Secretly

Lily Evans and James Potter have been best friends since their first year at Hogwarts. What happens when Lily discovers the one thing that has the potential to ruin their friendship? (Starts mid 6th year.)

Disclaimer: Once again, no, I don't have the exclusive and coveted rights to Harry Potter that J.K. Rowling has. I'm simply not English enough. Wouldn't it just be such fun to be English and own Harry Potter? Wow…

Chapter Seven: No Secrets

"Bella, I'm bored," Sirius complained.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Don't answer that question," Bella said quickly.

"Sirius, calm down and stop being so antsy. There will be plenty to do later," James said mysteriously.

"Ah, that's right. I forgot. Today's…"

"Today's what, Siri?" Bella asked.

"Wednesday!" Sirius tried to cover up.

Bella directed a confused look at Lily, who was curled up in an overstuffed armchair and doing her work. Lily looked away, knowing that they would not tell Bella the truth. At least not now.

"Maybe we should get going up to bed soon," Lily suggested, changing the subject.

"Why?" Bella asked. "It's only nine."

"Well, we have double potions tomorrow. And I need to talk to you about something," Lily lied, knowing that James and Sirius would need an excuse to leave soon.

"About what?" Bella looked concerned.

Lily sighed. She hated lying to her friend. She bet Sirius hated lying to Bella even more. "You'll see." Lily began packing up her books.

As the two girls climbed the first step up to their dormitory, James and Sirius made a run for it. Lily knew that any minute now they would be off to the grounds for their secret business. Lily let out a small sigh, one so soft that Bella could not hear it. Peter would be turning into his Animagus form – a rat. His true form, Lily couldn't help but think. Sirius would become that big, loveable, shaggy black dog. And James. Lily sighed again, this time more audibly.

"What was that Lil?" Bella asked, interrupting Lily's reverie.

"Oh, nothing," Lily responded absently. She returned quickly to her thoughts as they walked through the door and into their room. Lily laid back on her bed. James would become a majestic, powerful stag. She had seen him once, when they were serving a detention in the Forbidden Forest together. They had "accidentally" separated themselves from an oblivious Argus Filch and run off while he searched for his beloved Mrs. Norris.

"Do you want to know a secret?" James had asked Lily, his eyes daring her to say yes.

"Okay, I'll bite," Lily remembered herself saying to him. "What is it?" And just like that, James was gone and the stag was standing in his place. At first, Lily had tried to convince herself it was just a trick, and that James was hiding behind one of the many trees surrounding her and the stag. But one look into the stag's eyes told her everything. He had James' same bright blue eyes; Lily had know they were unmistakable. "James… is that you? How…" her voice had trailed off. James had transformed back into his human self.

"Lils? You okay there?" James had stepped forward and stared back into her eyes, which were still fixed on the place where the stag had been, until Lily had come out of her trancelike state. "Hey, Lils, no secrets, okay? You know everything about me."

Lily smiled, as she had when he said that to her. Suddenly she was aware that someone was shaking her.

"Lily! Lily, hey! Wake up!" Bella yelled.

"Okay Bella, I'm awake. You can stop shaking me now!"

"Sorry Lily, you were beginning to scare me there. You just plopped onto your bed and you looked so out of it I didn't know what happened to you," Bella explained.

"Just… thinking," Lily finished weakly.

"So what was it that was so important for you to talk to me about?"

"What? Oh, right. Sorry Bella, I'm a bit distracted. Let me think," Lily said.

"Hey girls!" Laci broke the silence with her greeting as she and Vita bounced into the dorm. Lily took her chance and offered the girls' arrival as an excuse to postpone her discussion with Bella.

'Hopefully by then I'll actually have something to talk to Bella about,' thought Lily.

By the time everyone had calmed down, it really was time to go to sleep. Lily closed the curtains around her bed. "Night Vi, Laci, Bella," Lily managed before she fell asleep.

A few hours later, across Gryffindor tower, James, Sirius, and Peter came up with the sun. all three boys fell into their beds, and James didn't even bother to put away his invisibility cloak.

After what seemed like only seconds to the boys, all three were rudely awakened by a series of loud knocks on their door. "James!" Lily's voice was heard loud and clear, even through the thick door. "Guys, you have to get up. We're already late for breakfast!"

"Breakfast?" Sirius asked groggily, carefully opening one eye.

"Okay," James sighed sleepily. "We're coming Lils. Be right out."

In less than three minutes, all three were ready and out the door, and the very groggy and disheveled James, Sirius, and Peter greeted Lily. "Thanks for waking us up Lils," James said, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"No problem," Lily smiled. "I've gotten used to it after three years of practice. Besided, what would Dumbledore think if the Marauders didn't show up for a meal?"

"Remus isn't going to be there, " Peter pointed out childishly.

"Well Dumbledore knows that already. Do you really want him wondering where you three are? How long do you think it will be until he figures it out if you slip up Peter?" Lily asked pointedly.

Peter responded by stomping angrily down the stairs in a huff.

At the end of the day, seven out of the eight best friends sat in the Gryffindor common room, wondering where James was. "Where is he?" Sirius whined.

As if on cue, James walked into the room, a huge grin plastered on his face. He sank into one of the red overstuffed chairs and sighed.

"James, what's going on?" Remus asked patiently.

"Remus, m'boy, I think… I'm in love," James informed him. That got everyone's attention. Lily rolled her eyes, not quite sure why her heart had started beating faster or why she felt a sudden hatred for this unknown girl. She decided to ignore it.

"What d'you mean Jamesy boy?" Sirius questioned.

"I mean I'm in love, Sir. I just met the most amazing girl ever," James said, clearly lovestruck.

"Love at first sight?" Lily scoffed, then immediately covered her mouth with both hands, earning herself a quizzical look from Sirius.

"Well? Spill!" Bella said, eager for talk about relationships other than her own.

"Yeah, who is she?" Laci asked.

"Well, her name is Sarah Sills. She's a fifth year in Ravenclaw. She has white-gold hair, and the most gorgeous captivating eyes," James babbled dreamily.

"Probably part veela," Lily muttered, winning another look from Sirius.

James didn't even seem to hear his best friend. He just kept going. "We'd never met before, but we just walked right into each other in the hall on the third floor. It must have been… fate." He sighed again.

"I think our boy has got it pretty bad," Sirius said, one eye still on Lily to watch her reaction.

He wasn't disappointed. Lily stood abruptly and excused herself from the group. "Er, sorry, I have to…" Lily didn't finish her sentence.

"Bye," James said absently as she quickly walked away.

As Lily walked away from her friends, who, excluding James, so lovestruck he had barely noticed her escape, were quite confused, she drifted back to her earlier thoughts.

"Hey, Lils, no secrets, okay?" James' voice haunted her as she realized what a big secret she was keeping from James.

So that was my first update in a very long time. Almost a whole year.I really just couldn't think of anything to write. Life goes on though. Now I'm back on track, and I think that I might even get another chapter out before the end of August. Here's hoping...