"So you're going?" asked Bella over breakfast the next morning. "You're actually going?"

I finished reading over Chris's response letter and looked up at Bella with a small smile. "Yeah, I am."

"And Potter is bringing you?" she asked again, looking flabbergasted.

"Yeah, he is." I folded up the letter and put it in my bag.

"And Potter knows what he's bring you to?" she asked lifting her eyebrows.

"Yeah, he does." I shrugged and turned to my toast.

"Wow," Bella said sipping her juice. "Hell really did freeze over."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're sneaking out of the castle, James is helping you go on a date with someone else, and you're answering a booty call. I never thought I'd see the day any of this happened. I don't know what to think about it."

I looked up at her to see her focused on me. "To be honest Bella, I don't either."

We finished the rest of our breakfast in an uncomfortable silence. There was nothing to be said anymore. I knew her opinion at that point and nothing she could say could stop me from going through with this plan, even if the guilt of breaking a rule and hurting Potter's feelings was about to rip me to shreds.

The rest of the day slipped by in what felt like minutes. Potions was a blur, as was divination. Transfiguration was hard as usual but as our homework flew into McGonagall's hands, I saw Potter turn to look at me and I gave him a friendly smile. It was then I decided that Bella was right. Hell had frozen over indeed.

After my last class, Astronomy, I headed up for the Gryffindor Common room to preen for my dinner date. I usually wasn't one to be vain but something about Chris struck a chord with me. Maybe it was because he was the only guy I had thought of romantically since Amos. Maybe it was because he was so good looking (and tall). I think I knew deep down though that it was really because he was able to walk away from me after kissing me on the bench. I don't think I could accept that a kiss that turned my legs to jelly could have no impact on him at all. That night I wanted to make sure it did have an impact on him, me being average or not.

I pulled my hair from its clip and ran my fingers through it. I grabbed a spray bottle from my desk and attempted to battle my horrible frizz. I slid some clear gloss on my lips and powder on my face. I changed from my robes to my favorite flairs and a long sleeve gold v-neck and my favorite black scarf. Once my hair no longer resembled a lion's mane and I was sure that stupid ketchup stain had indeed come out of my top when it was washed, I made my way downstairs to meet up with James.

When I reached the common room, I was surprised to see the rest of the marauders sitting with him, all looking ready to head out. I walked up to them trying not to seem nervous or thrown off. In my head I was thinking 'Great, I have a four man escort to my booty call.'

"I assume all of you are coming then?" I asked, hoping without hope that at least one of them would say no. To my disappointment, they all nodded and smiled cheerily.

Sirius was smiling most broadly. "You're not the only one here with a hot date tonight." James looked uncomfortable while Peter and Remus grinned broadly.

"Sirius asked out the apparition test woman and she said yeah. Her name's Melissa, I think." Remus told me as we moved toward the portrait hole.

"Yeah," I murmured to myself, "I seem to recall someone in my group saying that she wasn't bad on the eyes."

"Its all Sirius has been talking about recently." Added Peter, falling in step with Remus and I. "He brags and brags about snagging her. It's really becoming repetitive. I wish he would start his obsession with international quidditch again. At least then when he talked at length I could learn something other than, 'They don't make legs on girls like that at Hogwarts.'"

"I can hear you, you know." Said Sirius over his shoulder as we descended a staircase.

And so we walked on, Remus and I taking the mickey out of Sirius all the while about his ability to talk nonsense until he turns blue. I hardly noticed the many staircases and doors we passed until we came to an abrupt halt in front of a massive mirror I couldn't remember ever seeing before.

"What's the hold up?" I asked as they all looked into the mirror.

"No hold up my dear," said Sirius with a playful smirk. "Merely pausing to appreciate the greatness of our reflections."

I heard an unfamiliar laugh sound and I looked quickly around to see who was passing by. The hall was deserted, the laughter still echoing softly down the corridor. I was utterly perplexed until a gentle female voice sounded from the direction of the mirror.

"You never will change will you Sirius."

I wiped around and stared at the mirror. Our reflections has disappeared and instead a beautifully pale woman stood serenely in the glass. A flirtatious smile lit her features.

"I sure hope not!" He said winking at her. Her pale cheeks turned crimson. "Might I say you look lovely today, not that your beauty could ever fade."

"Oh hush you." She said playfully. "And how are the rest of you boys?"

"Wonderful Angeline." Said Remus with a short bow that made me smile. Such a gentleman to her, she blushed.

"And who are you my dear?" she asked, her eyes shifting to me.

I stepped forward away from the boys. "I'm Lily Evans."

Her eyes grew wide and flickered over to the boys. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by James. "Fairest One."

She blinked once and said, "Oh yes, right! Proceed."

With that Angeline's image faded and a door appeared within the reflection. I followed the boys are they grew neared to the mirror and watched as Peter stepped into the frame and walked along this new plane over to the door. The rest of us followed swift and crossed to the door in the mirror. I looked behind me out at the hall. It was like a carnival fun house; mirrors were on my right and left, but ahead of me was the hall I had just left. I wondered if someone passed if they would see me. I decided I did not want to find out and hurried the rest of the way through the door.

When my eyes adjusted to the new light, I blinked. The room was so large and bright, sunlight beating down from every angle. "How did you find this place?" I breathed.

"Well we were just wandering the school one day in second year and Sirius stopped to fix his hair." Said James chuckling.

Sirius just shrugged. "Can't hate me for it. My vanity helped us find this tunnel."

"So we started making fun of him for being vain when Angeline popped into the mirror." Continued James. "Then Remus said something funny."

"Mirror Mirror on the wall," Remus began, "Whose the…"

"Fairest One of all." I finished. "That's how you figured out the password?"

"Basically!" said Peter excitedly. "Then I walked up to touch the mirror with the door in it and fell through the frame. The rest is history."

As we continued to walk, I enjoyed the view around me. The room was large and looked delicate. The walls were some kind of glass that bounced the different lights in all directions like a prism.

Sooner than I was expecting, we had reached another door. Sirius popped his head out and pulled it back in quickly. "It looks clear but maybe Lily should go out first."

"Why me?" I asked suddenly worried. Was this just a trick?

"Because this tunnel comes out as a supposedly always locked dressing room at Witches Robes for all occasions." Sirius answered smiling. "It will be easier to explain if someone sees you walk out of a dressing room than one of us blokes."

"What do you boys usually do?"

Peter blushed. "You don't want to know."

I accepted that fact and stepped out the door into the pink dressing room lobby. After a quick look around I saw that the store was not packed but far from empty. How was I going to get 4 boys out unnoticed and without suspicion?

Thinking quickly, I picked a green robe off of a rack and ran into an unlocked dressing room. Throwing it on, I walked out and peered at myself in the mirror, letting the sales woman who was eyeing me curiously, see me inspecting the garment. I walked over to the locked door and tried a guess at how to enter. "Snow White." I whispered as I turned the handle. I heard the lock click open and pushed through the door.

"We should have brought the cloak," I heard Sirius mumbling to the others.

At the sound of the door closing they looked up at me.

"Ok, so the store has a good number of people in it so you guys can just pretend to be helping me pick out something ok?" They all just stared at me. "What?"

"You are buying that." Said James his eyes glued passionately to my face.

I laughed. "I couldn't afford them. This is our cover. Now get ready, I'll say, Boys and then you pop out, run to the wall opposite this door and lean against it. Got it?"

They all nodded, still too busy looking at me to speak. I walked out and went to the 3-way mirror once more. Once I was sure that everyone looked busy in the lobby I said loudly, "I'm not sure. BOYS! What do you think?" As I turned to look at the door, I saw it just closing. Over at the wall, all the boys looked nonchalant and smug.

"I'll buy them for you if you refuse to buy them yourself." James said pushing away from the wall and standing behind me. "It would be a sin for you not to have these."

I looked down at myself and didn't understand him. What was so great about these robes? They played up my eyes yeah, but the rest was just like any other robe. It had a golden clasp in the front that formed the shape of a dragon and the hem sat in line with my anklebone. The collar was dramatic, slightly larger than the average lapel. I gazed at myself and didn't understand what the fuss was about.

"Can I help you miss?" the sales clerk asked me.

"Yes," responded James. "I would like to purchase this robe she is wearing. Could she wear it out?"

"Of coarse sir." She quickly snipped off the tag of the robes and slid her hands against the robes shoulders. "It looks like it was made for her indeed sir. Would you follow me to the register?"

"James don't," I begged, trying to shrug out of the green fabric but he just laughed.

"I'm buying it for you whether you wear it or not." He said, following the clerk to the counter.

Sighing, I knew there was no use. James had always bought me elaborate Christmas gifts, which I never used. How was this different? It was also a nice addition to my outfit of gold and black. Chris might like the layering.

"Let's see him walk away now." I whispered to myself.

The rest of the boys and I followed James to the table and then moved out into the warm crisp air of Hogsmeade. I breathed in deeply and thought that maybe this would be one of the scents in my amortenia potion.

Looking down at my watch, I realized I was already 5 minutes late. I turned the boys who were all looking at me.

"Well, I need to run to the 3 broom sticks. I guess I'll catch you guys later? Do you want to meet or should I just find my way back?"

"Let's meet." James said quickly. I watched Remus's eyes shift to the ground. "Getting out of the mirror is a bit tricky the first time. Peter ended up in the hospital wing."

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. "Well, I'll be off too. Meet by the shack at 10?"

I nodded my agreement and hurried off to the three broomsticks.

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By the time I got to the 3 broomsticks I was ten minutes late. I gazed around the pub and didn't see any sign of my tall date. Confused, I walked over to the bar and ordered a butter beer. I sat and pondered for a few minutes. Maybe he thought I wasn't coming and left. Maybe he was standing me up. What if he wasn't coming? It was only 6! What was I going to do to kill time till 10! What if one of the boys saw me by myself? Maybe I could just hide out in the girl's loo.

Just as I was considering which stall would be most comfortable (I was thinking the handicap one), the stool beside me slipped back and someone plopped down next to me. I looked up to see Chris beaming down at me. "I didn't think you were going to really show up." He said smiling at me. "Didn't think you'd get out of the school."

"I didn't think you were going to show up either, seeing that it's twenty minutes after we said we were going to meet.' I looked down at my butter beer, refusing to look him in the eyes.

He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "Lils," he said soothingly, his long eye lashes brushing his cheeks when he blinked. He leaned in and gave me a swift kiss on the lips. "I'm sorry. I had an interview that ran late. The woman just couldn't get enough of me." He got a smug look on his face. It reminded me of Potter. Not the now bearable James, but Potter.

I looked away again. He switched tactics and grabbed my hand instead. "Let's get a table and some food alright? I did promise to make it worth your trip."

Still refusing to look at him I rose to my feet and let him guide me to a booth in the corner. I could see the bathroom from my seat and decided to act less pissy. This was better than the handicapped stall.

"So where are you interviewing at?" I asked curiously after we had both ordered a pair of butter beers, his with a shot of fire whiskey mixed in.

"Just about everywhere you can think of. I don't know exactly where I want to go right now so I'm just trying things out and enjoying myself."

"You can't do that forever though."

"Enjoy myself? I sure hope I can."

I smiled in spite of myself. "No. No. You can't just wander for your whole life."

"Why not?" He asked. He reached up and grabbed his glass from Rosmerta with a smile.

"What kind of existence is that?"

"An adventurous one."

I sighed, knowing this was one battle I was not going to win. "Did you like anyone you interviewed with?"

"Eh, not really."

I heaved another sigh.

"Ok miss perfect. What do you want to do once you graduate from Hogwarts then?"

"Ministry," I said sipping my drink.

"Which department?" He asked taking a large gulp of his own glass.

"I'm thinking maybe the auror department or maybe work as a charms specialist. I'm a little better at potions than charms but really, charms makes me happy. I think it's best to pick a career you love."

"I think that's a very good thought." He raised his glass to me. "Cheers to love."

We clinked glasses and night became a bit more comfortable. We exchanged funny stories and laughed like old mates. Only when he took my hand after paying the bill did I remember we were on a date. It had felt much more natural just to banter.

As we strolled down the streets, I spotted Peter and James stumbling out of Zonkos, their clothes were smoking slightly and there bags were over flowing. I couldn't help but smile. Thinking I was smiling at him, Chris smiled down at me. We moved into a small park at the center of town and sat on the grass. Chris pulled out his want and once again congured a rose which I vanished quickly.

"Allergic."

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot!"

"Do you give all your dates a rose?" I asked curiously but not accusingly.

He laughed, "Most of them. For you, I will have to learn Lilies." He leaned in close enough that I could smell the butter beer on his breathe.

"How ironic." I said smiling at him.

"Indeed." And with that he closed the gap between our faces and kissed me. Kissing Chris was like getting a very intense lip massage. He attacked my lips with such power, I could do nothing but succumb to his will. He started to push me towards the ground but I stopped him.

"Just hold on one second." I quickly stood up and pulled off my new green robe. I didn't want it to get grass stains. I folded it neatly and placed it beside my purse. He looked up at me from the ground impatiently. "I told you not to wear a robe when we hung out."

"A mate bought it for me today. I didn't have much choice in the matter."

He shrugged in response, his long form looking even longer when viewed from above.

I looked down at him smiling. "Roll on your stomach." I told him.

"Why?"

"Because I want to give you a massage! I am the best."

He quickly rolled to his stomach and stretched out full on the grass. I took a moment to appreciate his long form against the plane of green before straddling his back and digging my hands into his muscles. As I kneaded his back, I compared Chris to Amos. The only thing they had in common was there age and the fact that they were so much taller than me. Amos had opened doors and waited for me to say go. Chris ran through doors and waited for me to say no. It was a very different experience.

When I wasn't expecting it, Chris flipped over so I was now straddling his waist. He sat up and wrapped his arms around me, his mouth once again covering my own. Crossing my ankles behind his back, I let my fingers play with his short hair and around his neck and back. When short for air, I pulled back and tilted my head to allow him further ministrations at my neck.

Soon he had me pinned to the ground once more, his hand roaming over my body. He let his hand drift places that made me self-conscious; my stomach and the valley between my breasts. When his hand drifted lower I would stop him. After his third attempt I stopped, he pulled away with a question in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Chris but that area is off limits to anyone but boyfriends." I answered his unvoiced question.

"You're a virgin aren't you?" He asked, bending to kiss my neck.

I sat up quickly, surprised by the question. "What?"

"Not saying that you aren't an excellent kisser because lord knows you are but you are a virgin aren't you?" he asked, making very intense eye contact.

"Yes," I said slightly embarrassed. "I am."

"You don't know what you're missing." He said smiling. "Are you one of those religious types waiting for marriage?"

"Not really," I answered, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I usually had no problems talking about sex with anyone but Chris's obvious experience put me on edge.

"How far have u gone?" he asked with a small smile.

My jaw dropped. "Umm."

"Has anyone?" He moved his hand down again. I stopped it.

"Yes."

"Have you?" He grabbed my hand and pushed it down. I pulled it out of his.

"Yes."

"Has anyone?" He slipped his tongue inside my ear. I knew the ear was not the place he was referring to a tongue being.

"No."

"OH MAN!" he almost yelled. I tried to hush him. "You're REALLY missing out babe." And with that said, he crushed his mouth to mine once more, his hands moving more excitedly than before but making less attempts to cross the invisible line around my hip bones. My mind was split between places- between his current ministrations, which were quite nice actually, and his previous statement.

Was I weird? Did other girls go further than I was going? Did Amos just restrain his desire to go further with me? Was it impatience that drove him to break it off? Did SHE go faster? My mind was spinning in too many directions. I pushed my eyes closed harder and tried to clear my mind of everything except Chris. It wasn't too hard but every once in a while, my mind strayed to the green robe beside me. It really was a lovely robe. I found myself wishing I had kept it on. There had to have been some stain resistant charm on it at the price Potter paid for it and I was getting slightly cold despite Chris's body heat. Eventually I let my eyes open as we pulled apart and I noticed how dark out it was.

"What's the time?" I mumbled against his lips.

"Nine," he said, checking his watch.

"Want to go for a walk?"

Nodding, he helped me to my feet then wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me flush to his side. He walked for a few minutes, going wherever our feet took us until Chris stopped suddenly.

"You're something you know?"

I looked at him inquisitively. "What do you mean?"

"Smart, driven, beautiful," I blushed, thankful for the cover of the night, "opinionated, fiery, and moral."

"What's something though?"

"You're only 17!"

I rolled my eyes, "We went over that last time."

He sighed heavily and settled on a bench. "I'm two years older than you and I'm half as focused as you, have half the morals. It's incredible."

I put my head on his shoulder. "You could be focused if you wanted to. What happened to adventure?"

"I think you're right," he said. I smiled. He would learn soon enough that I am always right. "Eventually, the adventure will need to end and real life will need to start. I applied for this graduate school a few months ago. I really want to go but I haven't gotten a response. I just don't know what to do. And what am I going to do when the time for reality comes? I haven't even thought about it until now."

"Well, what do you love?" I asked him, wrapping my new robe tighter around me. He threw his arm around my shoulders and slowly rubbed up and down.

I could feel him smile rather than see it as the muscles in his mouth moved against the crown of my head. "I don't really know. I guess that's what I've been looking for."

I leaned up and turned my body to look at him seriously in the eyes. His arm was still around me. "I could help you, that is, if you want the help."

He didn't answer with words, instead just pulled me to him, pressing his mouth firmly upon mine once more, making me thankful for being seated. He shifted me so I sat in his lap and we kissed for a while before I pulled away. "I guess that's a yes."

He laughed. This guy confused the hell out of me. One moment he was like an old friend, then he turned into a horny pig and the next moment he was a very genuine guy who was taking my breath away. That was what had brought me to Hogsmeade: my desire to know him, the real thing.

"So do you want to head back to my place?" He said lifting an eyebrow. The pig was back.

"I'm meeting friends to head back at 10. And you know nothing will happen at your place that didn't happen in the grass."

He looked at me for a moment, then looked down at his watch. "Well it's 15 to 10 now. Where are you meeting?"

"The shack."

"Weird place to meet, especially at night. You hear some creepy things from that house. Some say it's haunted with restless spirits."

I laughed, "I know the stories. I have been going to Hogwarts for 6 years now."

"Well if you don't want to keep your friends waiting, you oughta head off."

"The gentlemanly thing would be to escort me there." I teased.

"Well my place is 10 minutes in the opposite direction so…" I looked at him in shock.

"Ok, bye." I stood and started walking away when he grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. He brought me in for a kiss but I kept away. "You're infuriating." And with that, I let him give me a swift kiss.

"When can you come back?"

"I'm not sure," I said honestly.

"Not sure when you can or if you want to?" I looked up, way up, into his eyes. "I promise next time I'll know how to conjure a lily."

I let a giggle escape and started to walk away. He grabbed my hand once more but instead of stopping me, he walked with me. "Are you walking me now?" I asked flirtatiously.

"Maybe I've decided to be a gentleman. Improve my chances of you coming out again." He smiled at me in his quirky way and I smiled back.

"It can't hurt." We walked in silence for a few minutes before I burst. "Is this ever going to be more than making out?"

His eyebrows rose. "Well, it could have been today but somebody…."

"I mean are you ever going to ask me to be your girlfriend?" I interrupted. I could see the shrieking shack now and decided that was a better option to look at than my shoelaces or his face.

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. Sighing he continued, "Why do you care so much about the title anyway?"

"Morals," I responded simply, my eyes still trained on my destination. I only looked away when I noticed that his hand was no longer in mine. I looked behind me to where Chris was standing, looking uncomfortable. "What?"

"Your friends are guys?" I looked over my shoulder to see 3 of the boys leaning up against the fence. From this distance, I could tell either James or Sirius was missing since one of the tallest forms was absent.

"Yeah." I said turning back to Chris.

"Was one of them the mate that bought you this?" He fingered my robe. I nodded. His eyes narrowed. "I think you can go the rest of the way alone. I don't think I'd be welcome amongst your friends."

"Are you afraid?" I teased.

"Hell no!" he said smiling, "Just being nice. But just to make things nice and clear to everyone…." With that he pulled me flush to him, pulling me into a very passionate embrace. I put my hands on his chest and pushed softly against him, pulling myself semi-gracefully from his embrace.

"Goodnight." I said, heading towards the boys.

"Night." He said already walking the other way.

I reached the boys and saw that Sirius was missing. Noticing this I asked the boys where he was. A moment passed quietly before Remus answered. "It's 9:58. He'll be here in 3 minutes. He is always exactly 1 minute late."

With that, I joined the boys leaning against the fence, taking a place between Remus and James, James long lean form standing tense beside me. It was an uncomfortable silence, tense. Remus was obviously a little tiffed with me, Peter was obviously oblivious, and James seemed to fighting his own personal internal battle. Exactly 3 minutes, as promised, Sirius arrived looking disheveled.

"Yeah, they definitely don't make them like that at Hogwarts." Peter laughed but everyone else remained silent. Noticing the atmosphere, Sirius didn't object when James started dragging him off towards town.

I followed, keeping in step with Remus in the back, Peter in the middle. "Sorry," I muttered quietly. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Remus sighed deeply. I could almost hear the air whistling through his lungs. "You know I'm not the person you should be saying that to." I looked down. "But I know it's probably easier to apologize to me because you're giving me the perfect opportunity to say I told you so."

I looked up to see his brilliantly white teeth smiling at me. I smacked his arm. "Shut it!" He laughed jovially and the rest of the walk back to the castle was a lot more comfortable now that I was on better terms with Remus.

He explained that originally it was just going to be James and Sirius bringing me but Remus stepped up knowing James would go mad or start stalking me on my date if he didn't have someone to keep him sane. Peter came because no way was he staying behind without his friends.

The walk back to the castle was quick, once again through the mirror, having sneaked through the back door of the robes shop. Somehow Peter had picked the lock. Once back in the common room, on instinct I went to my normal couch. I heard the boys heading up the steps and let myself become absorbed in the flames. I sat there for a few minutes mesmerized as I always became.

"Lily."

I turned around quickly, having been completely unaware that only 3 boys had gone up the stairs. He just stood by an abandoned armchair, playing with a fraying thread of the upholstery. His face looked hard and determined.

"Yes James?" I rose from my place. I felt my new robe swirl around me. I pulled it tighter.

His face softened, as did the determined look.

"You looked beautiful today." He said, looking intently at the thread.

I stepped around the couch and faced him. "Is that what you were going to say?" I hoped he wouldn't act as Snape had.

He smiled at the thread and looked up at me, his smile genuine but his eyes sad. "No, but it's what I'm going to say for now." He turned away and walked to the boys' staircase. I followed at a slower pace. He turned at the first step. "I just…" he stopped upon seeing me so close to him. He told me in later years that the sight of me had almost torn his heart in two. My eyes wide with curiosity, the robe billowing slightly behind me due to a draft from a near by window. My hair glowed in the firelight and my skin shown out milky white. "I just don't blame him." He turned.

"For?" my curiosity called out, my real voice calling out as well.

He turned to face me once more. That was when my heart broke. His face held such devastation, that which had been hiding, or trying to hold back. "For… Lily, I'm sorry but I don't think I can say right now. I don't blame him for anything. Get some sleep."

"Good night James." I called after him before turning to my own staircase and following his instructions. It was so cold that night I slept in my new robe, which I found was becoming some sort of a safety blanket to me. I curled up in my robe and blankets and fell into a sleep filled with dancing mirrors, flying golden and green dragons, and whistling dwarfs.

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Hey all!

I got hit with inspiration to finish this chapter suddenly. It's nice and long and could have been probably been cut into 3 parts but I didn't feel like stopping. I hope you enjoy it! I'm trying to capture the main things about Chris that made that relationship what it was. He is not an asshole… but he does enjoy sex. I changed his life a bit and he even has thanked me for it. We're still friends so it's odd to write this. Once again, no James in sight so still just my fantasies there!

Hope you enjoyed this!

Melissa Z

P.S. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! CRITIC!!!! ETC!!!!!