Pears were growing on the tree outside. They weren't edible, more like living decoration. There was a definite thud on the ground as they fell off, one by one. They fell, some slowly, some quickly. Some were picked off with the branches, placed into vases as tools of beautification, while others were tossed as bombs in a spirited game of war. Inevitably, however, all the pears disappeared and became a lost race.

Lily watched them fall as she waited for James to appear. She was awful in person, awful at talking and explaining herself. She could do it so much better in writing. She just wasn't the kind of girl who sat down for hours on the phone. No, she was the kind who wrote letter upon letter to her chosen friends. Many were the letters she had written during her summers. They were her escape. She couldn't, however, write in a diary to save her life.

The diary entries she had sent James were in fact some of the few she had even bothered to write. She had never been adept at keeping a diary, somehow it was far easier to write to people she knew than a pack of papers.

The tower was among the tallest at Hogwarts. It reached up towards the heavens and it was Lily's firm belief that it put even the towers of the Queen's castle to shame. The stones were firm, thick and rough with age. There were indentations, some perfect to lean against. Lily snuggled into one of them as she sat to wait.

It took nearly half an hour for him to appear but when he did, she felt her spirits lift.

"Hello," she said quietly, looking up at him from her spot upon the ground.

"Hi." James replied, sliding down beside her. "Got your letters."

Lily nodded. "Got yours too."

They didn't speak for a minute. Lily realized how tightly clenched her fists were and tried to loosen them. She bit her lip for the trillionth time in her life, tasting again blood. It was a lousy habit.

James broke the silence. "So what are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we friends? Are we a couple? Are we nothing at all? Or are we going to hate each other again?" James smiled. "For the record, I hate the last idea."

Lily smiled back. "Me too." She paused. "What do you think we are?"

"We—ell… I don't think I'm okay with being just friends."

She nodded. "Me neither."

"Are we ready for the next step?"

"I don't know," she mumbled, chin placed upon her chest and eyes cast downwards, "I don't know at all."

James looked at her. "Do you want to?"

Softly, so softly James had to strain to hear it. "Yes."

He smiled and looked at her. "Lily Catharine Evans, will you go out with me?"

Lily didn't reply. James felt the smile slide from his face as he listened to silence.

"Lily?"

Nothing.

"Lily?!"

Still silence.

"Lily?!?"

Finally he heard a noise. A small snore.

"You are not asleep, Evans. You cannot possibly be asleep." He looked down at her and gently shook her.

Lily opened her eyes. "How could I sleep with the entire ruckus you're making?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes, I will date you."

He grinned and wrapped his arm around her. And that was it.

Some hours later, he didn't know how many, James sat in the Gryffindor Common Room, staring at the wall before him. He had only hugged her for the millionth time and it hadn't completely processed yet. He was dating Lily Evans. The Lily Evans. The One. How lucky was he?

He stared at the mahogany floor, glancing up when he heard his friends enter.

"Oye Prongs, what's with you?" Sirius asked, flopping down upon a chair.

"It's happened, mates." James replied seriously.

"What has?" Remus raised an eyebrow as he began leafing through a book.

"It."

"What are you talking about?" Remus glanced at Sirius. "I think he's gone mad."

Sirius nodded. "Probably." To James, he said, "What has finally happened?"

James tried to contain his smile. "She's happened."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius looked at him again.

"We're DATING!" James screamed the last bit.

A first year looked at him strangely. "He's a bit daft," Sirius explained to the frightened first year. "Don't worry; he's Head Boy so Dumbledore must think he's somewhat sane."

The first year stared at James. "He's Head Boy?" The kid asked.

James nodded. "Yes, I'm Head Boy and my girlfriend is Head Girl."

Remus looked at Sirius. "I think he's dafter than we realized."

Sirius shook his head in agreement. "He must be. I think he just said he was dating Evans."

"Throw him in the loony bin is what we'll have to do." Remus shrugged.

"He was a good guy." Sirius said sadly.

James glared at them. "I'm not going daft! Lily Evans is my girlfriend!"

"Sure she is, mate, sure she is." Remus patted him comfortingly on the shoulder.

"It's alright, Prongsie, it really is. They'll put you up in a nice hospital with lovely padded walls that you can jump onto. It'll be great." Sirius demonstrated the padded walls by jumping onto one of the not-padded ones in the tower. Rubbing his shoulder in pain, he added, "Much better than these walls. Can't jump on them."

James rolled his eyes. "Sirius Black. Remus Lupin. I, James Potter, am dating Lily Catharine Evans. I swear so on the name of the Marauders. If I lie, may I never prank again."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other with wide eyes. "He must be serious!" Remus cried.

"To use the name of the Marauders?!? He better be dating her!" Sirius exclaimed, somewhat loudly.

The frightened first year looked at them again. "What's a Marauder?" He asked.

"What?!? You've never heard of the Marauders?!?" Sirius nearly shouted. "And you've been here for almost a month? What the hell is wrong with you?"

The first year shrunk back. "Um…"

"Ignore him," Remus said kindly to the little boy, "he's a bit daft too. The Marauders are us. We're them."

"What do they—you do?"

"Unleash hell upon the school." The four replied promptly and in unison.

"Hell?" The first year looked scared again.

"Not bad hell, prank hell." James explained. "You'll see. Speaking of which, I think it's time to plan a new prank."

Lily looked at the pieces of parchment torn out and thrown upon the ground. "What are all these?" She asked Pippa, who was walking with her down the halls.

"No idea." Pippa grabbed a few and read them aloud. "'Mrs. J. A. Potter. Mrs. A. Potter. Mrs. James Potter'," she paused. "Someone's clearly got a crush on James."

Lily glanced at her. "I wonder who the mysterious 'A' is?"

"'Mrs. Adele Potter.'" Pippa read. "Guess that's who."

"No way!" Lily gasped. "I thought she was totally over him?"

"So did I." Pippa shrugged. "Not a big deal, is it?"

"It is, a bit, I think. I'm dating him, after all." Lily smiled.

"Oh my God you suck! When were you planning on telling me that?!?" Pippa shouted, drawing attention to the two of them.

"Um soon?" Lily shrugged, grinning. "It's not big."

"The bloody hell it isn't! It's huge! You're dating JAMES POTTER!"

"Merlin honey, take it easy." Lily laughed at Pippa's reaction. "Seriously Pip, chill out."

"Does Caro know?"

"Nope."

"Lee-lee?"

"No one but you, me, James, and, because of your reaction, the entire corridor."

"I bet James told the Marauders. Sirius'll tell Caro, Remus Lee-lee. I'll tell Charles. It'll spread quickly." She grinned. "Congratulations are so in order."

"Definitely." Lily beamed back.

Caroline ran down the hall toward them, one hand clutching Lee-lee's wrist and the other a bag. "This calls for a celebration!" She shouted.

The four giggling girls ran and ran until they reached a place they could relax. It was the Room of Requirement, which had kindly added in four sleeping bags and a crate of the best French champagne.

"Where'd the champagne come from?" Lee-lee asked curiously.

Pippa winked. "I was in Paris and Caro had given me a few ideas. I figured we could use it someday." She took out four bottles and passed them out.

"To Lily and James!" Caroline shouted, raising her bottle high.

"To Lily and James!" The others echoed. They hit their bottles together and drank straight from them.

Lily smiled to herself. "To Lily and James," she whispered.