NOTICE: I updated this chapter on November 7, 2006! If you haven't read it since then, please do so.

Hello, all you wonderful people!

Wow, it's been forever. I've missed this so much. I've thought about writing every single day, but I never have time. School is sucking, but when does it not? College chemistry is kicking my butt from here to Timbuktu, and Statistics isn't any better. This chapter is the result of weekends of work, and I'd like to consider it my baby.

I am so sorry that it's taken so long to update. I know I'm "an evil person" as one reviewer so blatantly put it, and I couldn't agree more. I am evil. Hahaha. But now, all of you have got the update you've all been waiting ever so patiently for and I really hope you enjoy it. The chapter title might change. I wasn't feeling very creative when I came up with it, but it's a word I use all the time. Well, it's not really a word . . . I don't think, but you get the idea. Okay, I'm done. Now, read!

This chapter is dedicated to you all, once again, because you've had to put up with my crazy schedule as well. Thanks for sticking with me.

Also, if you don't have a account and would like to receive notices on updates, please either leave a review giving me your email address, or email me at Thanks!

CHAPTER 7: CONFUZZLED

In the realm of my unconsciousness, I had somehow managed to find myself in the dark and desolate hallway outside the room of our hotel. It had taken on a whole new life compared to the warm, inviting walk it had been earlier. It was cold, and only the flickering light of a lone candle at the end of the corridor guided me as I felt myself begin to move. I wondered vaguely why I seemed to be floating on air instead of walking like a normal person, but those thoughts left my mind as I suddenly stopped in front of a door. The brass script reflected the dull flame of the candle ever so slightly, the numbers "317" illuminating against the mahogany wooden panel--the door to my room. Once again, my body began to move involuntarily. I suddenly felt the cool metal or the doorknob on my palm, and the muscles tighten as I twisted it. The door opened slowly, as if I was in some kind of mystery movie. You know, the ones where the detective opens the door and walks right into the trap of the creepy bad guy? Yeah, it was like that, only I wasn't scared at all. In fact, I felt completely safe as I glided inside the dark hotel room. I was searching for something, longing for it. The problem was, I had no idea what it was.

As I stepped over the threshold, an eerie silence laced itself over my ears. I couldn't see a thing; the suite was completely dark. Not even the glow of the streetlights shown in through the window. Yet, I felt completely comfortable, completely safe. I stood in what seemed to be the sitting room for a moment, praying that my eyes would adjust to the darkness and I would be able to see where I was going. Unfortunately, it seemed that there was no way in hell I would be able to see anything. So, I gave up on trying to see, and opened my mouth to speak. But even as I parted my lips, I knew there was no hope. I had seemed to have gone mute. No matter how hard I tried to talk, my voice was nowhere to be found. And this is where I began to feel hopeless. Suddenly the air around me became thin and cold. My lungs were quickly growing heavy and a piercing pain filled my chest. I felt like I was drowning, and at that moment, I panicked. I tried to move, to get out of the room and get back to the hallway. Maybe I would be safe there. I had as much success moving my feet as I had trying to speak and see. It was impossible. I was going nowhere. I looked around desperately, trying to feel around for anything in my small circle of mobility. Nothing. For a few more moments, I held onto some distant hope that I would find myself out of this hell. Then, I gave up and remained still, assuming that there was no hope left in my world. I stood there, not knowing where I was or what was going to happen next, when a small bead of light appeared several feet in front of me. It was a warm and welcoming sight, and I couldn't contain my joy as a small smile crept onto my lips. I was free. An overwhelming calm rushed over me again, and as the bead of light crept slowly closer, that sense of weightlessness came back. It was then that I heard a voice.

"Lily," a man's voice, full of pure relief and happiness. This made me smile even more. As the small bead of light grew more intense, it illuminated the face of the man I had loved for so long.

"James," I sighed in relief. I was happy to find that my voice had returned as I looked upon his handsome features. The glow emanating from the tip of his wand cast a warm light on his skin and made his hazel eyes sparkle brilliantly. He smiled at me before stepping forward and closing the gap between us.

"I thought I had lost you. When I woke up, you had gone." He frowned slightly as he said this, raising a hand to my cheek and gently touching my face with his fingertips.

"Shh. I'm here now, James. Don't worry," I said as I placed a finger on his lips. He took his hand from my face and wrapped his arm around me, placing it on my lower back and pulling me even closer to him. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment, reading each other, before James leaned down and kissed me. No words could describe how much love he put into that kiss, and how much passion we felt for each other. It was pure magic. Slowly and grudgingly, we parted. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested the side of my face on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling his chest rise and fall with every breath. He ran his fingers through my hair as his chin rested on the top of my head.

"I love you so much, Lily." I felt myself smile at his words.

"I love you too, James." I had found what I was looking for...

Beep, beep, BEEP!

Damn it.

I was suddenly awakened by the most obnoxious sound on earth– the alarm clock. Wait…that was all just a dream? But it felt so real...

Groggily, I rolled over and stuck my hand out, feeling around for the "snooze" button without bothering to open my eyes, but immediately realized I was laying on something rather hard. I wondered for a moment if I had managed to roll off my bed during the night and was currently on the floor, but whatever I was lying on was certainly more comfortable than carpet. I figured I was imagining things and I was too lazy to even thinking of opening my eyes. Unfortunately, I hadn't even found the alarm clock when I felt whatever I was lying on begin to move. Wait, what? MOVE!?

I immediately opened my eyes, and what I saw terrified me–his face, merely inches from my own.

"AHHHH!" I screamed as I sat upright in the bed. What the hell was going on!?

At that precise moment, a very panic-stricken and terrified James Potter quickly sat up in the bed as well, a little too fast it seemed, and our heads collided painfully.

"Shit!" He cursed as he fell back onto his pillow, grasping his forehead. I, on the other hand, had scrambled to the foot of the bed, trying to keep the room from spinning and figure out what WAS GOING ON! I had been laying on him! We were IN BED together. What?

"What are you doing in my bed, Potter?" I growled. It was at that moment that I realized I had a monster headache. Damn, that James Potter had a hard cranium.

He was groaning and rolling around slightly. Obviously, our collision had hurt him a little as well. Poor baby. Wait, was I feeling sorry for him? Eww. What was wrong with me?

"What do you mean, Evans? I think the question I need to ask you is 'what are you doing in my bed?'" He spoke through clenched teeth. What? His bed? The nerve!

"What the fuck? Potter, I wouldn't get into bed with you if it was the only thing saving my life!" I was practically screaming at him, which was just making my headache worse.

You need to calm down, Lily. Just take some deep breaths and calm down…

No! I won't calm down. That bastard's in my bed!

My bed…with me in it. Together…hell no.

Suddenly, my mind flooded with horrible thoughts. What exactly happened last night? My face grew hot as I looked at James. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and the covers were hiding his... um, bottom half. Was he naked?

Oh my god.

Was I naked?

My hands immediately flew up to my breasts, and I was happy to feel the thin fabric of my tank top covering me. Praise Merlin I wasn't nude!

I was so absorbed in my own thoughts I didn't even realize that James was now sitting up in the bed, leaning against the fabric-covered headboard and staring at me with an amused expression on his face. The look in his eye suggested that he wished his hands were where mine were at the moment and I immediately dropped them into my lap, my face growing hotter with every second.

"What are you looking at?" I was very upset with him at the moment, and I still hadn't figured out what was going on. He simply shrugged.

"Oh, nothing." I rolled my eyes. My frustration was mounting.

"Again, I ask you: What are you doing in my bed?" I decided not to yell, because that headache of mine was not letting up. Instead, I used my intimidating death stare.

"Lily, for the last time, I'm not in your fucking bed. Yours is over there." He motioned to his right, wincing slightly at my expression, as I slowly turned my head. I knew I was wrong the moment he said it, but when I saw the undisturbed white sheets and comforter of the queen-sized bed next to the one I was currently on, I felt all the color drain from my face. I couldn't look back at him. It was way too embarrassing. I could feel his eyes boring into me and I knew I had to face him. I couldn't let him get the satisfaction of defeating me. So, of course, I did. I looked him straight in the eye, and what did he do? He started smirking at me.

Smirking.

So what did I do? I leaned forward, grabbed my pillow, and chucked it at his face as hard as I could. God, I hope it hurt him.

But I was wrong. He was still smiling, and as only James Potter would do, he reached behind him and grabbed his own pillow.

"Is that how you want to play, Lily?" He said as he waggled his eyebrows. Then, without any time to react, he hit my stomach with the pillow. Suddenly, I wasn't upset with him anymore. Well, I was a little, but I could get that all out by hitting him repeatedly with my newfound weapon.

"Oh, Potter. It's on." I shrieked as I jumped off the bed and grabbed the pillow I had been hit with seconds earlier. He followed my lead and bent over the bed to retrieve his weapon. Taking advantage of his position, I ran up behind him and whacked him on the back, pushing him over the edge of the bed and making him fall to the floor. I laughed loudly.

"Whatcha gonna do about that one, Potter?" I asked in a singsong voice.

I saw his messy excuse for hair pop up over the edge of the bed as he exclaimed, "Oh, you're going to regret that one, Lils!"

In one swift motion, he stood up and came running toward me. Instinctively, I began swishing my pillow back and forth in front of me to try and block him, but as he started hitting me with his, I began to inch closer and closer to the wall. In a few seconds, he had me flat against it; I was still thrashing away with my pillow but growing extremely tired by the minute. In one last futile attempt, I raised it over my head, poised to strike. He was too quick for me, though. I one swift motion, he had grabbed my wrist with one hand, taken the pillow out of mine with the other, and pinned me between himself and the wall. I was laughing like crazy, completely forgetting that my head was about to split open from my migraine, and how I was growing weaker by the second. Quickly, I began to realize how close we were to each other and flashes of my dream were now creeping into my mind. I stopped laughing. I could feel his breath on my cheek as he looked at me. We seemed to be staring each other down. With my hand still pinned against the wall above my head by James's, he began to lean closer. Oh my god, this couldn't be happening. He was about to kiss me, and I was about to let him! No!

"You know James, we should probably start getting ready. First day of the convention and all!" I said nervously, turning my head to the side and pretending to find something interesting on my hand. I couldn't give in like that. He was James Potter for chrissake! My arch nemesis, my enemy by fate. Why was I falling for him? God.

He let go of my wrist and my arm flopped down to my side.

"You're right. How about you go take a shower. I'll get some breakfast." He sounded disappointed and he wasn't looking at me.

"Yeah, okay. That sounds good."

Can you say, "awkward"?

Quickly, I gathered my things from my luggage chest and made my way to the bathroom, where I spent the next twenty minutes in the shower, contemplating what had just happened. Part of me had wanted that kiss, longed for it. That disappointed me. What was happening? Was I forgetting all my morals, all the promises I had made myself? I couldn't just go gallivanting around, falling for any guy who looked my way. And why was I after Potter of all people? He was a total smartass. I shook my head and muttered to myself, "Lily, get a grip."

After I got done with my shower, I got dressed, put on a little mascara and lip-gloss, and decided to let my hair go natural. With a touch of curl cream and a few bobby pins, my look was completed. I glanced at the clock in the bathroom: 6:45 AM. We would be at the convention in two hours. I was getting nervous. What would it be like?

I gathered up my clothes and shower stuff and walked out into the sitting room. James was sitting on the sofa reading an old Daily Prophet, his glasses propped lightly on his nose. He looked so, I dunno, mature or something sitting there. For a moment, I felt like we were some kind of married couple, but then snapped back to reality and mentally cursed myself for being so stupid.

"Hey, Lily. Enjoy the shower?" He smiled up at me. He seemed to be pretending that none of the morning's events had happened. He was probably just as embarrassed by it as I was. So, I decided if he could pretend to forget, so could I.

"Yes."

"I called room service. They'll be sending up breakfast in about twenty minutes. If you don't mind, I think I'll take a shower now." He leaned across to the coffee table and put down the newspaper before standing up and walking to his trunk.

"Oh, that's fine, James, just fine." I couldn't help but watch him as he gathered his day's dress and toiletries. What was going on in that mind of his?

"See you in a few," he said before closing the door to the bathroom. I listened as he turned the faucet on and heard the rings of the shower curtain scrape across the rod as he pulled it back. There was nothing to do, so I just sat down on the same couch James was on only moments before and read his newspaper. Fifteen minutes later and a fully dressed and amazing gorgeous-looking James stepped out of the bathroom.

"Food here yet?" He asked as he scuffed his hair with a towel.

"Um, no. Not yet." I was still deeply enchanted by the Daily Prophet. I looked up at him as he smiled.

"Interesting issue, right? Now I understand the reason I kept it." Mostly, this issue contained information on the Quidditch World Cup, which I didn't find particularly interesting, but I nodded all the same.

"Oh yes. Very interesting." Suddenly, the doorbell buzzed loudly, making me jump slightly. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Room service!" Someone called through the wooden boundary. James motioned me to stay put after I'd made an effort to move, and bounded toward the doorway. From my place on the sofa, I spied a man dawned in a crimson uniform pushing a wheeling tray of food into the entryway.

"Thank you." I heard James say, and I listened as the sound of coins clinked into a tip jar on the cart.

The smell of ham, croissants, and omelettes filled the air as James brought a large tray of yummy goodness to our dining table. I was starving.

I sat down across from James, who was setting the table with our entrees, two glasses of juice, two napkin rolls with silverware inside, and a cute little vase of flowers. It all looked so enticing, I got all giddy.

"Oh, James. This looks wonderful!" I smiled as I unwrapped my silverware and placed the napkin in my lap.

"Yup," he said as he did the same.

Soon, we were chowing down on our food as if it was the first meal we'd had in weeks. The food was absolutely delicious, but something was pressing hard on my mind.

"James, what exactly happened last night?" My headache had reminded me of earlier and for some reason, I didn't think this headache was from our collision.

"What? You don't remember?" He looked nervous. He knew something. Something happened.

"No, I don't. What happened?"

"Um, well . . . what do you remember?" He glanced up at me as he took a sip from his glass. You're fishing, James Potter. Fishing.

"I remember running in the rain . . . with you. After that, it gets a little fuzzy." I shrugged.

"Well, you had a little to drink."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, and gave him a 'I don't think so' look. He noticed.

"Okay, so you had more than a little to drink. Actually, you had quite a lot." He started grinning, as if he knew something I didn't.

"And?"

"And what, Lily? You got drunk. You danced a little bit . . . not dirty!" He said as my mouth fell open.

"Did I do anything . . . rash?" I was really nervous. I didn't think he would have told me if I had done anything . . . if we had done anything, even if I paid him a million galleons.

"Lils, I would tell you if you did anything...if we did anything. You didn't. We certainly didn't." I could tell he was lying through his teeth.

"You're lying through your teeth, James Potter!" I said as I pointed at him.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Lily, no."

"Whatever, James. If I did do anything, which I'm pretty sure I did because I can read you like a book, just remember it meant nothing. I was drunk, okay? It meant nothing!"

"Yeah, Lils. But you didn't do anything."

"Whatever."

We continued to eat the rest of our meal in silence. It was now 7:30 AM. In precisely one hour and fifteen minutes we would be at this blasted convention and I would finally have something to occupy my mind and scratch all thoughts of James Potter and the naughty things we no-doubtedly did last night from my head.

After breakfast, we walked to the entryway. It was still raining outside, so James gathered our coats and was enough of a gentleman to help me put mine on. He held open the door for me, and I nodded, making my way into the hallway. I had made it halfway to the elevator when I heard James run up beside me, and felt a hand lace its fingers with mine. I looked up at him, and noticed the smile he had on his face. I should have let go, but for some reason, walking hand in hand with James felt more right than anything in the world.

Holy crap.

Well, I hope you all loved it, once again! I've spent so much time on it, having rewritten it six times in different tenses, with different ideas. Gosh, I can't believe I've finished this sucker. I'm sure there will be someone who will ask, "Like, are they together now or something? Like, for real?!" I'll answer this right now. NO. I just left this open, and I liked the idea of the holding hands deal. So yeah...now on to chapter 8. Haha, at the rate this is going, I'll see you all next year! REVIEW PLEASE!

Love always,

Emily