Waking up the next morning was difficult. Mary, Marlene, and Lavina had all spent the night in addition the Marauders and Lily. Mary and Marlene were supposed to be in guest bedrooms scattered across the house but had opted instead to spend the night with the others in the sitting room between the bedrooms.

They had spread sleeping bags around the fire in the center, grinning after the party had ended at 2:00 AM. Lavina had decided to sleep in her own bed for beauty's sake but the others were curled up around the fire, talking long into the night.

The debris lay scattered around the room; half eaten marshmallows and empty Butterbeer bottles bore silent witness to the festivities. A sock without its mate lay forgotten in a corner.

Lily woke up before everyone else and was surprised to see she was face to face with James Potter. Their sleeping bags had been placed beside each other with considerable space between but during the night they must have rolled towards each other a few times. With a small contented sigh, she gazed at him.

His hair fell messily onto his pillow; his glasses in front of it, out of reach should he roll a few more times. His chest rose and fell with each breath. Lily smiled as his eyes fluttered open, looking at her a bit unfocusedly.

James fumbled for his glasses, putting them on and then looking at her again. "What are you staring at?" He asked. "Have I got drool on my face or something?"

Lily shook her head. "Nope, you're perfect." Her arm flew to cover her mouth.

"Perfect?" James looked at her with an amused expression. "How drunk are you, Kooks?"

"Not at all," Lily retorted.

James laughed quietly before reaching into his pocket. "Here," he said, pulling out a small box. "Open it now, before the others wake up."

Lily took the box curiously from him. She looked at him before opening it slowly.

Inside laid two objects. The first was a phoenix's feather quill, one of the rarest to own. Upon the tip was engraved a small lily flower.

The other object was a gold charm dangling upon a golden chain. It was a small locket with an engraving inside.

To my beautiful Kooky,

All my love,

Your Smuggy

Lily laughed when she read it, holding it close to her heart. With a wide smile, she looked at him. "You shouldn't have, James."

"It's nothing, Lily."

"It's more than nothing." She looked at him. "Will you help me put it on?"

James nodded, taking the chain from her hand. She swept her hair up as he scuffled with the chain for a moment before clasping it around her neck.

"How does it look?" She asked.

"Perfect," he replied softly.

Lily smiled. "Thank you so much James, for everything." Slowly, she reached out her hand to him, lying back down into her sleeping bag.

James mimicked her, lying down on his. He held her hand tightly and they both drifted off to sleep again.

The morning drifted quickly into afternoon and soon the entire set was awake and cheerful, laughing as they exchanged gifts.

Lavina looked on smugly as she held on to James's gift to her, a small golden mirror with her name etched in the gold and a small diamond on the 'i'. "Eet eez lovely, James. Merci beaucoup!" She smiled at him widely. "What did you git?" Lavina asked Lily, looking at her complacently.

Lily looked at James, who shrugged with a small half smile. Lily took the quill and showed her.

"Ooh 'ow lovely." Lavina's smile widened. "A quill eez vairy useful."

"Oh yes, definitely." She pulled on the chain around her neck. "Oh and he got me this."

Lavina gasped when she saw the necklace. "James, your kindness eez too much! Zat eez ze most stunning necklace I 'ave ever seen!"

Lily beamed at her, pulling it back out of her reach. "The mirror is lovely too," she said kindly.

Lavina rolled her eyes but refrained from speaking.

"So what are the plans for today?" Remus asked from his perch upon one of the armchairs.

"Quidditch?" Sirius suggested. "There're eight of us here. Four per team without a Seeker."

"Sounds good," James nodded. "Who're the Captains?"

"How about the girls?" Peter suggested after being poked in the ribs by Lavina.

"Brilliant." Sirius turned to them. "Which two want to be Captains?"

The other girls shrugged but Lily spoke up. "I think we should do boys versus girls." She smiled wickedly.

James and Sirius looked at each other with some surprise. Was it fair to have two of the best Quidditch players on one team?

"Er… alright…" James shrugged. "If they want it," he said in a whisper to Sirius.

"So let's go!"

The octet walked outside and enjoyed an extremely lively game of Quidditch, all except Lavina of course. She sat upon her broom but refused to fly far. With raised eyebrows, the other girls avoided passing her the Quaffle like the plague.

The game ended within a few hours, everyone freezing and laughing. It had been such a pleasurable way to spend the afternoon.

Sirius, Remus, Peter, Mary, and Marlene went off on some discovery adventure. Mary had asked to see the rest of the house, which the others deemed enjoyable.

Lavina retired to her bedroom, stating that she had a few letters she wanted to write.

James and Lily were left alone in the sitting room but they did not remain there for long.

"Want to see my favorite room?" James asked with a mischievous grin.

Lily nodded.

He led her out into the same golden hallways and up another staircase, to the fourth floor.

"We don't use this floor very often for entertaining," James explained, "it's too far away from everything else. My mum thinks it's mad to have so much space but my dad loves it. That's the atrium to the indoor gardens," he pointed to a room with wicker chairs, "it's my mum's get-away."

They walked through a small corridor that was hidden behind a large portrait of an older man. "That's my great-great-great-great-great-great-granddad," he said with a slight grin. "He built this place. He loved secret passages so he put in a load."

The corridor branched off into multiple directions. "Dead-ends," James told her as they walked. They followed the trail of brightly lit candles that adorned the thick stone walls. The trail stopped at a large circular mirror.

James calmly stepped through it, leading a shocked Lily along. The mirror passage led to a huge room.

Cerulean colored water lapped onto the pale white sand that covered the floor. The sky above was crystal blue, creating a stunning contrast between the white sand and azure waters. Palm trees stood tall, providing small patches of shade. Between two was a large hammock. Further away from the water was a small orchard with its entrance framed by blooming magnolias.

Lily was speechless as she turned in circles, trying to understand everything. She looked along the edge of the water and saw a small dock complete with a little boat. It was an amazing house.

"James, your house. It's… it's… it's… wow." She managed to get out.

He grinned at her amazed face. "Let's sit on the hammock," he suggested.

They walked to it, sitting together.

Moments passed in silence before James spoke.

"Tell me about your family," he said softly.

"What do you want to know?"

He thought for a minute. "Tell me about getting accepted to Hogwarts."

"We-ell… alright…" she paused, thinking of the memory. "The breakfast table was covered with foods. It was a Sunday and Sundays meant brunch with my mum, dad, and sister. We ate, laughing and swapping stories from our week. My dad told us about how one of his patients was convinced that they were continually ill while they were perfectly healthy. My mum regaled us with stories from her work in the thrift shop where she volunteered every morning to help the less fortunate. Petunia and I talked about how much we adored our day camp, failing to mention our extremely handsome counselor on whom we both had a crush. It was such a silly crush, really, seeing as how he was so much older than Petunia and I were.

"That morning, while my mum placed a heaping of scrambled eggs and bacon upon my plate, Petunia passed a letter to me. 'It's so strange,' she giggled. Indeed it was, with the curvy emerald writing that was at once foreign and well-known. I slid it open with my finger, obtaining a teensy paper-cut that I ignored at the interest of receiving post. It was rare for me or Petunia to get a letter.

"I opened it and gasped. It fell into my breakfast plate, that's why there are bits of yellow on it (scrambled eggs) and a drop in the shape of a heart (tea). My mum took it and read it, her eyes widening. 'It can't be, can it?' She asked, placing one hand upon her heart.

"'It is!' I shouted. 'I'm a WITCH! I'm a W-I-T-C-H!' I was big on spelling that year.

"I had known before, Petunia and I did. Severus Snape told me when I was nine so I wasn't extremely surprised, only excited. I knew all about Hogwarts, though I hadn't told my parents about it. Petunia knew but it was our secret, especially because she didn't believe in it until I got my letter.

"Later I found out she had written to Dumbledore, begging admittance. He refuse her, extremely politely of course, but that was the end of our friendship. My parents were proud of me though. They were so happy at having a witch in the family." She smiled at the memory of her parents.

James had been watching her speak and listening carefully to her words. When she spoke of her sister, her face clearly fell. Speaking of her parents, however, brought turned a light on within her eyes. "They were right to be proud of you," he said.

Lily turned to him. "Oh I haven't the slightest idea if they are right to be proud of me. I'm dreadfully clumsy, awkward, and I haven't a clue what I want to be when I finish school. It's pretty bad." She smiled as she spoke though, undermining the tone. "What do you want to be?"

"I think I'm going to follow in my dad's steps. He's an Auror and works constantly to defeat Voldemort." James sighed. "And they need all the help they can get."

"That sounds smart," she nodded, "and very gallant."

He grinned at her. "Gallant? Adding it to my list of words."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a twat."

He started to reply but she shushed him. "Listen," she whispered.

They spent the rest of the day lying on the hammock in the beach room that was located in James's house, listening the waves gently lapping upon the beach.

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews! It's SOOO great to be back home. )