Hello my lovlies,

This is a short one :(

But do not fret, I have been building up to the next few chapters, there will be some James/Lily bonding over them and someone won't be very happy...

Hope you like this chapter, some of it's a bit cheesy, but we all love a bit of cheese (go on, admit it)

Hugging the thick volume in her hands, Lily breathed in deeply, inhaling the smell of musty books just waiting to be opened. The library was basically empty, except from a moody Madam Pince staring at a book that lay mere inches from her face. Lily made her way over to the small cramped desk in the corner, next to a large bay window that overlooked the grounds. Lily could see James making his way towards the quiddich pitch, his silver arrow broomstick slung over his shoulder. Lily smiled and watched him as he walked. She could see, even from afar, that he was walking with a spring in his step. Quiddich always made him happy.

Lily jumped as someone cleared a throat behind her and whipped round to meet a pair of dark chocolate eyes.

Luke smiled down at her. "I've been looking for you."

Lily blushed. "Have you?"

"Yeah… I wanted to ask you something…" His smile became slightly smaller as his self-consciousness took over.

Lily's heart pounded against her ribcage. Luke's intentions were clear. Lily wanted him to say it but at the same time dreaded the inevitable words. What would this mean for her? Could she really be involved this way with him? Her head filled with excuses and possible things to say. A small part of her brain was fighting back though. What did she have to lose? This guy was funny, cute, thoughtful, caring, loving and, to top it all off, really hot! The part of her brain became increasingly louder.

Lily nodded at him.

"Hogsmeade's coming up."

Luke looked at her but she betrayed no emotion. He swallowed.

"So do you maybe wanna go with me? Not a date or anything. Well if you wanted it to be, maybe we could-"

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. Of course I'll go with you.

He beamed at her.

The sun shone directly over head. Lily sat under the great oak that stood in the middle of the grounds, just next to the lake. She pulled her jumper over her head. It was October 24th but still felt like the middle of June. Her astronomy book lay forgotten as she moved to lie in the sunlight. The sun touched her face and she smiled, happy to be alone. The sky was a clear blue. The only clouds were thin wispy ones that appeared every so often. She listened to people giggling on the far away opposite shore and smiled. Birds sang overhead and leaves rustled in the very slight breeze. Lily heard someone quietly pad towards her and sit down about half a meter from where she lay.

"You'll get sunburnt," James said an amused smile on his face.

"Don't care." Lily replied, breathing deeply in through her nose.

James chuckled. "Halloween next week. Hogsmeade weekend too. Got any plans?"

"What?" Lily leaned on her elbows and looked at the figure above her.

James laughed again. "Don't worry, I don't mean it like that. I mean, I'm not asking you out. I just asked if you had any plans."

"Well just going to Hogsmeade with a, emm, friend. Why?"

"Well, me and Sirius are thinking of having a party. Nothing too extravagant, just a small get together for friends etc."

"Small? Yea. Right." Lily snored.

"So you'll come?"

"I didn't say that.

"Ah, cummon Lilypad, it'll be fu-un."

Lily sighed. "Fine."

They lay down together for a few minutes, heads together, feet pointing in opposite directions. It was silent for a while until James pointed up at the sky.

"Look, it's a cloud."

"Wow! A cloud…"

"Shut up. I mean, look how it's shaped."

Lily stared into the sky and saw the cloud James was referring to. It was a perfectly shaped heart. It was beautiful, just floating above them. She stared at it for a few seconds. Was this some weird kind of sign? Lily laughed. Yeah, right.

James turned to look at her but she shook her head. James stared back up at the sky. His eyebrows pulled down as he tried to form a sentence in his head. He sighed, frustrated, nothing sounded right. He's just have to go for it.

"Lily, can I ask you something. Actually can I ask you to do something?"

"Shoot."

James took a deep breath. "I don't want you to go to Hogsmeade with Luke."

"What?"

"I mean, he's not that bad, I like him and everything but… I just… I mean…" James sighed. There was no way of asking Lily not do this without showing how he really felt.

"Can I ask why?"

"I just… I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Lily furrowed her brows. "Really?"

"Well, um…" James looked really uncomfortable. "Yeah."

"Look James, thank you for being concerned and everything, but, emm, I-"

"You're still gunna go with him," James whispered.

"Yes."

Lily shut her eyes as she heard James walk away. He stopped after a few meters and turned to face her.

"Guess I already knew that."

James walked away, trying to stop the nipping in his eyes and the lump in his throat.

Soooo... what's gunna happen at Hogsmeade

Or at the party?

Will Luke and Lily go out?

How would James feel about that?

How would Sandra feel knowing James feels like that?

So many questions, and I'm sad (not really) to say you won't find out for a little while...

:)