A/N: Ok, so here it is! The long awaited Chapter 7! Sorry I haven't been updating lately…summer was busy and when I had time to write, I never really felt like it. I've had a lot of new inspirations, for fics and originals alike, so be on the lookout for a new story after this one's finished. This story will be done soon…I'm guessing probably 11 or 12 chapters…maybe more, maybe less. For now though, I need you to review! I have another chapter written, which I could post right after this one…but I need 30 reviews, first! I won't post it until I hit 30!

I'm on 8 people's alert list, yet for the my last chapter, I only received 5 reviews, and one of them was from a person I knew and told to go and read it, and another was from a person who didn't even have me on their author alert list. I'd like to thank you, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot (for being a reviewer from the beginning), Noompjuh, Anonfornow, purebliss90, and i-know-all-the-wicked-lyrics (thanks, Kelly!); cookies to you all! Oh, and also to Wings for her lovely review of my first chapter!

So, here it is! Read, review, and enjoy!

Elise Bentwin

Chapter 7: Hogesmade

"Lily! Come on, Lily! Lily!" Olivia impatiently waved her hand in front of Lily's face and she jumped in surprise. "Lily!"

"W-what?" Lily stammered, turning to face her friend, her quill hanging loosely in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Olivia demanded, leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, erm, nothing," Lily replied, turning her face back to the fire, "nothing at all."

"Psh…yeah, right. Come on, Lily, tell me. What happened?" Lily was silent for a few moments has she stared into the depths of the fireplace, thinking; what had happened, exactly? All she could remember was the look on James' face when he'd spotted her and Brandon, and the way his eyes had brimmed with tears…Lily's heart softened at the mere recollection of it…he'd looked so sweet…

Sweet? What? Lily shook her head to clear her mind…what was she doing? Thinking that James Potter was sweet…

"Lily," Olivia said more softly, reaching across the table and laying a hand on Lily's shoulder, "what happened?"

"Oh, nothing big, Olivia," a voice said, and Lily looked up and met Brandon's eyes, as he leaned over her chair, his eyes twinkling. "Potter walked in on Lily and I spending some quality time together." Lily glanced at Olivia and could see she wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Her eyebrows went up and her mouth formed a small smile and she laughed nervously.

"Oh…"

"Then, he stupefied us when he heard teacher's coming…the coward!" Lily glared at him.

"Don't call him a coward!" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Brandon looked at her incredulously and raised one eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"Erm…nothing, nothing," Lily murmured quietly, standing up. "I'm going up to bed." Brandon looked disappointed.

"But-"

"Brandon, it's very late, and I'm tired," Lily replied firmly.

"Alright, well…see you tomorrow, darling." He leaned over and kissed her softly before sauntering away towards the boy's dormitories.

"Darling?" Lily turned.

"Yeah…I guess," she answered.

"Psh…you know, Lily, you could do a lot better," Olivia commented, gathering up her books and stuffing them into her book bag; Lily shrugged as she did the same.

"Like who, for example?" The portrait hole opened and woe and behold, in walked the Marauders, all of them bearing tired, haggard looks, not to mention scratches on their faces and arms; she noticed Remus wasn't there.

"James," Olivia whispered softly in Lily's ear as she passed her and headed up the stairs to the dormitories.

"Where's Remus?" Lily croaked softly.

"A smart ass like you should be able to figure that one out," James responded, glaring at her; she stood there, taken aback. James had just called her a smart ass! This was the first time when Lily felt that her conversation with James would not lead to him asking her out.

"Come on, mate," Sirius said, grabbing James' arm and trying to pull him towards the staircase.

"Who found you and woke you up?" James demanded, his voice icy cold, as he shrugged his arm out of Sirius' grip; Peter looked up at him warily.

"Professor McGonagall," Lily replied.

"Did Brandon tell her it was me?"

"Yes," Lily responded softly, "but she didn't believe him-"

"Because you were hexed as well," James finished for her, and Lily nodded. She looked down at the textbooks in her hands and felt tears in her eyes. The way he was looking at her…the way he was talking…it wasn't the lovesick James she'd come to know. He was heartbroken and it was all her fault; he hated her now. But why did that matter? She hated him, and now that he hated her, it would work out! Lily could finally get rid of the lovesick ape who'd followed her around, trying to win her heart, since 4th year! But, then why was she so sad?

"Goodnight," James said shortly, nodding slightly. Lily looked up and met his eyes, and then, in an instant, knew why she was so sad…why she felt so guilty. James had always been a part of her life; he'd always been there, bugging her, asking her out, and admiring her. It was something that Lily had come to expect and accept as a natural part of life; now it was over. Here he stood, a whole different James revealed, heartbroken, crushed, all because of her.

"Goodnight…James." She whispered his name softly, and was shocked to find out pleasing it was to say it…and to think it. James…James…James…it was such a nice name….

With a flourish of his robes, in a very good imitation of Professor Snape, he turned away and ascended the stairs quickly, without turning back; Sirius and Peter quickly followed suit. So Lily stood there, alone, in the middle of the common room for several long seconds…trying to explain to herself why there were tears running down her face and why her heart felt so heavy…she finally arrived at a realistic conclusion: PMS…yes, it just had to be.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Okay, it's ready!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Everything's set! All you need to do, is drink this." He handed James a small glass filled with a substance that looked like bubbly poop.

"I'm not sure if I want to do this anymore," James said, looking away from the glass in his hand and running his fingers through his hair.

"What?" Peter squeaked, beads of perspiration running down his face. "We've worked on this for weeks James! You can't back down now!"

"I don't think I like her anymore…"

"Oh will you just shut it with the crap, Prongs? You know you still like Lily…you know it. Sure, you were ready to kill her a couple weeks ago when you saw her snogging that gorilla, but you still love her." As James looked up into the bright brown eyes of his best friend, he smiled for the first time in weeks.

"You know, sometimes Sirius, I wish you didn't know me as well." Sirius laughed.

"Drink up!"

"Cheers!" James said, raising the Polyjuice Potion in the air, and gulping it down.

Where was he? Why was he so late? Lily stood on her tiptoes to better see the throng of students entering the courtyard. Finally, she spotted Brandon, looking slightly pale, making his way towards her.

"Brandon!" Lily called, waving. He waved back and caught up with her.

"Hey, Lily!" he said; his voice seemed strange…a bit higher than usual.

"What's wrong with your voice?" Lily asked; Brandon coughed.

"Oh erm…nothing…I just have a bit of a cold." He sniffed, rather unconvincingly.

"Well, just don't give it to me, okay?"

"Sounds good," he said, as they both showed their signatures to Filch who grudgingly allowed them to enter Hogesmade.

"Hey, wait up!" Lily looked behind her and saw Peter hurrying towards them, Sirius running to catch up.

"Get lost!" Brandon yelled, and Peter stopped, blinking stupidly. Then a smile erupted on his face and he nodded.

"Oh yeah…now I-"

"PETER!" Sirius bellowed, and he seized Peter by the collar of his robes and proceeded to drag him away. "Sorry, to bother you, Lily, Brandon."

"No, it's alright," Lily replied, "where's James?"

"Oh, erm, he's not feeling to well," Sirius replied, clapping a hand over Peter's mouth when he began to say something. "But, we'd better be off. Now, you two have fun!" And with that, he dragged a struggling, slightly suffocating, Peter down the street. Lily laughed as she looked up at Brandon.

"They were acting a bit, odd, don't you think?" she asked.

"Yeah," Brandon replied, "they were actually being friendly."

"So, where do you want to go?"

"Erm…I don't care."

"I need to get some new quills, then we can go to the Three Broomsticks."

"Ok, sounds good," Brandon answered, looking at his watch.

"When did you get a watch?" Lily asked, surprised.

"Er…what?"

"A watch," Lily repeated, grabbing Brandon's wrist and admiring the new watch that adorned it, "you didn't have one before."

"Oh yeah…erm, my parents sent it to me." Lily looked up at him and was surprised to see that he was very red in the face.

"Are you okay?" she asked, stopping, and placing her hand on his cheek. His eyes went wide and he leapt back from Lily as if he'd been branded. "Brandon, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing…just a little, erm…jumpy…nervous…yeah." Lily raised her eyebrows quizzically. "Let's just go and get those quills of yours."

"Sounds good."

James silently berated himself for his carelessness. Relax! Be Brandon! He had been so surprised at the sensation of Lily's touch, that he couldn't have helped his reaction; his heart thumping wildly, he followed her into a small shop where she quickly selected a few quills, paid for them, and then settled down with her in the Three Broomsticks.

"Two butterbeers, please," Lily said to Madam Rosmerta, and she began to dig in her pockets for gold.

"No, I'll pay for it," James said, slapping 4 galleons on the table.

"But you paid for our drinks last time," Lily contradicted.

"Oh yeah…but, that's alright."

"Okay, then, if you're sure." She grabbed their butterbeers and he followed her to a table situated by a window that looked out over the street. Third years threw snowballs at each other, fifth year girls looked in through shop windows, and seventh years flirted and hung on each others arms as they made their way over to Madame Pudifoot's.

"So, what do you want to be once you get out of Hogwarts?" Lily asked. James shrugged.

"Oh I don't know…something to do with the Dark Arts, but I'm still not sure." Lily nodded.

"Me neither, but I do want to join the Order."

"Oh yes, of course, me too."

"But I thought your parents supported Voldemort?" James would've liked to beat his head against the wall.

"Erm…well, they do, but I don't," he answered quickly.

"Oh well, a quick change of heart then." Lily laughed, and James marveled as the sun from the window danced across her red tresses.

"Erm…yeah, I suppose." To ease himself, James changed the subject to Quidditch, and they whiled away the minutes talking about who their favorite team was, their favorite player…James glanced at his watch and almost peed his pants when he saw that it was almost 12:00. He had 5 minutes before he changed back! Luckily, he'd brought with him a small hip flask, filled with Polyjuice Potion. He reached under his robes, pulled it out, and proceeded to unscrew the top.

"A hip flask?" Lily asked incredulously. "Since when have you used one of those?"

"Ahh, well, it's for my medicine…for my cold. And I have to take it like every hour or so, and so I decided to just use this." Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Alright then, old fashioned boy." James laughed and raised the hip flask to his lips. He was just going to pour some of the potion into his mouth, when a group of first years came scurrying by their table and knocked against his chair, making the potion fly across his mouth and chin.

"Damn!" James silently cursed, glaring at the third years. The scurried away from him, not even muttering a "sorry" or "are you alright?"

"What is that medicine?" Lily asked, grabbing some napkins and handing them to James.

"Erm…I don't know," he replied. "But it helps!"

"Hmmm…" James hastily wiped at his chin and mouth…Lily was smart enough to figure out it was Polyjuice Potion. He looked back in the hip flask and was dismayed to see that only a bit remained; he drank it quickly and grimaced as he felt it ooze down his throat.

"I might have to go back up to the castle and get some more," James said, reattaching the hip flask.

"Oh, I think you'll live," Lily replied. James didn't think he would; he had no idea how long the potion would sustain him.

"Would you like to go outside now?" Lily asked and James nodded.

"Sure."

Brandon sat up and rubbed his head. Where was he? Why was he so dark? He groped around, found a light switch, pulled it, and saw that he was in a closet. Fuming, he pounded on the door and was not happy to discover that it was locked. He groped in his pockets for his wand and let out a curse when it wasn't there.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" he bellowed. He continued to pound for a good ten minutes, when he finally heard the lock click. The door slid open and there stood Frank Longbottom, his wand out and a puzzled look on his face.

"Parkinson?" he asked. "What are you doing in there?"

"I have no idea," Brandon growled, wincing as he stretched his cramped leg muscles.

"Hmmm, well, would you like to head out to Hogesmade with Alice and I? We're going now."

"Where's Lily?"

"She left without you."

"What?"

"Yes, it's true," another voice replied, and Alice rounded the corner, "she went into Hogesmade with Sirius and Peter."

"WHAT?"

"James wasn't there," she replied quickly.

"Oh, well, still…"

"Would you like to come with us?" Frank suggested brightly.

"Oh yes…I'm coming."

They exited the pub and Lily shivered as a cold wind met them as they stepped out onto the street.

"It's pretty chilly," she murmured, and James nodded, "but it's so pretty." She sighed and glanced up at all the trees bearing their brilliant fall colors.

"Yeah," James agreed, "it is; and so are you." Lily turned and smiled at him, wrapping her arms around herself; she laughed softly.

"Why thank you." James couldn't believe it! He'd told Lily she was pretty and she hadn't yelled at him, glared at him, or…anything!

"Well, it's true," James persisted, his confidence growing as he saw they were approaching the shrieking shack. Lily giggled and James saw a slight blush creep into her cheeks.

"Well…I don't know what to say."

"You're too modest." Lily laughed again and shook her head.

"And you are?"

"I never said I was," James responded, stopping as they came up to the fence separating them from the Shrieking Shack.

"Have you ever been in there?" Lily asked.

"No," James lied, "have you?" Lily shook her head.

"Do you think it's really haunted?" They were facing each other now.

"No, do you?"

"No." They were very close.

"Then why do people say it is?" James asked.

"I don't know." Lily shrugged. "I suppose just to frighten people off."

"I suppose someone lived there once."

"Yes, they probably did." They were so close now, James could see the white lights that danced in Lily's eyes.

"Why would someone choose to live in a house like that?" she asked.

"Perhaps they didn't have enough money."

"Hmmm…perhaps." Lily placed her hand on his cheek.

"Or maybe they liked Hogwarts," James offered, his heart racing.

"Why?"

"Because…it was safe…or they had good memories from their time spent there." She leaned over and kissed him deeply, passionately. James wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, running his fingers through her hair, relishing the sensation of her touch; it was beautiful.

They broke apart and Lily looked up at him, her eyes gleaming; they were both breathing rather heavily. James kissed her again, softly, quickly, tenderly. A soft sigh escaped her lips and James laughed softly.

"Oh Brandon," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder; James, for a fleeting moment, thought about telling her who he really was. James ran his fingers through her hair, and whished fervently that this moment could last forever.

Suddenly, her body stiffened and she raised her head abruptly.

"What's wrong?" James asked, grasping her shoulders and looking at her face, which registered nothing but shock and surprise. James turned and felt his heart leap into his throat; there, not three feet away stood the real Brandon Parkinson, and not far behind him, stood Sirius and Peter, both with horror struck looks on their faces. James gulped and felt his knees begin to tremble.

"Brandon?" Lily asked, looking up at James. "What's going on?"

"Brandon! You call him Brandon?" Brandon cried, advancing quickly; Sirius and Peter followed at a safe distance. "I'm Brandon, Lily, not him!"

"What?" James felt his heart cleave at the confused look on Lily's face; he could tell she was really freaked out.

"Ok, both of you, tell me who you are, now!" Her voice was trembling.

"I'm Brandon!" Brandon yelled. "The real Brandon!"

"Prove it," Lily said softly.

"We only have to wait a bit, am I right? Another hour, and we'll find out!"

"Polyjuice Potion?" Lily asked, glancing up at James; he glanced at his watch.

"Hey! Look, he has a watch! And I don't!" Brandon pulled up his sleeve. "And he's not even denying it, Lily!" James opened his mouth and shut it quickly again; he didn't know what to say.

"Wow, isn't this weird," Sirius said, coming up with Peter in tow who's mouth was a wide O.

"Yeah, just a bit," James said, and he laughed nervously; the look on Brandon's face was one that could kill. James felt like he was drowning in his own nervousness.

"So, which of you, is the real Brandon Parkinson?" Lily demanded, surveying them both with her arms crossed.

"I AM!" James and Brandon both yelled in unison.

"This is just stupid…" Lily said. "I want the truth!" Sirius grunted and glanced quickly at James.

"Erm…we'd better go."

"Hey, look, Lily! His hair!" James felt his throat constrict. Gasping, he, Sirius, and Peter dashed past Brandon and ran down towards the street.

"NOT SO FAST!" Brandon yelled, flying after them; he was faster than all of them. Quickly, he caught up to James and tackled him; he tasted blood as they hit the street and rolled into a bed of flowers.

"GET OFF ME!" James yelled, not bothering to change his voice. Suddenly, Brandon let him go and leapt back in shock; James knew the transformation was complete.

"YOU!" he yelled, color rushing into his face. "YOU SLIMY TWO FACED JERK!" James glanced at Sirius who shook his head sadly and looked at him pitifully.

"Brandon, SHUT UP!" Brandon immediately stopped yelling at Lily's command. She hurried up to James and looked at him, completely aghast with horror.

"James?" she asked softly. "Why did you do that? You made me look like a complete fool!"

"I'm sorry, I just-" James started but Lily cut him off with a slap across the face; Peter gasped in horror.

"Wow…" Sirius murmured.

"Lemme handle him!" Brandon yelled, rolling up his sleeves.

"NO!" Lily yelled, her eyes blazing. James could've sworn her hair was emitting negatively charged particles. By now, a large crowd had gathered around them, including Olivia, but James didn't care. He had eyes only for Lily, who had tears streaming down her face.

"Lily!" Olivia cried warningly, but to no avail. She rushed James and hit low. With a groan, he sank to the ground.

"Ooooo…ouch!" Sirius murmured; Brandon started laughing.

"Would you-" But his laughter turned into a shout as Lily hit him as well; Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Nice job!" Lily glared at him.

"Why'd you do that?" Brandon moaned, rolling on the ground.

"You big baby!" Lily screeched. "You never liked me! You never did! The only reason you went out with me was to get back at Potter!"

"And that's the only reason you went out with me, you bitch!" Brandon screamed back. Lily raised her wand and a flash of light later revealed Brandon flying through the air and landing on his back in a rose bed; he emitted a screech of pain. With a final tearful glance at James, she burst through the throng of students that had now formed around them, and tore back up to the castle.

"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked, coming over and helping James to his feet.

"Yeah…I'm fine," James murmured.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

That night, the image that haunted James' sleep was of Lily's tear streaked one…so desperate…so lost…so angry….so loving; it was hopeless, he could never have her.

A/N: Ok so do you see that little toolbar in the bottom left hand corner of the screen? Click GO and REVIEW! As I said before, I WILL NOT post the next chapter until I hit 30 reviews TOTAl…30…come on you can do it!

Hope you enjoyed the latest installment!

Elise Bentwin