It was finally time to return to Hogwarts. Lily lived quite a ways from King's Cross Station and though both teens could have apparated, they had to drive because Vernon still didn't know that Lily was a witch. Consequently, he obviously still didn't know that James was a wizard either. So into the car they went at around 4:30 in the morning.

James walked through the motions of getting dressed, putting his luggage in the car and finally getting in the front seat in such a daze he hadn't even realized he had been awake and was immediately asleep as soon as he buckled his seat belt.

Lily on the other hand was most definitely, if not wide, awake. She dressed and put her luggage in the trunk of the car. But by the time she went to get into the car, Potter was already sitting in the front seat. While Lily knew that having the back seat to herself gave her the luxury of laying down to sleep, she still thought it was supercilious of him to think that he could get the usually coveted front seat of her car. Well, actually her Dad's car… but whatever. Lily was still angry with Potter for his arrogance and in her book this was just something else to add to the list.

Lily begrudgingly climbed into the back seat and was just about make a nasty comment about Potter or not respond when he said something to her, anything to make him mad. But she soon realized Potter was already sound asleep. She hated to admit it but she was jealous. It always took her forever to fall asleep, especially in a car. Mr. Evans got into the driver seat. Lily, at 17, could easily have driven but then the car would just be left at King's Cross and really, she was just too tired. Mr. Evans started the engine and went into reverse to drive out of the driveway. Lily looked back and waved at her mother and sister, who waved back with big smiles on their faces. They hadn't really had said proper good-byes considering they were all exhausted. They had said a quick "Bye, I love you," and her mother had reversed it, saying "I love you. Bye, Love" because she just HAD to say "Bye, Love," she always did.

Lily was just about to fall asleep in the back seat. They had been driving for about an hour already and Potter had slept through the whole time. It didn't matter that Lily was so tired if Potter had woken up and cursed her out, she would have no response. She still couldn't sleep.

Ha. Like Potter would ever curse ME out. That in itself would probably leave me speechless. Lily thought with a smile right before she fell asleep.

But no sooner had she closed her eyes when she was abruptly woken back up. Potter was screaming, at first incoherently.

"WASGOINGON?WASHAPPENING?HELP!HELP! WHERE'S LILY? WHAT'S GOING ON? IS VOLDEMORT ATTACKING!"

He proceeded to curse with much vigor. He just kept on screaming and turning around frantically in his seat. Lily was trying to make sense of the situation. The front window was down and the car was driving very fast. Both variables produced lots of fast wind and deafening noise in the car. James finally caught sight of a stunned speechless Lily in the back seat. Her mouth was slightly open and her face looked extremely surprised. He turned to see Mr. Evans staring at him while trying to keep his eye on the road. Mr. Evans didn't really need to keep his eyes on the road though, considering they were the only car for miles. Seeing a perfectly safe Lily and father, James calmed down until Lily could finally get an explanation out of him.

"Well? Are you going to tell us what THAT was all about?" Lily asked bluntly.

"Oh… well, um… I dunno exactly how it happened but I was sound asleep and suddenly I felt the wind in my face and could hear that loud sound everywhere. I just jumped to a conclusion that something was wrong. I was rather startled you see." James kind of trailed off near the end of this story. Lily looked at him for a moment in silence, she was trying to make sure he was serious. He was and when she discovered this she burst out in laughing. She was followed almost immediately by Thomas.

"You actually thought… that something had happened… the window was down… you probably put it down with your foot by accident while you were… sleeping…" Lily managed to sputter out between laughs.

"What? How could I put down a window with my foot?" James was utterly perplexed.

"There's an electronic button… on the… armrest…" Thomas said, while laughing his head off. James examined the armrest to see a little black button with a picture in white that vaguely resembled a car window. He blushed a deep crimson color. Lily just kept laughing at him.

You know, this break started off so well, thought James, but it ended with Lily both angry with and laughing at me. Not good, not good at all.

Lily laughed so hard she was crying.

"Oh my God! You were hysterical!" Lily was so taken by the hilarity of the whole scenario that she reverted to her Muggle slang.

"It's not that funny," muttered James.

"Oh yes it is, Potter. Oh yes, it really is." Lily finished laughing with only a few short sighs and wiped the tears from her eyes. All the laughing had really worn her out and gave her the necessary push she needed to enter the land of dreams. James, sitting in the front seat, hadn't realized that Lily was asleep just yet. And he was just starting to get playful.

"Oh really, I bet it's not as funny as the time when I turned your hair pink and that boy you fancied came up and said…" and at this point in the story James turned around to see Lily's reaction to the thoroughly embarrassing story. But instead of being slapped he was confronted with Lily's peaceful sleeping face. His eyes seemed to relish every part of her face: her long eyelashes… her perfect size nose that wasn't too big or too small… her lips. And just as he turned around to control his urge to kiss her, James saw a small smile tug on those lips he had just been admiring. And in the dreams James entered as he fell asleep, he dreamt that Lily was dreaming about him as she slept.

"O.K. guys. We're here!" Thomas awoke the sleeping witch and wizard. Both slowly woke up, yawning and stretching. James jumped out before Lily and opened her door.

"Milady," he greeted her with a bow. He was hoping that after she had laughed at him so hard last night she might have forgiven him for whatever he had done so terribly wrong. He didn't get the response he had been hoping for and, against his better judgment, expecting. Lily grabbed the door handle, slammed the door shut in James' face, opened it again, shut the door behind her and hissed at James,

"I can do it myself! Thank you very much!" Lily suddenly caught sight of Katy and Emma dressed in odd Muggle clothing. She ran over to them excitedly.

Thomas caught the exchange and when James looked over at him, Thomas just raised one eye brow, questioningly.

"I hope she doesn't stay mad at me forever, or forever is going to seem like forever a million times over." James tried to laugh off the bitter comment Lily had made.

"James, would you come over here please? I'd like to have a word."

James suddenly felt a little scared of Thomas who had always seemed kind. All of a sudden, James realized as he stood next to Thomas that Thomas stood a good two inches taller and was probably 40 pounds heavier, all of that muscle.

"Don't worry. Well, you might want to after you hear this. First, what can you tell me about this Voldemort I've heard about? Is he really as bad as he sounds?"

"Oh yes, sir. He's a powerful, dark wizard who seems to like killing just for the fun of it. He is a horrible person and wizard. And he's on the rise, he has followers he calls the Death Eaters. He is so terrible many wizards and witches have resorted to calling him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." James replied in full seriousness.

"Dear, God. It's worse than I thought. Listen, I've never met any other man in Lily's life and I can tell that you care about her deeply. I think you might love her. But I need you to make me a promise. If she is ever in trouble, and I'm not there to protect her, I need you to promise to help her. Please, I know that with all this wizardry I'm most likely more a burden than a protector or provider now. Except when she needs money of course." He smiled at the last part. "I know that I won't be able to protect her the way I can protect Rhea and Petunia. I trust you. Please, look after her for me." He looked at James earnestly with an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Sir, that is one promise I swear to fulfill till the day I die."

Lily ran up to her friends.

"Thank Merlin you guys are here. I don't know if I could have stood another SECOND alone with Potter," Lily nearly screamed when she reached them.

"We're glad to see you too, Lily," said Katy, embracing Lily in a hug.

"Anyways, wasn't it you who invited him to your house for break?" Emma questioned.

"Only because I felt bad for him," Lily said.

"Suuuuuure. You are SO in love with him!" Katy squealed.

"Yeah, right. He is just lucky that he looks so pathetic when he cries or I would have kicked his pompous arse out of my house."

"Lily, he's walking over here," Emma whispered urgently.

"Oh crap, I hope he didn't hear you," Katy added, with a worried look across her face.

"I hope he did," Lily muttered. She said that but she knew that she really wished he hadn't heard her. No matter how angry she was, she didn't want him ever to know that she was giving him charity. She still didn't understand what had made her offer an invitation to James in the first place. Was it really just because she felt sorry for him? Anyway, if anyone besides Emma and Katy found out it was totally voluntary, her reputation for hating Potter would be ruined. She would be one of those dumb, bimbos who fell victim to the Potter charm. And privately she knew it would kill Potter to be taken in because of pity. But she would never admit that she was worried about his feelings.

Potter had heard a little but only the last bit.

"Sorry, I missed the first part… why would you have kicked my pompous arse out of your house?" James asked. He thought he was being flirtatious and witty. He was dead wrong. Not only that but he could sense an uncomfortable feeling in Lily. He was dumbfounded.

"Shut up, Potter. Like I would tell you. By the way, your totally wrong if you thought I would even consider letting you sit in the same compartment as me and my friends," Lily retorted.

"Didn't you ever think I was just deigning my company on you?" James sneered. He instantly regretted it.

"Good. Well, hopefully I won't see you anytime soon!" Lily almost turned to board the train when Thomas showed up with her last luggage bag.

"Wow. So I guess you guys really don't get along very well," Thomas chuckled.

"Who told you we get along well? Potter drives me BONKERS!" Lily growled in frustration.

"Enough of Potter, sweetheart. Aren't you going to say good-bye to your old man?"

"Of course, Daddy," Lily responded while her Dad enveloped her in a huge hug.

"I love you so much, my Lily-flower." Thomas would never tell anyone but Lily was his favorite daughter. It ashamed him sometimes but other times, like these, he just felt proud. "Promise me, Lily, that you will stay safe. OK?" Lily was rather perplexed by the question. But she did comply.

"Sure, Dad." But she got the sense that he wasn't satisfied. "I promise I will stay safe. Is that good?" she added with a smile.

"Yes. Well, good-bye. I'll miss you." Thomas had a sad smile on his face.

"Bye, Daddy. I love you!" Lily reciprocated. But she no sooner said her last words than she was running to join Katy and Emma on the train. As the last whistle blew, Lily looked out the window and waved good-bye to her father until he was out of sight.

"So, Lily. Are you going to tell us what happened?" Katy asked. Emma just sighed. Couldn't Katy tell that this was not the right time? She was the over curious one, as always. Potter interrupted them by running into their compartment.

"Listen, Evans. I know that you're mad at me, but I just realized something. We didn't get any Head duties done!"

Lily took a second to comprehend what he meant. Katy and Emma didn't catch on so quickly.

"Dumbledore didn't say you needed to do any Head duties…" said Emma, looking at Lily.

"Until December 29th. I mean that's when we have to turn in our plans. We still have a couple of days." Lily interrupted Emma quickly. She just looked at Lily with a questioning gaze. Potter just glanced around suspiciously.

"Well then why did I have to come to your house?"

Lily was about to retort with a "You didn't have to" when she realized that she had indeed made it sound like he had to.

"Um. I wanted to get a head start but you saw how my family was. It was just too busy. We can work on it tomorrow. Good? Great. Ok well see you tonight." She rambled as she pushed Potter out of the compartment. Lily was just about to explain the whole scenario to her friends when Danny knocked on the door.

"Happy Christmas, Lily." He barely got those words out of his mouth before her lips were on his. Lily didn't know why she had kissed him. Maybe it was her recent encounter with Potter and her uncertain feelings toward him. No. It was probably just that she had missed Danny SO much. Yeah. That was it.

"Did you miss me as much as I missed you?" she offered as an explanation. She knew she sounded clingy but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Sure, Lils. Well, do you want to exchange presents now or later?"

HOLY FRICKIN BLOODY HELL! LILY HADN'T EVEN GOTTEN HER OWN PERFECT BOYFRIEND A CHRISTMAS GIFT!

"Um. Later. By the fire."

"Well, can I stay here or should I leave?"

Lily signed the distress signal to her friends. "Stay here." She was smiling and tapping her right hand thumb on her left forearm.

"Hey, Katy, what kind of tampons do you use?" Emma asked.

"Oh well it depends on how heavy my flow is that month." Katy responded with a smile.

"Hey, you know what? On the other hand, I just remembered this essay I have to have finished. I got to go. I'll see you at dinner," said Danny, obviously trying his hardest to escape this female prison.

"Sure. I love you, Danny."

"I love you, too."

After Danny had left, Lily started in on the thanks.

"I owe you guys. Seriously," Lily said.

"Aw. Come on. What are friends for?" Emma asked.

"What was the problem anyway?" Katy continued.

"I might of… um… er… forgotten to get Danny a present."

"LILY!" both girls screeched.

"Bloody hell, Lils. What are you going to do?" Katy asked.

"I have NO IDEA! What should I get him?" Lily responded with another question.

"Earth to Lily! He's your boyfriend. Not ours," retorted Emma.

"Aw. Come on, guys. Just a little help," Lily pleaded.

"Emma's right, Lils. Sorry, but you should know him better… way better than we do," agreed Katy.

Lily was about to continue beseeching her friends for advice when her independent side kicked in.

"You're right. I'll be fine on my own."

As the train ride continued Katy and Emma chattered aimlessly, just discussing the events of their holiday. Lily, on the other hand, was lost in thought. As well she should be; she had much to think about. What should she get for her boyfriend for Christmas? How could she have forgotten to get him a present? Most importantly, how could she have forgotten to get Danny a present, but she got Potter a totally awesome one? Well, maybe it was because she had had to plan so far in advance for Potter's gift. She had to order all those pictures and then write letters to all the quidditch players asking for their autographs. Whoa. That was a lot of time. Why did she do that? He's just another arrogant, mean, prat not to mention bloody gorgeous. Scratch that last comment, please. Back to her present predicament. What should she get Danny for Christmas? It's not even like she could get out to Hogsmeade. That would solve all her problems.

"Lily, you never told us what was going on with you and James. Are you going to… ever?" enquired Katy.

"Oh right. Ok, guys. You have to promise that you can't tell anyone. It would break Potter's heart."

Katy and Emma exchanged glances. They were so amazed that Lily was so wrapped up in hating James; she hadn't realized how much she cared for him. Lily caught them.

"Come on, do you want me to tell you or not?" she snapped.

"Tell, tell!"

"Well, I walked in on Potter in the Head common's… crying. This was the day before we left for Christmas Break. I asked him what was wrong and you will never guess what he told me. His whole family, his little sister and his parents, had been murdered over the summer by Voldemort. He was going to stay at Hogwarts while the rest of his friends all went home for Christmas. But he had no family to go home to. He was so sad, you guys. I invited him to come with me. But he wouldn't accept my charity so I had to tell him that Dumbledore told us we had to work together over Christmas on Head duties. And now I don't have anything to discuss with him. I really don't want him to find out," Lily finished.

Katy and Emma sat there with their mouths hanging. That was a LOT of information to take in. Two sides of their favorite couple they had never seen before. Lily's caring side for James and James' sensitive side… he CRIED! But they had to focus on Lily's present problem.

"A ball," resolved Emma.

"Yeah! A New Year's Eve Ball," added Katy with glee. "I love balls!"

"I don't know if Hogwarts has ever had a New Years Eve Ball before…" contemplated Lily.

"It would be fun and new," assured Emma.

"You know what? It's perfect! Thank you so much. You are the best mates ever!" exclaimed Lily finally.

And she had to get something for Emma and Katy. They had decided to all buy each other's presents at the next Hogsmeade trip, but Lily was a little suspicious that both Emma and Katy had gone behind her back to buy small gifts to tide her over until then. She had nothing for them either. Great. Just great. So what to get them?

"Lily? Lily Evans?" Emma was trying to bring Lily back from her own little world.

"What? Huh?" Lily looked around.

"We're almost at Hogwarts. Just thought you might like to put your robes on," Emma answered.

"Oh. Thanks," Lily mumbled. She reached up to her trunk and quickly slipped her cloak and Gryffindor scarf and gloves over her Muggle clothes just as the train was coming to a stop. She grabbed her trunk and stepped off the train alongside Emma and Katy. She breathed in the fresh air, marveled at the Hogwarts' grounds covered in blankets of snow. This was why she loved being a witch so much, you know, besides the magic and everything; Hogwarts, the beauty of her second home just astounded her.

"Come on, Lils," said Katy, interrupting Lily's train of thought with her words along with a snowball which promptly hit Lily in the head. Katy ran up to her two best friends, left her trunk behind her (to be picked up by the house elves), her cheeks flushed with the coldness of the air. She grabbed each of their hands, and they walked that way up to the Great Hall; friends forever through thick and thin.

Lily abruptly ruined the moment by pulling away from her two best friends… to catch up to none other than James Potter.