Chapter 5: Realizations

After that eventful Friday, Saturday was fairly boring. Mr. Potter didn't have to work so he took James and Sirius out for a "guys day." Mrs. Potter and Lily did a few things around the house but that only lasted until lunch time, then they did their separate things.

A little after lunch time, Mr. Potter and the boys came back. Mr. Potter had news for his wife and told the boys to go do something. They didn't want to get into trouble so they obeyed and went to play Quidditch again. They asked Lily to play but she said she had some things to do.

After dinner, Lily went up to her room to write to Alice. She had received a letter from her earlier that day but didn't know what to say to her. She had finally thought of something to tell her when the door to her room was thrown open and closed just as quickly.

"James, what are you doing in here?"

"Sorry Lily. I'm hiding from Sirius because I pulled a prank on him. Do you think I could stay in here for awhile?"

"Well, I suppose so but you're going to have to tell me why I'm agreeing to harbor a fugitive?" she laughed.

"Okay, deal" he said as he locked the door. "Well a couple of days ago, Sirius, locked my legs while I was walking down the stairs. Luckily, I was almost to the bottom when he did it and then he ran away but first he stole my wand so I couldn't chase him."

Lily was laughing really hard at this point.

"Oh, was that… the crash… I heard? I… wondered what… that was" Lily said between laughs.

James didn't think that it was as funny as Lily did but continued anyway.

"So, after dinner Sirius fell asleep on the couch. I took my chance and changed him into a very hairy looking girl. But the kicker is that once he notices and tries to get up he will get stuck once he takes two steps from the couch. But I'll only have a couple of minutes once he wakes up before he comes after me."

"Okay, but why hide in this room?"

"Because I figured it would be one of the last places he looks for me."

"Makes sense. Okay but don't bother me. I want to get this letter off to Alice before the owl she sent leaves."

"Sure, I will be as quiet as a mouse."

With that James sat on the bed, waiting for Sirius. Lily turned back to her letter and began writing.

Alice

Your trip with Frank sounds fabulous. I wish I was there but I wouldn't want to ruin your fun. I have always wanted to go to Scotland and see the beautiful landscape. You must tell me all about it when we meet up once you and Mary are back. Then we will have to tell Emily sometime otherwise she will hex us to oblivion and back.

So when we decide on a date for our meeting, I have some really interesting news for you and I think you will find it equally interesting or even more interesting than I do. Well, I will leave you to think about what my news may be, so until then.

Lots of Love

Lily

As soon as Lily finished, she saw James put his arms on each side of her and felt him ever so lightly on her back. He was basically pinning her into her seat and she couldn't move.

"Do you mind?" Lily asked.

"What's this interesting news you have to tell Alice?"

"You read my letter? How dare you?"

"Oh lighten up Lily. What you wrote doesn't reveal anything about you except that you want to visit Scotland sometime and the fact that you and your friends are going to meet up sometime soon."

"I know but it's the principle of the thing."

"The principle of the thing? What principle of the thing?" Lily could feel James laughing against her back. She turned to look at him only to realize his face was only about an inch away.

"Well, you see James, it's not very nice to read someone else's mail. You don't see me snooping around your room reading any letters you may have left out." James still hadn't let her move.

"Okay, I see your point but if you were snooping around my room you probably wouldn't be doing it for very long" he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes to glare at him.

"I would have caught you the moment you started looking around and then I would have occupied your time in other ways" he raised his eyebrows a couple of times.

"James! That's awful. Why would I let you occupy my time like that? And how would you have caught me? You could have been out of the house when I started to snoop. And would you please let me up?"

James backed away while Lily sent the owl off with her reply. When she turned around, she saw that he hadn't moved much. He was smiling at her in the way that could take your breath away. His eyes focused on hers and he ruffled that perfectly messy hair of his and stepped closer to her while she stepped closer to him.

"Well, you have me stumped on how I would have caught you since I am hypothetically out of the house."

"Ha, I knew it" Lily laughed.

James just smiled and pulled Lily closer. Lily's smile faltered a little and her breath quickened but she kept her composure. She wasn't going to let James win this one.

"You know" Lily whispered "you never answered my other question."

"Which one was that?"

"The one about me letting you occupy my time."

"Oh, yes, that one."

James didn't answer right away. He wanted the moment to be drawn out longer to get Lily to fall to his every will. They leaned toward each other, both knew what would happen if they kept going.

BANG!

The door was blasted open and Lily and James jumped apart at the sound. They looked towards the door and saw an angry…Sirius?

James burst out laughing but it took Lily a little bit to figure out who it was. Sirius really was an ugly girl. Lily started laughing but she stopped as soon as Sirius gave her a murderous look. Then she turned around so Sirius wouldn't see her laughing and murder her too.

"JAMES! TURN ME BACK NOW! OR FACE MY WRATH!" Sirius yelled.

"Alright, alright, but you know you deserved it" James laughed as he said the counter curse.

"Can I turn around now or will my eyes continue to bleed?" Lily laughed.

"Oh very funny Lily, but yes you can turn around" Sirius said sarcastically but continued to glare at James.

"Sirius, I'm sorry to say but you really do make an ugly girl" Lily told him.

"Oh I get it already. But never mind my embarrassing transformation, what was going on in here?" he said raising his eyebrows.

"What?! N-Nothing was g-going on in here" James sputtered avoiding Sirius' eyes.

"Oh, don't give me that. I saw how close you two were before you noticed me standing in the door."

James or Lily didn't speak and they didn't meet each others eyes. Sirius kept looking back and forth between the two but saw that neither one was going to give anything up.

"Okay, I can see when I'm not wanted. Good night lovebirds." and with that Sirius left.

Lily sighed and looked straight into James' eyes. He looked back. They both felt the same thing but neither of them knew exactly what it was. James was the first one to break the silence.

"Well, I guess this is good night."

"I guess so. G'night James."

"G'night Lily."

As James suspected, Sirius came into his room in the middle of the night to find out what really happened.

"Come on Prongs, you know you want to tell me."

"There is nothing to tell."

James didn't think this was something he should reveal to Sirius even if Lily never told him not to tell.

"Please, please, please?"

"No, now go away. I actually would like to get some sleep."

"Fine, but I will get this out of you." and Sirius left.

James sighed; glad he got Sirius off his back for now. It took him forever to fall asleep because he couldn't get Lily out of his mind. She looked amazing tonight and was sad that she was leaving tomorrow but knew that she had to. He would find a way to see her again before school starts, he just had to.

The next morning Lily woke up and groaned. She had to go back and face whatever her parents were going to do to her. She knew that it wasn't going to be pretty but she had expected it. She got up and packed her stuff. After a few minutes, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in" and Mrs. Potter entered.

"Good morning, Lily."

"Good morning. What did you need?"

"Oh well, let's sit down for a minute." She sat down next to Lily on the bed and continued.

"Lily, you know you are always welcome here, right?" Lily nodded not quite sure where this was going. "Well, if you don't want to go back today, because I can tell you don't really want to, you are more than welcome to stay longer."

"Oh, thank you, but I really shouldn't keep my parents worrying any longer than I already have."

"I understand, dear, I was just offering" and Mrs. Potter patted Lily's leg and gave her a concerned smile.

"Was there something else you wanted?"

"Well, yes actually. I have noticed how you and my son have acted around each other this week. And it makes me so happy to see him look at you the way he does. I can tell he really cares about you and that you really care about him. I know I'm not your mother but please don't do anything to get either of your hearts broken. I love you Lily, but I know girls and they can be mean. Now, I can't see how you would break his heart, you're too sweet, but I'm just asking that you will be careful with him. I wouldn't want either of you to get hurt."

"I-I…" Lily was lost for words. She had tears in her eyes and felt bad for the way she has treated James in the past.

"Oh, Lily I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry" Mrs. Potter said as she pulled Lily into a hug. After a few minutes, Lily had pulled herself together and pulled back to look at Mrs. Potter.

"Jillian, I would never do that to your son. He's like one of my best friends and please don't tell him this. Can we just keep this between the two of us? You know private girl talk."

"Of course, you can trust me."

"Well, I think I'm starting to really fancy James" Lily told her giving her a sheepish smile.

"Oh Lily that's wonderful! I thought I saw something like that."

"Please don't tell him."

"Not to worry, it is our little secret. Now, how about a spot of breakfast?"

"Absolutely."

After breakfast, Lily finished packing her things and made her way down stairs. It was a little after ten but she figured she should get home and that if she had to, she could put up with Vernon for a few hours.

"Thank you so much for having me." Lily said as she hugged Mrs. Potter good-bye.

"You are very welcome. And remember what I told you earlier" she said with a wink.

"Well, James, Sirius I guess I will see you around. Good-bye" and gave each a little hug. She gave Mr. Potter a small hug and grabbed her bag and walked out the door but not before giving everyone a smile.

Once she passed the front gate, she spun on the spot and Apparated a little ways from home. Lily walked the rest of the distance just to be sure no one saw her and walked through her front door.

"Lily?" she heard her mother call and then saw her come around the corner.

"Oh, Lily! It is you. I'm so glad you're home" Mrs. Evans exclaimed showering Lily in hugs and kisses.

"Alright, Mum. I get it, you missed me" Lily said as she tried to pull away from her mother.

"You are in so much trouble, young lady. But we can talk about that later."

"I know Mum and I will fully accept whatever punishment you give me. I shouldn't have done it but I couldn't stand another day in this house let alone a week with Tuney and her boyfriend."

After that, Lily stayed out of sight hoping that it would reduce her sentence some. As she suspected Vernon was still here. She had a hard time not saying anything to him when she passed him on her way to the stairs but managed to bite her tongue.

Later that evening she sat down with her parents and talked to them about why she left and many other things that she should have told them earlier. Well, with her honesty her sentence was reduced by two weeks! Now she was only grounded for a week which was okay by her.

During that week, she had received an owl from Alice, Mary and Emily. They set up a date and place to meet for Lily's interesting news which would be in two weeks on the 15th of July. Lily wrote Emily as well telling her of their plans and wishing that she could join too.

The next two weeks passed by quickly. Lily saw very little of her sister and her boyfriend which Lily was grateful for. Her parents continually asked her where she had spent her time but she refused to tell them. It wasn't that she wanted to keep the Potter's a secret; she just liked having something that was just hers. Plus, that would have prompted so many questions from her mother.

Finally, it was the day that she was meeting her friends for lunch. They planned on meeting in the Leaky Cauldron and would decide where to go from there. When it was ten till twelve, Lily left for London.

When she walked into the bar she saw Alice and Mary already in conversation. Alice looked so tan that it complimented her shoulder length brown hair and her small stature perfectly. Mary on the other hand, looked exactly the same. Her long blonde hair shined ever so lightly in the dim lighting and she looked taller than when she last saw her.

Lily walked over to them and they squealed when they saw her. After hugging and seeing how everyone was, they heard someone call their names and looked toward the door.

"Emily!" they squealed at the same time and ran over to her.

Emily's curly dark chocolate hair was pulled up and her smile was bigger than ever. Lily was the first one to reach her and they nearly fell over from the impact. Luckily, Lily and Emily are the same height so they quickly balanced each other out.

"I thought you were in Ireland!"

"I was but when I got Lily's letter talking about your get together, I knew I just had to come. So I asked my parents and they said it would be alright as long as I was back before tomorrow."

"Well, it's fabulous that you came. Now we won't have to repeat Lily's interesting news to you" Alice laughed.

"Oh, Lily has some interesting news. Do tell" Emily asked, intrigued.

They decided to go into Diagon Alley to the ice cream shop that was located there. They got settled down with some lunch and waited for Alice and Mary to finished talking of their vacations before they descended on Lily.

"Okay, Lily. What is your oh so interesting news?" Emily asked.

"Okay, so a couple of weeks ago, I stayed with James."

"Wait. You stayed with James? James Potter?" Alice asked.

"Yes, the one and only."

All three girls were kind of shocked but their faces burst into large smiles.

"Lily, come on, you have to give us more" Mary asked.

For the next twenty minutes, Lily told them everything. The reason she left in the first place, how Lily and James resolved their problem, what happened during that week, what Lily felt every time she and James ended up that close, and everything that Lily thought about James.

The girls giggled and laughed, and were really concerned when Lily told them about her swallowing the lake. Once Lily was done, the three girls looked at each other and then Alice and Mary nodded Emily on.

"Lily, do you know what this means?" Emily asked giggling a little. Lily shook her head.

"It means, that you really do fancy James. Not that you think you do because you do."

"Really? But all those tingles and my stomach doing flips was just hormones right?"

"Lily, I don't think so. I get those same feelings when Frank and I are together." Alice said.

"Alice is right. I have been that close to lots of guys before and not one of them made me feel that way. Boy do I wish they did, but they don't." Emily laughed.

"Alright, so maybe I fancy James." Lily started blushing when she said his name.

"Oh, Lily! I think this may be more than just fancying James. You could be in love with him" Emily giggled more. She was always so good with this kind of thing.

"Oh, I don't think I'm in love with him. I'm only seventeen!"

"Frank and I are in love and we are only seventeen."

"Yes, but you have been going out since fourth year. James and I have only been friends for a year."

"Lily, let me ask you something. Did you feel happy every time you saw James?" Mary asked.

"Yes, but wh-"

"When you accidentally went into his room, did you or did you not stand there like an idiot and stare at his body?"

"Yes."

"What do you feel when you look at him?"

"I feel excited and happy that he looks at me. And I want him to be mine. But I still don-"

"Lily, Shhh. Did you or did you not want to kiss him before Sirius barged in?"

"Yes, I did!"

"Does James consider your feelings? Take care of you even if you don't want it?"

"Yes."

"Why do you think you started to tolerate him last year?"

"Because he deflated his head and became a real person that I could get along with and enjoy spending time with him. And I even love fighting with him."

"Who do you want to share news with first? Who is the first and last person you think about in a day?"

"James."

Alice, Mary and Emily looked at each other then at Lily. They gave her a look that said "come on Lily, you have to see it." Lily was silent for quite awhile but then looked up with a very innocent looking smile on her face. The other girls just smiled and nodded, encouraging her to go on.

"Oh my, I think I'm in love with James." Lily laughed.

"Lily, why are you laughing? You just realized that you love James." Emily asked in disbelief.

"I'm laughing at how daft I was. At how I couldn't see it until you laid it out for me."

"Oh, well in that case" Emily paused "you're welcome" all three said together and laughed.

Lily laughed with them and listened while they told Lily of how daft she can be. When they were finished, they left the ice cream place to look around Diagon Alley a little. They went into Flourish and Blotts and for some reason Quality Quidditch Supply. By the time they were done it was near four and Mary had to get home.

Lily asked if any of them wanted to come for dinner. Emily and Alice said they would but Mary had family coming over so she couldn't. They said good-bye to Mary and then left for Lily's. Mrs. Evans was so happy to see Alice and Emily and was just as happy for them to stay for dinner.

After dinner, the girls went up to Lily's room to talk. They talked about everything. But after a while, Lily kept drifting out of the conversation. She couldn't help but think of how she could be in love with James. After pulling Lily back into the conversation several times, Emily thought it was time to do something about it.

"Lily. Lily! LILY!" Emily called.

"Oh, sorry, what?"

"Okay, what is going on in there? You keep drifting in and out."

"I do. Oh, I guess I didn't notice." Alice and Emily weren't buying it.

"Come on, we're your friends. I think we would know if you are preoccupied with something."

"Oh, Emily! I know what is keeping her mind preoccupied. She's thinking about James." Lily blushed and the girls started giggling.

"Okay, yes I was thinking about James."

"Lily, give us something. What were you thinking about?"

"Fine, I will tell but don't laugh."

"Why would we laugh?"

"Because I know you."

"Okay, fine we promise we won't laugh."

"Well, I was thinking about how his hair is so perfectly messy and how his hazel eyes glow when he laughs. His smile just makes me melt and his body… oh, so bloody amazing. He is sweet but arrogant at the same time and knows what he wants. He just makes me feel good all the time and we know each other really well." By now, Lily was smiling and she was still picturing James' half naked body.

"Lily, you have to do something about this" Emily stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are obviously in love with him. You can't just sit back and wait for him to come to you. You are a strong and independent woman and you wait for no one!"

Lily laughed at the way Emily said it. "Okay, what should I do?"