Christmas rolled around, and to Lily's surprise her parents requested her home this year. Raven was just as surprised to find out that she and her brother were wanted home also for their annual Christmas party…

"So today's the day eh?" Sirius asked as he stared down on the school grounds, he and James had spent the morning flying around the majestic building, just thinking about their lives.

"I guess." James replied as they hovered over the astronomy tower.

"You having second thoughts?" Sirius asked as he noticed the not so excited tone in his friend's voice.

"Second, third, fourth, and fifth."

"Come on mate you don't mean that." Sirius replied as he took his eyes off the scene before him to look at his best friend.

" Its just that these feelings seem to come from no where. It feels like I'm going to make the biggest mistake of my life. What if she says no?"

"She wont." Sirius assured his friend.

"What if I'm just caught in the moment and once we start dating I just don't feel anything for her? Or she doesn't feel anything for me."

"I doubt that would happen." Sirius replied as he stared off at the horizon, the sun would be rising in about an hour.

"What if we break up and mess up a friendship that we just started."

"Simple, don't break up." Sirius smiled.

"Oh that simple huh?" James smiled. "You guys knew that I would do this one day didn't you?"

"Yup. So you doing it before we board the train?"

"You know what? I'm changing my plan." James thought out loud, completely disregarding his friend's question.

"What? Why?" Sirius asked.

" A thought just occurred to me, if I am having all of these thoughts, when I have had plenty of time to think about this then why would I want her to answer on spur of the moment? She needs some time to think about it." James began muttering to himself

"So what are you going to do?" Sirius asked.

"You know what? I'm changing my plan." James answered.

"What was wrong with the original?" Sirius thought that his original plan for the enchanted roses being delivered by her favorite band was an excellent idea.

"Nothing, if we were adults." James was starting to get a certain spark in his eyes. "But it's not how I want it."

"Well how do you want it to be?" Sirius watched as he inwardly smiled at his friend.

"It should be something that says a marauder just asked you out, and you couldn't possibly say no. It should be something that reminds her of me and all that I am, and I think I know just what to do." James said as he zoomed down until he was on the floor again, Sirius was right behind him… An hour later James was satisfied with his new plan that Sirius helped perfect…

The girls sat in their dorm packing last minute things. Simone would be going home and then she would floo to Raven's house for the party.

"Hey guys I'm starving can we go get breakfast before I die?" Simone complained, as she listened to her stomach growl.

"Yeah I'm done what about you Raven?" Lily asked as she got up from her bed.

"Yeah I'm done, but you know what I can't figure out? Why you and my brother aren't speaking. You have been avoiding him and you refuse to tell me why." Raven was determined to figure it out.

"Raven for the last time, I am not avoiding your brother, we just don't seem to be at the same place at the same time anymore." Lily quickly lied hoping that she made some type of sense. She hadn't told anyone about the kiss, in truth she didn't know how to. Ever since that day, that was all that would appear in her dreams, that and how she could've acted differently.

"What ever, lets go." Raven replied as she walked past them.

The girls decided not to wait for the boys and go straight to breakfast, thinking that they were still asleep. So it was obviously a surprise when they found Peter, Sirius, and Remus sitting at their regular spot. They had been eating for twenty minutes when they noticed that the end of the table was getting particularly hush hush.

"Are those?" Raven asked, thinking that she was losing her mind

"They can't be…" Simone's voice faded as she continued staring.

"I think they are." Sirius replied playing along.

"What? I cant see." Lily replied as she tried to get a better look at what everyone was now staring at, but soon she saw.

"Are those flying pigs?" Lily asked in amazement as she watched the two tennis ball size creatures fly around in circles before her.

She had to admit that they were cute. She watched as they continued to fly around her.

"Well I never thought I would see the day." Lily was mesmerized.

"Why are they staying in front of Lily only?" Simone asked, slightly disappointed.

"I think they are for you." Sirius hinted.

"Me? Why? Who would send me flying pigs?" Lily asked bewildered. As if on cue the little piggies dropped a little piece of paper into her eggs. They landed on the table, did a brief tap dance, gave a mournful look to the big pile of sausage on her plate and disappeared into thin air. Every one sat there staring at the shocked red head. After a few moments had passed, people started going back to their previous activities before they had to say good bye to their friends for the holidays.

"Are you going to read the note?" Remus asked pretending to be half interested. Sirius had told him about the change before the girls got to breakfast.

"Oh yeah." Lily blushed slightly as she picked up the note. She opted to read it silently before letting any one else see it. That and Raven was giving the letter some deathly glares. "She really doesn't like the idea of me dating, she's worse than my parents." Lily mused to herself. The note read: I remember when a girl once said that the day they we went out would be the day that pigs fly… Well rumor has it that Hogwarts have a few flying pigs on the loose. "That's it?" Lily thought to herself.

"Well who the hell sent this?" Lily asked out loud.

"That's what I would like to know." Raven asked through gritted teeth, not knowing that she was audible.

Lily took a quick survey of the great hall and noticed that one person was missing. She gave Sirius a suspicious look before he sent a wink her way.

"I have to go." Lily blurted out as she noticed all of the present marauders were staring at her. Without even saying good bye she jumped up from her seat and ran out. She ran and ran, letting her feet carry her to wherever. Wherever happened to be the quidditch shed. She grabbed the first broom and before she knew it, that all too familiar feeling was surrounding her. The air flowed through her hair as she flew upwards until she couldn't even see Hogwarts.

"This is not happening, this is not happening." Lily tried to persuade herself as she buried her face in the palm of her hands. "No no no no no no!!! you can not do this. Lillian Evans I refuse to let some boy mess you up, especially James Potter. Now this is the second time that you have run away because of him, and you can not give him all the power. You can not show weakness, an Evan's does not show weakness. You are going to find him and you're going to… Oh crap!!! What am I going to say? What am I going to do? I'll figure that out when I get there." Lily knew she wouldn't have enough time to get there on foot so she did the next best thing, she flew. She didn't care if she got caught; all she knew was that she had to find him. Thankful that she left the great doors open, Lily flew in, speeding her way to Gryffindor tower. It had always been on lily's list of things to do before she left Hogwarts to fly in the historic halls of Hogwarts, and now because of James her wish came true.

"What was that all about?" Simone asked.

"I think someone fancies our seeker." Sirius replied, enjoying the look on his girlfriend's face.

"Well we need to find out who it is and make them uninterested." Raven ordered.

"Look, we can't do anything until we come back from the holidays, so you might as well just relax." Remus remarked noticing that Peter was trembling in his seat.

"You okay there wormtail?" All eyes were suddenly on him.

"Uh y y yeah of of of of course. I'm just bummed that I have to stay during the holidays."

Lily raced over to Gryffindor tower, when she got there she wasn't surprised in the least that he was no where in sight. Lily looked up towards the boy's dormitories.

"I might as well try." Lily sighed as she kicked off from the ground. She cautiously entered in the room.

"These boys are animals!" Lily whispered to herself as she viewed the room. Each bed was undone, there were clothes and dirty laundry all over the place, and not to mention there was an all too disturbing scent that reminded Lily of rotten bologna.

"This must be Remus' bed." Lily mused as she noticed one bed was actually made with the clothes neatly packed into an open suit case. "Stay focused Evans." She scolded herself. She turned around and began walking to a specific bed, the one in the center.

"This is his bed, I don't know how I know but I am sure that this is his bed." Lily replied as she unconsciously sat down on it. "No telling how many girls he's had here." She spoke aloud with a hint of disgust, with thoughts suddenly entering her head she shot up off the bed.

"Eww that's gross." She was about to leave when she tripped on a stray shoot, that without a doubt belonged to Peter. He was the only marauder and the only teenage boy she ever heard of that wore children's shoes.

"Note to self. Kill Peter when you return to school." Lily grunted as she began to pull herself up, that it until something caught her eye. "Oh this is too good to be true." Lily laughed at her luck. Hastily stashed in between James' mattresses was an ancient looking parchment that Lily knew all too well.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Lily smirked as black lines and dots quickly spread over the paper, at first looking a lot like a spider web. "Potter if you're going to play these foolish games and hide then I can stoop just as low." She quickly scanned every inch of the school. A few groups of people were starting to head over to the gates which led to Hogsmeade , no doubt so that they could get the compartment of their choice on the train.

The remaining marauders and her room mates were unsurprisingly still in the great hall, taking their time with breakfast.

" Ugh he's not on school grounds which means he has to be already on the train. All of this for nothing." Lily was mad now. She cleared the map then carefully put the map back where she found it, exactly how she found it. There was no doubt that one of the marauders would be up in a few minutes to come get it.

"I am sure that they are all in on this, making me look like a fool, all just part of some grand master plan. Well they better think twice if they think that this is the day that they can pull one over on me.

On her way back to the quidditch shed more people noticed her, but they decided not to bother and ask questions. They never understood the girl and most didn't even try. Everyone was satisfied in just knowing that she was pretty, smart, and athletic.

"Hey where did you go?" Raven asked suspiciously as she sat next to Lily on the train.

"I just needed to get some fresh air." Lily answered, not looking anyone in the eye.

"Is that so?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"Yep." Lily replied confidently as she looked him in the eye. You had to be careful when you lie to a marauder, after all they practically perfected the art.

"So Lils, who was that oh so special delivery from?" Simone asked.

"I don't know, there was no name."

"Really? Not even a hint?" Raven pressed.

"No! Can we just forget about this for now?" Lily replied agitated that James had yet to make an appearance.

"Where's my brother?" Raven asked suddenly, almost as if she read her best friend's thoughts.

"I don't know I saw him talking to Dumbledore earlier, if he missed the train then Dumbledore probably flooed him home." Sirius answered as he kept his gaze on Lily. To the red head it seemed like he was telling her what James did exactly.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence mostly. Remus and Simone sat in their respective corners, as far from each other as possible, each reading a book. Raven was leaning against Sirius taking a nap, while Sirius sat there with his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through her neat hair. Lily watched as hail slammed into the magically protected windows, it seemed to represent her current mood.

Ten minutes before the train stopped everyone woke up or stopped reading to get their things together. Lily retrieved her cat Midnight, and she made sure that the cage door on Blizzard's cage was secured.

"Okay well I'll see you guys in a couple of days." Simone spoke since she was the only one who wasn't going straight to the Potter's, well there was Lily too, but she lived next door.

"Okay Sim, how are you getting home?" Raven asked she put on her coat.

"Oh I'm going to Frank's house and his mom is going to have me floo from there." Simone answered as she too put on her coat. With a final wave she left the compartment in search of her cousin.

Minutes later every one gathered their things and got off the train. When Remus got off, he saw Frank helping Simone with her luggage as they walked over to the waiting Longbottoms. Waiting on the other side of Platform 9 3/4 were Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Raven let out a breath of relief when she saw her parents weren't there, since she had yet to tell them that she and Sirius were an item.

"Hey sweet heart!" Mrs. Evans ran over to her youngest daughter in her designer dress and heels, while Mr. Evans and the boys loaded the luggage. They shared a tight embrace, Mrs. Evans quickly wiped away her tears as she gave hugs to every one else.

"Raven, your mother and father apologize for not being able to come get you all. Anthony was called to the ministry suddenly and your mother had some errands to take care of."

"It's okay." Raven replied.

"Where's James and Simone?" Mr. Evans asked as he walked over and hugged his daughter.

"Simone went home, she'll come the day before the party and I suspect James missed the train and flooed over to the house instead.

"Okay well shall we go?" Mrs. Evans asked as she walked toward the car.

The ride was mostly spent with Sirius and Remus joking about God knows what, while Mrs. Evans and Raven spoke of all the newest stores. Lily was talking with her dad, getting updates about things that have been happening at home and in their neighborhood. It was then that she found out that Petunia was still seeing that boy by the name of Vernon Dursely.

"Ah it feels so good to see home before the school year is over." Lily sighed as she pulled into the driveway of her home.

"Are you coming over Lils?" Sirius asked as he began to head to the Potter home.
"Maybe later, I really want to just stay at home for a bit." Lily replied as she got hold of Blizzard's cage, Midnight was already making her way into the house.

"Okay then I guess we'll talk later." Raven frowned a bit before heading inside her house with the other two marauders.

Lily walked into her house and breathed the welcoming scent of her home. Lily fought the temptation of going straight into the kitchen as there was a scent of warm cinnamon in the air. Instead she opted for going into her newly redecorated bedroom…

Four days later for about the tenth time in thirty minutes that day, Ashes, Raven's new owl (an anniversary gift from Sirius) made a trip to Lily's window.

"Arggg! Ashes if you come back one more time, I promise to turn you into a pile of ashes." Lily groaned, frustrated at the fact that Raven wasn't her letting her rest. The grayish bird gave the red head a weary look before flying back to its owner.

"She wont stop until I go over there." Lily concluded to herself as she slowly got out of bed. Not bothering to change out of her pajamas, Lily threw on a sweater that used to belong to her father and a pair of bunny slippers. She had been feeling quite nauseous all day and was not in the mood to go out.

"Welcome Mizz Evans!" Mitzy, one of the house elves answered the door. " Mizz Potter been waiting for you." Lily grunted and walked up the grand stair case to Raven's Room, grateful that she wasn't near James' room. She had yet to see him since the whole note thing.

"Its about time! Why haven't you answered any of my notes?" Raven asked as she and an eager looking Simone walked over to her.

"Why are you still in your pajamas? It's almost one thirty." Simone complained.

"Look guys I cant go with you, I don't feel so good." Lily breathed out as she leaned against the wall.

"But what about our dresses for the party? It's only three days away." Raven asked.

"My mom surprised me last night with my dress, turns out that she bought it two days before we came back home."

"Hey who's here?" Sirius asked as he walked by the open bedroom door. "Whoa Lils what's wrong with you? You look horrible."

"Just feel a bit nauseous." Lily replied with her eyes closed a she fought off the urge to throw up.

"Really? Just a bit? Cuz you look like you just caught Snape getting dirty with some girl while you're getting trampled by a herd of centaurs."

"Gee thanks." Lily replied sarcastically.

"Okay Lils go back to bed. Do you want us to walk you back?" Simone offered.

"No…I'll manage." Lily replied as she slowly made her way over to her house.

"I really wanted her to come wit us, this was supposed to be a special day for me." Simone complained.

"Why was today supposed to be special?" James asked as he walked into the room, being closely followed by Remus.

"We're going to Diagon Alley." Raven supplied as she combed her hair and put it into a high pony tail.

"And? What's the special part? Sirius asked.

"Have you ever been to Diagon Alley?" Remus asked with out thinking about their current situation. She simply nodded her head no.

"Simone that is not physically possible. How can you not have been to Diagon Alley?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah where have you been going all this time? Not Knockturn Alley I hope." James threw in the last part cautiously.

"No, of course not." Simone answered.

"Then where do you get all of your wizarding stuff? Your parents are muggles, I don't understand, everyone living in England goes to Diagon Alley." James just didn't understand.

"Oh my goodness you guys are awful friends." Raven replied as she stared at the boys in shock. "You guys do know that she's not British right?"

"Of course we do, she doesn't have the accent for one." Sirius answered his girlfriend.

"Yeah we know that her mother is Egyptian and her father is Greek." James answered, annoyed that his sister thought them to not be good friends.

"Then what would make you think that I live in England?" Simone asked curiously.

"We don't know, fine Simone where do you live?" Sirius asked.

"In Greece with my parents of course, I do all my wizarding shopping over there at a place called Magical Lanes." Simone answered his next question a little moodily. After that, the girls flooed from the fireplace in Raven's bedroom.

When the boys were back in James' room they immediately began talking about what they just learned about Simone, but they stopped the conversation when they saw how uncomfortable Remus was.

"Hey didn't I hear a third voice in there a while ago?" James asked.

"Yeah you did Prongs. Lily was there." Sirius supplied.

"Really?" James asked, at once interested.

"Yeah but she had to go back home. She wasn't feeling well, I mean she looked horrible. She even came over in her pajamas."

"What was wrong with her?" Remus asked for James.

"Dunno, but she looked like she was going to puke any second."

"Hey I thought you said you didn't spy on her." Remus remarked as James walked over to his window only to see that her curtains were closed shut.

"I don't." James lied. "But I hope that she is still able to get to the party." He answered worriedly…

The night of the party…

Christmas night, there was chaos everywhere, and surprisingly enough quite a few people were dreading it. Simone wasn't looking forwards to the party because she new that if Lily didn't show up she would be alone with Remus and she couldn't bear to have that. Remus, who knew that if lily didn't come he would be left with Simone, and he couldn't handle that right about now, and Lily, who began feeling better that morning knew that James would be there. She caught on that he was avoiding her until the party and now she wasn't so sure that she even wanted to see him.

Lily started at herself in the mirror, she thought that she didn't look half bad for someone who spent the previous night with her head in the toilet bowl. She had her hair in rollers that morning and when she let them down and combed it out, she thought it was perfect. Her dress was dark gold colored, not bright and flashy. The dress was floor length with long sleeves, with a semi-low square neckline. It was made out of satin and it came with a matching floor length coat that was made out of cashmere. She also wore opened toed gold high heeled sandals ( she loved the winter and didn't like to have all of her hidden away. For jewelry she adorned a gold necklace that folded in and out, each outer point had a ruby at the tip. Along with the necklace she had matching ruby studs. For her makeup she had red eye shadow and clear lip gloss with gold glitter in it. Over the years she had really grown fond of the Gryffindor colors.

"Oh honey you look wonderful." Mr. Evans said as he and his wife came into the room. Petunia was having dinner at the Dursley's.

"How do you feel?" Mrs. Potter asked in her motherly tone.

"Do feel like you can go?" her father asked.

"Actually I am feeling a bit nauseous again, I think it's from all the activity." Lily admitted.

"Oh." Her mother responded, she didn't even to try to hide her disappointment.

"You guys can go along. I just need a few moments to just relax." Lily had been cooped up in bed and there was no way that she was going to miss this party (even if it did mean she had to see James.).

"Well in that case I will stay with you then, and then we can go together." Rose Evans replied, happy that her daughter was going.

"No, its okay, really I'll be along shortly." She convinced her parents and they told her to find them as soon as she got over there. She sat at her vanity and began to take deep breaths. She knew she had to go; it would be silly of her to hide from him, even if he had been doing the same. There was a shoveled path leading from her home to the Potter residence. She could see lights coming from all windows and as she got closer she could see the silhouettes of many people laughing and having a wonderful time. She wished that it was her instead, that she could be have such a great time. But instead she had this nausea that refused to leave. With one last breath of the cold winter air she opened the unlocked door and walked inside.

The place was truly magnificent. The entire neighborhood was there it seemed, with quite a few people from the ministry that she only recognized from the Daily Prophet, she also recognized a few people from Hogwarts some of which she didn't know their names. People were laughing and dancing in every corner, there were musicians present playing harps, violins, trumpets and saxophones.

Lily spotted her parents in the next room on the main dance floor, enjoying themselves, their attention only on each other. That was the kind of love she wanted. Next she spotted Raven and Sirius not too far off from them on the dance floor. Sirius was looking extra handsome that evening in an all black suit. Raven was wearing a midnight blue semi poofy dress with sleeves that ended at the elbow. She looked around some more but didn't see anyone else that she recognized. She walked into the dining room and spotted Remus who was wearing a charming gray suit. He was looking a little pale, due to the fact that there was a full moon two nights ago. The boys had had no other choice than to floo over to Hogwarts and head into the forbidden forest. He was a bit away from everyone else, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets as he stared into the adjacent room that was connected by a grand door-less doorway. Lily followed his line of vision and saw that it landed on Simone who was seated, patiently listening to some story that was being told by an elderly couple. She was wearing a long dark gray dress that seemed to change to black depending on at which angle you were standing at. Her hair was in an elegant bun and Lily noticed that she was also wearing the jewelry that she had lent Raven the night Sirius asked her out, the one that used to belong to her aunt who had passed on. But James was nowhere in sight.

When she walked back onto the main dance floor she saw that her parents had now switched partners. Mr. Potter and Mrs. Evans were dancing while Mr. Evans and Mrs. Potter were dancing, both couples side by side. Remembering that she said that she would tell them when she arrived, Lily made her way onto the dance floor, while catching the attention of quite a few people there.

"Great Lily's here." Sirius interrupted Raven, they were talking in a corner when he noticed the red head. Raven turned her attention to the dance floor where she spotted her best friend making her way over to her parents. Just then James appeared next to them and immediately noticed her.

"Oh Lily you look wonderful." Mrs. Potter exclaimed as she went to hug the girl.

"But why are you still wearing your coat" Mr. Potter inquired.

"Oh I forgot." Lily blushed. She unbuttoned her coat and her mother slid it off for her.

"Lily you look truly sensational." Mrs. Potter exclaimed as she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

"Indeed, here I will go hang your coat." Mr. Potter rushed off so that he could soon rejoin the festivities and his wife.

James stood there with his mouth slightly opened. Remus was walking over to them as Simone was walking towards Lily, grateful that she was there.

"Oh Lily I am so glad that you are here! I thought that I was going to have to spend the evening alone" Simone hugged her friend. Simone and Lily walked off arm in arm.

"well for a minute there I thought that I wasn't going to come either. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather." She admitted.

"Well you definitely don't look it." Simone praised. Lily then returned the compliments.

After about a half an hour of walking around with Simone, mingling with some of the younger people and talking with Raven and Sirius, Lily decided she needed some air. She excused her self and walked out onto the back porch. The cold breeze wrapped itself around her body and gently moving through her hair. She still had yet to see him but that was about to change. Her nausea was returning full force so she began taking deeper breaths.

Meanwhile on the inside, Sirius spotted Remus on the far side of the dance floor.

"Why don't you just ask her to dance?" Sirius asked as he approached his friend.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Remus turned around abruptly, trying to cover up Sirius' view, but he failed.

"Where's James?" Remus tried to change the subject.

"He and Rave are dancing." Sirius motioned to where the brother and sister were dancing to a slow song, they seemed to be deep in conversation.

"So why don't you just ask her to dance?" Sirius repeated the original question.

"Pad foot I really don't need this." Remus groaned.

"It's not like you're asking her to marry you. It's only a dance, just go for it." Sirius pushed Remus onto the dance floor toward her.

"So what's on your mind brother?" Raven asked her brother, it was obvious that he wanted to talk about something.

"Sis, are you happy? With Sirius I mean." James asked. "I just realized that I never bothered asking you how the relationship was going."

"Doesn't Sirius say that we're happy?" Raven asked, frowning slightly.

"Yeah but I wanted to hear it from you."

"James I am completely happy." Raven smiled. And it was true she couldn't have been happier. "But what I am not happy about is the fact that you are alone. You're a great guy and you should be with someone."

"Don't worry twin, I'm hoping that's going to change soon." James smiled.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, but before she could get an answer Sirius interrupted them and took James' spot.

When Remus was halfway across the dance floor he noticed that Simone was headed towards the door. "I Might as well follow her." Remus sighed, as he walked out the front door after her.

When Simone walked outside she immediately cursed herself for not putting something on over her strapless dress. But she needed to get away from all the noise even if it were just for a few seconds. Simone gasped when she felt something slide over her shoulders. She looked down to see a gray suit jacket that was about two sizes to big. She turned around to thank whom ever it was, even though she already knew who it was.

"Thanks." Simone said as she faced Remus.

"No problem, you looked cold." Remus answered as he stared into her eyes. "Look Sim I have a few things that I have to tell you." Remus stated s he took a few steps closer to her.

"Remus you don't have to say anything, your actions have spoken loud and clear." Simone answered as she took the jacket off and handed it back to him. She walked around him and headed towards the front door.

"Simone please, I really need to talk to you!" Remus shouted after her. She stopped in her tracks and seemed to be contemplating on whether or not she should stay, she turned around and took a few step towards him, with plenty space in between them. Remus, however ignored this and walked right up to her. He reached around her and placed his jacket over her shoulders once more, but this time she seemed to be clutching onto it for dear life.

"First off, I want to apologize. I didn't mean to be such a jerk and there is no excuse for me ignoring you."

"No I get it I really do, you don't have to try to spare my feelings now, you pretty much crushed them weeks ago." Simone replied, fighting the urge to cry.

"It's not like that Simone. I heard everything you said to me that night in the hospital, I really did. And after that night, after that night all that I could think of, all that I could hear were the words you told me. But you don't understand I was and still am afraid."

"Of what Remus?" Simone felt her voice rising. "What part don't you understand about me knowing your secret? Unless if you have something else that your not telling us."

"No there's nothing else, but you could get hurt, and I don't want you to get hurt. Look at what happened to you a few weeks ago." Remus tried to reason.

"Remus, that was not because of you. That was because of me and my stupidity; it had nothing to do with you!" Simone shouted, her voice was full of desperation.

"But why did you run off, who was the cause of that." Remus shouted back, but then he lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "Simone I would be telling the lie of the century if I said that I didn't have feelings for you, that I am not attracted to you, but I…Can't…Do…This… Not right now at least. All I can offer you right now is my friendship, and I am praying that you will accept it and promise to be patient with me." Remus had a hopeful look in his eye, as he hoped that Simone wouldn't send him to hell instead.

"I have no choice now do I?" Simone sighed after a few moments silence.

"Well you could always say no and discontinue our friendship, but I hope that you won't choose that." Remus laughed nervously.

"Friends." Simone sighed. "Now can I please get a hug?"

"Only if I could get a dance." He smiled.

"deal." Simone smiled as she led him inside. She wasn't exactly happy with the current arrangements but it was better than nothing...

Lily hadn't noticed the boy that was just a few feet behind her. Sensing another presence she turned around only to come face to face with the one that she was both hoping and dreading to see. For a moment she stopped breathing as she had no choice but to notice how handsome he was. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a long scarf hanging around his neck that matched the color of his eyes exactly. He had a mischievous smile on as he noticed her staring at him.

"Lily, long time no see. Where have you been?" He smiled. Lily immediately snapped back to reality, her queasiness was suddenly gone, but it was only replaced by anger.

"Where have I been? I am not the one who decided to go into hiding." Lily replied dryly as she turned back around to look at the snow.

"Aren't you cold?" James asked out of the blue. In response Lily only shook her head no.

"So are you actually mad at me?" James asked seriously. Once again she hook her head no.

"Are you talking to me?"… silence

"It was very original." Lily remarked after about ten seconds of silence.

"I knew you would like it." James smiled. "So?" this was the moment of truth.

"So how long have you felt this way?" Lily asked abruptly.

"That's not what I was looking for." James replied. "Well from what I've been told by my fellow marauders, I always did, and seeing you here tonight I think they're right." James smiled as he noticed some color in her face.

"Besides Evans, I am good for you." James grinned.

"How do you figure that?" Lily asked cautiously.

"I made you blush, now you don't have to walk around here looking like a vampire." James ducked, barely missing a punch. He grabbed her wrist and brought closer to him.

"Do you honestly believe that we could work out? I mean we did spend most of our lives hating each other" Lily asked in a whisper, staring in his eyes.

"I don't think we ever actually hated each other, well at least I can speak for myself. I just like bothering you, and yes I think that we could definitely work out, but that's only if you want it to." James answered; he didn't like the fact that she was taking so long to answer.

"What do I say to someone who sends me flying pigs, which were so cute by the way, and confesses his feelings Christmas night outside in the snow?" Lily pretended to think then took a step closer to him, so that now she could feel his breath tickling her forehead. "James Potter I would love to be your girlfriend!" Lily half shouted as she jumped on him and hugged him.

She couldn't help but say yes, everything in her body and mind told her that if she rejected him she would be making the biggest mistake of her life. They were both grinning from ear to ear. Then out there in the winter cold it happened for the second time in her life, he kissed her. But there was a difference, this one if even possible was better than the first. His lips gently landed on hers. Lily felt herself tiptoeing until she couldn't go any higher. He noticed this and smirked into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she entwined her hands around his neck, and there during their first kiss as a couple it began to snow lightly. When they pulled apart James could hear the band starting up a new song. It was a lovely song that only featured a harp, piano, and a violin. The song was actually quite slow but yet it seemed so romantic.

"Well would you like to dance?" James asked, he couldn't wipe the smile off of his face.

"I would love to." Lily sighed. "This song is beautiful." Lily remarked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and they began the dance. This moment didn't seem real to either of them…

"Now where did that boy disappear off to?" Mrs. Potter huffed as she searched for her son. "Now who left this door…open?" Mrs. Potter ended the last bit in a whisper as she watched her son dancing out on the terrace with Lily. She took a few steps back. "Oh this is wonderful! I have to tell Rose!" Mrs. Potter felt that she could jump for joy. A couple of people watched as their hostess practically ran into the dining room. She spotted her husband waiting for her. "Mona what's wrong?"

"Anthony the most splendid thing has happened. Come on you have to see for yourself." Mrs. Potter dragged her husband along on her search for the Evans. "Rose! Adam! I have something to show you all follow me." The curious people followed the woman, she motioned for them to be quiet and she pointed towards the terrace. The four parents peeked around the open French doors and saw Lily and James dancing, holding on to each other as if their life depended on it. It reminded them all of when they first met their spouse, and how blissfully happy they were and still are. Mrs. Evans led her husband to the dance floor and they too enjoyed the song, the Potters were right behind them. In fact it seemed that every married or dating couple was out on the dance floor.

"At last." Mr. and Mrs. Potter sighed.

"At last." Mr. and Mrs. Evans whispered to each other.

AND THAT IS THE END OF CHAPTER 12!!!!!!!!!