Hello everyone! That was a bit of long waiting wasn't it? I'm sorry about that, but I'm sure you don't want to know my life story. On with the other, more fun story then!

Enjoy ;)

Chapter 7: Jealousy and a Birthday

Lily's POV:

"Hey, Lily!" James greeted as he fell into step with Lily.

"Hey, James," Lily replied distractedly while putting a book in her bag.

"So, how does spending the summer at my house sound?"

Lily looked up at him and smiled. "It sounds great!" She and James have grown a bit closer over the year and she didn't feel at all uncomfortable with spending the summer at his house. In fact, she loved it there! The year HAS passed quickly and all what's left was three and a half months of school. She was excited but in the same time apprehensive about school finishing. After her parents' death and the destruction of their house, Lily couldn't go home for any holidays. Dumbledore and even James helped in getting the house fixed, but Lily still didn't know what she would do for her future. "All summer, though?" She asked.

"Why not?" James shrugged.

"I don't know…"

"Come on Lily. What are you going to do in the summer anyway? After graduation, we have nothing to do! It's over! No school again! Although I will miss Hogwarts." James said. "Oh, and I don't look forward for N.E.W.T.s."

"I don't want to be a burden on your parents, James. Maybe, half at your house, and maybe you come over the next half of the summer? Until we find a suitable job and start the real life," Lily compromised. "And N.E.W.T.s are the most important exams, James, what are you talking about!"

"I know, Lily, calm down." James laughed slightly. Lily huffed. "I don't mind. Spending half of the summer at yours."

"Great then," Lily said. James grinned and was apparently going to say something when out of nowhere a random girl stood in front of him, closer than she should be, Lily might add, and started batting her eyelashes at him and flirting - and James? He was smiling at her, and not telling her to go away or anything. Lily was mad, for some reason. James shouldn't just allow anyone to flirt with him and – he's flirting back! Ugh!

'What are you doing, girl? Are you going to let your man be taken away by some random girl?'

'Wait, since when did he become my man?'

'Who cares?! She's dragging him by the arm, look!'

Before she knew it, Lily's arm shot forward and grabbed James's other arm. He looked back at her, confused, and she felt a bit bad. She shouldn't be confusing him like this. She told him that she doesn't want a romantic relationship with him and here she was, again, acting like he's her boyfriend or something. 'Who cares. It's for his own good.' She told herself.

The girl glared at her. "What do you want, Evans?"

Lily ignored her, eyes on James only. "James, shouldn't we be going somewhere?" Lily said, smiling tightly at James.

"Uh…we should?"

"Yes, we should, James, let's go." Lily said, grinding her teeth slightly at James's oblivion.

"Oh, okay, I guess I have to go…" He looked back at the girl and gave her a charming smile. "Sorry," He said before Lily dragged him forcefully behind her.

"Lily!"

She ignored him until they reached a corridor that will lead to the common room. Then she stopped.

"What is wrong with you!?" James exclaimed, frowning at her slightly. He looked annoyed.

"Didn't you notice how that girl acted? And where did she want to drag you off to, huh? You would have let her wouldn't you!" Lily said, voice raising gradually.

James stared. Then angrily said, "And what is it to you? Did you start to suddenly care who I go with and who I talk to?"

Lily was silent. Did she start caring? No, the question was: When did she start caring? She even felt jealous, for Merlin's sake! What was wrong with her!

James huffed impatiently. "Lily, I'm not sure what to think anymore! You know how I feel about you, why are you doing things like this?" He sounded angry and…sad. Lily felt guilty.

"James, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just…" Lily paused. She thought of what exactly she was going to say. She couldn't hurt him again by saying she didn't feel anything for him after doing something for the second time that suggested otherwise.

"Yes, I care."

James gave her a questioning look. She sighed.

"I care who flirts with you and who you talk to. I don't know exactly when that started, but…I started getting very angry when someone starts to flirt with you or anything of the sort and…I don't know!" Lily finished, feeling frustrated and confused herself. She held her breath as she waited for James to respond. He had the right to be mad at her and scream at her, she knew that, and she waited for him to get his own frustration out on her. Instead, he was silent.

She looked up to find him not looking at her, his lips pursed in a thin line, looking to be deep in thought.

"James?" He didn't reply. "James, please say something."

Finally, he looked at her and said, "What do you want me to say? I don't know what you want anymore, Lily! I tried getting you to like me for six years! And you kept denying me every time. Do you even know how that feels? And when you told me that you don't want to be more than friends, I respected that and tried my hardest not to bother you. And when I actually did that, you feel…jealous when girls talk to me? I don't get it! I noticed this since the beginning of the year. You would be in a bad mood every time I say something nice to a girl or when a girl talks to me."

He took a calming breath. "You don't get to do this, Lily. You don't get to control my actions or take advantage of my feelings like this when you feel like it."

He looked so sad that Lily wanted to hug him. "I'm sorry, James, I really am. I didn't mean it like this I swear!" she could feel tears gathering in her eyes but she blinked them back.

"I…I'll go. I want to be alone for a while, ok?" James said, gently taking his arm out of her grip, which she forgot was there, then walked past her, not going in the direction of the common room.

And Lily stood there, feeling wretched.

The next day, Lily couldn't get James alone to talk to him. It seemed he was surrounded by his friends wherever he went. Or he was avoiding her by staying with his friends. Then Lily had an idea. James's birthday was coming this weekend and Lily was determined to fix things.

XXXX

Saturday was the 27th of March, so the day before, Lily went to Hogsmeade with Mary to get James a present. It was hard to think of a suitable present that would have meaning behind it and in the same time be of use to James. She also wanted to make a surprise party or picnic for James to show him she was sorry. Oh, and she also planned to fix things and tell him how she felt, which she still has to figure out.

"It's sooo cute that you want to get James a birthday present!" Mary gushed. "Should I get something for him too?"

"If you want." Lily said, shrugging.

Mary nodded. "I think I will. Remus is getting him a present, like Sirius and Peter of course, and Alice said she will get him a present like Frank. All his friends getting him presents on his birthday. So, I guess I'm considered a friend of his. I mean, I'm his best friend's girlfriend, right?"

Lily laughed, "You talk too much sometimes Mary. But yes, of course he considers you a friend. We hang out with them most of the time."

They entered a small shop that was hidden out of view, and Lily looked around in fascination. It was filed with artifacts and things that looked like random collections like quills and ancient looking notebooks and odd-looking statues and other stuff. As well as some Muggle objects like teddy bears. The place was small and cozy, the décor brown and beige. Lily was instantly in love. She didn't know how no one noticed this shop before.

Mary started fangirling about lots of things, and Lily couldn't get enough of looking at everything. In the end, with some help from the young man behind the counter who looked to be in his twenties, Lily settled on a light brown soft teddy bear, an elegant blue quill that came with a blue inkwell, and a muggle cap. Mary got him a green cloak with a a green gemstone as clasp, which the guy said was called Peridot.

All in all, Lily was satisfied with what she got and they happily left the shop after thanking the man.

"I'm definitely going back there again," Lily said. She had seen books and lots of other things that caught her attention, but today was about James not her.

"Me too! Why didn't I see this shop before?" Mary asked.

Lily shrugged, "Maybe it just opened. It did look new from the inside."

They made their way back to Hogwarts and set about wrapping the presents and writing notes.

Lily spent a big part of the night planning what she was going to do for James's picnic and how she was going to ask him. She fell asleep, feeling the anticipation for tomorrow.

XXXX

She woke up the next morning just as the sun was rising. She was up and ready before the other girls woke up, and headed to the common room where she knew Remus will be.

"Good morning, Remus." Lily greeted as she sat down in front of the reading boy. He out his book down and gave her his attention.

"Good morning, Lily. Why are you up so early?" He asked, smiling at Lily in greeting.

"Oh, I actually came to talk to you about something." Remus raised an eyebrow in question. "You know that James's birthday is today, don't you?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Of course."

"Well, we sort of fought last week and I was planning a small picnic for only the two of us and was wondering if you could tell me where you guys get the food from when you make parties?" Lily asked, saying it all in one breath. Remus smiled again; his eyes looked understanding.

"I cannot tell you where we get the food from. I was sworn a Marauders' oath not to tell anyone. But I can get what you want from there. Just tell me what kinds of food you want and I'll get it for you. Without James knowing."

"Thank you, Remus, that means a lot to me," Lily said, ignoring her curiosity that kept nagging her to ask him about the 'Marauders' oath'. "Do you mind getting the food ready by lunch?" After Remus agreed, Lily proceeded to list all the foods she wanted him to get.

Lily got everything else ready before her friends woke up and met in the common room. When James and the boys came into the common room, too, everyone started wishing him a happy birthday and giving him the presents they got for him.

Lily watched as James's face was lit with laughter and when his eyes met with hers, she looked away. She said a quiet 'Happy Birthday' to him after everyone was done and they all headed to the Great Hall. Of course, she didn't give him her presents yet.

The first half of the day passed slowly. It wasn't that Lily was excited or anything. In fact, she was nervous. But the day wasn't very eventful. When it was almost lunch time, she dragged Remus out of the common room. He took a small pouch from his pocket.

"Enlarge this when you need it. It has all the food you wanted AND works as a picnic blanket." Remus said.

Lily took the pouch and placed it in her pocket. "Thank you, Remus. Wish me luck, yeah?"

Remus nodded. "Good luck. And don't worry, James is a good person. Your efforts won't go to waste. A simple sorry would have worked, but if you're willing to do this for him, he'll be very happy."

A few minutes later, everyone was going to lunch and Lily caught James's arm just as he was about to enter the Great Hall.

"I want to talk to you," Lily said when James stopped.

He raised an eyebrow. "But, lunch…? Can't it wait after or-"

"No," Lily interrupted. "It can't. Just come with me okay?"

James shrugged and let himself be dragged outside. Lily stopped when they reached a clearing near Hagrid's hut. She was proud of the fact that James's mouth dropped.

She had chosen the clearing instead of the lake for many reasons. It was private, very beautiful with flower bushes and a few trees surrounding it, and it wasn't as cliché as by the lake. Everyone goes to the lake for romantic dinners and such, and Lily wanted this to be special. NOT that it was a romantic dinner or anything. In the center of the clearing was the picnic blanket with all the picnic foods on it, which included sandwiches, pudding, chips, and even Butterbeer bottles. When she asked Remus to get pumpkin juice, he had said: 'I have something even better.' She had scattered some rose petals on the blanket and around it. The gifts were in a neat corner of the blanket. In the end, she was proud of her work.

"Wow," was the first thing James said. Lily raised an eyebrow. "That's…wow."

"Is that all you got to say?" Lily asked.

James looked at her. "What is this for?" He spoke slowly and deliberately.

"It's for your birthday."

"For me?" Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She nodded instead.

"That's really nice of you Lily. Thanks." James said. He sounded polite and careful. Lily sighed.

"James, I made this as an apology, too." She raised her hand when James opened his mouth to interrupt. "I'm sorry. For what happened the other day and for all the times before. I'm sorry I made you feel confused. And I'm sorry for rejecting you and for treating you badly these past years and for not telling you how I feel."

James was, as she expected, gaping at her. he cleared his throat. "That's a lot of 'sorry's." He ran his hand through his hair. "You didn't have to do all this, you know. I already forgave you the moment I left. I can't stay mad at you for long."

"Funny. Remus said the same thing." Lily said, smiling. "But I wanted to show you I'm sorry and not just tell you."

"You said something about how you feel," James said quietly.

Lily nodded. "How about we sit down? I'll tell you while we're sitting."

They sat down and Lily started talking. "I realized that I didn't quite hate you over the summer, and I also realized that I felt that from before. I've liked you for a while now, but back then, I don't know why I kept saying no. Maybe it was because I was convinced of something that wasn't true anymore. Maybe because I didn't want to be proven wrong. But James, I know now that I like you. And I was an idiot for not realizing what a great guy you really are before." Lily finished and looked up hopefully at James who was grinning like he won the lottery.

"You really like me?" James said, obviously surprised as he let out a nervous laugh as he exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. Lily nodded.

"I... I like you, too!"

Lily laughed. "I know that."

"Can I hug you?"

Lily shrugged. "If you want." She barely finished her sentence when she was suddenly in James's arms, pressed to his chest, his face in her hair. She hugged him back and sighed contentedly.

She pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "James, you're such a kind person. You simply just accepted what I said without blaming me or...I don't know, taking revenge on me by rejecting me?"

James smiled at Lily, shaking his head slightly. "I love you. Simple. I was just waiting for the day when you would love me back. Even if you don't exactly love me yet but 'like' is enough for now."

Lily kissed him on the cheek and laughed when she saw how his cheeks got a little pink. "Never took you for the shy type," she teased.

"I'm not shy!"

"Okay, but we forgot something."

"What?"

"Eating." Lily said, gesturing to the food in front of them. They ate and enjoyed their time and Lily felt light and happy for the first time in a while.

XXXX

She couldn't exactly say that she aced the N.E. , but Lily was satisfied with her work, and was positive she will get a high mark. She ignored Mary, who was making fun of her when she expressed her concern that she might get an E in a subject or two.

The girls met with the boys after exams. She hugged James enthusiastically when she saw him. He laughed and hugged her back.

"I see you did well in your exams, Lily," He said as he looked at her. She nodded. I'm not surprised," He said.

"What about you?" Lily asked.

James grinned proudly. "I think I'm going to make a good Auror."

Lily looked at Mary chatting excitedly with a smiling Remus, and Alice with Frank, and Sirius who was waiting for Rosaline and grinning when he apparently saw her. Peter went off somewhere right after he finished exams. Probably the toilets.

"I can't wait to go home," James said. She gave him a questioning look, and he gave her an exasperated one. "Because you're coming home with me!"

"Oh! Of course!" She laughed. She almost forgot. "Exams distracted me from that fact." James shook his head.

"We are free of school! Can you believe it!" Sirius exclaimed as he appeared between James and Lily and put an arm around each of their shoulders.

"Don't you have a girlfriend to spend time with?" James muttered. Sirius ignored him.

"We aren't free, Sirius, you know that. We still have to find jobs and work and earn money and live in the real world." Lily said.

Sirius stared at her. "Evans, you are SUCH a spoilsport."

"I am just stating facts," she replied innocently.

"You forgot to mention getting married, and having kids." James added in a matter of fact voice. Lily almost chocked, and she heard Mary giggling. She glared at her.

"Yeah, James is right. Isn't he, Rosy?" Sirius asked, looking at Rosaline, who was listening to their conversation and laughing behind her hand. She nodded and smiled shyly.

James looked like he wanted Lily to confirm it too or something but he kept quiet. Thankfully.

They all headed to the common room.

"Hey, James? How about a party?" Sirius asked. James looked at him and nodded, grinning excitedly.

"Ok, Lily, you go with the girls, and tell everyone we're throwing a party. Remus, you coming?" James asked.

"Of course, I'm coming," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"Wait. Why can't we go to wherever it is you're going with you?" Mary asked indignantly, but Lily already knew the answer. Throwing a party means food, and food means they have to go to the place Remus got the food from when she asked him. He also said it was a secret.

"Because, dear Mary, no one can know where we're going to get the party supplies," Sirius replied. "Come on!" He dragged James and Remus and they went off.

Mary huffed. "Honestly!"

XXXX

Lily had to admit the party was fun. The food was great, too. They even managed to get Butterbeer, somehow. What's more, was that Professor McGonnagle entered the common room, paused, half-smiled, then said "Have fun", and left.

She was sad they won't get to return to Hogwarts after the summer anymore, but happy they got through the seven years of education. Their graduation ceremony was to be held the next day.

"Hey," A familiar voice that Lily knew could only belong to James said behind her. She turned around to face him and smiled. He was holding a bottle of Butterbeer and a cup.

"Hey, yourself," she replied.

"Having fun?"

"Yeah."

"Good," He grinned and poured some Butterbeer in the cup. She expected him to drink it but he offered it to her instead.

She gave him a questioning look. "What are you gonna drink then?" She asked.

"Well, from the bottle of course!" And he promptly drank straight from the bottle. She rolled her eyes, and resisted facepalming. Instead, she sipped from her cup.

A few minutes passed in silence, then Lily spoke. "Say, James?"

He hummed.

"After I stay with you for a while, where do you think I should go after that? I wont sty with you guys forever, surely."

He was silent for a few seconds.

"Well, Lily, I don't see the problem if you DO stay with us forever. But I guess we can both live in a small apartment or something if you want. Why do you look so surprised?"

"Um, live…together? Alone?" She stuttered out.

He nodded slowly, watching her face intently.

"Don't get me wrong, but won't that be a little awkward?"

"Why would it be? I'm your boyfriend, right?" James asked, tilting his head slightly to the side, and looking extremely cute.

"That's the thing. You see, you never know when things can…um…"

James's mouth formed an O and he laughed. She glared halfheartedly at him.

"I know what you mean, Lils. But you should know me better than that. I won't do anything that would make you uncomfortable."

She knew that. She wasn't worried that he would do anything like that, but she was worried that SHE would be tempted. And James was hard to resist. She sighed. She was a hopeless case.

"Ok, we will do whatever you think will work out well. I don't mind," Lily said, and smiled when he smiled at her.

"This summer will be so fun!" James said, excited and looking like a little child. She wanted to squeeze his cheek.

Yes, she hoped it will be.

Yay, chapter 7 is over! Chapter 8 will be up as soon as I can post it. Hope this one was long enough, and fluffy and that you guys enjoyed it. Finally, the beginning chapters are done with and they are all official adults in the Wizarding world. Things will get very interesting.