Allie and Lily were sitting in the girl's dorm, after deciding that they would go down to breakfast a little later than usual. It was the day of the Hogsmead trip, so they had time to relax. Lily rubbed her eyes, and sighed. She hadn't gotten a bit of sleep last night; she hadn't given James a chance yet.

"Lily, you don't have to stay awake to talk to me…honestly, I saw you tossing and turning all night. Go back to bed," Allie gave Lily and meaningful look. How did Allie always know stuff like this? Yes, they were best mates, but it seemed that Allie could real Lily's mind. That was probably a good thing, considering Lily's mind was locked down to everyone else.

"I'm fine, Allie. Even if I tried to go back to sleep, I probably wouldn't be able to, now that it's light out. Besides, we don't have all the time in the world; you should get ready for your date soon," Lily's voice wavered slightly, and she cleared her throat.

Allie had noticed a change in Lily, but thought it best not to mention it until now, "Lily, please tell me what's wrong. We're best mates, for merlin's sake! I know there's something wrong; you're always so sensitive now, and you look like you haven't slept or eaten in months!" It was brash, but sometimes that was the only way to get Lily's attention.

Sighing, Lily closed her eyes. It wasn't such a big deal, and telling Allie would probably take a big weight off of her shoulders. But what was there to tell? Allie already knew the whole story…she just didn't know how Lily felt about it, "Well I'll give you the short version. I just feel a little...confused. I don't know why I'm acting like this. It might be that I'm happy, and don't want to be, or that I'm really sad about it. You know the whole James and Harry issue. It's not that big of a deal, so don't worry about me."

"It is a big deal if you make it one. But if you just let it go, then I think you'll feel a lot better. Just let life go where it wants to, Lily," Allie glanced at her watch, "and if you'll excuse the interruption, we'd better get ready."

xxx

"Padfoot has a date! Padfoot has a date!" James was grinning, and shoving Sirius out of his bed to wake him up, "Padfoot, wake up! You're going to be late on your date, and we can't have that."

Sirius kicked his legs back, making sure that they hit James before he swung them over the side of his bed and stood up. Glancing at the clock near Remus' bed, he glared at James, "We leave to go to Hogwarts in two hours. I stayed up late last night thinking of things to say, Prongs."

James laughed loudly, "I know, I saw you. Not to mention heard you. I think your lines are a bit odd, James, and that's my honest opinion." He grinned at Sirius, and sat down on his own bed. He was excited for his friend, but also a bit disappointed that he hadn't had the nerve to ask Lily to go to Hogsmead with him.

"I'm getting ready now," Sirius clenched his teeth to stop from punching James. He'd gotten used to his best mate's annoying ways, but sometimes it was a bit too much to handle. Especially when he wouldn't stop talking about Lily, and how he was going to get her one day.

"Ok, Padfoot. Come up with some new lines while you're at it."

xxx

Allie ran a brush through her hair, and studied her image in the mirror. She glanced at Lily, who was sitting on her bed with a far off expression on her face.

"Earth to Lily; do you think these clothes are ok?" Lily's head snapped up, and she studied Allie thoughtfully, "You look very nice. But I'm not so sure that's a good thing when you're going on a date with Sirius. You know he's not exactly a gentleman."

Laughing, Allie rolled her eyes, "I know you don't really like him that much, but he's not always like that. He can be rather kind and serious about things; just not around you."

Sirius and Lily had never really gotten to understanding each other over the years. Lily was always so curt and around Sirius, and he couldn't stand it. It was a mutual feeling, because she couldn't stand how he never took a situation seriously, "Fine, whatever you say. Let's go, we only have an hour till we leave, and we haven't had breakfast yet."

Down in the common room, Sirius, and James were sitting near the fire, like they always did. Allie dragged Lily over to them, and they sat down, "Good morning."

James quickly glanced at Lily, then back into the fire. Sirius grinned at Allie, but once he looked at the weary Lily, his smile slid off his face, and he shook his head slightly.

"Where's Remus?" Allie asked, to break the awkwardness. She thought she knew the answer, but it was worth asking just so that Sirius and Lily didn't start another one of their arguments.

"He's a bit under the weather," Sirius replied, "But anyway, I think we should get to breakfast. We don't want to be late." He stood up, took Allie's hand, glared at Lily, and walked out of the common room.

xxx

Allie and Sirius walked in silence for most of the way to the Great Hall before Sirius said, "Why is Lily acting like that? It's a bit annoying to me; I don't see what's so wrong with the situation."

"I don't know. But I do know a way to make her feel a bit better. We have to make them stay together. I think Lily actually wanted to go to Hogsmead with James, so it would be kind of like…an un-intentional date," she smiled, and looked at Sirius, who was smirking.

"That's a great idea. I'll tell James to follow me from a distance so he won't have to go around with Lily, and you tell Lily the same thing. This is going to be great," he laughed, and they both sat down at the Gryffindor table, waiting for their friends to arrive.

Lily slid into a seat across from Allie with a sour look on her face. Obviously she hadn't enjoyed being stuck alone with James in the common room. Allie glanced at Sirius, who turned his back to them, and pretended to be looking for James.

"Lily, I have a plan. I know you don't want to feel awkward with James, so just follow Sirius and I at a distance, and you won't have to say a single word to him."

Lily looked thoughtful for a moment, then sighed, "Are you sure? I don't want to ruin your date. Besides…what if he snogs you or something," a look of disgust washed over her face, "That would be awkward in itself."

Allie blushed slightly, remembering that Sirius was listening to the conversation, "Er, I don't think he will. But even if he does you're my best mate, so I don't really care if you see. And I said follow from a distance, so it'll be like you're not even there." From the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius get up, and walk over to James. She stopped herself from grinning, and turned her attention back to Lily.

"Alright. But don't tell Sirius, ok?"

A/N: Ok, I realize how incredibly horrible I am for stopping the chapter there…I'm not usually one to leave my readers hanging like that! But I promise I'll update soon. I thought I should slit the date into two chapters. But thank you so much to my reviewers, and I hope you don't hate me too much?

Klappa: Yes, I did it! I know this chapter isn't nearly as good, despite of my earlier promise.

SPRITEfaerie015: Thanks! Well here it is…

Blossom1098: Sorry no Harry in this chapter, but in the ext chapter, and the one after that, I have lots of Harry worked in.

i'm a misfit: Wow, thanks!

journeyforever: Yep, more of them coming up. Thanks!

Ginevra Molly: Definalty more of Lily/James, and in the next two chapters, some Harry/Ginny.