"James! Hello." I said, smiling.

"Is there any hope for another kiss?"

"James! I thought we were going to be friends! So don't bother me. Just because that…incident…occurred in the train doesn't mean I love you! So bug off!"

He shrugged. "Oh, well. It was worth a try, and I can wait a while."

Then there was loud clapping as a First Year, Danny Richardson, was made a Gryffindor. Along with the celebrating, James took this as an opportunity to hug me. I really didn't want to, but I slapped him on the cheek. I know. I can be mean sometimes. Lucky for James (and his ego) and me, nobody else noticed.

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After the dinner

I saw Malfoy in the halls as James and I were going to put our stuff away.

"Enjoy your summer…Mudblood?"

James frowned and lifted up his wand. He almost started to hex Malfoy.

"No, don't!" I stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Just leave me alone, Malfoy! Ten points from Slytherin for disrespect to Head Girl."

Malfoy looked shocked. James and I gestured towards our badges, making smoke almost come out of Malfoy's ears. (I saw that in a Muggle cartoon once.)

James and I walked away.

"Thank you, James, for what you did back there."

"Hey, friends have to stick up for each other, right?"

I smiled, already feeling stronger. "Yes."

Once Malfoy was out of my mind, I remembered the Sisterhood promise! Every year since First Year, Emma, Mary, and I all meet in a dorm on the first night. We each dare each other, and we all have to do something crazy within a week. Everybody gets one dare. The two other friends make up your dare for you!

"James…I'm going to leave as soon as I put my stuff away. I have to meet Emma and Mary."

"Oh, that's OK. I can take your stuff for you."

"Really? Thanks! You're such a gentleman. I'll see you later! Make sure you water my roses! Don't worry; you won't find those in the trash with all your other chocolates and gifts all through the years. James…I just wanted you to know that I'm completely sorry for throwing out all of your gifts! Do you forgive me?"

"Of course, Lily! I forgave you the second you did them." But I saw him smile for a fraction of a second, and I knew that me saying that meant more to him than the world. So, hey, what could I do? I hugged him and left.

"As a friend." I insisted. And, surprisingly, James didn't put on his you-know-you-want-me face. He just looked grateful, and leaned in to kiss me. "Not yet." I told him. "Your time will come."

"Again, thanks so much for putting my things away!"

"Is that worth a kiss?" he asked.

I laughed at him. (Kind of meanly, when I think about it.) But the words I said after probably helped. "All in good time, James. All in good time. You know? I feel like walking with you. But you can still carry my stuff." So I loaned him my arm and we walked to our suite.

The Sisterhood

As soon as I unpacked, I went to talk to Mary and Emma. We decided to skip the party, as we always did. We had way more important things on our minds.

"So, Lily, how's your room?" Mary asked.

"Well, I didn't get a chance to look around yet…but I will."

Emma and Mary giggled. "We already know our dare for you, Lily. Kiss James Potter by the end of the weekend and go out with him by the end of the month." Emma spoke for the two of them. Oh, the conniving evil witches! I would have to make sure to come up with especially horrible dares for the two of them!

Next, it was Mary's turn to leave the room. Emma and I actually went as far as cackling evilly. We did the whole flashlight-in-your-face-mwa-ha-ha thing. "Ooh! I have an idea!" Emma said. "Have her try out for the Quidditch team as Beater!"

"You're so evil!" I shouted, throwing a pillow playfully at her. "Besides, Mary is afraid of heights. Everyone will laugh at her."

"Think about it this way." Emma said with an evil look in her eye. "It's your chance at getting back at her!"

"Well…when you put it like that…" My defense was weakening, and I agreed.

"Let's tell her!" Emma said.

I called Mary into the room. She started screaming at us right away. "You cruel, evil beasts! How could you? I have to ACTUALLY try out for the Quidditch team???"

"Yes." I smirked. "It's my chance of getting back at you. And now…my chance to get back at Emma!"

Emma left the room. Mary and I spent a few moments in silence, thinking. "I've got it!" I yelled. "She kind of likes Sirius, right?"

"Yes." Mary confirmed.

"Well…make her kiss Sirius where everyone can see!"

"I like your style, Lily."

"Yes, well let's call her in!"

When Emma came into the room, she was quite overjoyed.

"Ooh! Do you like Sirius or something?" Mary asked.

"Well…" Emma blushed. "But besides that…I thought you two were going to make me kiss Peter!! That would have been worse."

After a while of extreme Muggle-style pillow fighting, I headed to my dorm. How could I stand facing James knowing I would have to kiss him by the end of the week? And go out with him by the end of the month?

I couldn't wait any longer. Muttering the password (Pink Polydectes), I walked in to my room. My jaw dropped. "Wow!"

I closely examined my surroundings. The plush carpeting of the "lobby" was at least two inches thick. There was a couch that looked so comfortable that even Professor McGonnogal could fall asleep on it. The couch (or loveseat as Emma would like to call it) was a deep shade of red, and the table in front of it was a beautiful brown that complimented the red nicely. There were candles on the table, along with…a white piece of paper?

I unfolded the paper and sat down on the couch. It was a note from James.

Lily-

I've gone for the Gryffindor party. I'll be back late, so don't worry or stay up waiting for me.

Love,

James

I smiled, then caught myself and frowned. Had James' "Love" actually make me smile? (This is the part where I start…in a weird way…arguing with myself.)

"You love him! Go out with him! Kiss him!" part of me said.

"He's James! Remember how arrogant he was – and stuck up, too? You should hate him! It's a big step already that you're his friend!" the other part said.

I chose to put both parts of me on hold—I would think about this later. I decided to explore. There were two doors. I opened one. It looked like a boy's room. I quickly closed it, not wanting to invade James' privacy. I opened the other door. The room was pretty, and definitely a girl's room. There was a large desk, a huge bookshelf, a 4-poster bed, and a few minor accents. But the room was decorated! The first thing I noticed was my rose, on the large desk. There were Muggle balloons all over the place! There was even a large banner. It changed every minute. One minute, it said, "Welcome to Hogwarts!" Then, it said, "I love you, Lily." Finally, "Will you go out with me? Love, James."

Oh. My. God.