A/N: I'll keep it short…secrets will be revealed, the task will happen and more secrets will be brought up. So if you ever thought this was just a cute, cuddly, full-of-fluff fan fiction (as it initially was) then you're absolutely right, but I'm bringing some more stuff into it. Did Lily Evans really go out with James Potter finally in 7th Year because he deflated his head or was it because…of something else? Well, you never know until you find out. Moral of the above rambling: read the damned chapter

Dedicated to RACHNA! (she put that in when editing btw) and then Flutterby Princess and Hogwarts Eskimo (as they were the closest and only people so…)

Chapter 8: No love at all

While James was swept up into the misty swirls of dreamless sleep, Lily lay fully awake, aware of even the soft patter of September rain drizzling against the window. Thoughts which had not been forgotten but cloaked by others, resurfaced, and rekindled old memories.

………I think his name was something like…" added James mock-thoughtfully as if it'd just made sense.

"Hmm…maybe it was…JAMES LAKEN POTTER" replied Sirius cruelly….

Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken, Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken Laken

His name echoed in her head. She couldn't stop the endless tirade. Soon reality merged with dreams and she found herself lolling in to the past.

……...Lily was 7 years old. She was on holiday in Peru with her parents. It was her birthday treat and she'd got out of school early. Petunia hadn't come, she'd stayed at home and apparently she was ill. But Lily knew the real reason Petunia wasn't coming. There was nothing Lily could do about it, but Petunia blamed Lily for it. That didn't matter though. Lily was here and that was what mattered.

Lily looked around at the fun fair. Bright neon lights flashed brightly in the dark. Her mum had told her to be back at the candy-floss stall by 8. It was 7.45 now and Lily had worked her way steadily through all the rides and stalls. The only thing left was the fortune-telling stall.

Lily peeked in hesitantly. Her senses were instantly sent hay-wire by the abrupt explosion of overpowering incenses, candles and oils. Lily took a while to recover and when she did it was only to go back into confusion.

An elderly, frail-looking crone sat behind a small wooden table. She was hunched over something and didn't look up or seem perturbed in the least by Lily's presence.

"So, you have come at last emerald eyes. Young and innocent. I have waited long for you. But I cannot defy the Lord of Death for long. Come quickly, do not be afraid. You may not understand now. Poor thing, your fate has it so." Lily had no idea what the woman was saying. Was she even talking to her? wondered Lily. She stepped forwards and walked up to the old lady.

"Hello. I'm Lily Evans and I would like to have my fortune read, thank you very much." said Lily politely, perching herself on a wooden stool.

"That" the woman looked up at Lily sharply, with a bolt of shock Lily realised the woman had sparkling jade coloured eyes … like her own, "is why I'm here, my dear Lily" she replied, as if she hadn't even said all those weird things before.

Lily frowned slightly before clearing her throat importantly. "So, er what-" started Lily but before she could continue the woman pulled out a pack of cards from nowhere. Lily noted a small smile playing on the woman's face. The woman slowly shuffled the cards, speeding up by the second. Lily was at loss for words. The woman who had seemed so lifeless and frail now looked so full of life. She was shuffling the cards so swiftly that her hands seemed to be a blur.

"Um- so what do they call you here – a seer, fortune- teller or something?" asked Lily uncertainly trying to make conversation.

The woman gave her a piercing stare which unnerved Lily, before answering, "They call me 'The Grandmother' as I'm the oldest here".

"So, I can call you Gran right?" smiled Lily feeling more comfortable now. Lily leaned forwards and rested her elbows on the wooden table. Though Gran was pretty strange at times, Lily felt at ease with her. Gran promptly flicked three cards on to the table top and looked up at Lily.

"Choose carefully my dear, this is no game. You will realize it when you need to." whispered the Gran secretively, glancing around the tent agitatedly.

"What's the matter Gran? Don't worry. I'll do my best," replied Lily confusedly but concernedly. She patted the old woman on the shoulder soothingly. Gran covered Lily's little hand with her own withered one and said with tears in her eyes, "Oh child, how can such a burden be placed on your shoulders…". Lily replied with a bewildered look. "Fate is fate, but now you must choose your path." The woman wiped her tears away and gestured to the three cards lying on the table, face down.

Lily glanced at each of the cards and chewed her lip in thought before finally looking up and pointing at the card on the left. Gran gave Lily a small smile before telling her to turn it over. Lily cautiously reached out and turned it over.

The card showed a picture of a man hanging from a stick upside down. The words "The Hanged Man" were written at the base of the card. The scene would've been quite comical if not for the tense atmosphere. Lily looked up expectantly at Gran.

"The Hanged Man…Sacrifice ----- Letting go ----- Surrending ----- Passivity-----Suspension ----- Acceptance ----- Renounce ----- Patience----Conformism ----- Nonaction ----- Waiting ----- Giving up" chanted Gran in a sing-song voice. Gran then quickly plucked another card from the table. "Death" she read. Gran smiled sadly before nudging the final card towards Lily. Lily quickly flipped it over and read …, "Lovers". Gran gave out a cackle before pulling up a bag from under the table. She told Lily to pull out a handful pieces. Lily grabbed as many of the pieces as she could and handed them to Gran. Gran held the pieces in her hand and whispered something before throwing them down on to the table. The pieces seemed like scrabble pieces. Only a few lay facing up. N, K, A, L and E, to be exact. Gran quickly scooped those letters up and threw them into the air. They landed in a deep black cauldron filled with sparkling purple liquid. With a bang, and a puff of smoke the pieces disappeared deep into the liquid in the cauldron. Lily applauded loudly with a childish smile on her face. Gran clapped her hands and called out a word.

"Revélelo" she commanded. Suddenly, the purple liquid had gone, and glowing gold letters were etched into the bottom of the cauldron. Lily read the word spelt out before her.

"L…A…K…E…N" she said slowly. "Laken…who's that?" she wondered out a loud. Lily looked towards Gran who suddenly stood up.

"Death draws close. My time has come, I must go. Bless you my dear. Now leave, your parents await you." said Gran ushering Lily out of the tent, but before Lily left, Gran bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "Farewell, my dear" she said, finally pressing something into Lily's hand before zipping up the tent.

Lily stood there for a while. Bewildered by what had happened. In her hand was a small piece of glass, so polished it was like a mirror. Lily shook her head and walked towards the candy floss stall where she could see her mother standing. 'Laken', the name echoed in her mind as she pushed through the crowds and approached her parents…………………………….

Lily, at long last, understood 10 years later what Gran had been talking about. Well, not completely but she did understand the Laken part. This had something to do with Potter. Lily reached to the polished glass, which she had put on a string and wore around her neck. Nobody noticed it as it was usually hidden under her robes. Lily had grown used to wearing it and it had somehow evolved into a lucky charm kind of thing.

The glass was a strange colour. A cloudy green, a misty blue. Sometimes, it seemed like a green, blue fog was just swirling around inside the glass. However, Lily had discovered when she was 10 that if she breathed on it, it would go transparent. Lily studied it, as if it might help explain any of the things Gran had said to her. Although she knew everything that had happened in that tent like it was only yesterday Lily had kept a record of the days events. She had researched about the cards and found out hey were tarot cards. Though Lily had never found any explanation for the 'Laken' part, she had understood that basically her soul mate was someone called Laken. James Potter could not possibly be her soul mate. It didn't make sense. It just didn't make sense. Things were so complicated between them that she thought there was no chance of them ever being together. Lily sighed and closed her eyes, instantly falling into sleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The week flew by with teachers piling homework onto the students. Lily didn't have the time to be troubled about her mysterious fortune-telling event and James had entirely forgotten his clue fort the task. Eventually on Saturday, when Remus asked James about the roll of parchment James remembered. He brought it downstairs and the Marauders all crowded around him. He unrolled it and read it out.

I know not Death, for Life retrieves me,

I heed not pain, my sorrow revives thee,

I burn like a fire though I'm meek as a mouse,

I may seem to be weak but I could easily lift house,

My birthright is what you come to claim,

Take it wrongly and I'll blaze in flame,

Take it rightly and no harm will be,

In my nature I'll reveal the next to thee.

"Ok guys…what do you think?" said James looking around at his friends. "So far, all I've got is that it's a phoenix, but I've haven't got a clue about the rest."

"Yeah, sure as hell it's a phoenix, but what's the rest about. My birthright is what you come to claim…'Take it wrongly and I'll blaze in flame'. I wonder what that heck that means." said Remus his forehead furrowed in concentration.

"Well, the 6th line, the take it wrongly one, tell us that you've got to take something from the phoenix but maybe if you don't take it properly it'll self-destruct or something." added Sirius thoughtfully.

"Padfoot might be right, that'd make sense. That line 7 is pretty straightforward. You take it in the right way and there's not going to be any trouble." said Remus helpfully.

"Good, so far we've got a phoenix and that I've got to get something from it but I've got to take it in a special way or it'll self-destruct. Plus, I think the last line means whatever I get will tell me about the next task, in its nature. I don't really get the nature bit or the birthright bit though." summarised James.

"Well maybe if you think of birthright by these terms. Birthright: a personal characteristic inherited at birth. A phoenix sprouts feathers at birth and it could be called a birthright" piped up Peter suddenly.

"Atta boy Wormtail. That's true. Remember a couple of days Ganghorn was telling us about phoenixes." said Sirius excitedly.

"Wormtail, you're a genius. Ganghorn told us that some phoenix feathers must be pulled out in a certain manner or the phoenix will die." said James attentively.

"So there we go we've got it. Phoenixes don't die they burst into flame and are then reborn. That explains it." added Remus cheerfully. "Now all you got to do Prongs is find out how to remove these feathers and then work out how you're going to get to the phoenix. You can't stun them, they're very intelligent and fast creatures you know."

"God, I'll think about that later, we've got detention now Sirius" said James tiredly pulling Sirius up. Peter had already left for detention. He had to scrub the Hospital Wing supervised by Filch.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lily reluctantly got up off her bed and groaned, "Argh! Now I've got detention with Potter and Black."

"Come on Lils, they aren't that bad. Sirius can be a very considerate and funny person and James too." said Kayt.

"Ok, maybe Black isn't too bad. But Potter… you must be kidding. He is the world's biggest pratiest, assholey, dick-brain I've had the misfortune to meet." replied Lily typically.

"Lily, James has always been a downright git – that's no secret. You've got more than enough on your plate right now, and the last thing you need is him seriously pissing you off. But Lily, you've really got to try and keep your temper with him; you can't afford to let it get the better of you alright. When he had a crazy crush on you, it was fine to get mad at him. But now that he, to be frank, hates you, it's not such a good idea." frowned Alyssa.

"Lily, Dragon's right. When James gets angry, boy, he completely looses it. I remember the time when I was messing around in Quidditch practise. Like seriously messing around, I was basically doing what he literally does in every lesson. And he wasn't happy. He just started shouting his arse off at me and it was so scary. His eyes went all dark and he was shaking with anger. The rest of the Quidditch team had to hold him down to keep him from beating me up. The only reason I wasn't chucked off the team was because we had a match the next day. He calmed down the next day and apologised and all, but I'll never forget it." said Kayt seriously.

Lily forced a laugh, "Angel … you're talking about James here. Him … getting that mad … is impossible. He's so laid back about everything. Well, I'd like to see him try and beat me up. I'm no wuss, and I'd happily let him get some first-hand experience at being beaten up by a girl." In truth, lily had actually seen the fire blaze in James' eyes one time – and it was a pretty scary sight. Lily checked the time before hastily saying Good-Bye and running out of the Dorm.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lily ran into McGonagall's Office to find James and Sirius already there. "Sorry for being late, Professor." she panted before collapsing into the spare chair.

"Now that you are all here, I will tell you your jobs. Mr. Black, you will be joining Mr. Pettigrew, and help him cleaning the Hospital Wing. He's already passed out five times, poor boy. Whilst Miss. Evans and Mr. Potter, if you would like to follow me?" said McGonagall, holding the door open. Lily glared at James before stepping out of the Office. James, likewise, glowered back at Lily before following her. McGonagall lead them to the dungeons where someone had dropped what seemed like a tonne of Dungpilebombs, Dung bombs which not only stunk but caused piles of Dung to appear with them. James immediately recognised his own handiwork and smirked whilst Lily made a disgusted face and let out a moan of anguish.

"When you two have cleaned this up, you can leave." said McGonagall sharply before leaving the two of them alone.

Lily turned her back on James and rolled up her sleeves. McGonagall had taken their wands as they weren't allowed to do magic. Lily wordlessly began to scoop the dung into a bucket when James coughed meaningfully behind her.

"Hi Padfoot, yeah, we've got to clean up the Dungpilebombs we dropped last night by accident. How's Peter? Oh, so he fainted 'cos he found out bout that Jennifer chick … I think it was Shayne Ford who got her pregnant." said James casually.

"Are you mad?" asked Lily cynically turning around to face him, seeing that he was looking into a mirror.

James looked up, "Mind your own Evans" he said indifferently before looking back into his mirror.

"Well, this is 'my own' 'cos your meant to be helping me do this" she retorted angrily.

"Shut up"

"Don't you tell me to shut up."

"Evans, don't start annoying me I'm not-"

"What? You're not in the mood? This isn't the right time? Well, grow up Potter, everyone's got problems. Face it."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW? YOU HAVEN'T GOT A FUCKING CLUE WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH, SO DON'T YOU STAND THERE ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING. YOU'RE JUST SO SELF-CENTERED. YOU THINK THE WHOLE WORLD REVOLVES AROUND YOU, LIKE YOU'RE LITTLE MISS. PERFECT. "

"REALLY? WELL, GUESS WHAT? MY LIFE ISN'T PERFECT EITHER … ITS DAMN FAR FROM PERFECT RIGHT NOW. BUT THAT DOESN'T GIVE ANYONE THE RIGHT TO MOPE AROUND LIKE YOU TAKING YOUR ANGER, RESENTMENT, WHAT-FUCKING-EVER IT IS ON EVERYONE ELSE!……….Potter…….I am so damn close right now to ripping you up into shreds – literally. So I suggest you don't push it. Just … Just scoop up the dung" ended Lily furiously, her hands shaking with rage.

James looked like he was going to say something for a second, but then closed his mouth and began too quickly scoop up the dung and lob it into the buckets with unneeded aggression. He glanced at the mirror he had dropped onto the floor. The image of Sirius shrugged indifferently before giving a silent wave and disappearing. James grimaced before continuing.

The two of them continued to work in silence. An uncomfortable silence and both of them felt the need to say something but were afraid, afraid of themselves.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

James spent the whole of Sunday with the Marauders in the library, only because Remus made him, poring over books about phoenixes.

"This thing says something about there being four major feathers on the phoenix which can cause death if incorrectly removed" said Remus interestedly.

"Yeah and this one tells you how to get the 'tail feather' out." said Sirius, quickly grabbing a piece of parchment and scribbling something down.

"This book is literally about phoenix shit" remarked James before tossing it aside and pulling another one out of their huge pile.

"Oh, I think I've got it! The four major feathers …. ", said Peter beginning to copy out what they needed, "the tail feather, the fore feather and the two finger feathers." He finished writing and looked up at his friends. "There we go." He waved the piece of parchment about before passing it to James.

"Wormtail man, thanks a lot. Now we can go play some Quidditch instead." shouted James triumphantly jumping to his feet with Sirius echoing him. Remus shook his head amusedly before getting up as well. Peter was already up and ready to go. The four boys left bringing laughter in their wake.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Kayt had completely transformed the Dorm for their girls' night, Lily had dug up some decent music and Alyss had grabbed food from the Kitchens.

Lily and Alyss still hadn't seen the Dorm, which was Kayt's pride. She had got rid of the light in the middle of the room and put up wall lights instead. The room had been cleared up and all the cabinets etc. had been cloaked by a Cloaking Charm. The beds were now no longer four-poster and floated five feet up in the air. Kayt had put up pretty, neon lighted decorations. There was a huge fluffy cushion which held all the food and was floating in the middle of the three beds which were situated around it. Kayt had also conjured up floating pillow stepping stones for moving about.

The two girls walked into the room.

"Wow! Angel, this is a-mazing", said Lily, astounded.

"These decorations are wicked. I love the pink rose, its great" cheered Alyssa.

"Aw, you guys. Thanks, it took me quite a while sorting it out and all. But it was worth it." squealed Kayt happily.

"Yeah…um…and how do we get up?" said Lily uncertainly, looking at her floating bed.

"Erm…I didn't think of that. But I guess I'm going to have to pull you guys up." winced Kayt.

Kayt leaned over her bed and gripped Lily's arm. Alyssa got down on one knee and looked at Lily expectantly.

Lily glanced at her two friends, perturbed. "I'm not too sure about this." she said as Alyssa grabbed Lily's right leg and put it on her own bent leg.

The two other girls seemed to have not heard what Lily had said.

"Ok, Lils. You ready?" said Kayt. "I'm pulling you up." Kayt tugged Lily up.

But Lily didn't go up; she hadn't actually pushed off the ground. ""NOO! Don't your going to dislocate my arm, Kaytlin, let go" shrieked Lily as she Kayt began to lift her off the ground.

Alyssa realised that Kayt couldn't actually hear Lily, the music was a bit loud, and if Kayt didn't let go Lily's arm would get dislocated. Alyssa knew what she had to do. "Sorry Lils, but its got to be done." shouted Alyssa before grabbing Lily's ass and pushing her upwards.

"OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD! ALYSSA, YOU'RE GIVING ME A BLOODY WEDGIE AND YOU'RE TOUCHING MY ARSE!" screamed Lily bluntly.

Lily continued to scream until Kayt and Alyssa managed to get her onto the bed. As soon as they did, Kayt collapsed onto her own bed, drained of energy and Alyssa slumped onto the ground, the same.

Finally Lily calmed down and the other two girls managed to get some more energy back. Alyssa decided to get up using Kayt's broomstick instead.

"Why couldn't I use the broomstick?" asked Lily sulkily, cutting herself a generous slice of chocolate cake.

Kayt and Alyssa stared at her like she was the Incredible Hulk. Lily swiftly finished the slice and was reaching to get another when she noticed their stares.

"Ok, fine. I probably would've flown out the window or something by accident." shrugged Lily before turning back to her food. The two girls sighed and shook their heads, smiling slightly, before leaning in and tucking into the food before Lily finished everything off.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The first task arrived at last and the four competitors were summoned to the Quidditch Pitch at 8.30 in the morning. James was woken by Remus just minutes before and he rushed down to the pitch, looking his normal dishevelled self.

The pitch had been transformed into a stadium, the Quidditch goalposts had been taken down and huge banners with the Contenders names had been hung from the stands. On four perches sat four magnificent phoenixes, proudly fluttering their stunning plumage.

James was the last person to arrive and after earning an appraising look from McGonagall, the four Contenders were ushered into a large tent beside the Stadium where Dumbledore was waiting with two bags in his hands.

"Welcome all of you to the first task of the Hogwarts Senior Challenge. To those who haven't deciphered the clue, you will be facing a phoenix each and you will have to pluck out a major feather from it. These feathers must be taken in a special manner of will cause the phoenix to die and be reborn, in which you'd fail the task. The phoenix will, of course, try to evade you. The quickest and most accurate person will gain the highest sore. If you pull out other feathers apart from your intended one, marks shall be withdrawn. I think we have covered everything but do any of you have questions?" he said placidly. "Then, you shall choose your phoenixes and your feathers." He held out a blue bad to Miranda. "Ladies first," said Dumbledore with a smile.

Miranda to smile back but failed miserably. She pulled out a figurine of an arrogant looking phoenix, looking slightly green.

"Ah, Whipfire … he's very fast." chuckled Dumbledore softly.

Dumbledore moved on to Snape, and offered him the bag. Snape reached in and pulled out a phoenix with a wonderfully vibrant plumage. Snape's face didn't betray even a glimmer of emotion as he stared grimly at the figurine.

"Alvorada, our Portuguese phoenix … she's more than a pretty plumage." muttered Dumbledore mysteriously before continuing on to Callum.

Callum smiled nervously before plunging his hand into the bag and brought out the smallest phoenix, which eyed him carefully before stretching its wings in a bored manner.

"Daiyu, the Chinese bird. She's an exceptionally cunning bird." nodded Dumbledore seriously.

He finally arrived at James, who reached in to the bag and took out the final bird.

In his hand he held a darkly coloured phoenix. Its feathers were tinted with a deep inky amethyst colour at the tips. The phoenix ruffled its feathers imperiously.

"Nightfall, an extraordinary creature." murmured Dumbledore before opening the second bag and holding it out to James.

"Erm- what's in that Professor?" asked James uncertainly.

"This bag holds the four major feathers," said Dumbledore amiably.

James glanced around at the other students before taking a small feather. As James examined his feather, Dumbledore moved on. James immediately recognised the feather. It was the tail feather. The tail feather was quite simple to extract. James would have to pull it at the root, but that might prove to be difficult as the feathers are firmly attached. James went over his plan in his mind and took deep breaths to calm himself down.

The four students waited in the tent uneasily as the rest of the school piled into the stands. The atmosphere between the four made the Arctic Ocean seem like an oven. James wasn't particularly nervous but he wasn't exactly calm.

"Students of Hogwarts, welcome to the Hogwarts Senior Challenge. Today the first task will be taking place. Each of our contenders will have to attempt to take an important feather form their respective phoenixes." said Dumbledore, his voice magically magnified. "First of all, the oldest Competitor, Callum Kent of Hufflepuff."

The crowd cheered and applauded loudly, as Callum exited the tent and walked onto the pitch. James listened intently to the crowds tell-tale sighs and applauds.

Finally at a huge eruption of screams, cheers and clapping James knew Callum must've got the feather. Likewise the next competitor Miranda succeeded taking longer than Callum did.

Next it was James turn. As Dumbledore announced his name, James walked onto the pitch wand in hand.

Dumbledore smiled at him and said, "You may begin."

The phoenix fluttered off its perch and hovered a few metres in front of James. As soon as James raised his wand, it vanished with a flash of fire and reappeared behind him. James smiled bleakly and quickly flicked his wand like a whip. The phoenix tried to escape but before it could James flicked his wand again. He had formed magical walls which trapped the phoenix. He was concentrating so much; beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead. This was a very, complex piece of magic, and the phoenix being a magical creature had its own powers to fight back with. James slowly began to draw the wall towards him, dragging the phoenix with it.

"Come on baby. Come on." muttered James through gritted teeth to himself.

The phoenix slowly began to tire out. James knew that if he tired it a bit more it would give in. James quickly flicked his wand and the formed a box around the phoenix. It was suspended in the air, and James struggled to maintain the magical box and stun the phoenix at the same time. In the split second in which James let the box slip, the phoenix was out instantly. James roared furiously and with amazing speed, flicked his wand like it was a lasso. The magical lasso managed to catch the phoenix around the neck; James quickly pulled the phoenix into his hand and held it firmly. He muttered 'Dormiens' softly, putting the phoenix to sleep. James carefully placed it on the ground and firmly took the tail feather between his forefinger and thumb. He clenched his eyes and yanked it out, whilst trying to comfort the phoenix by stroking its head. The feather came clean out and the phoenix had awoken. It whimpered softly and trembled under James's fingers.

"James Potter, for Gryffindor has successfully completed the task." proclaimed Dumbledore to a deafening applause.

James held the phoenix, tucked under his arm as he was dragged over to Madam Pomfrey.

"Hi Poppy, How's ya doing?" drawled James, affectionately patting Nightfall who was nuzzling him lovingly.

"Your perfectly fine." she said after carefully feeling him all over.

"You know, you can keep on doing that, I was enjoying myself." he smirked and blew her a kiss as she blushed before leaving the tent to get his scores.

On a board erected above the stands were the scores.

James Potter: 47/50

Callum Kent: 43/50

Severus Snape: 40/50

Miranda Simmons: 37/50

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: OMG! That's why it took me soo long……12PAGES! OK, so how d'ya like it? Tell me! Please review people it will make it worthwhile. K, I'm knackered I'm gonna go munch on some cookies, or something sweet.

C ya lots next time

Suba xxx

PS: Soz but updates might be late because school's starting. 