A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed! And a special thanks to Colleen, for her lovely reviews, and YES, I am a huge Panic! fan, as you can tell from this chapter title as well. :) But I'm sad Ryan and Jon left. :(

Anyway, happy reading!

New Perspective

The day when the Meadowes and Lily were going to floo to the Potters came much too quickly for Lily's health. Though she didn't complain, Dorcas could tell that Lily was still annoyed by the idea, and so she kept up the encouraging. Dorcas took another look at Lily as they walked down the steps with their trunks packed for a weeks time. Maybe the whole playing Cupid deal wouldn't work out so great after all.

But the ball would be a perfect oppurtunity. That's when Dorcas would really try to get them to dance or something. Ah, who was Dorcas kidding? She really was way in over her head here. She didn't even know where to begin!

"Dorcas? You alright?"

Dorcas snapped out of it and looked to Lily, who was furrowing her brow at her worriedly. Dorcas smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in thought." she explained, shrugging.

They made their way to the living room where her parents were already waiting and as Mum and Dad got everything ready, Lily nudged Dorcas with a smirk.

"Hey, you look kind of worried," she noted, "Do you have a thing for James after all?"

"Ugh, no, don't make me puke!" Dorcas exclaimed, "I just - it's nothing."

Before Lily could question her further, her parents told them they were finally ready, and they gave each of the girls some floo powder.

"Ready to put up with James for a whole week, Lils?" Dorcas asked, grinning as she stepped into the fireplace.

Lily groaned. "Dorcas! Did you really have to do that? I was just starting to accept it!"

Dorcas laughed. "I'm kidding, Evans, cool it," she said, then lifted the floo powder and dropped it into the fireplace, exclaiming, "Potter Manor!"

Potter Manor? As in . . . an actual manor? Merlin, if she thought Dorcas' house was big, she in for it with Potter's house.

"Go ahead, Lily." Mr. John said, waving her in.

Lily stepped into the fireplace and yelled, "Potter Manor!", and threw the floo powder down. She was immediately tugged into the floo vortex, images passing before her eyes, the green flames dancing, her stomach churning - and then it stopped. She tumbled out of another fireplace, hopefully the Potters, and she let out a whoosh of breath.

"Lily! Thank Merlin you didn't floo somewhere else on purpose. I really thought you would for a moment." she heard Dorcas exclaim, and she knew she was in the right place.

Lily slowly got up, brushing herself off as she did, and muttered, "Yes, well, don't think it didn't cross my mind."

Then, she looked up and saw Dorcas there, grinning, but she also took in the enormity of James living room. Only his living room. Lily swore she could fit her entire house in it. Maybe even a three-story version of her house. It had such intricate detailing on every piece of dark wood furniture and many statues and other artifacts that Lily was afraid to touch. She soon heard the pounding of footsteps from the floor above and faint yelling of, "Dorcas is here, Sirius! I know you want to see her! Ugh, dear Merlin - get a shirt on for Christ's sake!"

Lily and Dorcas shared an exasperated look, but they couldn't pretend they weren't amused.

"Are they here already?" Lily heard Mrs. Potter - or so she guessed - ask.

Then, James' parents emerged from a room in front of them, and Lily immediately liked them for some reason. Mrs. Potter seemed to glow, her blue eyes shining and she had a brilliant smile on her face. She had her dark hair pulled back and had on what Lily would consider fancy clothes, but she had a feeling they weren't fancy for Mrs. Potter. Mr. Potter had dark hair that was graying and had James' hazel eyes. He was a muscular man for his age, and he didn't wear clothes quite as fancy as Mrs. Potter, but he had this classy air about him that would make Lily think he had power anyway.

"Oh, Dorcas, how lovely to see you again," Mrs. Potter said, coming forward to hug her, and then she beamed at Lily. "Oh, hello, Lily, it's so nice to meet you! You can call me Mrs. Susan, dear."

"We're happy to have you," Mr. Potter said in a booming voice, smiling at Lily as well. "Call me Mr. Ben, kiddo."

Lily smiled back and nodded. "Nice to meet you both. Thank you for having me."

"Oh, let me just get those to your rooms," Mr. Ben said, flicking his wand, and the trunks disappeared. "James will show you where you're staying when he comes down."

Luckily, there was no need for small talk, because at that moment Dorcas' mum and dad flooed into the Potter household. The Potter's went to go greet the Meadowes parents, leaving Lily and Dorcas to wait for James and - apparently - Sirius to come down the stairs.

"I didn't know Sirius was going to be here." Lily murmured to Dorcas.

"Neither did I." she said and didn't seem too thrilled at the thought.

Lily snickered, "It'll only be as bad as you make it."

Dorcas laughed despite herself. "I knew those damned words would come back to bite me arse."

They both chuckled and then they heard more pounding footsteps.

"Sirius, don't you dare drop that dungbomb up here, it'll smell for a week!"

"It's just a little welcoming prank - "

"Give it to me."

"No."

"Give it to me!"

"Nope!"

There was more running from the floor above and they peered up the staircase just in time to see the boys zoom by, James chasing after a laughing Sirius. The girls looked at each other and shrugged, starting to climb the stairs cautiously.

"Give it to me! Hey - don't drop it. Do not drop it! Don't - "

There was a loud smashing sound and Lily hoped desperately that Sirius hadn't dropped the dungbomb. The girls hurried up the steps and around the corner and found James had tackled Sirius and the dungbomb was rolling down the corridor into safety. Sirius groaned.

"Get - off." he grunted, trying to lift himself up.

James sat on Sirius' back and put his chin in his hands contentedly. "Nope."

"Get off, you prat!"

He paused. "No, I don't think I will."

The girls were having a hard time keeping it together, especially since the boys hadn't even realized they were standing there yet.

"I will jelly-legs jinx your ass, Potter!"

"Oh, I'm so terrified."

The girls finally lost it and started laughing uncontrollably, holding their stomachs. The two boys snapped thier heads to the side to look at the girls - Sirius doing so rather painfully - and they gaped. They'd already embarressed themselves in front of the girls they fancied and they hadn't even been there for five minutes.

Brilliant.

James stared. Lily Evans was in his house. Lily Evans was in his house. How - Why - What? What was she doing here?

"Evans?" James exclaimed, standing abruptly from Sirius' back.

"So lovely to see you two." Sirius grunted, standing up slowly with a pained grimace.

"Yes, we realized how happy you were to see us when we heard you wanted to throw a dungbomb at us," Dorcas said dryly, "That was just what we'd need as a welcoming gift."

"Yes, thanks for that." Lily added, still chuckling a bit.

"James!" Mrs. Susan yelled from downstairs. "Is everything alright up there?"

"Yeah, Mum, everything's fine!" James yelled back, still distracted by the fact that Lily Evans was only a few feet from his bedroom.

"Alright, well, show the girls where their bedrooms are!" Mr. Ben called.

"Brilliant idea!" Dorcas burst out, surprising all three of them. "Sirius, why don't you show me to my room?"

Lily looked at Dorcas like she was crazy. "Pardon?"

"Excuse me?" Sirius asked.

"Did you say 'Sirius' or . . . something else?" James asked, furrowing his brow.

Dorcas sighed. "I said Sirius. Come on, show me my room, Black."

Sirius smirked, put on his 'smolder', and drawled, "Is that an invitation, because - "

"Come. Show me. My room." she said through her teeth.

He sighed, walking over to her. "But I don't even know - "

"Would you shut it?" she hissed as they walked down the corridor, leaving the other two completely baffled. "This is part of the plan! Or have you already forgotten? You didn't tell James, did you?"

"No, no," Sirius said, although he did forget. But at least he didn't tell James. "Sorry. Won't happen again."

"Good." she grumbled.

They rounded a corner and Sirius started whistling. Dorcas glanced at him.

"Are you going to show me my room? Or are you just going to whistle?"

"I don't know where it is." he pointed out defensively.

She sighed, pushing her short blonde hair out of her face. "I'm guessing it's this one, since it's the one I stayed in last time I slept here overnight."

She opened the door and walked in. She guessed correctly, she presumed, considering her trunk was resting on the bed. Sunlight streamed through the three large windows on the opposite wall and Dorcas smiled - she loved this room.

Then, she turned and found Sirius sitting on her bed. She scowled.

"What are you doing?" she snapped.

He shrugged innocently. "Nothing." he said truthfully.

"Well, get out. Please."

"But I wouldn't want to disturb Lily and James." he pointed out, and she knew from the look on his face he was just trying to get her riled up.

She sighed and contemplated his point. "Fine. Stay, I don't care. Just don't talk."

"Alright." he said, shrugging and leaning back onto the bed with his hands behind his head.

She took her trunk off the mattress and went over to the armoire, starting to unpack her clothes. Sirius looked at her for a moment and then leaned his head back, closing his eyes. He really tried to be quiet, but then his more immature side won out.

"You excited for the ball?" he asked, smiling in anticipation for her reaction.

"Not especially." she muttered.

He cracked open one eye. "Why not? Don't all girls love that kind of stuff?"

"Guess that shows how much you know about me," she laughed, then continued, "Not all girls like that stuff, Sirius. I'd rather go to a Quidditch game or something. And the fact that it's supposed to be a distraction from reality really is just not right."

Sirius lifted his head and stared at her, now seeing her in a new light.

She really was perfect for him.

"Yeah." he said lightly, his realization finally quieting him.

XXX

Lily and James awkwardly stood there for a moment after their best friends rounded the corner, and not until James cleared his throat did Lily turn to face him again. Their last conversation together hung in the air and Lily could feel the tension weighing on her shoulders. She had to make the first move. She shouldn't have been so harsh, she realized that now.

"Potter, I - "

"Look, I'm really - "

Of course, Lily sighed in her head. James started to talk again, but Lily cut him off.

"Wait, just let me say this first," she said, and he nodded cautiously. "What I said that night was wrong. It wasn't just your fault, it was Severus', too. He's the one who made the choice to call me what he did, and I was out of line for yelling at you like that. I put all the blame on you and it wasn't fair. And I'm sorry."

There, she finally said it. Lily felt relieved - she knew she made the right choice in apologizing. James looked more relieved than her, and more than a bit surprised. Then, a troubled expression crossed his face.

"Thank you for the apology, Lily," he finally said, "but I don't deserve it. I was the one who provoked him, and I did indirectly ruin your friendship with Snape. And I'm sorry, too."

Lily stared for a moment. Merlin, James actually apologized? She never thought she'd see the day when Potter would swallow his pride and be the better person. But she guessed the day had come.

Maybe James Potter wasn't so bd after all . . .

No, no, she wouldn't go thinking like that. That would only lead to unwanted troubles, and Lily knew it was just easier to keep up the one-dimensional, banter-feuled relationship they had now.

But she smiled, so he knew she appreciated his apology, and nodded down the hall. "So, you going to show me my room?"

James nodded, and they started walking down the corridor. Lily's mind, for whatever reason, drifted to that morning's Daily Prophet. Two days ago, Winston Wilderbeast, a Muggle-born and student at Hogwarts, had been spared while Death Eaters had killed the rest of his family. Lily had been hit hard by this, and it made her paranoid about leaving her own family alone. Lily remembered how James' parents were Aurors and, as he opened the door to her room, she looked at him curiously.

"James?" she murmured, and he looked at her expectantly. "Your parents are Aurors, right?"

He frowned and nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Did you see the Daily Prophet this morning?" she asked quietly.

He seemed to realize what she was getting at and nodded.

"How bad is it really, James? I need to know."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Lily, I - " He was about to refuse, but upon seeing her expression again, he sighed and continued, "It's bad. Really bad. The Daily Prophet doesn't release half of what he's really doing. Muggle torture, all the murders - it's already terrible and it's getting worse. His followers are growing and the Aurors can't catch him. It's like he's a ghost. They don't even know what he looks like - no one who's seen him has lived to tell the tale."

Lily paled and leaned against the doorframe, her mind on her family. If they ever were murdered because she was a Muggle-born witch, she didn't know if she would be able to live with herself. It was the worst thing Lily could imagine happening to her.

"I'm sorry, I was too honest." he murmured.

"No, there's no such thing as too honest," she replied, looking up at him and forcing a smile. "Thank you for telling me the thruth."

He nodded, still troubled, and she brushed past him into her room. He took that as his cue to leave, and even though he didn't want to - even though he just wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay - he quietly closed the door and went to find Sirius.

XXX

James found him in Dorcas' room, but heard her and Sirius having a heated debate before he actually entered the room. He peered in and leaned against the doorframe, amused.

"The Holyhead Harpies?" Sirius exclaimed, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! You only like them because they're an all-girl team! Admit it"

"What? I do not! That is a ridiculous reason to like a team! I like them because my parents have always been fans, and - "

"Oh, please, the Falmouth Falcons would destroy them any day!"

"Ugh, you like the Falmouth Falcons? They're so barbaric!"

"That's not what liking a team's about, Meadowes - it's about the sport."

"That's not all it's about, you - "

James decided to intervene here because their volume levels were getting dangerously high, and he didn't want to disturb his parents. They thought the four of them were all smashing good friends. He knocked on the doorframe and raised an eyebrow when they both snapped their heads to him.

"Who do you like better, James, the Falmouth Falcons or the Holyhead Harpies?" Sirius asked, still talking rather loudly.

"Sirius, inside voice."

"Sorry."

James pretended to think, although he wasn't planning on picking a side. "I prefer the Chudley Cannons myself."

"Oh, gross!"

"That is pathetic, James!"

He was taken aback, and he exclaimed defensively, "What?"

Sirius scoffed. "I like the Holyhead Harpies more than the Chudley Cannons. The Holyhead Harpies, James!"

"They're just terrible," Dorcas exclaimed, grimacing. "What possessed you to be a fan of that team?"

James scowled and sucked in a breath to dive into a long explanation when his mother yelled from downstairs that it was time for dinner. They all looked at one another challengingly.

"We'll finish this later." Sirius finally proclaimed, standing slowly.

Sirius followed James out the door, but Dorcas stayed to finish up unpacking her things.

"Was that too overdramatic?" Sirius asked James, frowning thoughtfully.

"Just a tad."

"Right, I'll work on that."