To all my faithful readers:

I am dreadfully sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter out. I set aside time to be with my close friend of four years before she moved to Korea a few weeks ago. It's upset me quite a bit and I haven't felt like writing till now. I am currently at my music teacher's house, where I am overseeing the welfare of her home while she is away. I am extremely bored at the moment, and kind of creeped out to be staying in someone else's house overnight, so I decided to distract myself by writing the next installment. For the next two weeks I will be at camp, so I don't expect to get this out for awhile.

I think I have multiple personalities . . . well, writing-wise anyway. I must confess that my writing style is a lot better in this story than in Hate to Love Him. Hmm . . . interesting.

I have a confession to make: I have no idea where this story is going. I'm totally winging it.

I think that's it. Now, GET READING!

CHAPTER 4: GOOD MORNING

That night, I slept so well I could have sworn I had died. I only had one dream, and it revolved entirely around Lily. I won't fill you in on the details; you should be able to figure it all out. So, after about nine hours of uninterrupted sleep, I woke up with my face glued to the pillow. How I had managed to breathe during the night, I had no idea, because I wasn't doing a very good job of it at the moment. Feeling a sudden and urgent need for air, I promptly flipped myself over onto my back, took a deep breath, and rubbed my eyes. The sun was shining brightly through the window and it took awhile to adjust to the light. I lay there for a moment, trying to wake up and recall exactly where I was. I thought about the previous night and suddenly realized that today was the first day of the convention. Cursing inwardly, I tossed the sheets away from me, only to find that I was still fully clothed. How could I have slept like that? I stood up slowly, making sure not to fall over as I had done last night, and made my way over to a mirror that was hanging on the wall across from my bed. What I saw made me want to scream in terror. I looked like shit. My hair was standing up in as many directions as possible (not in the good way) and I looked rather peaky. What a shame. Good thing Lily wasn't awake to see me. I turned around and looked over at her bed. There she was, sleeping soundly, her hair fanning out in a fiery red halo around her head. She too was still fully clothed, which was slightly regrettable, but she looked so peaceful there, I didn't want to wake her.

Trying desperately hard to be as quiet as possible, I slowly tiptoed my way out of the bedroom and into the sitting area of our suite. Our trunks were still standing by the front door and a small stack of parchment lay on the floor underneath the mail slot. Why would we have mail? I walked slowly to the door and picked up two letters, reading the address labels on the envelopes. Both were the same:

Miss Lily Evans and Mister James Potter

Room 317

Harrington Hotel

London

Frankly, I was a bit confused. Normally, I would have found something like this quite exciting, but it was too early and I am definitely not a morning person. Shrugging, I walked over to the nearest sofa and opened the first letter.

Dear Miss Evans and Mr. Potter,

Last night, I received word that there had been a mistake with the registration of your rooms at the hotel. I am writing to send my apologies and those of the Headmaster. I, having very limited knowledge of the muggle world, did not properly understand the guidelines of hotel rooms. I automatically assumed they'd find you both a suite. Again, I am so very sorry for any problems I have caused you. If there is anything I can do, please feel free to owl me.

Regards,

Professor McGonagall

Ha ha. I smiled to myself as I refolded the letter and placed it back into its envelope. So Professor McGonagall was the cause of all our problems? I was going to make sure I kept this little note for future blackmailing and guilt trips if she ever felt the need to give me a detention again. I laughed to myself before my attention fell onto the second bit of parchment. This letter looked slightly more official than the previous one, and I was a tad unnerved as I opened it. Carefully, I pulled out the contents, only to find a small bit of blue parchment covered in swirling script.

The International Wizarding Convention

To: Miss Lily Evans

and Mister James Potter

of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Dear Attendees,

Because of recent events involving the work of He Who Must Not Be Named, we regret to announce the convention you are scheduled to attend will be postponed until Tuesday, April 22 for security purposes. Please feel free to explore the city and get to know the other visitors to the convention, all of whom are staying on your level. I am sorry for any inconvenience. We look forward to seeing you in one day's time.

Best Wishes,

Helen Gawshik

Program Organizer, International Wizarding Convention

So this convention wouldn't even begin until tomorrow? I couldn't possibly explain how happy I was at the moment, although my attitude toward the situation was probably not entirely proper, seeing as how it involved one of the darkest wizards of our time. I wondered what could have possibly happened that would have caused the convention to be postponed. Nothing extremely bad, I would assume. We would have gotten word from someone if anything was a threat to our safety. No, this was probably some empty threat made by one of his wannabe followers against some worker at this blasted convention…nothing bad. At any rate, I wasn't complaining. I could go back to bed now. I looked up at the clock to see what time it actually was-- 9:45 AM. We should have been at the convention an hour ago. I was surprised Lily hadn't come bolting out of the room screaming at the top of her lungs that we were late.

Hold the phone, I spoke too soon.

At that precise moment, as if reading my mind, she came screeching out of the bedroom, her sock-covered feet slipping wildly over the marble floor.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She screamed as she looked frantically around the room. Suddenly, she locked eyes with me, and I immediately stopped laughing...something I couldn't help but do when I saw her almost fall flat on her ass.

"Potter! Do you know what time it is? We're late! Bloody hell, it's the first day and already I am leaving a bad impression! Oh my God, what am I going to do?" She continued to run around the room, trying to gather up her clothes. "I don't even have time for a shower! I look horrible…and my hair!" She screeched as she flew to a mirror positioned over the mini bar. Yeah, so her hair looked a little crazy–well, more like a bird had made a nest in it– but I was willing to deal with it.

"Lily!" I said loud enough for her to hear above her insane muttering. She flew up from her trunk, which she was currently standing over, and glared at me.

"What?" She growled. Obviously she wasn't much of a morning person, either.

"Come over here and sit down," I said, half laughing, motioning for her to sit on the couch next to me. That probably wasn't a good idea. She looked really mad.

"Potter, this is not a time for games! We are late! Don't you understand me?"

"I do understand you. It's just, well . . . they postponed the convention. We aren't going today." I said, slightly frustrated that she wasn't even trying to listen to me. She just stood there for a moment with a blank expression on her face, which transformed quickly into a scowl.

"James Potter, if you think you can fool me into skipping an entire day of this convention to do God knows what with you, you've got another thing coming," she said as she straightened up and put both hands on her hips.

"I'm not trying to do anything, Lily. See for yourself. I have the letter right here. I guess we received it this morning." I said, picking up the letter and waving it in the air. Hesitantly, she walked over to where I sat, stood right in front of me, and yanked the letter out of my hand.

"This better not be a trick, or I swear I will make sure you won't have any children." I'm pretty sure she saw my sudden nervousness and the huge gulp of air I took, because she smiled as she walked over to the end of the sofa I was sitting on and plopped down on the very edge. I watched her face as she scanned the page. Her forehead began to relax and the pink tint on her cheeks was fading. After she finished reading the letter, she looked back up at me, her face a mess of confusion.

"What does this mean, James?" She asked. I sensed the worry in her voice.

"I guess it means He did something. I don't think it would be anything big, or we would have received an owl from Dumbledore or someone. It's not anything to worry about, Lily." I tried to be comforting. I don't know if it worked. This was always a touchy subject with Lily--probably because she was muggle-born. I wouldn't blame her. We sat there in silence for a while before I mumbled something. It came out before I could stop myself.

"I think your hair looks nice."

She turned and looked at me and then . . . she laughed.

"Are you kidding me, James? Whoa. I think you need to go back to bed. You're delirious. I'm a mess," she said as she shook her head and looked down at her lap.

"I was being serious, Lily." She was quiet for a moment.

"Can you try being just a little more awkward?" She asked sarcastically. When I said nothing, she stood up off the couch. "Well, I think I'll go take a shower now. Maybe you'll be a bit more you when I come back."

I put on a smile and laughed, although it was still mildly depressing that she didn't take me seriously. We'll just have to work on that, I thought. She walked around the couch behind me, making sure to scruff my hair as she walked by. What came over her, I had no idea.

When she got to the doorway of the bathroom, she turned around. "Oh, and James--I think your hair looks nice, too." She pulled a small compact mirror from one of her bags and threw it at me. When I saw myself in the reflective glass, I couldn't help but laugh. I looked like I had been electrocuted. She let out a small giggle before closing the door.

◦◊○◊◦

I was left to my knitting while little Miss Evans pampered herself in the shower. It was rather boring, I must confess. I spent most of my time eyeing a big black box with a glass front that was sitting inside the armoire. It had a lot of buttons on it and two pointy wires sticking up out of the top. I had heard about this kind of thing from Lily . . . something called a televisor I think. But whatever it was didn't work and that just made me even more confused then I already was.

I turned to the mini bar for an answer to my problems. Booze always made me feel better. The alcohol was definitely different from the wizarding kind—no firewhiskey, no butterbeer, no nothing. I had heard that Muggle alcohol was stronger than the stuff I was used to and I sure wanted to find out. But, I contained myself. That was for tonight. Tonight, when I would get Lily drunk and tell her that I loved her. Yes, it would be perfect.

A noise from behind my left shoulder wakened me from my thoughts and I turned to see Lily standing there with a towel wrapped around her head. She was wearing a bathrobe (a surprisingly skimpy one, mind you) and her face was still slightly wet. I couldn't help it. I just stared at her. She scoffed when she saw me gazing idiotically and strode over.

"Potter, honestly. Stop it. Get in the shower. You look awful." She said as she pushed me towards the bathroom door. Well, that made me feel a lot better.

"Fine, Evans. But I do suggest you get out of that robe and into some clothes, before I get any ideas." I said sarcastically, even though I halfway meant it.

"Excuse me, Potter?" She said angrily. She was blushing. I loved to make her blush.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing. I'll go now, before you have a hernia." I moved quickly before she could come up with a clever retort, grabbed my things, and headed straight to the bathroom. Just as I reached for the doorknob, she called out to me.

"Remember our agreement, James?" Damn. I pushed it too far. I hesitated for a moment before nodding my head slightly, not bothering to face her, before walking through the door and closing it behind me.

◦◊○◊◦

I was probably in the shower for at least thirty minutes. What can I say? A man like me needs his relaxation time. I stood there with the water running over my back, reflecting on the past few days and planning what today had in store. Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door and Lily's muffled voice came floating in.

"James! You've been in there for forty-five minutes. Either you've died or you're just ignoring me. Get out! I need to fix my hair!" I rolled my eyes--women and their bathroom time.

"Fine, fine! I'll be right out!" I yelled loud enough for her to hear me. The water was getting cold anyway. I quickly turned the knob and the water stopped running. It was so quiet now I could actually hear her mumbling to herself.

I pulled back the shower curtain and stepped out onto the cold floor, almost immediately slipping and falling on my bare ass.

"Shit!" I said as I hit the floor. Luckily I had managed to catch myself so I wouldn't receive a full blow to my bum. It didn't really hurt that bad. I slowly got up, making sure not to slip anymore, and made my way to the towels. I wrapped one around my waist, walked cautiously towards the door, and opened it.

"James, I swear you're just like a girl..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at me. She was standing only a few feet away from the door holding the towel that was wrapped around her hair earlier. She'd changed into a tank top and some shorts and her hair was curling quickly. I quirked an eyebrow as her jaw dropped and then smiled as she suddenly realized she was staring. Yeah, that's right Lily. I have great abs.

"Like what you see?" I said playfully as I posed for her. She immediately folded her arms across her chest and squinted her eyes, trying to hide the fact that once again, her cheeks were taking on a pink hue.

"Please, Potter. You just surprised me, that's all. You got out of there rather quickly." She was avoiding eye contact with me.

"Yes, I did. Just so Princess Lily can fix her hair. It's all yours. Oh, but be careful on the floor. It's a little slippery." I said as I tenderly rubbed my bum.

"Yeah, I'll be careful." She grabbed her stuff and went into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. I walked over and sat down on the couch, turning so that I could see over the back and watch Lily in the bathroom.

"You know," I said. "We are going to be stuck here for an entire day. You want to do something? Go somewhere? Explore the city?" I said, quoting the letter we received earlier.

"Hmm. Go somewhere. Do something. Explore the city…with you? Let me think about that one." She said sarcastically as she looked at me in the mirror, stopping dead in the process of pulling her hair back.

"Oh, come on Lily! You said you'd give me another chance. Believe me, it'll be fun." I said dramatically. It would be fun. I would make sure of it.

"And what exactly would we do on this outing?" She said innocently. Suddenly, my mind was filled with naughty thoughts of me and Lily doing things in a dark alleyway, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I don't know. We could get some lunch...walk around...shop." I made sure to put particular emphasis on that last word. It worked. She smiled.

"Shopping sounds really fun for me… but you're a guy. You don't want to go shopping." She said, trying to not sound disappointed.

"Okay…I'll make it sound manlier, then. We could go 'purchase items for the purpose of enjoyment and public decency'. That better?" She giggled. "There's tons of crazy things to look at. And I've never really been around London before." I'd hardly ever visited London. Most of my time was spent in the wizarding town I lived in. "Plus, this would be a great opportunity for me to brush up on my Muggle Studies skills." I added as an afterthought.

"Since when have you been interested in Muggle Studies?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Since I met you." She ignored that comment and kept talking. What? I wasn't going lie to her….

"Well, we could go to lunch for starters. I have a good place in mind. Mum used to take me there when I was younger." She smiled, obviously reminiscing on the olden days.

"Sounds great to me."

"Yes, James, it does. But first, I suggest you get out of that towel and into some clothes, before I get any ideas." She winked as she looked at me through the mirror and then rolled her eyes. So now she's quoting me. What's this girl getting at? Flirting…fine, then it's not breaking our agreement if I play along.

"Oh, you don't want to see me in just a towel anymore, Miss Evans?" I said huskily. She laughed and turned to finish her hair. I decided I should probably get up and get dressed, so she wouldn't have to wait on me.

◦◊○◊◦

Fifteen minutes of deciding which shirt to wear, what pants to put on, and trying but failing to fix my untamable hair left me standing at the front door with Lily.

"Ready?" She asked. She'd changed while I was in the bedroom. She was wearing a lovely green blouse that brought out the color of her eyes even more than usual (it also had quite a low neckline), and a pair of jeans that looked excellent on her, if I do say so myself.

"Ready." I opened the door for her, and we stepped out into the hallway and onto the lift.

This was going to be one hell of a day...

Hey, guys!

Wow. I know I said I would get this chapter out soon after I finished chapter 3, but as you can see from the above note, I have been quite busy. This chapter took me a grand total of three days to write. I'm not too proud of it. I don't feel like I got into character for this one. Hopefully, you all will enjoy it, though. Author's worst critics are often themselves. So, that's pretty much all I can say. Again, I am sorry to keep you waiting! Thanks for all the reviews. I would really appreciate more! I WILL have the next chapter written, edited, and posted within the next week

--Emily