two know something, I'm sure of it," Lily thought to herself as she observed the couple talk in low, earnest voices.

Suddenly, the music stopped and the Minister of Magic stepped in. Jeremy shared an apprehensive look with his girlfriend.

The Minister cleared his throat and began. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to this year's party. Before anything else, we would like to all thank Miss Lily Evans for the fabulous party she has planned. A round of applause, please!"

Once the tremendous applause had died down, the Minister continued, "As you know, Mr. Jeremy Lewis has recently been reassigned to another department, leaving his job as Head of the Criminal Law Department vacant. But I am please to welcome a truly dedicated person who has graciously stepped in for the job. A brilliant student, a dedicated Auror, and all around a great person to be associated with, he will be joining the dynasty of his prestigious family who has served the Ministry for as long as we can remember. And without further ado, let us welcome him now".

Applause was heard and Lily's mouth dropped pen as a tall man with unruly jet-black hair and hazel eyes hidden behind glasses came to the stage. "Without further ado," the Minister said, "It is my pleasure to welcome the New Head of the Department of Wizarding Law's Criminal Department, Mister James Michael Potter".

..------..

Lily couldn't believe it as she looked up disbelievingly at the man on stage. James Potter, the man she had so studiously hated since her Hogwarts days, was going to be her new boss! Talk about coincidental.

"Okay Lily, breathe, deep breathes. In, and out. In, and out," she told herself, hardly daring to believe that fate had taken a sadistic turn for the worse.

She looked up to the stage and for a brief moment, their eyes met. Lily turned away at once, but she could have sworn that James had given her a slight wink before he took the magical microphone from the Minister.

"Thank you Minister for that gracious welcome," James said. "And I must say, it is quite surprising to see a lot of familiar faces here from my Hogwarts days. It seems like just yesterday we were causing mayhem, and now, everyone is doing all they can to stop it". An appreciative murmur rose form the crowd. "Anyway, all I just wanted to say was that I'm looking forward to working with al of you, and good evening. Thank you".

A light applause was heard as he gave a short bow and stepped off the stage. A crowd of people immediately began to gather around him, and he was stuck in conversation for the next half-hour.

When he was able to politely excuse himself, however, he made a beeline for Lily, who was making herself as inconspicuous as possible. When she saw that James was headed in her direction, her head filled with panic and she did the first thing that came into her head-move.

She left her seat and went near to the staircase, where she surrounded herself with people. If she was preoccupied, she thought, then James couldn't approach her properly.

Unfortunately, the people around her had left, and she decided to go somewhere else. The nearest place was the garden. As she walked into the chilly night air, she hugged herself as she felt a sense of relief at being completely alone. It seemed as if James had not followed her after all. She sighed, feeling completely serene, when suddenly……

"BOO!"

The scare was so unexpected and shocking that Lily jumped out of her seat, gasping a little. She didn't deal well with surprises that much. Once she regained her composure, she turned around and faced the laughing culprit.

"Potter," she said with as much civility as she could. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Well, you were avoiding me," James said. "And I wanted to talk to you, so I scared you".

Noting that he didn't even apologize, she asked. "What are you doing here, Potter?"

"Well, I'm at a party, because I was invited and I wanted to have fun. I am part of the Ministry after all" James explained simply.

Lily shook her head. "No. I meant, what are doing being the Head of my Department? You're a trained Auror, why couldn't you have just stayed in that line of work?"

"Well, in case you didn't know Lily, I studied law quite some time ago. Recently graduated with honors, you know. Besides, when I saw your name on the list of the people belonging in the department, I jumped at the chance at once".

"WHY!" Lily groaned.

"Anything to be near you, Lily. And might I say, the night brings out the shining emerald in your eyes quite well," he complimented her.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Look, why don't you do me a favor, and take all your 1987 pick-up lines, shove them out the window, and do the same to yourself in the process. See, I would have gladly done that to you, but I don't want to ruin my dress".

James looked unfazed. "Whatever. Look, we are going to be working a lot from now on, so why don't we catch up? I've missed you a lot, you know. How about eight o'clock this Saturday, at Elene's? They make a great carpaccio".

"Potter, listen" Lily turned to smile sweetly at him. "You've asked me out when we were at Hogwarts, and I've always answered NO. But now that we're working, and grown up, my answer is……..still no. Sorry Potter, but I'm not interested, especially not in you. I haven't forgotten yet how much you tormented me in school".

"But those were acts of endearment! Haven't you heard of reverse psychology?" James inquired.

"Well, if those were acts of endearment, then I am sorry to tell you that I wasn't charmed one bit".

James looked a bit downcast but recovered, "Fine then. But if you must know, I never give up. But since we will be working in close confines, why don't we call each other by our first names? It seems childish to call ourselves with our last names, don't you think?"

Lily thought about it for a second. "Well, I guess……..fine". She checked her watch, and said, "Well, I've got to go. I have a busy day tomorrow, with my cousin coming and all".

"Alright then. Bye Lily," James said softly.

"Right. Um, bye……..James. I'll see you on Monday, I guess," Lily said as she turned and left, knowing that he was staring at her the whole time.

She Apparated towards her apartment, and once there, she dropped her bag onto the couch and flopped down on her bed, thinking what would happen now that her life had just taken an unexpected turn.