Lily burst into the 6th year girls' bedroom and found Mary sitting on the floor and Nicola (even though she was Ravenclaw, she still found a way to get into their room so Lily was past being surprised) lying on her front on top of her bed, ankles crossed as they dangled in the air, reading the latest copy of Witch Weekly.

"You never told me Potter had a girlfriend!"

Mary raised her perfectly arched eyebrows. "I didn't think you cared about him."

"I told you on the train," Nicola shrugged and went back to reading an article on how to make any wizard fall in love with you.

"No, you said they were kissing. You never said they were going out."

"Same thing."

"It is not the same thing! Just cause you kissed someone doesn't mean-"

"What! Who did you kiss?" Nicola shouted, outraged that she hadn't heard about it before now.

"Shh! Someone will hear you!" Lily hissed, looking round at the open door where voices floated up from the common room downstairs.

Mary made to get the door but Nicola beat her to it. She stood up off the bed, ran to the other side of the room and slammed the door. The Witch Weekly finally lay forgotten on the floor. Nicola sat back down, lounging against the pillows and patted the bed beside her, signaling Lily to sit down. Lily came and sat on the bed, her back against the bed post. Mary sat beside Lily, crossing her legs.

Lily sighed. "It was last night, I was on patrol and…" Lily continued to tell the story right up until visiting James in the hospital when he girlfriend came in. The only thing that she didn't say was the whole thing surrounding Remus so she had said she didn't know why he was in the Hospital Wing.

"Oh. My. God."

"I know, I know. I'm not sure what to do." Lily looked bit her lip. "I think it would just be best if I forgot it ever happened."

Nicola had been about to argue but Mary shot her a look. "That would be best. Anyway, don't get on the wrong side of her."

"Why?" Lily asked.

"It was her that made me and Neil split up." Mary muttered, scowling.

Mary and Neil had been the perfect couple. So much so that it was weird not to see then together. It was always Mary-and-Neil. They came as a package; you got one, you got the other.

When they split up last year, everyone had been shocked; even Mary. They talked about everything together, even getting married and all that came after. Neil had been Mary's first but now she loathed him.

"He cheated on me. With her." Mary's voice twisted into a cruel, hard line. Lily hated Sandra more then ever.

After the stress of the day, Lily decided to make a bath. She made her way slowly down the steps to the fifth floor. Her legs ached at each step. The first week was always the hardest on her muscles. She finally came face to face with the statue of Boris the Bewildered. She always smiled when she saw the statue; his gloves were on the wrong hands and his moustache curled in the most peculiar of ways. She muttered "bubble bath" before entering the door on the left. The room smelt like vanilla mixed with some strange spice Lily had never encountered before. The three stained glass windows on the opposite wall sparkled as the setting sun from outside threw colours around the room. The mermaid waved at her before settling down on the rock and falling asleep.

"Hello?" she said loudly, hoping there was no one there. When no reply came she sighed and moved towards the large rectangular bath that was more like an Olympic sized swimming pool. She moved to her favourite tap and turned it on. A gold coloured liquid rushed from the top and Lily shivered as the hot steam reached her face. She made her way round the tub, switching on each tap in turn, watching intently when the colours swirled as they mixed together. Not being able to stand not being in the water anymore, Lily fetched a fluffy white towel, tied her hair into a messy bun and started to undress. She slipped into the water and felt her stiffness ebb away. The bubbles that surrounded her were like heaven.

The quietness of the room was soon disturbed by someone clearing their throat. Lily whipped round to see none other then James Potter standing there with only a white towel around his waist. His bare torso exposed, damn.

Lily shook her head to get rid of the flood of images that rushed through her head. "What are you doing here?" She hissed, trying not to think of his nearly naked body just meters away. "This is the prefects' bathroom and you are definitely not a prefect!"

James just shrugged. "Quiddich Captain."

Lily blushed. "Oh… Sorry," she mumbled.

There were a few minutes of silence before James made to get into the bath.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked outraged.

"Taking a bath?"

"I am not sharing a bath with you!"

"Well get out then," James said patently.

"I was here first." Lily huffed.

"Actually I was in the bathroom," James said pointing to the stalls at the right side of the room.

"Why were you in there so long?" Lily asked before realising there could be many ways to 'occupy his time' when he was alone. She blushed even harder and realised she didn't want to know the answer.

"I was trying to take off my bandage without making it bleed again," he answered pointing to a scar on his chest.

"Oh."

James took a run and dived into the bath, splattering bubbles everywhere as he did so. His towel floated to the top of the bath before his head emerged and he smiled his lopsided grin.

Lily tried not to smile as she pulled bubbles closer to her, trying to cover as much of herself as possible.

James rolled his eyes before chucking his towel onto the side of the bath. It landed with a large splat. He reaching over to the side of the pool, picking up his wand and casting a spell on her. Lily was surprised to find herself in a dark blue, frilly, triangle bikini with halter neck strings and matching bikini bottoms. She stood up to inspect herself, she had seen a similar bikini during summer but it had been too expensive to buy, even though she really loved it.

James smirked. "Do you like it?"

Lily nodded, not quite knowing what to say. "Thanks," she muttered.

"It's okay, it's not your fault nudity daunts you. Especially my nudity"

Lily snorted. "It doesn't daunt me, I just would prefer if I didn't have to watch where I was looking so I don't get an eyeful of your… doodle." She finished lamely.

James hardly managed to get out his words between his large guffaws. "My… My…You called my… Doodle…" He was laughing so hard he was clutching his side.

Lily blushed furiously for the third time and made to get out of the pool. James was suddenly by her side a hand round her arm. Hi hand was large and not soft and hard but weather beaten from all the cold nights playing Quiddich.

"I'm sorry Lily, please don't go."

"Then make yourself decent!"

Sighing, James flicked his wand again and a pair of stripy, multicoloured shorts appeared round his hips. "Happy?"

"Very," she laughed. "Nice shorts by the way."

"Thanks," he grinned.

Lily bit her lip.

"What's wrong?"

"I… I want to talk to you."

James looked worried. "Emm… Sure."

"Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?"

"Why? Are you offering to be my girlfriend instead?" James asked.

"No. Definitely not. Just answer the question."

James looked crestfallen for a half a second but quickly recovered. He sighed. "When would have been a good time to say 'Oh, by the way Lily, I've got a girlfriend'. Anyway, even if I had told you, you would have said you didn't really need to know that."

Lily was about to argue when she realised he was right. She would have said something like that. Since when did James know her so well?

After a few minutes of them trying to beat each other in laps of the pool, they sat next to each other in the shallowest end of the bath, panting. After a few minutes of recovery, James tood up.

"Anyway, love to stay and chat but much to do Lily flower." Lily stared at him, annoyed with the new nickname. "By the way you can keep the bikini," James said with a wink.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Oh and Lily," James called from the door. "It's much more than just a 'doodle'..."

James just dodged the shoe Lily threw at him as he shut the door.

Lily shut her eyes, sighed and moved further down into the water.

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