Chapter 12: Lily's POV

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This was not an easy time. On one hand, I had James, who made me feel like a completely new person. He was truly the greatest boyfriend I could ever want. On the other hand, I had Remus, the person that reminded me of who I was, of the old me. He trusted me completely, and the fact I had hurt him by dating James was hard to swallow. He had done his best to hide his pain when we were talking, but I read through him easily.

It proposed a problem. What was I to do? I couldn't betray James like that, and I couldn't play with Remus. And I certainly didn't want to choose between them.

I had to find a happy medium, a way I could help Remus and stay true to James. Of course, my Sev problem was yet another thorn in my side. I knew he wouldn't want to be anywhere near me as long as I was with James, and I knew he wouldn't be thrilled with Remus either. It posed a serious problem. I didn't want to end my friendship with Severus, but there was a very obvious difference in the way I felt when I was with him as opposed to the way I felt with James or Remus. It wasn't anything personal, but with Sev I was a self-conscious geek. With James, I was confident; on top of the world. With Remus, I could fly.

I was deep in thought when a familiar arm wrapped around me.

"As adorable as you are, with your lower lip stuck out like that, your eyebrows all scrunched, I want to take you to the Great Hall. All of the others are waiting there for me. They wanted you to come on our latest 'adventure'." James said, smiling happily. He loved how well I got along with his friends. It was encouraging to him.

"I'd love to!" I said merrily, doing my best to cloud my thoughts with him. He saw right through me.

"Lily, what's wrong?" He murmured, stroking my hair and bringing me close to his chest.

"Nothing, I was just thinking." I answered truthfully.

"You're not having regrets are you?!" He jumped back, his eyes wide with hurt and surprise. I gasped in shock as well, he couldn't have been farther off base.

"No! No! God no! Never!" I yelled, rushing back to him, wrapping my arms back around his waist. I waited for him to calm down. He wrapped his arms around my shoulder and kissed my hair. I sighed with content. He was so great.

"You scared me there. I thought you…" He gulped, unable to finish his sentence.

"No. I like you. You have no idea, James." I murmured into his chest, scared to bring my eyes to his at my confession. He sensed this and pushed me away slightly. He brought his finger under my chin, forcing me to look straight in his eyes. I'm not sure what he saw, but whatever he did, it encouraged him to kiss me gently.

He pulled away and started leading me towards the Great Hall. He held my hand, and I was blushing furiously. Whenever we kissed, my heart rate seemed to increase and I couldn't think straight. James was incredibly smug when I shared this with him, before whispering "good" and kissing me again.

We reached the Great Hall, and sure enough, Sirius, Peter, and Remus were all sitting there, awaiting our arrival. My eyes immediately strayed to Remus, and when he saw our hand intertwined, he looked down and away. I avoided looking at the Slytherin table, where I could feel a pair of dark eyes penetrating me.

We neared the table and they all greeted us happily, even Remus. Peter acknowledged my presence by nodding his head. Sirius quickly whispered something to Remus, and they both laughed. Then Sirius jumped up and hugged me like an older brother. Remus did the same, hugging me. His was with far more feeling. A familiar spark ran through my body when we touched, and I laughed at all their greetings.

"So you're probably wondering why we brought you here, Lily." Sirius began jovially.

"In fact I am!" I answered extremely sarcastic.

"Well see, a few Gryffindor seven-years have asked for our help. Maybe in the Muggle world you've heard of 'Senior Pranks'?" Sirius started, grinning mischievously.

"Yes." I said, grinning just as mischievously as him. His moods were so contagious.

"Well, your prank on Norman Hycliff went so well, we want your help engineering the latest senior prank!" Sirius finished nearly yelling with excitement.

"SIRIUS!" James barked, growing angrier. He didn't want anyone to know. James spoke, addressing me, for everyone else already knew: "The seven-years want the prank to be on the Slytherins, and the teachers. Any ideas?"

"Well, I think I've got an idea that would work…" I began, grinning. "Of course, it would include some sneaking around late at night, into places students aren't allowed to go. We'd probably be breaking about a dozen school rules," I said. From the eager looks on their faces, I had them completely sold already.

"It involves a potion I read about in a certain book by an anonymous writer…"