Chapter 2

Remus, Lily, and Mary sat in the stands with the other Gryffindor students. It was the last match of the season and Ravenclaw had been putting up a good fight. Sirius how ever had been on top of his game. He alone had scored 145 points. Lily glanced up again to see where James was flying. He was circling high above the other players. She continued watching him for a few moments; he really did have a way with a broom. She had never seen anyone who could fly quite as well as James.

James could feel a pair of eyes intently focusing on him. He turned round and his eyes connected with Lily's. It had only lasted a second before she hastily looked away. Lily was turning slightly red. Was she blushing when I caught her looking at me? James rapidly pushed the thought from his head. He had to keep his attention on the match.

Remus surveyed Lily as she was clearly trying to hide that she had been watching James for sometime now and James had undoubtedly noticed. He did not want to add to her embarrassment, but couldn't help himself as he leaned over and said "I wasn't joking when I told you he was one of the best Seekers in the world."

If it was even possible Lily started blushing even more that she had been. Before she could tell Remus, she didn't know what he was talking about; the crowd broke out in roars. James was racing through the air with the Ravenclaw seeker behind him. Lily gasped as James was diving straight towards the ground. Lily now had a tight hold on Remus' arm. "If he doesn't pull up now he is going to get hurt!" Just as Lily had finished saying the words, James had jerked his broom upright. As he was landing on the ground a rush of relief washed over Lily. She peered down at the pitch as James stood holding up the Snitch for everyone to see.

If Remus hadn't have been there, he wouldn't have believed what he had just witnessed. Lily had been genuinely worried that James was going to get hurt and equally relieved when he was safe on the ground. "You know your a lot stronger that you look. I'm going to have a burse on that arm by tonight."

"Oh, I sorry! I did realize." was all that Lily could manage to get out before her voice left her. There she was blushing for the second time today. Why had see been so uneasy at the thought of James getting hurt; why had it shaken her so. She was lost in her thoughts as she followed Remus out of the stands. She was mindlessly walking onto the field when she was pulled into a tight hug. He was wet and sweaty.

Sirius lifted Lily in the air and twirled her around, bring her out of her daze. "We won Lily, we won!" He put her back down, bending so that he was now eye-level with her. She had a confused look on her face. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

Lily shook her head slightly, now paying attention to Sirius. "No, everything is fine. Congratulations! You were brilliant! Look I'll see you back in the common room. I'm going to start setting up for the party. Bye." She hurried off the pitch headed for the Gryffindor Tower. "I would have been that concerned no matter who it was." she keep thinking over and over. Deep down she didn't know if she really meant it.

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The common room exploded with applauds and excitement as James and Sirius came thru the portrait hole with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. As soon as James made it past the crowd of people waiting to congratulate them at the door, he scanned the room looking for the delectable red head. Remus had informed him of the off-field events of the day. At that moment James felt as if he had just won the Quidditch Cup all over again. He caught sight of her sitting on a sofa in front of the fire talking to Mary and the other sixth year girls. She was bewitching when she smiled; she always seemed to captivate anyone who was near her.

Sirius slapped James on the back, breaking him away from his thoughts. "How many times do you think McGonagall will have to come up here to break up our little soiree?"

"Last time we threw a party this size, it took her until two in the morning. I don't think that she stands a chance tonight!" James couldn't help laughing as he said it. "Come on, let's get this party started."

The party had been going on for hours now. Lily was having an amazing time. She was making her way off of the dance floor that had been conjured for the event. She had been dancing with Mary and Alice for quite sometime now. Walking over to a table filled with cauldron cake, pumpkin pasties, and butterbeer, she started laughing. "How do the guys always managed to get enough food and butterbeer to last all night?"

Alice shook her head, "I have no idea, but you don't hear me complaining." Watching the room over Lily's shoulder, Alice saw James moving his way thru the crowd. He seemed to be having some difficulty. After he had finally shaken off various girls bidding for his attention, Frank Longbottom had stopped him to talk. She felt sorry for him as he frequently glanced in Lily's direction. "I'm going to ask someone to dance, be back in a bit." She headed off with her sights set for Longbottom. James at least deserved a chance to try to talk to Lily.

Lily had just finished a cauldron cake as she took her butterbeer and sat on a sofa that had been pushed ageist the wall. She was taking a rather large swig, when she felt someone sit by her. Putting down her empty glass, she looked over to see James. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping put this shindig together." By the look on her face that must have taken her by surprise. James insides seemed to jump as she softened a bit and sank back into the couch. Smiling to himself he asked, "So did you enjoy the game?" She gave him an odd glare before nodding yes. "Good. How bout a dance?"

She knew that on was coming! "No thank you, Potter, I have been dancing all night."

James gave a sly smile, "So I have noticed." She definitely knew how to move. He watched as Lily rolled her eyes. "Please Lily. We did win the Quidditch Cup today, if you don't remember. If we had not, we would not have enough points to win the House Cup, which I know you have worked so hard all year to get." Apparently something hadn't come out the right based on the look she was giving him.

"Once again typical Potter behavior, arrogant as ever! Go to hell! And when did you start calling me Lily!" She was almost on her feet and off of the sofa, when she felt hands grab her waist pulling her back down. Losing her balance, Lily fell right into his arms damn near sitting on his lap. Infuriated, she looked up at him expecting to see a domineering smirk. However when her eyes met his, she saw anything but. His normally sparkling hazel eyes were now desolate. He looked as if he had been wounded. Could her words have really injured him? Caught so off guard, Lily even forgot about moving out of his arms. James had never given her this type of reaction before, or had she just not took notice of it before now.

"Maybe if you would stop and listen for a minute, instead of the typical Lily behavior where you storm off, you would understand what I was saying. All I meant was that I have worked my ass off all year to win the Quidditch Cup, because I knew it was one thing that I could do for you. That would help you win the House Cup." He stood up, easily setting Lily on her feet; tighten his hands around her waist as if she was going to apprarate an second. James tilted his head down so that he was only an inch from Lily's ear. "By the way, I've been calling you Lily for most of the year."

Lily couldn't seem to find her voice. She was astounded by what she has just heard, however that was overshadowed by the sensation of how close he was holding her or how his breath felt against her skin. This couldn't be happening. She didn't fall all over James Potter like every other girl in Hogwarts. Shoving him as hard as possible, Lily turned as swiftly as possible putting as much space between them as she could.

Conflict washed over James as he watched her leave. He desperately longed to go after her; however he took Remus' advice and didn't push it. She was now going up the staircase to the dorms. He ran a hand thru his already messy hair, he contemplating what went wrong. Before now the only time he was permitted to wrap his arms around her was in his dreams. Now he finally knew what it felt like and it scared James to death that she might never be there again.

Sirius had spent the last few minutes observing the exchange. Strolling over and patting his friend on the back he said, "I hate to admit it, but I think that Remus is onto something. Our little Lily flower has been action rather strange today when it comes to you!" Sirius laughed and James just hung his head. "I've got firewiskey up in the room. I think you might need some." Leading the way to the spiral staircase, Sirius had the distinctive feeling that he wouldn't be celebrating anymore tonight.