AN: wow, so many of you need to be tracked down and smacked over the head with a dead fish it's not even funny...anyway, thanks to all my lovely reviewers, and sorry to make you all wait so long. i have been away on holiday and ive just started writing a novel (oo scary no?). dont worry tho, will be updating regularly. anyway please enjoy, nxt chap will be up soon!

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When Lily woke the following morning, the dormitory was very quiet. Looking around, she noticed that she was the only one left asleep; the other girls having already left for the holidays or gone down to breakfast. Groaning, Lily swung her legs out of her lovely warm bed and grabbed her towel. She was going to have a nice hot shower then spend the day curled up by the fire with a good book.

However, at that moment the dormitory door flew open and Sarah, Jessica and a seventh year girl named Haley Flink spilled into the dormitory laughing and smiling.

"Finally joined the world of the living, Lily? Eleanor said bye and have a Merry Christmas, by the way. We didn't want to wake you," Sarah said, sitting at the end of Lily's bed and pulling on the ears of Squishy – Lily's teddy bear. "Oh and the boys have invited us all down to Hogsmeade for a drink later today." She grinned mischievously. "James will be there."

"All the more reason for me not to go," Lily grumbled.

"I heard you and James were going out," Haley said, leaning casually against the doorway. "That's what he's been telling everyone anyway."

Annoyance fizzed under Lily's skin. How dare he tell people they were going out? "James is not my boyfriend," Lily said firmly to Haley. "Nor will he ever be."

"Well," Sarah said, standing up. "Everyone's going down to the Three Broomsticks for their Christmas Party tonight, so you'll be all alone if you don't come."

"I'm not going," Lily said, grabbing her towel and heading for the showers.

---

"Evans, my pearl, what is this nonsense about you not coming down to the Christmas party at the Three Broomsticks?"

Lily looked up from her book to see James Potter dressed in what she assumed were terribly expensive designer jeans and an olive green cashmere sweater. He might as well have written 'Look at me, I'm rich' on his forehead. Lily cocked one eyebrow then returned her attention to her book.

"It's starts in an hour, you know. And as gorgeous as you look in sweatpants and an oversized jumper, you might be a tad cold."

Lily just sighed and turned the page.

Grinning to himself in a self-satisfied manner, James pulled the book from her hands and gazed squarely at her. "Well, if you're not going, neither am I. We can spend some quality time alone together."

Lily scowled at him. Alright, he had her there. It was either go to the party and spend a few hours in James' company along with half of the student body, or spend a few hours alone with James. It wasn't a difficult decision.

"You do realise that the more time I spend with you, the more I dislike you?" Lily asked, standing and snatching her book back.

"Oh, you'll get used to me," James said with a laugh.

---

"It's not working," said James, flopping down on his bed and rubbing a hand over his face.

"Having trouble getting the little guy up?" Sirius asked, grinning at his best friend.

"No!" James said haughtily, sitting back up and glaring at Sirius. "I mean this thing with Evans isn't working. The harder I try the more she seems to push away."

"Well obviously. It hasn't worked for six years. Why start now?"

"Maybe if you told her you liked her…" Peter suggested, trying to be included for once. The boys ignored him.

"You could try being nice," Remus suggested dryly, shaking out a shirt and laying it out on his bed.

James seemed to consider him for a moment then shook his head. "No…nice is boring."

"I'm nice," Remus protested, laying out a pair of socks next to his shirt.

"Yes and you're boring," Sirius said, indicating Remus' methodical routine of choosing clothes.

"Thanks, Padfoot."

"Maybe I need to change," James said more to himself than the others. "I need to try new tactics."

Sirius shrugged. "Or you could just keep doing what you are now, but at a deeper level. So instead of nicely taunting her, you could just tell her she's fat. Or insult her mother: that's a real turn on. Come on, James! Do you honestly think you'll win this bet by annoying her twenty-four seven? Pulling on her pigtails and pushing her in the mud won't work anymore. You've got to trick her into believing you're the perfect guy."

"What do you think, Remus?" James asked, getting off the bed and pacing the room. "You reckon that will work?"

"Don't get me involved," Remus said sharply. "You're not going to use me to get close to Lily."

"Oh come on," James pleaded. "You're so close to her! Hell, you've seen her naked."

"What?" Peter spluttered, gaping at Remus.

"Yeah, a real turn on," Remus muttered, carefully piling his selected clothes into his arms. "James, I am not going to help you manipulate her."

James scowled for a moment and then brightened. "So, what did she look like naked?"

Remus rolled his eyes and looked up from his bed to see three eager pairs of eyes watching him. "You're all perverts, you know that?" Their expressions didn't change and Remus sighed. "She's beautiful, ok?"

"That's as in-depth as your going?" Sirius asked, disappointed.

Remus nodded and left the room promptly before more questions could be fired at him.

---

"We'll have another round of drinks please," James said, waving his hand vaguely at the table as Madam Rosmerta smiled prettily at him and strode away, her hips swaying seductively.

"I'm fine actually, thanks," Lily said, having just been forced into trying mead, which she had never tried before and found she liked very much.

"Oh come on. Your love for anything digestible is notorious," James said with a grin.

Sighing to herself, Lily thought how cute that dimple was just under the corner of her mouth. Then she shook her head to clear it; the mead had gone straight to her head, as she knew it would – she had forgotten to eat dinner and her first mug of alcohol had been drunk on an empty stomach.

After another mug of mead, which she finally accepted from James, Lily was feeling very warm and comfortable. She noticed her shin was resting against James' but she didn't move it. He had nice shins too…not as nice as that dimple but not bad. Maybe if he had a dimple on his shin…Lily rolled her eyes and mentally told herself to shut up. It retorted by sticking out its tongue at her. She only stopped arguing silently with herself when she realised she was pulling funny faces and Sirius was watching her with a bizarre expression.

"Alright, who's up for dancing?" Sarah asked, draining her mug and heading towards the almost-empty dance floor.

Lily leapt to her feet and dragged Haley and Jenny up with her. "Come on Remus," Lily pleaded, unable to drag him as well due to a lack of hands.

"Nah, I don't dance," he said. "James does though."

Considering him for a moment, Lily let go of Jenny and took James by the wrist, leading him to the dance floor. The consequences of her actions didn't seem to be much of an issue anymore…she just wanted to get a bit closer to that dimple…or the shin. Dammit.

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Righto. thanks for reading. please just take one second and review. i will be eternally grateful...(not to seem desperate or anything :D). xxx