AN: Ok so I am trying something different when ever you see a ---- in between paragraphs that means there had been a time change, as in time has gone on, or we are not getting other events happening. I hope that works out more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just an idea involving the characters:

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Lily had just walked in to breakfast, and of course James noticed. His eyes followed her all the way from the door to where he sat at the table. He wished that she would sit near him, there was normally a person or two between them unless they sat across from each other but with such wide tables that sill meant that they where far apart.

His hopes fell when Mora sat on one side of him and Lily was left the set next to Remus. He looked back down at his plate, he couldn't really hope that the day after ending it with one boy she would jump on to the next.

"Hey Mora did you finish the potions homework?" Remus asked. Lily was about to offer her help when Mora spoke up

"Yeah I did, why Lily switch with me so I can talk to Remus and not yell to him" Mora said getting up from the table leaving the spot next to James open. He knew that did it on purpose, unless Remus and Mora had a thing going on they were trying to get Lily to sit closer to James.

"Morning James" Lily said as she sat down. James was a bit flustered, she was sitting closer to him than necessary, she smiled at him, and now she was looking at him with her sparkling green eyes waiting for his reply.

"Yeah, ah morning Lily, ah did you finish your essay for herbology?" He asked then regretted asking her about school. He wanted her to know that he liked her, he didn't want her to think he just wanted to copy her homework.

"Mora and I finished it yesterday, have you?" Lily wanted to smack her forehead in frustration. 'I finished have you' god now he would think she was bragging. Things were not going well. 'Come on thing of something he likes to talk about' she thought to herself.

"So how has practice been going?" Hoping to get him talking about some thing. Mora smiled over to Sirius, it looked like they didn't have to do much after all because for once it seemed that it was going to work out.

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"Have you heard that Potter beat up Mark so he could go out with Lily?"

"No I heard that Mark caught them in bed and they fought"

Lily stopped when she heard the conversation going on in the corridor that she just passed. She looked over to Mora, she looked shocked as well, Lily grabbed Mora's arm and pulled her to an empty class room.

"What!" She yelled as she slammed the door closed. Mora flinched this was exactly was she was afraid that Lily was going to do. Mora thought for a moment, she could confess to knowing about this already and try to defend James or she could fain innocents. 'Oh bugger' she thought 'I might as well'

"Lily, sit down I need to talk to you about something" Lily looked up at her with anger sparkling in her eyes.

"You knew!! How could you not tell me! I can not believe you!" Lily yelled trying to get out of the class room, she was so angry.

"I wasn't told I figured it out, when the guys came to dinner last night James' hand was freshly bruised and cut. I asked Sirius and he told me that James didn't want you to know, that James didn't want you to think he was trying to be the 'white knight' to get your attention" Mora really wished that Lily would listen to her, what did she expect for James to hear someone say those things about her and to not do anything?

"Why, why did he hit Mark?" Lily asked sitting down wanting to see this in a rational way.

"Sirius told me that Mark was bragging about sleeping with you, and how we was glad that he could be with more girls, and just other stupid guy things" Mora said, she wanted to tell Lily what Mark said about her, she wanted her to know the truth, but then again she really wanted to hear that someone said something like that about them?

"Oh, so James was defending me. I guess… well…." Lily said trying to wrap her head around it. She wanted to be angry but at the same time she was glad that he stood up for her.

"Well you can talk to him about it during rounds tonight right?" Mora asked hoping that Lily would just forgive him, she was blowing the out of proportion but Lily had to make up her own mind.

"Yeah, I will."

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Lily was doing her prefect rounds with James, Remus was scheduled to patrol tonight but he was not feeling well and couldn't make it. Lily looked over to where James was, they had been walking for only a few minutes but Lily couldn't decide if the silence they where sharing was comfortable or awkward, but sine the had to think about it she decided that it must be awkward.

"So um James…" She said looking over at him. He had stopped in his tracks to turn and look over at Lily. She wanted to know what had happened between Mark and he last night but she didn't know how to ask him.

"I heard some tings about you and um, Mark I was ,ah wondering what happened" She finally got out while she switched looking at his face and looking at her shoes.

Suddenly when she went to look back at his face she was only looking at his chest considering that he had moved closer to her.

"Lily, he was saying thing, things that were untrue, and I,… well I confronted him" James said looking in to her eyes. As she looked in to his rich hazel eyes she felt her anger melt away, but then she caught her self.

"Why did you do that, I am not some damsel in distress, I do not need you to come and rescue me, you have no right just beating people up when ever you have the fancy to do so"

"What are you talking about Lily, I didn't do that because I just wanted to. I did it because of what he said about you. I wanted to defend you" He said getting angry, how could she be getting mad at him for defending her?

"I am not yours to protect, I can do that on my own I don't need you presuming that it is your right to hit people." Lily was losing her anger, but she did not want to stop fighting. She knew that a statement like that made no sense but at least when she was fighting with James she didn't sound like a love stuck girl.

"Lily I had to defend you what was I supposed to do just let him say those things, would you rather people hear about what he said and that no one stopped him, or the fact that I stood up for you?" He yelled backing her in to the wall. He was just angry he was always on the wrong side of Lily no matter what he did it never seamed to help.

Lily stood there looking at James. He was right, she knew that, she knew that before she even picked the fight. He was standing so close to her and with such passion shining in his eyes, but she could only think of one thing.

"What did he say?" Lily asked softly, James swore that if he had not been standing so close he would have missed it all together.

"Wh..what?" James didn't know what to say, did she not believe him, did she think he was just making up stories to cover up beating up a random guy?

"What did he say, Mora didn't know. I want to know exactly what he said James" Lily said looking directly in to his eyes, she wanted to know what got him so upset that he attacked Mark.

"He, well he said that he had other girls that were better than you in bed, and that he didn't think that you liked him as much as other people." James said thinking about what mark said about James' smile meaning more to her than what ever Mark could do.

"Who?" Lily asked

"Who what?" James asked trying to play dumb, he hated bringing himself in to this but then again he did that when he confronted Mark and sealed the deal when he landed his first punch.

"You know what I mean who did Mark say I liked more?" Lily said, was it really as obvious as Mora told her it was?

"…….Me" James whispered. He looked down when he said it but after a minute or so when she still had not said anything more he looked up at her. He didn't know how to read the expression on her face, she was not angry… but he didn't know.

"I didn't want to get involved, I never even really talked to the guy before, I am sorry Lily, and I hope that you forgive me. He was wrong, and a bit sloshed when he was saying those things about you…." James didn't know what was going threw her mind, he was just trying to make everything alright between the two of them.

"It's alright, I am glad that you defended me, thank you" Lily said in a monotone voice as she began to walk around James in a daze.

Lily's mind was trying to wrap around the idea that Mark could see how Lily felt about James when even she did not know; and the fact that Mark would bash her in such a hurtful way when she never meant to hurt him. She was lost in thought when a single touch brought her back to reality.

She and James had touched before but it had always been on the arm, a pat on the back. But James had stuck out his hand lightly catching her on the stomach stopping her in her tracks. Her head snapped up to look at him and at first he was afraid that she was going to yell, but he would rather that then the monotone shell she had become. But in her eyes he didn't see anger, but a sadness and hurt that broke his heart. He didn't know what to do so he did the one thing he had been wanting to do for ages it seamed; he leaned down close enough to kiss her, but at the last second looked back up at her eyes wanting to know that he would not be slapped for his efforts. Lily's hand slowly made its way to cup James' face as he finally closed in. Lily felt like her heart stopped when his hand touched her stomach, she felt her skin instantly heat up, and she could barely breath but the moment that his lips touch hers she felt her heart start again, and beat so fast she swore it was going to beat out of her chest.

James straightened up. He looked down on her, he had no idea what to do now. Was she angry with him, happy? He didn't know so he just watched her. Lily stood there thinking of all the times she swore not to fall for James Potter's charms but she damned them all to hell. She look back at him and took a steep closer to him. His hands came up from his sides to rest on her hips, but he didn't make any other move leaving it all to Lily. Lily bit her lip and raised her self up on her tip toes to reach James' mouth and kissed him. It was quick pecks at first that grew in to longer kisses, but when James' tongue began to tickle her lower lip she opened her mouth and their kisses became much more passionate.

Lily was no longer thinking what she did wrong in her past relationships, or how many reasons she had to stay away from James Potter, she was only thinking about how he make her feel.

James could not believe this; not only had he kisses Lily and she did not hex him a thousand times over, she kissed him back. Not only that but they were still kissing, all he could think about was how long he had been waiting for this moment, and now it had come. He showed Lily that he was not all about sports, random girls, and pranks. He was serious and he really liked her, maybe even more.

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Happy Holidays!!, I am sure I will post again soon (holidays for me means more free time, but you never know)

I am going to see Sweeney Todd again, it is such a great movie (just thought I would throw that out there)

Music:

Better Days- The GooGoo Dolls

Arabesque No.1 in E- Claude Debussy