D/C: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do have the books, though.

Hello! I'm back! Sorry I haven't updated in a long while, but, 1) I've been grounded, 2) I was recovering from the shock of reading the sixth book; Dumbledore died! (Sob!) Oh, I simply loathe Snape!

Ehm, anyway, thank you all for the reviews, and I hope you'll enjoy my third chapter. Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 3:

'Where do you want to go now?'

James looked tentatively at Lily, who still looked a bit angry about what happened in the Three Broomsticks, although she had forgiven him. He really liked this girl, and he didn't want to upset her in any way…so he thought he'd just go along with whatever she decides and says for the remaining part of their date.

'Not in there…definitely,' Lily said, glancing at the bar. 'Let's just walk around and talk…what do you say?'

'Talking is good,' he agreed. 'Let's talk…what do you want to talk about?'

'Anything,' Lily said, as they started walking away from the Three Broomsticks. 'You come up with a topic.'

James racked his mind for something to talk about, and then he remembered something Sirius had told him before, "Girls love to talk about themselves…if a girl starts a conversation, make sure you continue to ask her stuff about herself."

'Okay…let's talk about hobbies,' he told her. 'What are your hobbies?'

Lily smiled. 'Well, let's see, I love reading mostly, and I like practicing spells, watching Quidditch…and I also like to collect coins,' she said, and he looked doubtfully at her. 'Yeah…I like collecting currencies from all over the world.'

'You collect Muggle money?' he said incredulously, and she nodded. 'But why the hell would you want to do that?'

'It's just a hobby,' Lily said wearily. 'What are your hobbies?'

'Well, I like playing Quidditch,' he told her.

'And…?' she prompted him, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

'There's reading…' James said, and looked a bit embarrassed all of a sudden. 'And I like sitting alone and fantasizing about my future.'

That caught Lily's attention. 'Really?' she said, sounding interested. 'And how do you picture your future?'

'Well, in my future, I'm a Curse-breaker…or some kind of employee at Gringotts, I'm married to the most beautiful wife ever and we have a lovely baby boy,' he murmured, a dreamy look crossing his features. 'I return home every evening after an exhausting day at work, and I find her waiting for me…we sit and have dinner together, and we spend a little quality time with our son before we retire to bed…'

Lily smiled, and that was her first genuine smile till now, at him. 'That's really sweet,' she said softly.

'You think?' he said, grinning at her. 'You're the first person I've ever told about this…I never tell my friends because I think they'll laugh about it like anything!'

Lily frowned. 'They mustn't laugh,' she said firmly. 'That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard.'

'Thanks, seriously,' he whispered, blushing faintly.

Lily smiled again. 'You know? It's funny,' she told him. 'I've never thought you'd like a quiet life…I assumed you'd go become an International Quidditch player, playing for England…I never thought you'd want to be married, but just to keep switching between girlfriends…'

James scowled. 'I'm offended,' he mumbled.

She laughed, and touched his arm. 'I'm sorry,' she said earnestly. 'I just never knew you that well, and I've formed ideas and thoughts according to what I saw.'

James smiled sheepishly. 'I suppose you thought that my head needed a bit of a deflation, eh?' he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

'No, you're okay…really,' she added at the quizzical look he shot her.

James smiled happily. 'What about you, then?' he asked. 'How does the future appear to you? Did those Divination classes pay off?'

'Nah, Divination's just a load of rubbish, if you ask me,' she said crossly. 'I just take it because I want to at least have 8 or 9 NEWTs.'

'Bit ambitious, aren't we?' he teased her, but she just pressed her lips tightly together and glared at him. 'Um…so you were telling me about your future?'

'I really haven't given it much thought, you know, even though Professor Slughorn keeps holding all those pamphlets and leaflets about wizarding careers under my nose, and asking me to decide before it was too late,' she said.

James smiled. 'You know I wasn't asking about that side of the future, Lily,' he said, gently.

Lily smiled weakly. 'Yeah, I know, I'm sorry,' she murmured. She looked away from him. 'I haven't given that much thought either.'

'Why not? I mean, this is your life we're talking about, don't you want any particular thing?' he asked.

'I dunno…I mean, of course I want to have a family and everything, but Petunia keeps saying how no decent person would want to have anything to do with me,' she mumbled. 'And y'know, maybe she's right…'

'Nonsense!' he said sharply. 'Why wouldn't any guy want you? You're perfect! You're smart, beautiful, funny…I think your sister's definition of decent is a Muggle!'

Lily didn't say anything for a moment, and he noticed that her cheeks were tinged with pink. He realized what he had just said and looked away, feeling really embarrassed. 'Thanks,' she suddenly said. 'That was very nice of you to say.'

'Um…yeah, you're welcome,' he murmured, sounding flustered.

They continued to walk in silence, although this time, it felt like a comfortable silence, and not an awkward one. James decided to break it anyway, and he grabbed Lily's hand, and started to pull her across the street.

'What's wrong? Where are you taking me?' she asked, curiously.

'You'll see,' he replied, grinning at her. 'Ever been up that hill?'

'No,' she said, frowning. 'Why?'

'You'll see,' he said, yet again.

'Quit saying that!' she protested, as he dragged her up the hill. She stumbled over some of the rocks. 'What's so interesting about a hill?'

Her foot caught on a rock and she started to fall face-down to the ground, but was saved the humiliation when James turned around and caught her in his arms. They remained in that position for a moment, before Lily finally pushed herself away from him and straightened up, blushing furiously.

'Thanks,' she murmured, looking anywhere but at him.

'Er…we'll walk more slowly now, okay?' he said, and she nodded.

They slowly made their way up the hill, Lily's hand tightly held in James's. Around them, night was starting to fall, but they just kept going up. They reached the top of the hill in another five minutes, and they stood panting slightly against the trunk of the old tree perched there, before James tapped her shoulder and told her to look around.

Lily immediately understood why he had brought her up here; the scenery was beautiful. She watched silently as the final threads of sunlight vanished from the sky, and turned to look down at the village of Hogsmeade as darkness settled around them; all the shops and stores in Hogsmeade had turned their lights on, and the village looked like a big slab of sparkling gold from up here.

A cold gust of wind blew against them and Lily wrapped her arms tightly around herself, shivering slightly and wishing she'd brought a jacket along with her, but she hadn't counted on James bringing her up here. James sensed her unease and immediately took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.

'Thanks,' she whispered. She slid her arms into the sleeves and wrapped the jacket tightly around her. She looked at him and smiled. 'Thanks for bringing me here, James…everything looks so beautiful from up here.'

James rubbed the back of his neck, something he tended to do whenever he was nervous. 'You're welcome,' he said. 'I just thought you'd like it up here.'

'Yeah, I do,' she admitted. 'Do you come here often?'

'No…' he replied. 'I just come here when I feel the need to be alone, y'know?'

'I understand what you mean,' she said. 'This place is so nice and quiet.'

'I know, it's the best place to sit and think,' he told her.

Lily didn't look at him when she spoke again. 'You know, James? I'm glad I gave you a second chance,' she whispered so softly he was barely able to hear her.

'You are?' he said, looking surprised.

'Yeah,' she said, and smiled at him. 'If I didn't, I would've really missed a lot, wouldn't I?'

'Yeah, I suppose,' he murmured, not knowing whether he should feel happy or not.

'And more importantly,' she said softly. 'I wouldn't have been able to do this.'

It all happened so quickly. One moment Lily was talking, and the next moment, she was kissing him. She pulled away after a moment, and James, still too shocked for belief, saw that her face was a deep shade of magenta.

'Lily…' he whispered.

'And I really wouldn't have had the chance to know what an amazing person you are, James,' she continued, softly.

James was simply over-whelmed. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Lily smiled and rested her head against his chest.

'I really don't know if I deserve your affection,' James said.

'You do,' she whispered. 'I just hope I'm worthy of yours.'

Together, they stood beneath the shade of the old tree, watching the sparkling slab of gold which was Hogsmeade. Only now did they fully appreciate how truly beautiful the village of Hogsmeade was.

-

A/N: Aw, now wasn't that sweet? Let's see, one more chappie and this will be over and I'll rid you off me for good. But for now, plz review this chappie and wait for my last one!

- S. N. B.